To highlight the life and energy of Puglia, Italy amid current environmental devastation, I will be posting photo-essays about southern Italian cities I had the chance to visit in 2015. On-going protests wouldn't stop me from visiting the region again, but to each his own. Travel consciously. Ostuni — a small town near Bari known … Continue reading Rainy Days in Ostuni, Italy
Last fall I wrote a few posts about Melendugno, a rural town outside of Lecce, Italy. Read this to learn what you can do in the fight between citizens protecting their beautiful seaside town and those profiting by building a natural gas pipeline. Or this, about my experience farming three years ago in this land of … Continue reading Salento’s Changing Landscape: Learn More About #noTAP
I wish the title of this blog post could end with "from Mindy Kaling" period, as in I actually met her and didn't just read her second book "Why Not Me?" But sadly that dream is not crossed off my bucket list yet. I devoured her book in two days when I desperately needed a … Continue reading 4 Lessons from Mindy Kaling’s Memoir
While in Melendungo, Italy I watched parts of Nausicaä, an animated Miyazaki movie, with the girls of the Danish-Italian family I lived with. For a long time I thought Nausicaä was a really hip Danish film, made worse by the fact that I kept coming into the room when it was half way over. (It’s … Continue reading Pave Paradise — Melendugno’s Past and Present
I watched Paper Towns, an American film adapted from a book. I've overheard arguments about this book among my friends years ago. Is it worth reading? Are the characters developed? Is it like all other John Greene books? This post is not any of those questions. This is an existential look at tourism and experience. … Continue reading Paper Towns and The Edge of Experience
Matera held the absolute best and absolute worst experiences for me. I'm writing this now in response to Nik's post highlighting her favorite craftsman in Florence and the recent discussion of sexual assault and harassment in the news and on social media — two unrelated topics in Nik's case, but not in mine. I decided … Continue reading Talking to Strangers in Matera, Italy
It's almost Thanksgiving. My Trader Joe's Vanilla Pumpkin candle is burning as I write. Among all the light, love, acts of kindness, and pumpkin of this season my heart breaks in the final days of the farmer's market. But this year my heart hurts just a little more. I've been teaching gardening and nutrition to … Continue reading Giving Thanks for Gardening
Every fellow WWOOFer I've met has crazy stories to tell. About a year ago a college professor of mine invited his five advisees to family dinner. It turned out three of us sitting on the same side of the table had all WWOOFed within the past few years. One woman volunteered in North Carolina for … Continue reading WWOOFing Diaries: The Kitchen Garden
This article was going to be about culture shock, or reverse culture shock. Trying to adjust to a dramatic change in lifestyle. Warning, after WWOOFing that can and will happen. But it happened to me WHILE I was still abroad in 2015. Transitioning from a rural, multi-cultural (Italian/Austrian/Belgian/German/Spanish/French), close-knit family farm in the south of … Continue reading Know Couchsurfing? Meet “Friendsurfing”
When I’m restless and looking for some positivity in my life to get that dopamine flowing I turn to hobbies. Now wait isn’t this a travel blog? Why yes, my friend but sometimes we need a local substitute for the thrills and joys of plane-hopping and stepping out of our comfort zones. Running is a … Continue reading Rock-Climbing and Soul Searching
