I'd like to start by saying THANK YOU to every single person who donated to my fundraiser. You made this throbbing head and achy body possible! I kid. Seriously, thank you for believing in my goals for this trip and for supporting me in this way. You are what literally got me here. I know … Continue reading Day 1: Arrival, jetlag trivia and thanks
Bags, packed. Questions, unanswered.
In less than 24 hours, I'll be boarding a 15-hour flight to Johannesburg, South Africa with 14 fellow travelers on a 10-day trip through Emory University's Journeys of Reconciliation program. I am wide awake with nerves and excitement. A series of major events have rocked the so-called "rainbow nation" of South Africa since I … Continue reading Bags, packed. Questions, unanswered.
MLK, Jr. Day 2018: With your help, I’m going to South Africa
Dear friends and family: For the past two years, I’ve worked as a journalist covering politics for The Conversation. I love the work I do, and I believe it is essential to our democracy. But I’ve also felt worn down by the news and frustrated by how divided we’ve become in the U.S. I’ve had … Continue reading MLK, Jr. Day 2018: With your help, I’m going to South Africa
Farm life and work
Sweat. Sunburn. Grit. For the past four weeks I have stretched muscles I didn’t know existed while wielding pitchforks, lifting wheelbarrows and scrubbing buckets as wild chickens and peacocks carefully tread around me, stealing pecks of grain and hay where they can. I haven’t seen the inside of a gym in a while, and I … Continue reading Farm life and work
Letter to witness of this morning’s fallen fork
Dear Witness: Are you aware of the five second rule? Or, perhaps you are familiar with one of the many variations that are circulating in different parts of the country. Some will say it’s acceptable if you pick up a fallen item before 10 seconds pass. Then there are the extremists who enforce a zero-tolerance policy for … Continue reading Letter to witness of this morning’s fallen fork
Video: La crisis económica en la Union Europea
Check out this video I produced for my European Union class! We had the option to write a paper or do something more creative. So this is what happened. My friend and I walked around the plaza asking people about the economic crisis in Europe and how it has affected their lives in Spain. It's not … Continue reading Video: La crisis económica en la Union Europea
Life in the streets
We wait for no one I walked as fast as I could toward Plaza de Fonseca where our bus was meeting us lugging a backpack filled with weekend clothes, a bagged lunch and my purse. It was still dark when I left my apartment at about 6:45 a.m. The bus was leaving at 7 a.m. and … Continue reading Life in the streets
The American slinky and Spanish Pesetas
I’ve always had a knack for absorbing useless information. What I find fascinating very often does not, to my dismay, draw large audiences. When I share, a common reaction is the bitingly sarcastic expression, complete with eye rolls, “cool story, bro!” I’m that person at the checkout line of your local bookstore purchasing the book literally … Continue reading The American slinky and Spanish Pesetas
Midnight ride through the Pyrenees
This, my friends, is as comfortable as it got on the eight hour, Eurolines bus ride to Madrid from Bordeaux. The man in the photograph was traveling from Holland and had just spent the past 36 hours on a bus. He has a fear of flying, he explained, and (somehow) highly prefers...this. While he was … Continue reading Midnight ride through the Pyrenees
Paris, je t’aime
After more than twenty-four hours of traveling from DC to Paris, I just didn't have it in me to turn down a night on the town. This will be my only night in Paris. She paid me back for this when I did a face plant whilst casually crossing one of her streets. I can't … Continue reading Paris, je t’aime
