Every day it seems the world spins a little bit faster. Each month, each year, it seems to pick up the pace, running at a speed that the best training plan couldn’t prepare you for. Each moment feels like a grain of sand I’m planning to pick up and watching slip through my fingers at once. … More Finding Pause
I live in a world where it is normal to breathe in all the people who happen to be headed the same direction as I am on my way to work. For an hour, I am pressed against strangers. Arms I don’t know rest on my head to hang on to the pole that steadies … More Fighting for Space in the City: The Commuter’s Pains and Little Glories
For Americans who just heard about the election oh, this week, or are a little confused on socialism, 11 candidates in the first round of elections, and what “FN” or “centrist” means in a French context: I’m here to share my experience. (Note: this is a superficial overview and based on my own understanding; I invite you to learn more on your own from more reputable sources.) … More An American Rundown on the French Election
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 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
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
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
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
The Transition Artist 