Staring at the Sun: Meeting God on an Istanbul Rooftop
Four years away from the city of my dreams, and I find myself once again in the heart of Istanbul. My companions are a group of...
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- Apr 29, 2018
Sleepy Lizards and Happy Children: a Quick Escape to Flores
My most recent trip took me hundreds of miles from my current home in Java to the eastern isles of Flores, Komodo, and Padar, in a...
- Jan 4, 2018
Photo Essay: Sweet, Sweet Sri Lanka
We recently had the chance to spend two weeks in Sri Lanka. Known long ago as Serendib, more recently as Ceylon, and colloquially as the pea
- Dec 5, 2017
A Whirlwind Tour of Javanese History and Religion through the Eyes of a Young Man
YOGYAKARTA - I first meet Heru with a six-foot snake wrapped around his neck. “You get used to it,” he assures me. “I was scared at first to
- Nov 27, 2017
You Must Eat Rice, and Other Lessons Learned
This week marks the beginning of my fifth month in Indonesia, right at the halfway mark of my time in the Archipelago. It’s been an incredib
- Oct 20, 2017
Travels with Kapuscinski
One of life’s great pleasures is to encounter yourself in the pages of a book written years ago. How satisfying it is to see the thoughts yo
- Sep 4, 2017
You Look So Fat
That’s exactly how my colleague says it, too: “You look so fat,” as she laughs, pointing to her belly area.
No kidding, I look fat. People
- Aug 28, 2017
A Herculean Sunrise
It’s three in the morning and the jeep is kicking up dust from the desert behind us. As the driver nimbly navigates the twists and turns up
- Aug 9, 2017
On Embracing Change
Several months ago I found out that I was accepted in a program to teach English for ten months in Indonesia. A colleague of mine had spent
- Jul 19, 2017
Stoned Skeletons and Ancient Pyramids: Tales from the Yucatan Peninsula
On the far reaches of the Yucatan peninsula, I struggled to take the last step to reach the apex of a mighty pyramid in the jungle, high abo
- May 27, 2017
Memories of Istanbul, part II
After only a few months of living in the city, I had quickly become invested in the well being and integrity of the Istanbullus. I think of
- May 25, 2017
Memories of Istanbul, 2013
It’s a cool summer Istanbul night and I find myself with the sudden urge to express all of the thoughts coalescing in my head. Nearing the e
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