I finished highschool valedictorian and went to the University of Bucharest to study Japanese language and literature. I don't know what I was thinking back then, but that's what I chose to do. The rest is pretty much history. I finished college in 1993, went to get a Master's in Modern Romanian literature, which I got in 1998. I had my "debut" in 1994, with book review in "Romania literara", where I still am a random, but faithful contributor. I worked for various publications: "Contrapunct", "Dreptatea", "Avantaje", I published constantly in others: "Poesis", and sporadically in some others too: "Dilema", "22", "Luceafarul". I also founded publications of my own, now long vanished: "Nezopont", "Romanian Journal of Japanese Studies".
After trying my hand at business for about two years - I founded "Lexicon Translations SRL", a translations firm - in 2000, I decided that I should pursue graduate studies before I go on. By that time, I have been also teaching at my alma mater as something like an adjunct professor for about two years. So, in August 2000 I landed in Pittsburgh, and did another Master's degree in East Asian Studies, at The University of Pittsburgh (Asian Studies Center). In 2002, I got accepted to the University of Chicago, where I am still doing my PhD in Japanese literature and history (I passed my comprehensive exams in May 2006).
I am now preparing my PhD proposal, morally supported by my wife, Jessica, a PhD in medical anthropology, and also writing for several publications. Among my current academic projects, my dissertation on gender and tenko (conversion) literature in Japan is the most important.
I work full-time at the Graham School of General Studies, coordinating their Master of Liberal Arts.
