It was already light out when our alarm went off at 4:43am. Last Sunday, to celebrate the summer solstice and the longest days of the year, E and I decided to get up at sunrise and go for a bike ride. We drank coffee and ate breakfast first – we were in no rush. We just thought it would be novel to be up and out of the house and taking advantage of the absurdly long June days. On our bikes at 6:30am and heading out of the neighborhood, we passed a single cafe that was already open. There were tables set up outside and more than half were filled…
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One Month in Asia in 23 Photos, 2 Gifs, and 1 Video
Last Fall, when travel was still possible and we weren’t in the midst of a global pandemic, E and I flew to China for two weeks. We were visiting our friends, Eben and Laura, who had recently moved to Shenzhen to work at an international school. (Yes, these are the same friends who were displaced by coronavirus and now kinda, sorta live in Berlin for the foreseeable future.) After two weeks in China, E flew back to Berlin to start a new job (which you can read about here) and I flew to Indonesia. I spent a couple days on Bali traveling solo for the first time in years, and…
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Linkspiration: April 2020
According to my camera roll from the month of April, we’re spending this pandemic like so many other people: buying ourselves flowers, cooking elaborate meals, and experiencing strange issues during our videochats. We’re also celebrating birthdays to the best of our abilities. At the start of April, I turned 30, and I actually had less of an existential crisis than I usually do on my birthday. (It’s like when the whole world is in crisis it’s easier to keep your own problems in perspective?) Then two weekends ago, we biked over to our friends’ apartment to wish Eben a happy birthday while standing several feet away from each other and…
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Der Spargel in den Zeiten der Corona / Asparagus in the Time of Corona
Apparently, spring is my favorite season in Berlin. In general, fall is my favorite season, but I was traveling outside of Europe for several weeks in September 2018 and October 2019 so I haven’t spent as much time here during the fall. Conversely, this is my third spring spent entirely in Berlin, and… I’m pretty disappointed to be spending it inside. Obviously, I’m happy to protect myself and others by staying home. On the list of issues caused by this global pandemic, missing spring is a minor inconvenience. But it’s my minor inconvenience, so I decided to acknowledge it with a blog post about something that makes spring in Germany…
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Linkspiration: March 2020
In the last twelve days, I have left my apartment only once but, to be honest, it’s been okay. You’ve probably seen those introvert memes that say things like, “stay home and avoid everyone? I’ve been preparing for this my whole life!” I gotta say though, I feel like moving abroad and trying to be a full-time writer have prepared me well. Before this pandemic, I already worked from home and had to use technology to talk to most of my close friends and family. E and I don’t live paycheck to paycheck, we haven’t lost our jobs, and we don’t have children. We both have health insurance and we’re…
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Have Fun and Be Safe
At the start of this year, E and I were in Vancouver, where my brother and his partner RJ live, celebrating the holidays. RJ is a librarian and at the branch where they work, patrons were invited to share new year’s resolutions on a bulletin board. One of the resolutions, clearly written by a child’s hand, said, “I want to have fun & be safe :)” After RJ shared this wholesome, heartwarming nugget of wisdom with the rest of us, we agreed “have fun and be safe” was the energy we wanted to bring with us into 2020. It’s only mid-March, but I think we can all agree that 2020…
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Do other people’s life decisions ever make you question your own?
A blogger I’ve followed for years (and met once in person) just announced that she and her husband are moving back to the US after two years in Italy. They moved to Europe with their dog and young daughter just six months before E and I moved abroad. When we announced our move on facebook, she commented, “Welcome to the fun side of the pond!” It was just one small comment, but I did feel welcomed — to the Americans abroad club by someone who had gone before me. Earlier this year, a college friend who moved to Berlin a couple months before us left for a job in Toronto.…
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How to Write a Book and Celebrate Your Accomplishments
I recently finished the third draft of my manuscript. (Pro-tip: when you’re writing a book, you’ll feel much fancier if you call it a manuscript.) My manuscript is 87,000 words long and some of those words are even good! Two years ago, after I typed “the end” on my first draft, I stood up from my desk, went into the bedroom, and sobbed. I couldn’t believe I had actually done it and I felt overwhelmed with emotion. I’m a crier (the working title of my book is Crying in Public), so this wasn’t an unusual reaction for me. But it felt like an appropriate way to respond to such a…
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Wrocław, or Emma Tries to Convince You to Visit Poland
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Poland should be on your European itinerary. When I backpacked around Europe six years ago, Krakow was one of my favorite stops. I met awesome people there, learned a lot about the city’s history, and ate so many delicious pierogi. Why Poland? The thing that drew me to Poland in the first place was my mother’s family. If we talk ancestry in terms of percentages, I’m mostly English, but if we talk in terms of cultural heritage, I feel most connected to my Polish roots. I called my maternal grandparents, “bopshe” and “jaju” (Americanizations of the Polish babcia and dziadzio), we…
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My Biggest Travel Mistake
E and I forgot something really important when we went on vacation recently. It was worse than the time I arrived at London Heathrow Airport without a return flight booked. The UK doesn’t like to let people in without knowing when you’re leaving and the only thing that kept me from being detained was white privilege. Our recent mistake was even worse than the time I ate questionable samosas in India and got violently ill on an overnight train. Okay… that one was pretty bad. I should have known better and I suffered the consequences. But the most recent mistake E and I made was practically unforgivable for a couple…
