Featuring first-person stories of people finding themselves in the middle of a culture that is foreign to them; each week, 22.33 will deliver interesting tales from people who share how they were able to create mutual understanding through cultural exchange. 

Season 1, Episode 12

When Alaa Mahmooud was 8 years old he saw a picture of his father in front of the U.S. Capital building. He didn’t know what it was at the time, but he knew he wanted to go there someday as well. He did— and his journey to get there— and the path his life has taken— from the shadows of the Egyptian Pyramids to an amusement park in New Jersey— is unforgettable.

Alaa visited the United States as part of the J-1 Visa Summer Work Travel program. More information on J-1 Visas can be found at https://j1visa.state.gov/programs.

About 22.33:
Q: What happens when people leave their regular routine and comfort zone and find themselves far from home, in foreign places and cultures unknown to them?
A: Life. Changing. Stories.

Each week, 22.33 delivers stories of people finding their way in new surroundings. With a combination of travel tales, innovation, empathy, and even survival at times, 22.33 delivers unforgettable first-person stories from people whose lives were changed by international exchange. New episodes are released every Friday, along with regular bonus episodes.

Christopher M. Wurst is Senior Advisor for Innovation / Director of the Collaboratory, U.S. Department of State Bureau for Cultural and Educational Affairs (ECA)

Mr. Wurst is from Minnesota and joined the United States Foreign Service in 2002. Before leading the Collaboratory he was Public Affairs Officer in Milan, Italy; Ljubljana, Slovenia; Lusaka, Zambia; Deputy Public Affairs Officer in Chennai, India; and Vice Consul in Guatemala City, Guatemala. He also spent time in Islamabad, Pakistan, giving public affairs assistance to the American Mission following the 2005 earthquake disaster. Mr. Wurst has been awarded one Superior Honor and numerous Meritorious Honor Awards since joining the Foreign Service. In 2007, while in Lusaka, he received the worldwide Public Affairs Award from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). In 2012, he was nominated as Cultural Expat of the year by Slovenian Times magazine.

Mr. Wurst holds a Master’s degree in Education and a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing and History from the University of Minnesota, in Minneapolis. He also studied literature at Birmingham University in England. 

Prior to joining the Foreign Service, he was a high school history and literature teacher, in Minnesota and South Africa. Mr. Wurst has had a variety of writing jobs, including contributing scriptwriter for Mystery Science Theater 3000, a nationally televised comedy program. As a photographer, Mr. Wurst has had exhibitions in four different countries and has published numerous photographs. Mr. Wurst is married to Kjara Wurst, a Slovenian choreographer.