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Murray Gunn
Murray Gunn grew up with a stream of international visitors passing through his
house with an international homestay organisation. This engendered an interest
in languages and cultures and for understanding why people of different cultures
act the way they do. He first lived overseas in 1990 at the age of 18 when he
participated in a student exchange program. The experience of living with a
Japanese family and attending a Japanese school increased his passion for
culture.
After completing a Bachelor degree in
Engineering, Murray joined an international company and was transferred back to
Japan, then on to Belgium. During this time he developed an interest in writing
and his emails relating cultural experiences were passed beyond his circle. He
began blogging his experiences when he moved to Bhutan and these entries became
the basis for Dragon Bones. Four articles, three of them extracts from
Dragon Bones, have been published in Tashi Delek, the in-flight magazine for
Druk Air, the Royal Bhutanese airline.
Since returning to Australia, Murray has become
reinvolved in AFS, the largest student exchange organisation in the world and
the only one to be recognised by the United Nations. He has held the position of
State Chair of the NSW Committee for AFS and regularly participates in camps for
exchange students. He is also an active member of the Australia Bhutan
Friendship Association. In 2009, Murray began a Masters of Applied Anthropology
to further his skills in researching cultures. Although he has no professional
or academic background in anthropology, he was accepted into the course on the
strength of his writing and depth of understanding as evidenced in Dragon
Bones.
Books by Murray Gunn
Dragon
Bones: Two Years Beneath the Skin of a Himalayan Kingdom
Author's website
One People, Many
Cultures |
