Two weeks ago we were in the United States. It was our first trip home since moving to Berlin 6 months ago. And, surprising no one, I fretted over it quite a bit. My concerns included but were not limited to the following questions: Would it feel weird to be home? Would New England even still feel like home? Would I be sad to come back to Berlin? So as not to bury the lead, the answers to those questions are: A little Yes and no Nah Oh, you’re still reading? I suppose I can go into more detail. JK, you knew I was going to write about my feelings…
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Everything is Different Now
There are no screens in our windows now, so in the mornings we lean out and people watch while we drink our coffee. E imagines what it would be like to be a field mouse living on the supermarket’s green roof – he wants to make a video game about it. I mostly ogle other people’s dogs as they walk down the street. We watch the trains going in and out of Ostkreuz station. And if we look left we can see the TV Tower, but only when we’re leaning out the window. Hi. Hello. Welcome back. Everything is different now. E got a job as an educational video game…
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Wild Raspberry
E and I are at his parents’ house in New Hampshire for Thanksgiving, and while it’s not too cold yet, there are a few inches of snow on the ground already. One of my favorite things to do when we visit E’s family is to wander the garden and interact with the plants whether I’m touching, smelling, tasting, or photographing them. I took this photo of a raspberry bush at their old house (which is about 15 minutes down the road from the new one), and recently made it my computer background. Every time E sees it he comments on how delicious the raspberry looks. The landscape is a little…
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I’m From Boston
I remember the first time someone introduced me as “from Boston.” It was the summer before E and I started our senior year at Tufts. We took a road trip down to Asheville, North Carolina to visit his sister, Far, and while hiking we struck up a conversation with some people on the trail. They asked where we were from and Far ended up answering, “they’re from Boston.” I made a note of it because it was also the first time we were introduced as a unit. I’m from Rhode Island and E is from New Hampshire, but we are from Boston. Our relationship is from Tufts University on the…
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Vacation / All I Ever Wanted
You should probably listen to this song while you read this post. And no, don’t worry, it’s not The Go Go’s. In September, E and I took a vacation to Utah. As it turned out, I hadn’t taken a vacation in a long time, and I really, really needed one. Yes, I’ve traveled a lot, but until recently I hadn’t done the sort of work that necessitates vacationing. I interned and worked part-time positions with clear end-dates. Taking a year-long fellowship felt like a big commitment. In February, I started a new job — full-time, permanent — with more responsibility, challenges, and stress. And then I proceeded to work 9-5,…
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Guest Post: Haleakalā Crater
Emma is still in India, but before she left, she asked her boyfriend if he would write a guest post for her. I said that I’d be happy to. I’ve been holding down the fort while Emma has been gone, getting to spend some quality time with the cat, so I’ve had plenty free time to work on said guest post. You may remember my last contribution to An Opportune Moment, where I shared my experiences flying for the first time. This time, I’m covering another aspect of Emma and my time on Maui – Haleakalā Crater. And because I had my camera out the whole time we were there,…
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Yankee Elitism and Southern Hospitality
I’ve been writing a lot lately about stereotypes, misconceptions, and open-minded travel (see: Understanding Istanbul and An Opportune Moment is Going to India). Learning from travel rather than confirming our own previously held beliefs is important to me, and it’s a topic that will continue to appear regularly on this blog. A few weeks ago I wrote about Charleston Tea Plantation and my first visit to South Carolina. This week, I’m writing about the other new-to-me state I saw on that road trip: Georgia. But first, some context: I was born and raised in New England and I’ve spent almost my entire life here. I’m incredibly liberal (I’m actually from…
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Travel Linkspiration: August 2013
This has not been a traveling summer. Other than quick visits to my mom’s house in Rhode Island, and E’s folks’ house in New Hampshire, I’ve just been at home in Revere. It looks like September is going to be more of the same, but, October? Oh man, is October going to be different! I’ll be visiting a new-to-me continent (number 5), and a country I’ve been hoping to visit ever since I represented it at my high school’s Model UN. I’m currently making visa preparations and reading about the food and, in particular, the tea! So, stay tuned for that announcement, and, in the meantime, check out what you…
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Iced Tea, Sweet Tea, and That Elusive American Tea Culture
Last Tuesday, I shared a recipe for making chai concentrate, and I was sure to point out that it can be served hot or over ice. I mentioned this because most of my readers are from the United States, where it’s currently summer, and the weather is hot. Although many cultures persist in drinking hot tea year around, in July and August, Americans typically like their beverages cold. While iced tea is not unique to the United States, it is more popular here than in many other countries. Maybe it’s because iced tea was supposedly invented in the US at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. According to the…
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Welcome to The Beach House
Blogposts have been sporadic for the last few weeks because I’ve been moving. After a year of traveling – 3 months in Washington, DC for an internship, 3 and a half months backpacking Europe, 2 months working on an organic farm in Hawai’i – interspersed with living at my mother’s house in Rhode Island, and overstaying my welcome at my boyfriend’s parents house in New Hampshire, I’m settled. Well, as settled as a travel blogger ever is. I have a home base now. I’m writing this post from my 4th floor apartment in Revere, MA – just a quick T-ride away from downtown Boston (the T is Boston’s subway system).…
