TobyInhale. Exhale. Fifty bodies lift and settle in unison. The light changes from day to dusk. I look around the circle at faces from here […]
Tag: being foreign
Struggle: A Travel Manifesto
If you travel (or live), where the mother tongue is not your mother tongue, you will struggle. The mundane will become complex and challenging, and […]
Some Things I Like (About Travel)
Lisbon, Portugal. Saturday afternoon, somewhere far from the city center. I like this cafe, edged in fading sunlight, that flanks a nondescript park. I […]
The Strangeness
“There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” — Robert Louis Stevenson Sorry, Robert Stevenson, on two counts. First, […]
It’s. A. Trap! (Fair Doesn’t Always Mean Equal)
Ourika Valley, near Marrakech, Morocco “Very good price. Very low. Better than free.” We’re standing outside the van on the road to Ourika Valley, a […]
“Don’t go to Morocco Alone.” And other Fear-mongering you should Ignore.
A rooftop terrace in Taghazout, Morocco. Me: “I’m thinking of going to Morocco.” Everyone: “Awesome! Just don’t go alone.” As you may have guessed, I […]
The Invisibility Wish
Living here, I find I cycle between feeling very comfortable and, dare I say it, assimilated (as much as such a thing is possible), and […]
The Difference A Word Makes
[Greetings from Nungwi, Zanzibar, my new home-for-the-moment! It was a tough choice, but I decided to switch tracks and will now be living here and […]
The Tropical Beach Paradox
Walk along Miami Beach in a string bikini, and you’ll fit right in. Opt for boy shorts, and you’ll probably feel overdressed. Now, do the […]
Rusinga Island, Lake Victoria, Kenya
Here, I am Muzungu: foreign, white, outsider. Kids yell after us as we pass on foot (or, after realizing the walk from Mbita is at […]