MLK Day, Then and Now
Why isn’t he bothering any of the male volunteers?
Read MoreFake Tanning and the Orbs of Distraction
With shaking hands, I unwrapped a cheerful turquoise suit made of a modest swim skirt and a triangle top. It was cut so low I hoped to achieve “orbs of distraction,” that would deter attention from the less desirable parts of my body.
Read MoreCycling While Female
“On your left!”
I startle at the aggressive shout. Spandex cyborgs whiz past me on gleaming carbon bicycles, their draft almost knocking me over.
Read MorePanic at the Zoo
These days I walk with a bit of a limp. This is due to an unfortunate incident I had with a mechanical bull in Mexico. It wasn’t the bull’s fault actually. I rode him like a champ: waving my imaginary cowboy hat above my head and slapping its backside. When I got thrown off, I landed with relative grace. But then I got cocky. I wanted a second turn. When I ran up to the bull once more, another guy got in my way. I jumped to the side to avoid him and POP, I tore the ACL and meniscus in my knee. It hurt. A lot.
Read MoreTokyo Body Shame
Snip! My head suddenly felt a lot lighter. I cringed. How much hair was just taken off the back? I nervously glanced around at the classy Japanese ladies chatting with their stylists. Hopefully, if I just became partially bald someone would have reacted a bit. Geez, what was I doing here anyway? I should have learned by now to avoid language barrier haircuts! But the salon was an air-conditioned refuge from the sticky streets of Tokyo.
Read MoreThank you, Kip Thorne!
Job interviews and in-laws really stress me out. Unfortunately, I have this problem where the more nervous I am about something, the more I procrastinate. Last year, this got me into trouble. I was engaged to a Russian man, which was wonderful, but then he wanted me to meet his family in Moscow, which was scary. I was so nervous they would take one look at me and say “nyet,” so of course I put off applying for the visa. The day I finally made it to the consulate was the last possible day I could apply to get the visa in time for the flight my fiance had already bought.
Read MoreAirport Phobia
"Do you want me to call security?”
Read MoreAn Evangelical Marathon
I run a lot because I eat a lot. I won’t pretend that this is healthy, especially when I do both at the same time.
Read MoreGroped atop the Second Pitch
Fear froze me into full-blown rigormortis. I was so shocked and scared I couldn’t do anything.
Read MoreHow not to go rock climbing in Spain
“Necesito equpio para escalar. Es possible rentarlo? I need climbing equipment, is it possible to rent?” My high school Spanish was rusty.
The well-dressed saleslady (I’d never seen staff in heels at a sporting goods store before) wrinkled her nose at my unwashed clothes that still stank from my bus/train/ferry travel from Morocco.
Read MoreHow to Fight Loneliness: Ramadan in Morroco Part III
I was alone. And hungry.
Read MoreI was Morocco’s Cheapest Mountain Guide: Ramadan in Morocco Part II
You get what you paid for.
Read MoreRamadan in Morocco: Part I
Is this the end?
Read MoreBoston: Three Reasons to Leave
I’m originally from the East coast. Before I get judged as another annoying transplant, let me explain why I moved: heartbreak, failure, and murder.
Read MoreMy Worst Fear
From behind me I heard the lock clang against the chain. I’m locked in.
Read MoreFinding My Inner Child on Kilimanjaro... What a Brat!
I was in one of the poorest countries on earth, and I felt sorry for myself.
Read MoreThe Monkey Poop Chase: Boabeng-Fiema, Ghana
My neck ached from looking up, and sweat ran down from my hands grasping binoculars to my oversaturated armpits. The jungle shimmered through through waves of humidity, accentuated by pulsations of the chorus of a million insects.
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Eat Pray Love Nearly Killed Me
“Yahweh will provide.”
Read MoreThe Clueless Teacher
I was an idealistic college grad in 2007, and I wanted to help people. I also wanted to be as bad ass as Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Minds. I decided that the best way to do so would be to teach at a high school in the South Bronx. I joined NYC Teaching Fellows, an accelerated teachers prep program that would allow me to move into my own classroom in September, only three months after leaving the womb of undergrad.
I wasn’t ready.
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