get to know joe

My father's job as a journalist took him to many corners of the globe while I was growing up, and being the obliging son that I am, I tagged along.

I attended French schools from ages 5-18 in Los Angeles, London and Brussels, since my parents have a passion for languages and wanted a multilingual upbringing for me. Before that, I was at a German-speaking kindergarten in Vienna.

Its a close tie between Los Angeles and Berlin. I feel a strong attachment to the city of stars seeing as it's where I grew into a real life adult, and I absolutely love the hiking trails as well as how positive and laidback everyone is.

With that said, I adore Berlin for its anything-goes attitude and underground establishments, which encourage the joys of self-expressions and fervent curiosity. I'm also a big fan of currywurst (no really!)

It's the lovechild of my upbringing and current events, really. Moving around as a child, I always struggled to fit in with foreign cultures while preserving a sense of identity. I felt pressured to act out the cultural norms of the city at hand, while dismissing the genuine social traits I'd developed prior to moving. As such, I want to encourage readers to consider how different cultural perspectives shape each city worldwide.

And then there's an ex- yellow-haired politician. And a certain island country that voted to leave the EU. And I thought: the world deserves so much better than the promotion of these narrow-minded, ahem xenophobic views. So that's where Jumping for Joe comes in!  Through my posts, I want to give you the tools to explore cultures beyond your own.