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    One Month in Asia in 23 Photos, 2 Gifs, and 1 Video

    May 26, 2020

    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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    Emma 3 Comments

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    Adventures in Public Transit

    June 7, 2012

    This Time Next Week…

    April 24, 2014

    We Went to Kenya! Kenya in Africa!

    February 19, 2019
  • Link Round-Ups

    Linkspiration: April 2020

    May 7, 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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    Emma 3 Comments

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    Weekly Travel Linkspiration: language learning tips, “off the beaten path” travel, and small backpacks

    April 29, 2013

    Travel Linkspiration: January 2014

    February 2, 2014

    Linkspiration: March 2020

    March 31, 2020
  • Berlins and Outs

    Der Spargel in den Zeiten der Corona / Asparagus in the Time of Corona

    April 23, 2020

    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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    Emma 2 Comments

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    “Maybe We’ll Spend Christmas in Berlin”

    January 9, 2019

    To Make “Local” Friends or “Expat” Friends, That is the Question

    November 13, 2018

    4 Ways We’re Learning German

    June 5, 2018
  • Link Round-Ups

    Linkspiration: March 2020

    March 31, 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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    Emma 7 Comments

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    Travel Linkspiration: August 2013

    September 2, 2013

    Travel Linkspiration: September 2013

    September 30, 2013

    Travel Linkspiration: January 2014

    February 2, 2014
  • Berlins and Outs

    Have Fun and Be Safe

    March 20, 2020

    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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    Emma 6 Comments

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    Do other people’s life decisions ever make you question your own?

    November 21, 2019

    Mundane Cultural Differences – Berlin vs. Boston (Part 1)

    July 24, 2018

    Let’s talk about depression and bicycles

    September 1, 2018
  • Berlins and Outs,  Feeeeelings

    Do other people’s life decisions ever make you question your own?

    November 21, 2019

    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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    Emma No Comments

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    Mundane Cultural Differences – Berlin vs. Boston (Part 1)

    July 24, 2018

    100 Days of Learning German!

    July 17, 2018

    “Maybe We’ll Spend Christmas in Berlin”

    January 9, 2019
  • Berlins and Outs,  Feeeeelings

    How to Write a Book and Celebrate Your Accomplishments

    August 6, 2019

    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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    Emma 1 Comment

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    Let’s talk about depression and bicycles

    September 1, 2018

    My Biggest Travel Mistake

    June 26, 2019

    One Year in Berlin

    March 28, 2019
  • Berlins and Outs

    Wrocław, or Emma Tries to Convince You to Visit Poland

    July 2, 2019

    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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    Emma No Comments

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    Thoughts on One Month of Living Abroad

    May 1, 2018

    What makes a new city feel like home?

    August 1, 2018

    Visiting Home in New England and Returning Home to Berlin

    October 23, 2018
  • Berlins and Outs

    My Biggest Travel Mistake

    June 26, 2019

    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…

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    Emma 2 Comments

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    Thoughts on One Month of Living Abroad

    May 1, 2018

    An Ode to Peanut Butter

    December 4, 2018

    To Make “Local” Friends or “Expat” Friends, That is the Question

    November 13, 2018
  • Feeeeelings

    We owe one another our attention

    June 14, 2019

    Today is the eight year anniversary of my dad’s death. I’m happy(?) to report: it doesn’t hurt the way it used to. The last couple years, I’ve been struck less by how much I miss him and more by how much he has missed. I notice big things he missed, like my wedding, and smaller things, like books he would have enjoyed. Since his death, I’ve traveled on five continents, my brother and I both moved abroad (in opposite directions), and my mother retired. I also spent several years in Boston working at the Museum of Science, and my dad would have thought that was the absolute coolest job. I…

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    Emma 2 Comments

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    Literally Escaping Into a Fantasy World

    November 16, 2016

    Let’s talk about my dead dad

    June 13, 2013

    How to Write a Book and Celebrate Your Accomplishments

    August 6, 2019
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