The orientation meeting went extremely well, dinner was positively delicious, and my introductory walk around Bucharest was going splendidly. The after-heat evening air was hot with both the indolence of summer and the… Continue reading
The first time I came to Stockholm, things weren’t going well. Back home I’d been following all the rules, but the expression “my life is passing me by” was talking about me. Pushed… Continue reading
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
The healing water has been famous for 1400 years and the buildings are relics of the 20th century’s greatest geopolitical tension, but the history I felt most keenly in Tskaltubo happened in 1993.… Continue reading
After weeks in Vietnam, talking too much with other tourists, I jumped at the invitation to join a local for dinner. I was the only identifiably foreign face in the crowd gathered around… Continue reading
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
My friend in Kiev sounds exhausted. Her family lost everything when Russia invaded the Donbas, and she was just getting back on her feet when this current round of menace began. “Just a… Continue reading
A former tour member and friend (the latter invariably follows from the former) just asked me how difficult my Romania tour will be. I started my reply with the medieval cobblestone streets, gentle… Continue reading
It’s been true for a year and a half now, but I had never felt it as acutely as I did on the flight from Amsterdam to Bucharest: this is a very awkward… Continue reading
The restaurant seemed to be staffed entirely with 18 year olds, but how often do you get to eat at “Let Your Mouth Dance”? We went in. The impressively earnest hostess showed us… Continue reading
