David Miretti grew up in a town of 500 people and 5,000 cornfields.  He was homeschooled, then went to a public school, then on to an academy for gifted and talented students.  A private university followed, with two semesters spent abroad in Hong Kong and France.  After university, he left the United States to start teaching English as a foreign language in South Korea.  That became a career, and he eventually earned an M.A. in Applied Linguistics from the University of New England in Armidale, NSW Australia online, and a Cambridge Certificate of English Language Teaching for Adults (CELTA) from the International House in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico.  He has taught more than 6,000 students in universities, UN NGO camps, as a corporate trainer on a cruise ship and preparatory year programs all over the world from South Korea to Saudi Arabia. He is passionate about teaching and getting to know people of all nationalities and backgrounds. He has traveled to, lived in, worked in, studied in, and volunteered in more than fifty-five countries on six continents.  He speaks English, French, some Korean, and survival phrases in half a dozen other languages.  His fascination with language and other cultures grew from his own parents' openness and encouragement.  Both his mother and father grew up in the multi-cultural environment of Hawaii and diversity was something to be valued and sought. 

When he is not writing, David loves painting, reading, traveling, and cooking.  His most recent achievement was passing a motorcycle safety course and becoming a legal rider in the USA after a *few* years riding abroad.   

More than a tool for economic empowerment, language is ultimately about communicating who we are as human beings.  The ability to talk about our loves, fears, satisfactions, and disappointments is a skill that is often overlooked in traditional English as second or foreign language textbooks.  This is unfortunate, and lead to the concept for the textbook "Ajumma: True Stories of Korean Women."  The book below is designed to integrate reading, writing, discussion, and critical thinking using interesting stories from real people.  At the same time, it aims to shed light on some serious social issues that are often taboo in many societies around the world.