Of those who live in Moldovan villages, nearly every family keeps a garden. It is also true for homeowners in towns and cities. My host mother’s garden goes beyond sustenance, though: it is a place of gathering and quiet thought for those who pass through.
Residents of Comrat, Gagauzia gathered on the evening of March 28 to honor the families who perished last week in Russia’s shopping center fire.
Continue reading “White Balloons: Tragedy in Russia, Solidarity in Comrat, Moldova”
“It’s not flat!” “It’s a lie!” “It is not about ‘geometric’!” “I know how to read the elevation on Google, I know topographical maps!” “There is no other interpretation of flat!!”
Continue reading “Naours, France: Biking and Touring the Underground”
Amiens is friend to no weatherman: her cloud breaks and spots of drizzle make for predictions no more successful than your telephone soothsayer’s.
When visiting Limoges in late February, my friend told me about his mother’s gaffe when she moved there from Amiens. She would go everywhere with an umbrella wedged under her arm. Her first friends in the neighborhood gently teased: why, they asked, would she lug that thing with her on sunny days? It was a holdover habit from her youth, she admitted. One day in Amiens might have announced with a crisp morning sun, transitioned quickly to drizzle, breathed through a streak in the clouds and, finally, simpered into foggy evening.
Continue reading “Ambling in Amiens, The “Venice” of France”
This Thursday, my friend and I discussed the possibility of a life where human beings simply didn’t need to rely on a system of printed paper exchange (or even symbolic digital exchange) to coexist.
Continue reading “Why Street Art in Eastern Europe Makes Me Think We Can Live Without Cash”
For those looking for a break from the burbling streets of Paris or the boggled-eyed sightseers of Barcelona – Minsk is not a tourist city!
Belarus is one of those places that Western countries have reputed to be closed, repressed (the US stamped it an “outpost of tyranny” in 2005), and inaccessible for its travel restrictions.
Continue reading “To Belarus, to Minsk: Diamond City, Cultural Capital”
Sundry Travels 