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
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
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
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
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
Sometimes I try to remember what it felt like the first time I made a friend. The furthest back I can remember using the term “best friend” I think was when I told my parents and anybody who asked that a little girl I spent all my time running around and holding hands with in my first pre-school … More Making Friends on the Playground
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 Transition Artist 