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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I’m So Glad 2014 is Over
Hello friends, It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything on the ‘ole blog in part because 2014 was kind of terrible. At the very least, there was a lot of upheaval in my life last year. Anyway, I got an email from wordpress a week ago inviting me to look back on my year in blogging, and it was pretty pathetic — I posted seven times in 2014. Seven. I’m hopeful An Opportune Moment will rise from the ashes of 2014 (see what I did there? You know, because my apartment burned down… was that joke too dark?) and become a fun outlet for my writing again. To help…
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This Time Next Week…
I’ll be in Senegal! I’m spending three weeks traveling around this West African country and visiting my friend, Kristen, who is volunteering with the Peace Corps there. Kristen and I have been friends since high school, and I’m excited to have her show me around the country she’s called home for the last year and a half. Neither of us speak Senegal’s official language (French), but she’s fluent in Wolof (the language of Senegal’s largest ethnic group) so I’m going to be relying on her quite a bit during this trip. We’re planning to spend some time in the village where she lives and works — I’ll get to meet…
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A Year of Self-Actualization
2013 didn’t suck. I mean, for God’s sake, I started the year by living in Hawai’i for two months (and it cost less than $1500 — yeah, read that post if you haven’t already) — obviously, 2013 didn’t suck. I’m writing this post from my apartment outside Boston where I live with a wonderful man who loves me and a grumpy cat who also loves me. We sent out Christmas cards that featured this photo: 2013 was not perfect. There were months when I felt unsure of myself and unhappy with myself, and I spent an inordinate amount of time in my pajamas watching tv online and avoiding people. I…
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Home From India
3 weeks, 25 cups of chai, and nearly 2,000 photo later, I’m home from India. I stepped off the plane a couple of hours ago, said “hello” to E and the cat, and turned on my laptop to write this post. I spent about 20 hours traveling today, so I hope you don’t mind my keeping it brief. You’re probably wondering how my trip was, but, unsurprisingly, I’m still processing the experience. For now, I’ll tell you what I plan to tell friends and family when they ask, “how was India?” It’s hard to sum up any trip in a few clever sentences or one wild anecdote, but that tends…
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An Opportune Moment is Going to India!
Many of you who know me in real life have already heard about this trip because I’ve been planning it since I was still in Hawai’i. After a few months at home, I’m definitely feeling ready to embark on another international trip. Seriously, though, when I scroll through tumblr and see an inspiring travel photo, lately I’ve been having a physical reaction — my chest tightens, my expression unintentionally turns wistful, my gut says, “get thee to an airport!” It’s like the early stages of falling in love when you can’t stop thinking about them and you hope you’re on their mind too, and it’s blissful and distracting and a…
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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).…
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Quality Content, Dream Jobs, and the BlogHouse
Lately, I’ve been thinking about content creation, content creators, and what I want to do with my life. I started thinking seriously about these topics earlier this month at TBEX, and, more importantly, at the BlogHouse. You probably remember me talking about TBEX — the largest travel blogging conference in the world, which bills itself as “the future of new media” — and Navigate Media Group‘s BlogHouse — an opportunity for up-and-coming junior bloggers (like me!) to live with established senior bloggers for three days of intensive group workshops and one-on-one mentoring. If you don’t remember me talking about TBEX and the BlogHouse, you clearly don’t follow me on twitter,…
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Let’s talk about my dead dad
(Note: As the title would suggest, this post is not about travel, nor tea, but rather, my dead dad. If you’re interested, read on, but if you were looking for travel or tea, come back next week.) Tomorrow is Friday, June 14th. The two-year anniversary of my dad’s death. And this Sunday is father’s day, which is not a large, in-your-face holiday, but its closeness to my dad’s death feels a bit liked being kicked when I’m already down. It’s been a rough week. Every task has seemed wildly difficult, and I’ve been on edge. My mother and E have been patient while I’ve stormed around the house on the…
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It’s My One-Year Blogiversary!
One year ago today, I published my first post on An Opportune Moment. Over the course of this last year, I’ve interned in Washington, DC, backpacked Europe for 3 and a half months, WWOOFed in Hawai’i, and roadtripped down the East Coast of the United States. I’ve crisscrossed New England, enjoyed countless cups of tea, competed in a film slam, and made a list of 25 things to do before I turn 25. I’ve hitchhiked, couchsurfed, felt lonely in foreign countries, and found out that I’m an optimist. I’ve traveled solo, with friends, with family, and I was even there when my boyfriend, E, flew on a plane for the…
