My name is Mark and I have lived overseas and traveled around in some capacity for most of my adult life.
My wife Svetlana and I Europe and Asia for over 10 years. Since coming to the United States in 2008, we had an opportunity to visit some destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean.
I am a veteran of the US Navy, a Russian linguist, and a graduate of the Defense Language Institute as well as University of Washington – where I studied international business and Russian language and history. My final quarter sent me on an academic exchange to Vladivostok, in the Russian Far East. Once there, I just kept finding things to do, and it was during this time that I met Svetlana. So as it worked out, I spent close to 11 years living and working in Russia and other CIS countries.
In recent years, I have worked as a travel agent, specializing in high end ocean cruises, expeditions, river cruises and resorts. This was fun at times, and I learned volumes about travel planning, but it is not my calling or my passion. Now my main interest is online digital content marketing, and Ten Minute Travel Break is just one of the test cases and online projects that I am working on.
Ultimately Svetlana and I plan to move back abroad and continue traveling on a more regular basis.
Check out some of our blog posts related to our trips and travel experiences over the years.
