Bowling Green, Ky. - Chris Wedding, an alumnus of Western Kentucky University’s Honors Program, has published his new book, “Three Years in Asia:  Forgotten Buddhist Temples, Barefoot Children, and Unexpected Romance.”

Wedding, a Kentucky native and North Carolina resident, is a 1999 graduate of WKU and was the 1998 Honors Program Scholar of the Year. 

He also was a Goldwater scholar and graduated Summa Cum Laude in Environmental Health & Safety and Engineering, with minors in Biology and Chemistry.  A graduate of the University Honors Program, he produced a thesis in 1997 called “An analysis of two tests of diesel contamination in the environment when considering the impact of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria.” 

Wedding taught in Japan between 2000 and 2003 with the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program. Based on his pictures and letters sent to friends and family, he recounts 80,000 miles and 1,000 days of teaching and traveling in Asia, including Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan and Australia.

This non-fiction work is part travelogue, part social and environmental commentary, and part humor. Inspired by the best-selling comedic travel writings of Bill Bryson, it was written to communicate the importance of studying, working and traveling internationally.

“One of my goals in writing the book was to give a personal, humorous, detail-rich account of an alternative option for college graduates,” Wedding said.

The target audience for his book is those ages 18-35, including the many recent college graduates, who might read the book and to go live, work or travel internationally. 

While in Asia, Wedding lived in a traditional Japanese home complete with tatami floors, rice-paper doors and an ornamental Japanese garden in the front yard. He learned the Japanese language, studied calligraphy, and befriended more than 5,000 children as he taught. 

According to a promotional flyer, those who have read “Three Years in Asia” call it “charming” and “an entertaining portrait of life in Japan.” It makes readers feel like they’re on a journey with the author “to the other side of the world.”

The JET Program with which Wedding traveled is an 18-year-old Japanese government-sponsored organization bringing in 5,500 foreign teachers from 44 countries each year.  Tens of thousand teach in Japan and Southeast Asia through similar organizations.

For more information about the book, visit http://prleap.com/pr/53718/

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For information, contact Craig Cobane at (270) 745-2081.

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