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…
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Travel is a bit like acting
Throughout high school and college, I did theater. I loved being on stage with an audience watching, but unlike many of my friends, I didn’t want to pursue acting as a career. For me, acting has always been a fun hobby. I think one reason I like traveling is because it’s a little bit like acting. When I travel, I assume a travel persona, and this persona is different depending on where I am and how I’m traveling. I noticed this most obviously while living in Hana, Hawai’i for the last two months. Hana is located on the Eastern end of Maui, and is only accessible by plane or driving…
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Apparently, I’m an optimist
I think it’s time for a little meta-blogging. By which I mean, this post is about blogging and also my feelings, but don’t let that scare you away because it also includes funny anecdotes! While this is a travel blog, not a personal blog, I can write about no one’s experiences but my own, and I hope you find the narrative of my life mildly interesting. Two weeks ago, a friend commented on my post about how Krakow was a turning point when I was backpacking Europe. She said: “Nice to hear about the real feelings… you are usually so upbeat that the tough times make you seem more approachable.…
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Blog Updates for 2013 and Where I’m Going Next
I made a few changes to the blog today. The most important is that I decided to buy my URL so, for the rest of the year, I am the proud owner of “anopportunemoment.com.” I also came up with a concrete update schedule. For now, I’m updating four times a week. On Sundays and Thursdays, I’ll be blogging about places I’ve been while on Tuesday and Friday I’ll be continuing my weekly features (Tea Tuesday and Weekly Travel Inspiration). Although I got home from Europe a month ago, I still need to write about the majority of The Great European Adventure. For that reason, my Sunday blog posts will continue…
