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
We decided to have dinner in the park. We like to save money and eat well when we travel, so we rode our bikes over to the Hakaniemi Market Hall and decided to take our food to go so we could picnic at Kaisaniemi park, right in the heart of the city. We had only been in Helsinki for … More Talking to Strangers
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
12 months, 2 weeks, and 1 day ago, I moved to Paris. 2 weeks and 1 day ago, I moved back. Since arriving back in the United States and moving back to Nashville, there are a lot of things that have felt very different in ways that I sometimes find hard to articulate. Behind me, … More How “The Transition” Is Going
A candle flickers on the table before me, and I leisurely take another sip of my wine. I’ve been sitting in my apartment, freshly cleaned as of this morning, for a few hours now, as I think over the events of the weekend and flip through my new e.e. cummings book. I love Sundays. I always … More Being Relational in Different Cultural Contexts
The Transition Artist 