Question, ideas, evaluations, and opinions.
A little over a year ago I was in a bar celebrating the French Rugby team’s qualification for the 2016 Summer Olympics. It was monumental. Rugby 7s had never before been an olympic sport, and the French team had never set foot in an olympic arena. On the evening that I celebrated France’s qualification for the games, I celebrated … More The Olympian from Afar
I celebrated the Fourth of July in France. An American friend and I wanted to have a barbecue to celebrate, but since we both live in apartments where barbecues aren’t allowed, we decided to go for the next best thing and head to a park in Paris. We threw a picnic. I only have a … More Why I Am Happy to Celebrate America in France
I walked in and immediately dropped my stuff by the nearest table, relieved to finally be able to be in my little safe haven, tucked away from the fickle Paris weather. “Tu vas bien ?” A familiar face asked. “Ouf, oui, mais j’ai trop faim,” I replied as I plopped myself down in a chair. … More How It Feels to Be at Home
I pass them every single day. I recognize them. The man in the metro who walks around with a small, dirty espresso cup after he plays the same, disjointed melody that might be Frank Sinatra, might be his own composition, on his clarinet. The heavy set woman with her hair covered who sits on a little … More The War on Pain
I can’t stop smiling. It’s past 8pm and the sun still hasn’t set, the birds are still out chirping, and all I see out the window of my little apartment is green. Green on the trees, green spattering the ground, even a little green growing on the buildings. My suitcase stares at me ominously from the … More Sprung
I ate my salad standing up, as I watched my steak gristle in the pan with the butter, onions, and mushrooms that I had tossed in. A TEDxtalk played on my phone next to me as I watched my sizzling meat, glancing over every now and then to see the charts that the speaker was … More Living in the Belly of the City of Lights
Over the course of the past three and a half years, I spent roughly 8,000 minutes in a classroom. I listened to lectures, took notes, wrote papers, crammed for tests, over-flooded my already busy schedule with internships and part-time jobs, and checked all the boxes that would land me a degree. Then, in about five minutes, … More Becoming Adult: More Transitions and Growing Pains
Someone knocked on the door. “Uh, Linet, someone’s at the door!” I called out, unsure if I should answer it. A face popped into view through the window next to the metal door, and Dorcas’ eyes peered in. Her short hair, cropped close to her head, bobbed as she nodded in greeting. Though I had only seen … More How Making Friends and Understanding Culture Are Directly Tied
Right now, I feel more myself than I have in a long time. Over the course of the past year, I have often found myself struggling with a sense of who I am in the context of different environments. I’ve been somewhat identified by my “background.” I’m Kate from Houston, Texas; Kate the American; Kate who is half … More A Cross Cultural Identity Crisis
I had forgotten about the fireflies. The tiny little firecrackers that lit up my grandparents’ backyard and once flooded my memories of childhood summers, with their little sacs of glowing goo that sometimes streaked the jar I caught them in to win a slushy from the 7/11 gas station. I forgot that they fly here, too. In fact, … More The Flash of the Firefly
The Transition Artist 