It’s 5 O’clock Somewhere

Four Seasons- Bali  It starts in Berlin (it’ll end here too.) 5 O’clock is barely end of the business day but my girlfriends and I have been sitting at this café working since 10 and the weißweinschorle started flowing at 4…   Thailand Singha Beer and fruity drinks at a café backed against a temple…

Sunshine, Freedom, and a Little Flower

“Just living is not enough,” said the butterfly, “one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” ― Hans Christian Anderson When I came across this quote, the first thing I pictured was sitting by the canal in Copenhagen, enjoying the warm fall sunshine on my shoulders, eating an amazing smorgasbord of herring, salmon, pickled veggies, and…

The Ending and a Beginning

It seems like life is always about ending and beginning again. A few weeks ago on social media, there was a wave of posts asking “What have you  accomplished or how have you changed over the past decade?” There is no way I could talk about the ways my life has changed in the past…

Happily Mental

I am sitting in a lovely Italian bistro- a glass of Argentinian Malbec at hand (hey I am in South America- of course, the wine is South American even if the food is Italian!) with my laptop open, writing. This alone feels like a miracle.  I haven’t written anything outside of work stuff (and even…

Back Again, in Medellin

Flying the short distance from Bogota to Medellin, I am reminded once again how incredibly mountainous and empty this country is. The rugged landscape spreads below me partly under the clouds, partly peeking out through them. I have been thinking about the city, the small tienditas, the panaderias, the people sitting outside the drinks shop…

Exploring Spitkoppe

They let it slip into the conversation this afternoon that our campground tonight doesn’t have toilets. I am kind of freaking out. I mean, I knew this was a month-long camping trip, but I thought we were staying in campgrounds with showers and toilets! You know, basic human needs! It was already a huge stretch…