An American in Holland
It was a simple task: find a wrench to attach the handlebars of my new bicycle. I was one day into my move to the Netherlands, so getting a functional ride was of… Continue reading
Category Archive: culture shock
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What Covid did to Travel: the Good, the Bad, and the Better
English teachers call it a “feedback sandwich.” A discouraged learner might disengage, so you wrap the hard part between two tastier layers. At the end of the first tourism year after two rough… Continue reading
Everybody hates Shimla
The expats and wealthier Indians I talked to were unanimous. From a bewildered “Shimla? Why are you going there? Just on your way to someplace better, right?” to the more succinct “Shimla sucks”… Continue reading
Seeing America as a Sri Lankan cop
Sri Lankan city of kings, one of the oldest continually-occupied cities on Earth, and focal point of Theravada Buddhism for centuries, Anuradhapura has many claims to fame, but I was having trouble seeing… Continue reading
Fox News is teaching me
Three weeks and two days (feels like three years and two nervous breakdowns) since Trump was sworn (I think we were all swearing that day) in as president, and I still flinch to… Continue reading
The Secret to Europe
The smell of fresh baked bread. Is there anything on earth so glorious as that smell on a Paris morning? It was Friday and the perfectly round fruit-topped tarts were glistening with sugar… Continue reading
There are worse things than having been racist
The contractor was measuring the ceiling in my lady’s house when he noticed he’d tracked dog poo all over the kitchen floor. It was awkward, but he helped clean it up, cleaned his… Continue reading
Dear fellow Oakland protesters, and others
Dear fellow protesters in Oakland, thank you for coming. I know you’re angry, so to not waste your time I’ll get to it: What is the point? Your point. Your purpose. Your goal.… Continue reading
Protest in Oakland, Night 2; I wasn’t expecting that.
Helicopter buzzards hung above Oakland tonight, again. I barely slept last night, was dead on my feet at 5:00 this afternoon, was freezing, and still kind of hungry after finishing my leftovers. I… Continue reading
Trick or treat? Or not.
Granted, I have no children. This places me solidly in the spectator box when it comes to child-rearing, but I noticed a pattern when asking friends if they would be giving out candy… Continue reading
