Observations after two months of travel — My Spanish is far from fluent. That being said, I know just about enough to make myself understood and to get what I need. For example, when I was looking to buy a pair of slippers in Ecuador, and didn’t know the word for slippers, I was able to say…

I tremendously enjoyed my visit to these countries! — Having completed my visit to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, while I recognize that each of these countries has its own culture, language, and traditions, I was able to summarize the visit in these ways, since these countries are frquently linked together and are known by a common name as a…

I’m not so sure. Read this and let me know what you think. — On the surface of this quotation, it looks very pleasant. The author appears to be coming across as open-minded and inclusionary, especially so when we consider that he mentions people of other races, classes, and sexualities. If you treat him well, he’ll treat you well. …

Worldwide, urban environments invigorate me the most — I am a city guy. The closer I am to a city and all that it has to offer, the more content I will be. If there were one word I could use to explain what draws me to cities, it would be creativity. For the millennia that humans have…

It helped me transform frustration to gratitude — I acknowledge that I am dating myself by the very mention of Dear Abby. For those of you who may not understand the reference, Dear Abby (Abigail Van Buren, the pen name of Pauline Phillips) and her twin sister Ann Landers (the pen name of Esther “Eppie” Lederer) were called…

Placid, slow, incomparable, unforgettable! Beginning the felucca journey in Aswan By the time I got to Aswan, I had spent six days in Cairo, followed by an overnight train ride to Aswan. …

A pickpocket stole my wallet, but not my peace of mind, on the Paris Metro. — We know this to be true because we have seen it written on bumper stickers, buttons, T-shirts and memes: Shit happens. We have no control over what happens to us. We do, however, have control over how we react to what happens to us. That is the key: our response…

A metaphor for our relationship: navigating through our differences with mutual respect — Though both my partner and I enjoy the same Bob’s Red Mill Steel Cut Oats for breakfast, we have markedly different preferences for our add-ons. Savory oatmeal is flavored with turmeric, pepper, salt, hot sauce, and nutritional yeast. Sweet oatmeal is flavored with raisins, blueberries, and almond milk. Who likes…

I’ll document everything that happens all day! — Eleven hours on a bus from Antalya to Adana I was up early to get ready to hit the road for the day. Hoping to get a cup of coffee at the breakfast buffet, I went downstairs at 7:40. To my delight, the entire buffet was already set up, which…