My criminal friends (India)
My laughter started it. Affable vendors on Dharamsala’s winding streets hawk metal trinkets and colorful scarves and (if the press of Indian reality hasn’t driven you out of your mind) it’s a ton… Continue reading
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Yes, Valentine’s Day kinda sucks. But.
Can we all agree: Valentine’s Day sucks? Okay, not completely. Some wonderful love stories will begin or advance today, some wonderful memories celebrated and refreshed. But outside of the outliers, it kinda blows.… Continue reading
Are you a peach or a coconut?
Belgians were a bunch of coconuts. Latin America was one big peach orchard. And I don’t know what the hell I am. The metaphor is new to me, but I heard the idea… Continue reading
The tongue caught me by surprise
The man in the van didn’t seem to like what I was telling him. Then again, I didn’t like having to say it. “Ja, zeker dat ik graag naar de hotel zou gaan,… Continue reading
The undesirability of heroism
Hearing Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) discuss fungal infections, abscess scars, and which diseases merit treatment was a trip in itself. But it took me a day or so to realize these are far… Continue reading
My myriad mosquital maladies
Malaria is easy. Everybody gets malaria. And zika, that’s assumed now too after all the press coverage. Then if you’ve traveled you’ve heard of dengue, and probably chikungunya too, even if you’re not… Continue reading
Moving into 2018
Yesterday, fifth of the thirteen flights I am or was booked on in these couple weeks, had a three year old named Noah across the aisle. He was wearing a pilot’s hat and… Continue reading
Christmas Eve in Vietnam
The food vendors stood out. But they’re a salient part of Vietnamese streets and downtown districts every other day of the year too. The piles of bright strawberries or tart green mangos, heaps… Continue reading
Nachos in Luxembourg
Have you ever eaten nachos in Luxembourg? If not, please don’t. Just trust me on this one. One biggish chip, subdivided into four quadrants, with a threadbare carpet of cheddarlike cheese under the… Continue reading
Working man’s Buddha
The street was the kind of dark you can’t find in America. But this was Ninh Binh, Vietnam, and the only thing to compete with the single tangerine street lamp were the blue… Continue reading
