"This journey has taught me that cultural differences do indeed matter and understanding how profoundly they differ and how powerful these differences are can make all the difference," recounts Benjamin Long in his riveting first-hand account of the dilemmas that develop when cultural distinctions are ignored or underestimated.Embark on a cultural journey packed with hilarious and heart-wrenching stories drawn from Long's vivid memories of an idyllic yet impoverished childhood.Take a trek in his shoes as he successfully transitioned and transformed into an expatriate and self-coined "Hyphen-Me."If you've ever known tough times or seen first-hand the sacrifices made by your forebears, this book will lead you to a greater appreciation of the brevity of life, the price of the opportunities, and the struggle of reinventing oneself in a foreign land.Hyphen-Me is a story of hope, survival, and the human capacity to go beyond the boundaries of both self and culturally imposed limitations.