Fleeting little moments strung together by an itinerary. From the kitsch and glitter of souvenir shops to buildings and monuments whose shadows have witnessed more history than any creature alive, from the scent of a new dish you are about to experience to the surprise of a beverage you were recommended, from foreign currency to local traditions. Coaches, ferries, trains, and planes. That is the life of a tour manager: ephemera with a ticket, and as coincidence would have it, an e-ticket!
This website aims to document Greg's travels, both personal and professional, and will be his digital panopticon, a compendium of photographs, anecdotes, stories, and other such musings. Part traditional website, part blog, this digital gateway is Greg's way of sharing his experiences with family, friends, and the wayward visitors who might stumble upon this site.
Greg was born in August of 1971 in Kenitra, Morocco, to a French and British father who worked for the French Cultural Mission Abroad, and an American mother who taught for the Department of Defense Dependent Schools.
Greg's family moved from Kenitra when the US Naval base closed in 1978, and although he left the country of his birth at a young age, he still carries with him fond memories of searching for fossils in the Sahara desert, attending Souks and Fantasias where he practiced the Arabic language hr was learning from the family's Moroccan babysitters, and sipping tea with Bedouin tribesmen at one of their camel markets.
Greg unfortunately lost his Arabic language skills when the family moved to Germany, and although he remembers a few words, he can no longer carry a conversation like he was able to when he was a child.
From Kenitra, his family moved to West Berlin, Germany, where he would spend the rest of his childhood years until 1989. He attended French, French-German, and American schools, respectively the Ecole Victor Hugo (French Victor Hugo Elementary School), Collège Voltaire (French Middle School), Lycée Franco-Allemand à Berlin (French-German College Prep High School), and Berlin American High School (DoDDS American High School). In these schools, he befriended students from all corners of the world, including the Congo, Egypt, Finland, Japan, Turkey, and Zaire. During his 11 years in Berlin, he travelled throughout Europe, visiting Austria, Belgium, England, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Russia, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, Wales, and West Germany.
Upon graduation from Berlin American High School, Greg moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he attended Western Michigan University and studied French, German, Translation, Computer Information Systems, and General Business. At WMU, he was appointed Vice-President of the French Club (La Table Française) by the French Department Chair for his first two years, and President for the next two. He was also a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa International Fraternity, where he was elected Chapter Secretary and Chapter President of the Chi Tetarton Chapter.
While attending college, Greg worked for IBM as a collegiate representative, the Upjohn Company (a pharmaceutical company that later merged with Pharmacia) as a paid intern in their Translation Department, and before being graduated, started an eleven year career with Kinko's, working his way up from front-line employee to Technology Trainer, Branch Manager, and eventually Regional Training Manager with an area of responsibility covering five states, 69 branches, and 1500 employees.
After years in the on-demand print industry, Greg decided he wanted to broaden his experience, and started to look into careers that would allow him to use his multi-language and multi-cultural skills as part of his profession. Tourism was obviously one of the major areas that called for his skill set, and after leading student tours in the United States for a while, he was able to secure employment leading English speaking groups to a multitude of European countries.
Greg continues to enjoy his chosen profession, and puts his amateur photographer and web-designer skills to use on this website to allow his friends and family to see where he has been, what he has seen, and what he has enjoyed.
The Peregrine Guide
