Dr. G's Story
Dr. Garrigues was born in the United States, but he prefers to think of himself as a world citizen, having spent most of his life outside of the US, primarily in Asia and the Pacific (including 4 years in India, 6 years in Tonga, 8 years in Japan and over 30 years in Korea).
By the time he was in high school he had developed a strong interest in Asian culture and history, and as soon as he graduated from high school he left the US at the age of 18 and went to Japan, where he entered Jochi University (上智大学, also known as Sophia University) with a major in Japanese history. It was during his student years in Japan that he met his wife, Machiko, (yes, they married very young, both were students at the time) and they first visited Korea together in 1966.
He returned to the US with his wife after finishing his BA in Japan, to continue his graduate studies. Because of his deep interest in culture and human behavior, he changed his major from history to anthropology. It was during that period of his MA studies at Colorado State University that his two daughters were born.
After he completed his Master's degree in anthropology, he taught for a couple of years at Iowa State University. But to really be an academic anthropologist it is necessary to complete a Doctoral degree, so he and his wife decided that would be their next move. Continuing and expanding his interest in Asian cultures, he decided to do his PhD work with a focus on South Asia, but instead of joining a doctoral program at a university in the US, they decided to go to India and to study Indian Anthropology directly at a university there. So in the fall of 1972 they packed up some belongings, and with their two young daughters they set out for India. That was the last time Dr. Garrigues ever lived in America.
Even their trip to India was unconventional, because they didn't fly there. Instead they had their old VW van loaded onto a ship, sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and through the Mediterranean to Eastern Europe, and from there they drove on a 5-month journey, through some very interesting places, to India, where he joined the PhD program in anthropology at Lucknow University. Of course, that was just the beginning of the story, but that's enough for now.
By now, Dr. Garrigues has over 40 years of university teaching experience in anthropology, sociology, Asian studies, linguistics and English. He and his wife moved to Korea in 1982. He first taught at Jeju National University for 3 years before moving to KNU in 1986. And he has been living in Daegu, right on the KNU campus, ever since.
Dr. G's research interests are in the area of language and culture, but his real passions are photography, world music, and helping to bridge the cultural communication gap between people. He sees himself as a life-long student and believes a person should never stop learning and growing. He firmly believes that our purpose in life is to continually improve ourselves and to contribute to the well-being of others.
If you are interested, you can see some of his photos at YouPic.
By the time he was in high school he had developed a strong interest in Asian culture and history, and as soon as he graduated from high school he left the US at the age of 18 and went to Japan, where he entered Jochi University (上智大学, also known as Sophia University) with a major in Japanese history. It was during his student years in Japan that he met his wife, Machiko, (yes, they married very young, both were students at the time) and they first visited Korea together in 1966.
He returned to the US with his wife after finishing his BA in Japan, to continue his graduate studies. Because of his deep interest in culture and human behavior, he changed his major from history to anthropology. It was during that period of his MA studies at Colorado State University that his two daughters were born.
After he completed his Master's degree in anthropology, he taught for a couple of years at Iowa State University. But to really be an academic anthropologist it is necessary to complete a Doctoral degree, so he and his wife decided that would be their next move. Continuing and expanding his interest in Asian cultures, he decided to do his PhD work with a focus on South Asia, but instead of joining a doctoral program at a university in the US, they decided to go to India and to study Indian Anthropology directly at a university there. So in the fall of 1972 they packed up some belongings, and with their two young daughters they set out for India. That was the last time Dr. Garrigues ever lived in America.
Even their trip to India was unconventional, because they didn't fly there. Instead they had their old VW van loaded onto a ship, sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and through the Mediterranean to Eastern Europe, and from there they drove on a 5-month journey, through some very interesting places, to India, where he joined the PhD program in anthropology at Lucknow University. Of course, that was just the beginning of the story, but that's enough for now.
By now, Dr. Garrigues has over 40 years of university teaching experience in anthropology, sociology, Asian studies, linguistics and English. He and his wife moved to Korea in 1982. He first taught at Jeju National University for 3 years before moving to KNU in 1986. And he has been living in Daegu, right on the KNU campus, ever since.
Dr. G's research interests are in the area of language and culture, but his real passions are photography, world music, and helping to bridge the cultural communication gap between people. He sees himself as a life-long student and believes a person should never stop learning and growing. He firmly believes that our purpose in life is to continually improve ourselves and to contribute to the well-being of others.
If you are interested, you can see some of his photos at YouPic.