Getting your nails done is physically intimate, but often involves almost no verbal interaction with the manicurist due to language barriers. (Photo from Flickr by Angie Chung)

Alex is a cofounder and editor of The Seattle Globalist. He's a visual journalist whose work has been published by PBS, The Seattle Times, FRONTLINE/World and the Seattle Weekly.  Alex teaches journalism in the University of Washington's Department of Communication and recently directed the documentary film Barzan.