We Came Home

To be honest, finding the motivation to write in self-quarantine has been a struggle—ironic, considering all the free time it creates. But, alas, after fielding messages from concerned friends and family, I finally sat down to put an update in writing. So here we go. To those who did not yet know: surprise! Joey and …

Single-Use Plastics

When I lived in Thailand, everything came in a plastic bag. Iced coffees in takeaway cups: bagged; fresh fruit from the market: double bagged. The one that always killed me was when I would stop into a 7-Eleven post-run on a humid evening, red faced and dripping with sweat. I would grab a plastic water …

Snow Day

I woke up Sunday morning and I really did not want to go to the gym. I was still sore from climbing earlier in the week, and "going to the gym" is not as simple here as it is at home. To go to the gym is a commitment: a 15-minute walk to the bus …

I Read 100 Books in a Year

If you’ve spent much time with me this year, you know I have been working on a pretty intense personal challenge. This week, I reached my goal: I read 100 books in a year. Last September, my friend Tabatha texted me. She had seen a blog post from a mutual acquaintance who had just finished …

Week 10: A Win

Finally—finally!—after over 2 months of teaching in Korea, I had a week that felt like a win. Did I mention: finally?! Let me get one thing out of the way: the whole teaching thing? I don't love it. Quite honestly, it is frustrating and stressful and I want to like it more than I do. …

The Last One (For Now)

In my first blog post 7 months ago, before setting out on my Thailand adventure, I quoted Thomas Edison: “If we did all things we were capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.” Sitting in the Shanghai Airport, waiting for the flight that will take me back to America, I’m looking back at the ups …

Street Dogs & Village Children

I went to a village this weekend. Brendon, one of the boys in the group I have done some of my Thailand travels with, extended an invitation to join him in visiting an isolated village near the Myanmar border. His words: “like National Geographic-type villages where people live in raised bamboo huts with no running …

A Lot of Lotuses

This weekend I checked an item off my bucket list. Just in time for Valentine’s day, I made a getaway to a romantic spot up in Northern Thailand: The Red Lotus Sea. Online reviews rave about the endless sea of pink casting the perfect backdrop for a marriage proposal. So naturally, me and some gals …