Introduction – Bill Belew
I came in on the tail end of the baby boom behind two older brothers and two older sisters, 3 of which were WWII babies. Meaning, I am old enough to have been around the block a few times, but young enough to have a few more trips left in me. My name is Bill Belew
I first went to Asia on Uncle Sam’s dime. After nearly 5 years in the Navy where I eventually served as an Intelligence Officer for a Destroyer Squadron ( I could tell you some secrets, but then I’d have to kill you) I settled in Japan and lived there for almost 20 years. While there I started a language school for Japanese www.svecs.com . It grew to five branches in Japan and one on the west coast of the US. More about all of that in subsequent posts.
I moved back to the states about 5 years ago and now live in the Bay Area of San Jose (Yes, I know the way.) I teach classes f2f for a vocational school and online for a national university.
My wife is from mainland China and holds an MBA from a California State University. We often discuss the differences in culture and business practices among China, the US and Japan. Sound interesting? It is to us. I will share some of those stories and our insights (or lack of) here in this blog. For my part, I will lean heavily into introducing Japan and her ways. If you want to do business with someone, you need to take time to know them….at least that is how it goes in Asia.
I have two boys. The older one, Benjamin, is an award winning professional classical pianist in Japan. The younger one, Micah, is a US National Swim Champion.
I used to run triathlons and ultramarathons. I could also be seen hanging off the side of a mountain…or making my way up it as a rock climber. Now I am on a marathon trip and I try to climb back into shape.
In my free time (what free time?) I write non-fiction short stories. You can see some of them at www.writingup.com/blog/wcbelew .
I look forward to telling you what I know about Asia – Japan, China and Far East Russia in particular. I welcome comments, suggestions and questions. If I don’t know, I will try to find out.
Bill
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April 19, 2006
hahahaha
April 18, 2006
Should I mention being kidnapped by the KGB, an encounter with a witch…being lost in northern Siberia in my running clothes, …and and..
Thanks for reading, Melissa.
April 18, 2006
My oh my, you have got such an interesting life!!! Looking forward to reading more of your advices, based on your experiences.
March 5, 2006
Matthew,
Thank you for the welcome. I am glad to be here and will surely give it my best.
Thanks for the intro to KMM!
Bill
March 5, 2006
Hi Bill,
Great introduction! I’m glad to see you get started here. I’m looking forward to your posts.
Matthew
March 4, 2006
Nischal,
Thank you for visiting my blog. I am totally interested in your posting about E-commerce in China.
As you may gather in future postings, though I am knowledgable about China – I have been there many times – north to south, my wife is ‘made in China’, my father-in-law works as a consultant for ISO9000 and such…my expertise lies in Japan where I lived for nearly 20 years.
I am sure I can learn much from you.
March 3, 2006
Dan,
Thank you for the welcome. I look forward to sharing my best here.
March 3, 2006
Bill, great job and nice to see you writing already. Excellent to have you on the team. I’m sure you will keep providing many solid and intriguing posts.
March 2, 2006
Thank you, Easton for this welcome.
China is indeed a hot topic and one that I hope to deal with in time.
I look forward to sharing what I know here and hopefully learning from others.
March 2, 2006
Bill, welcome to Know More Media! I’m excited to learn from you.
One subject I hope you’ll discuss is China’s growing influence on global economics. I’m fascinated by its sheer immensity and the uniqueness of its government. What do you think will lead more business people to look to China for opportunities? For example, the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing will probably open many people’s eyes, among other things, to the awesome business potential China holds.
Again, looking forward to your posts.