Communism had fallen, but no one told the bakeries. It was the early, hopeful years of Yeltsin (before he devolved into a bloated drunk) and the news agencies were reporting that Russia was flowering, backed by B-roll footage of the first McDonalds near Red Square. I was 21, my first passport stiff in my money... Continue Reading →
Friendly ≠ Customer Service, and Reflections on Over-Stimulation
Of the 36 countries I have visited in my life, Colombia is hands-down the friendliest. A close second was Egypt, a country where (at least in 1998) strangers would lean out of upper story windows to welcome us to their neighborhood, take us by the hand to lead us where we needed to go, and... Continue Reading →
On Homesickness and Holsteins
Yesterday, someone asked if I was homesick and I was surprised to realize that I’m not. Not yet, anyway, or not in the way I have been on past trips, yearning for my normal, or at the very least, the familiar. Like when I spent a summer in Russia and day 5 found me in... Continue Reading →
Scars: Facing my fears of what-if
I had a bit of a breakdown during my junior year of college, if “breakdown” is the right work for an episode that ended with me not sleeping for six straight days and getting to know the staff of Psych Services quite well. It was triggered by a number of things. A boy, the first... Continue Reading →
The World's Okayest Mom 