As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect. –The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka The trip having been so long and having seen so many wonderful things, I had completely forgotten Franz Kafka grew up in Prague. He was not even on my radar, to…
Reason 604 Why I Love Morocco: A man can look definitively masculine despite wearing what the West might see as a dress.
Am I a tourist? What makes a tourist a tourist? How long must one live in a place to not be a tourist? Is it merely a state of mind, or something more substantial? If I wasn’t born in a particular place, will I forever be a tourist there? I have done my fair share of…
There are several sites around Istanbul that serve as memorial sites for religious leaders. Some are elaborate familial shrines that entomb several generations. Some are more like simple graveyards. Several of the dates we notices were from long, long ago. As an American, it’s odd to see things dated from 1289. It’s a good reminder…
Athens is angry, it seems. It’s a tempered anger, for the most part, but it is lies always below the surface. One always has the feeling of underlying tension, not with each other, but with people and social systems in power. This is most evident in the ubiquitous graffiti. In Greece, especially in major cities…
Being in a new environment, one that often challenges my previous ways of living and understanding of my life, I was trying to find a way to frame my thinking in an effort to understand where and why I struggle. To that end, I’ve decided to harken back to traditional symbolic systems to see what…
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Admittedly, I knew very little about Gallipoli (Gelibolu in Turkish). The United States played a negligible role in that particular theater during World War I, so our history doesn’t pay it much mind. Most of what I know about its significance comes from the popular Australian ballad, And the band played Waltzing Matilda. The song is…
After nearly three long months, we’re finally through the training process. We’re official Peace Corps volunteers! The swearing in ceremony was lovely. It’s hard to believe I won’t be around these lovely folks again for some time.
