| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | I have plenty of vivid childhood memories, the most memorable ones surround the time I spent with my grandparents and cousins during birthdays and holidays. |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | My paternal grandfather. Although my grandfather and I were of different times and in many ways different people, he and I bonded greatly in our love of history, philosophy, classical music, and theatre. Despite being a Holocaust survivor, he always had a smile on his face and a lighthearted spirit that made those around him feel comfortable and special. I have been told I embody many of his virtues. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | Sincerity, optimism, and courtesy are the top characteristics I admire in an individual. I also admire one's wit and rhetoric when it comes to conversational skills. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | I don't think I can point out exactly what the funniest thing that has ever happened to me is, especially since the funniest thing might have been funny to someone else and not to me (as such things go). But most recently, a cute funny thing happened when my girlfriend wanted to surprise me with a nice dinner. Now, we both like hot sauce, and she had said that she found the best hot sauce in the world to go with the meal she was cooking. In the back of my head, I was thinking, she can't possibly have the best hot sauce, since the best hot sauce I've ever tried has been the Mozambican Piri Piri sauce I tried in the year I spent in South Africa. I have never seen that sauce sold anywhere in the US. But, being polite, I kept quiet and awaited the surprise. From her end, she kept making the unveiling of said hot sauce suspenseful saying that you can't find it anywhere. Dinner is ready and she shows me the bottle, it was Piri Piri sauce! Needless to say, we had a good laugh. |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | I would travel to Bhutan, the isolated mountain-nation of the Himalayas. It is the only country that focuses on improving its Gross National Happiness instead of its Gross National Product. The culture is so well-preserved and so isolated from outsiders, it has captured my imagination for many years. |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | I would like to pass on to them a love for family, for community, and for learning. I want to give them roots so that they know where they come from, the tools to succeed, and the passion to learn. |
