Today marks my one year abroad. Finally something that has been number one on my bucket list can be checked off. And look at me…still going strong. Would stay abroad if I really wanted to, but to be honest, some time at home will be good for my heart as well. I’m one of those …
*Update: Well I didn’t make the cut…not surprisingly, but nonetheless dissapointing. I did watch most of the lucky 25 videos that did make it, and to be completely honest, they deserve it. Most of the videos are VERY well done, as well as the applicants being quite qualified! One guy was a finalist that Gordan …
For Easter, Giulia and Giacomo made a sign and gave Lisa and I a special present: An olive tree for us to plant at La Distesa! I felt like I would burst into tears from this. It was such a cute gesture! So the next day Valeria, Lisa, and I went out to plant the …
I’ve never really celebrated Easter aside from Easter egg hunting as a kid. My parents are buddhist so it wasn’t really a thing for us. Easter is however a big deal in Italy (big surprise). I wasn’t sure what to expect, other than lots of food (GIovanni tells me it’s the time of year when …
As I’m busy crafting new resumes and cover letters for the inevitable job search, an idea dawned on me. Many of you, my friends, acquaintances, or even strangers have told me in some form or another, “Wow you are so brave to quit your job.” For the sake of keeping a simple conversation flowing, I usually try to …
Right before I embarked on my England/Thailand/India expedition, I was fortunate enough to discover Maiale Volante. One of the things I was looking forward to on my return to Italy was eating here again. Lucky for me, I didn’t even have to think of an occasion for us to go, Corrado was holding a book …
There is no rest for the strong here! Once we completed pruning the vines, we moved straight onto digging up dead vines and planting new ones. Some of the young vines planted last year didn’t quite make it, so we marked them earlier in the fall when they were still green. That way we knew …
This was a special day. Unfortunately, it came to be under some sad circumstances. My dear friend Alicia’s dog Burt, was diagnosed with a fast progressing cancer. He would soon have one of his legs amputated and Alicia realized she didn’t have many photos of Burt running around and being, well, Burt. So we spent …
Brr. It is flat out cold here these days. Ironically enough, it seemed warmer in the Himalayas than it has been here, in Cupramontana. With the steep and rolling hillsides, it’s been interesting to see the diverse climates around the lands. Our work varies depending on the weather, but we’ve mostly been finishing the winter pruning. This …
I have always had a strong sense of community service growing up, and the feeling of wanting to give back to the community grew even larger once I started traveling around Asia. Seeing people live in real poverty stirred something inside of me. As I’ve traveled around I’ve often reflected on what my next step …
It wasn’t a big surprise when I failed to be granted an audience with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Since he didn’t have any public teachings while I was in town, I figured I wouldn’t even see him at all. Turns out the last few days I was in town, he had cancelled some events …
First off – you won’t really learn how to make Tibetan Momos from this blog. This is just about my experience TRYING to learn. With that said, enjoy the story telling, photo story, and yummy looking goodness. As some of you know, I’ve been teaching English with a program called Lha, and one of my …
With all of the craziness I’ve experienced in India…I came to India with one thing in mind: Himalayas. It is true that this time of year I would’ve been better off in Nepal, but at the time I wasn’t confident enough in myself to travel to an even more remote country alone. While my lovely …
One of the highest items on my life list is to see the Himalayas. When I arrived to Dharamsala at 4:30 in the morning, the shaky uncomfortable 10 hour bus ride was quickly forgotten. I crammed into a cab with some new friends (there were 5 of us) and we made our way to McLeod …
Traveling through Asia has made me a little homesick for my mom’s food, and when I saw a small curtained shop that said “Mama’s Kitchen”, I walked right in without any hesitation. It seemed like a small ma and pa type shop, and I couldn’t have been more spot on. After months of eating out, …
Rishikesh is known as the Yoga Capital of the world, as many forms of yoga came from this area. It used to be filled with legitimate ashrams (the ones that don’t ask you to pay hundreds of dollars to get your om on) but these days, it’s heavily catered to the western yoga enthusiasts (and therefore use …
The first time I could smell, feel, and even taste, fresh, crisp relatively smog free air in India, I couldn’t help but have a smile on my face. I stuck my head out of the rickety government bus window (probably not the best idea since something could’ve swatted my head off or the bus would …
I like to think I am generally a confident person. It takes a lot to make me uncomfortable or second guess myself. However, nothing could have prepared me the amount of self-conscious anxiety I would encounter at an Indian wedding. Even after being in India for a few weeks, I’m used to the double-takes and …
Almost needless to say, Tina and I did not enjoy our time in Delhi. It’s louder, dirtier, crazier, and sketchier than any of the other cities we visited. We tried our hardest to get in and out as fast as we could but because we couldn’t access wi-fi to arrange our next set of long-distance …
Tina and I have been fretting about what to wear to this Indian wedding of a friend of a friend of her’s. So we mostly spent our only free day in Jaipur shopping/bargaining/hunting in the markets. Tina got a whole new custom tailored outfit while I was still trying to piece together my sari. haha. …
Flew kites. Became mini-town stars. Too much time spent shopping the markets. Climbed a hillside to a temple. Found a shirtless hippie American who was about to smash a guitar. We became friends. That’s the end of my riveting time in Pushkar. No really it was a place I …
For some reason, Indians really like to take pictures with foreigners. However, they must not care about Asians because I never get asked for a photograph but mobs of people will pull Tina away from me and ask to take a photo with her. It’s really quite hilarious. It must just be a white person …
That’s no band name, that is the real first name of my friend Parzival Popof. I met Parzival because he had teamed up with my friend Jesse to make music. So when I caught them one evening during an art walk in the historical area of downtown Seattle, the first thing I was curious about …
With only a month in India and anticipated Indian wedding on Jan. 19, Tina and I had a limited amount of time in Rajastan, unless we were ok with backtracking. Which, neither of us were. So we decided to start our trip in Jodhpur, a desert city southwest of Delhi and make our way east. Jodhpur is …
I love trains. I really do. Even when I end up in the wrong place. You’ve heard me talk about it before, and all I’ve ever heard about Indian trains was that no visit to India would be complete without a train experience. The image that comes to mind are the small trains with overcrowded …
