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
Big Rose is the affectionate (or, at times, not so affectionate) nickname of the backpack I travel with. She’s a violent/rose shade, hence the nickname, and about two and a half feet tall and one foot wide on a good day. On a bad day, when my pockets are empty but my backpack is full of … More Two Weeks, Two Continents, and a Lesson on Sharing
We flew out of Paris around 9:30pm on that Thursday, and were lucky to be on one of the few flights that wasn’t cancelled in the air traffic controllers’ strike going on in France. We booked an airbnb in Södermalm, a young, hip area of the city, and spent the weekend exploring the surrounding slew … More Written from the Ground: Part Two – Sweden
The past week has provided a whirlwind of activity I never even dreamed was possible until it was happening. I write currently from the seat of a Norweigan Airlines flight (which I highly recommend for both cost and convenience) from Stockholm to Paris, after setting foot in 4 different countries in one week. In all … More Written In the Sky: Part One – Montenegro
A good number of French people have a hard time saying my name. I tell them my name is Kate, and they repeat “Kay-tuh,” almost a two syllable name, which sounds funny in comparison to my singular American syllable. The lady at Starbucks spells it “Kathe.” I say it to strangers as I kiss them on … More I Am a French Child
After having lunch at Diner Bedford, a cozy, American inspired diner in the Marais, I strolled back through the 3rd arrondissement towards the 1st to get to Anticafe, my favorite study spot. As I traversed the streets to make my way towards the Louvre, I passed Centre Pompidou, turned down Rue Rambuteau, and continued on … More Paris as a Living Museum
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 apartment smells like freshly brewed coffee. The smell infiltrates every corner of my new little apartment, seeping out of the French press I left on the counter and the cup that sits next to me on the table. Sunlight is streaming in the window, despite the floaty, thin, white curtains that hang loosely to the … More Falling in Love with Paris All Over Again
12 people died, 11 wounded, 4 seriously injured. “Did you hear about the terrorist attack in France?” “Did you hear about the explosion?” Precise or not, tidbits of information have been flying, and talk of the town is the shooting that happened at Charlie Hebdo in Paris yesterday. Headlines and graphics read “The French September 11” … More Paris: For Whom Do We Grieve?
2014 was, to date, the best year of my entire life. I can’t even begin to count how many times I’ve said that as the end of that year approached and the new year began. This past year I traveled to 8 different countries, countless cities within those countries and my own, and learned more about other cultures … More New Years Resolutions… And Why They’re Not Called Rules
The Transition Artist 