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The Far Side of the World
I knew I would collect some exciting writing fodder on my far-off trip to South Africa (yes! That’s where I went!), and I did! Not only did I get a taste of a different country and different culture, but I had a surfing lesson, did other daring things like jump 14 feet into a pool below, ride in the open back of a pickup truck, and went on a safari drive where I saw many animals I had only seen in zoos, like giraffes and tigers, as well as a gentle, kingly white lion (we dubbed “Aslan”) and four 22-day-old lion cubs! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it…
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The Bird and the Baby: A Recollection
Once upon a time in the summer of 2006…We were given a weekend off from our month-long program in London, so our house of American university students scattered to different corners of Europe. Most went in groups to other countries, but I stayed in Mother England with my feet firmly planted. In the early afternoon, after mostly everyone had departed, with a messenger bag packed for a day trip, I set off alone. I rode the tube to Paddington Station, ate some Yo Sushi, and boarded a train bound for Oxford. The Eagle and Child Pub has been a thing of myth for me ever since middle school, when one…
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Traveling is an education
I get ideas from all sorts of unexpected places, especially since I work with people from so many different backgrounds with varied histories and experiences, including many who were born in other parts of the world. I found myself in the middle of a wonderful conversation yesterday, listening to two foreign-born coworkers talking about the fun, creative things they would think up to entertain themselves as kids, all involving some sort of mischief and lots of wonderful local color. My inner anthropologist was absolutely delighted, and my inner author was equally pleased with the influx of new mind-expanding ideas. And this was not the first conversation I’ve had/heard like this.…
Artist, Author, Geek
