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
Walking those last hours of descent back to pavement and electrical outlets was a time of comfortable contradictions. Steps tentative with battered ligaments, but perhaps a tiny bit of swagger after traversing the… Continue reading
Never judge a city by its train station neighborhood. They tend to be grimy, cracked, and carry a certain energy that makes you want to put your hand on your wallet and leave… Continue reading
You might think you packed light until you’re in the back seat of a van, the kind that coaches used to take seven high schoolers to track meets in the 80’s but now… Continue reading
Standing in front of Notre Dame Cathedral I had a lot of answers. 12-14th century, Judean Kings, and here are 10 things you can do tonight. Another 21-day tour almost finished, I was… Continue reading
When a Buddhist monk in Myanmar sprawled out over several seats in the train, or one on the bus in Malaysia blasted a radio no one else wanted to hear, or a third… Continue reading
The walls were solid and strong, despite the detritus of old neglect in the corners, the spray painted confusion, and the sense of old cigarettes. And everywhere, the kind of shadows you’re supposed… Continue reading
The tyrannical obstinacy of Time drives me crazy. The way it refuses to heed the beseeching of the heart or the epiphanies of the mind, only drums forward with the dictatorial egotism of… Continue reading
You know you’ve said it too. “Nah, I don’t need to bring a camera.” And shortly after, the inevitable sequel: “I should have brought my camera.” The first night of our California… Continue reading
The Camino de Santiago, now that was a trip! Through Spain’s incredible landscapes, seasonal snow in the Pyrenees, across the sensual green hills of La Rioja, through the sere desert beauty of the… Continue reading
