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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Echinacea Tea and the Bradford, VT Film Slam
Just a quick update this Tea Tuesday. If you like An Opportune Moment on facebook (see what I did there?) you know that a couple weekends ago I was in Bradford, Vermont for the 4th Annual Cohase 48-Hour Film Slam. It’s one of two Vermont film slams my boyfriend, E, and I (and a group of our wonderful friends) compete in each year. I wrote about the other — The Green Mountain Film Festival’s 48-Hour Film Slam — back in March. In case you’re wondering, a 48-hour film slam is when teams of intrepid filmmakers get together to write, shoot, edit, and screen an original film over the course of…
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How to Travel With Your Friends and Stay Friends
You love hanging out with your best friends. I mean, they’re your best friends for a reason, right? Just because you love someone’s company, though, doesn’t mean you love it all. the. time. That’s why sharing an apartment with a close friend can destroy the relationship. Different problems arise when you live with someone than when you get dinner with them once a week. Similarly, a new set of issues arises when traveling with friends. Just because you and your best friend love each other doesn’t mean you’ll love each other on the road. Recently, I’ve written a few posts about the road trip I took in May with two…
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The Harrowing Ferry Adventure
Katie and I left Athens to take an off-season jaunt to the Greek island of Kea. Our couchsurfing host in Athens helped us choose Kea because it’s a short ferry ride away from the mainland (as opposed to Santorini) and it’s a lesser known but lovely island, which still had ferries going to it regularly. By November, a lot of the smaller islands have limited ferry schedules, with boats departing every other day or once a week. Kea still had two ferries per day (most days) and we were hoping to make the 5:00 pm boat. At least, we were pretty sure it left at 5:00 pm… Even with a…
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Travel Linkspiration: September 2013
I can’t believe September is already over, and I’m leaving for India in less than a week, and when I get back (October 29th) it will basically be November. Everything I’m planning right now is based around November. I’ll pitch that story, write that post, work more hours, etc. in November, which is so weird because November is the start of the holiday season and that’s the end of the year, and I mean, I love that time of year, but wasn’t it just summer, like, yesterday? What? How? Anyway! Enough about time passing at a terrifying rate! Here’s the awesome travel content you may have missed last month: Practical…
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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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Despite What You May Have Heard, Athens is Pretty Nice!
After Istanbul, Katie and I hopped a flight to Athens, Greece. I’ve spoken to a number of travelers who found this city too dangerous, too dirty, and too touristy. I have one friend who, when you ask her about Athens, replies, “well, I stepped off the bus into a drug deal, so, that was my introduction to the city.” While I can’t blame her for fleeing to the Greek Isles after that experience, based on my own time in the city, I think it’s worth spending a few days in Athens. For starters, the city didn’t feel dangerous to me. This may have been because Katie and I were couchsurfing…
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First Flush Tea
This Tea Tuesday, I’m drinking First Flush Tea from Charleston Tea Plantation, and friends, it is everything a cup of black tea should be. What is First Flush tea? The “First Flush” is the first harvest of the year, which occurs in the spring when tea plants experience escalated growth following a winter dormancy. The term “First Flush” is most often used to refer to Darjeeling tea, which is grown in the Darjeeling District of the West Bengal region of India. In Darjeeling, tea is hand-picked four times a year, which results in four distinct flushes: First Flush happens in late April or early May Second Flush lasts from early…
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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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Istanbul: Last Look
On our last night in Istanbul, Katie and I went to Hodjapasha Culture Center to witness the Sema (in English: Sama) Ceremony. This is a dance ceremony performed by the Mevlevi Order of Sufism (a mystical Islamic tradition), but you’ve probably heard them called “whirling dervishes” because of the revolving, rotating, spinning movements that make up the Sema, and bring the worshiping performers closer to God. There is something strange about a bunch of tourists watching a religious ceremony, but tourists are actually part of the reason this tradition has been preserved. In 1925, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, a secular Turkish government came to power and outlawed…
