Image source: Refugee Art Project In December of 2015, I volunteered with CMS at a refugee camp in Slavonski Brod, Croatia during the Syrian refugee crisis. It was one of the most humbling and important things I’ve ever done. As…
A Short Story About Seeking Government Employment: Applying to Be a Census Worker
For the past 4 months or so I’ve been traveling everywhere, which is made easier by the fact that I am living in my car because I am unemployed and can’t afford the apartment for which I signed a year…
March 13th to November 13th, and Eight Months of Pandemic in Between
On March 13th, I hugged my students goodbye, walked out of the school, and went home. And then I stayed there for eight months. I am still here, on Nov 13th, all those minutes and hours and days and weeks…
The Home I Fought to Make, and the End of the Hard Transition Path
I haven’t been posting here, but I’ve been writing every day. Mostly in my head, but still, even that is definitely writing, not thinking, because there is an enormous difference between my thoughts and my thoughts marching across my brain…
Vientiane in December, or, a Tentative Turning Point
I figured it was time for an update of sorts considering how generally gloomy I was about Vientiane in this post and yeah, for sure, in this one, too. Okay, let’s get real, pretty much every post I’ve made since moving to Laos…
I Moved Into a Hotel Next to the Gay Club, and it Was the Best Decision Ever
I’m not where I used to be, and I am so relieved. I decided on a whim to move, and now I am living in a fully furnished, serviced hotel next to a gay club, both of which are owned…
Let Me Tell You About Buying a Desk: A Fable of Expert Procrastination
I should be doing graduate school work right now, but instead I’m sitting at my cheap wooden desk, in the second bedroom of The Treehouse, watching my cats fly (ungracefully, I hate to admit) across the bed to ninja punch…
About Once a Week, I Feel This Way
Strangely, it seems that when I am trying the hardest to be grateful and positive, when I am gritting my teeth and steadfastly refusing to go down inviting rabbit holes of velvet negativity, when I am setting my eyes high…
On Not Feeling Guilty About Moving to a New Country and Not Liking It
Ever since my first teaching job- in 2005, in Japan- I have looked to SE Asia as a goal, a destination off in the mists of future job opportunities. I fantasized endlessly about Thailand when living in Japan, but, as…
Where I Find Myself After an Unexpected Break-Up in a New Country
The long journey is over, I am safe and sound in Laos, and things are very different than I planned but I didn’t make many plans to begin with so I guess it doesn’t matter. I’m sitting in my wooden…
A Train That’s Gonna Take Me Back Where I Belong
Well, Albania and I have parted ways, and I’m heading into the second of three legs of the Trans-Siberian railroad. Technically, I guess, it’s the Trans-Mongolian, but everyone knows it best by Trans-Siberian, so I’ll continue to refer to it…
The Privilege of Being an English Speaker When Living and Working Abroad
It’s a common demand that, upon moving to the US, immigrants should immediately learn English, and, after a relatively short amount of time, the expectation is that the level of English should be fluent, ideally without an accent, and generally…
