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
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
After 8 fairly sleepless hours on the plane, the cabin lights clicked on and I realized they were serving breakfast. It felt like I had barely blinked since the weird chicken in some sort of creamy sauce had been served, and suddenly an unidentifiable pastry was being placed before me. I checked the time on … More How to Live in Two Time Zones
As we smiled at each other, I realized that we are really quite similar, you and I. Each for our own reasons, we have chosen to come to Paris and make a home, and suddenly there we were, in the same place, at the same time, making the most of it. … More A Letter to The Stranger in the Tent City
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
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
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
The Transition Artist 