For just a minute, that small metro car was no longer just a packed car of irritating – and irritated – strangers, but a train full of people. For just a second, we forgot to hide – our faces, our eyes, our curiosity and empathy. For just a moment, we were human. … More Two panhandlers step into a train car…
I’m creeping up on the 6-month mark of my move to London. As I write this, I’m sitting on the Eurostar, watching the French countryside roll by as the sun sets over little towns and farmland and the gut twisting knot of tristesse and nostalgia slowly loosens its grip on my stomach. … More Living Between Two Countries: a heart in Paris, a home in London
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
It’s raining again. The weather has become a popular topic of conversation these days. When I pass the cleaning man in my apartment building as I head out for a run, and he asks how I’m doing, I smile and tell him that I’m doing well, and himself? And he tells me he’s well too, happy … More A Sunless Summer in Paris
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
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
Over the weekend my roommate was out of town, and for the first time since I’ve lived in this apartment, I was left home alone. When she reminded me last Thursday before she left that she wouldn’t be home until Tuesday, I felt that tiny, horrible bubble that rises in my stomach to signal the … More I’m a Close Friend of Mine
The Transition Artist 