Two Degrees of Separation & the Needle in a Haystack Effect

"Tell everyone what you're doing and who you're looking for," a Finnish student in England told me. "Because if they can't help you, they'll know someone who can. Her words proved to be 100% accurate. I was working on a project at the time, and several people told me who to contact. A few even…

The Memories We Share – a Cross Culture Kid dilemma

One of my closest friends knows exactly what it feels like to have lived in and have left the City of Hills City of Dreams recently. We both arrived at the same time, within a month of each other (she in June, myself in July, though I'd already tested the waters somewhat for three weeks…

Why Cross Culture & Third Culture Kids Love (and Crave) Fast Food Chains

While writing a reply on my fellow blogger Dipa's post, I got to thinking. Logic would dictate that we Cross Culture and Third Culture Kids are more open to different foods, and we've most likely tried more than the average person (though with the presently developing food culture that, too, might be debatable). I don't…

City By The Sea

Monk's Cape is how Wikipedia translates it into English, and I think it's one of the most beautiful names I have heard. Monk's Cape ticks all the boxes, except that it's far away from the center, but that too is an asset. Its hideaway quality, perhaps not unlike Malibu in California. Sleepy, yet alive, right…

Thanksgiving Memories

I loved my godfather, with all my heart and soul. One of my favorite Thanksgiving memories is of us celebrating Thanksgiving on the base. The food was great, the tables groaned, we barely made it home. But that wasn't the best Thanksgiving of my life. Neither was the Thanksgiving I spent in Maine, or the…

Thanksgiving Thanks

I give the country my brother calls his own a lot of flack. It's deeply conservative, hypocritical, boys and girls can't be friends, and there's zero empathy. My brother made his life there, and in college I was there with him. It was a good life then, a great life. My brother was well-liked and…

Room I Love(d)

I moved in four days after The Most Important Person In My Life's death, and it became my place to get myself together while I mourn. It was only for a month and five days, but it saved my sanity and my life. The first few nights I just burrowed under the covers and stayed…

Und Tschüss – farewell to a place that is no more

My brother's method of dealing with things was always very pragmatic. "Focus on the issue at hand," he'd tell me, somewhat poetically in that other language we spoke together when we weren't speaking German. My brother was always more connected to Germany than I ever would be, but I never held it against him. It…

Protected: The Most Important Person In My Life

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Back in Business

Saturday afternoon, and I'm sitting in my usual seat at The Usual Place. Saturday afternoon, it has to be said, is more concept than actual time line. But it's not entirely a lie. Too many Saturday afternoons spent in The Usual Place to count, too many other afternoons as well. Along with evenings, nights, and…