I have one day left in Paris. How'd that happen? It has gone by way too fast. Let me fill you in a bit, because it's been a while since I wrote and lots has changed. I'm going to talk about my work life, my daily life and my artistic pursuits in this highly artistic city, and my cost breakdown. On Feb. 3rd I'm headed to Japan! I will participate in karate seminars with my dojo friends from back home for about a week, then we will go to Osaka, and then if I can't find a way to

Hello people! I've been working in Paris for nearly a month now! Woah. It feels like yesterday that I got my social security number and oozed excitement all the way home. I'm starting to understand things better. Kinda. Slowly. But I'll talk a little about the work and then what's going on upstairs. The Jobbe I'm working at a restaurant/bar called Upper Cafe, which I've sorta diagnosed as Franco American fusion. Picture American menu with very French elements. Like a burger w

Before I say anything I have to admit that every time I read "Vendanges" I think "Van Danjees" in American. Anyway. It was a crazy three...

Hey dears! It has been roughly a year of this writing thing, aka since I embarked on my journey, and I want to thank everyone that has...

Dear Diery, I woke up this morning and walked to the grocery store because I have no food save for a packet of spicy chorizo deli meat,...

Once again I’m coming to you with a delayed toilet post. I'll get right to it. Toilets in Nepal are similar to those in India—often it is...

Sometime during my travels, surrounded by cultures that prioritize family above all else, I realized I felt wrong for not being at home with mine. For a number of reasons, I decided to go home for a month to see my mom and help out around the house, and then visit my grandparents and extended family in Iowa. An added bonus: my sister decided to come home early too to have more time together! And after the 4th of July weekend in Iowa, my mom and I had plans to come to France f

Transparency is cool and I want to be honest about where my money comes and how much I've spent since I left home. It can be a huge...

Coming down from the Tibetan village was exhausting, both mentally and physically. I was in dire need of an easy time and it’s not often...

Where to Start!? I'm typing on a French keyboard. Here's what it looks like when I type, "Elise help, where is the damn apostrophe?"...

At Aparna’s house in Nagarkot I work with Karsang Lama—a carpenter, plumber, plasterererer, electrician, musician, and Buddhist priest of...

It’s been nearly two months since I arrived in Nepal and I’ve been learning much, about the culture and about myself. I also just learned...

This is a stream of consciousness so I hope it's a bit confusing and the right kind of thought-provoking. An exploration of solo travel...

I came to Nepal for a solar energy training program. Long story short it was cancelled In September and I didn’t know, leaving me rather...

I was only in India for a brief two weeks, but during this time I had the opportunity to see many toilets. I'll preface that all of them...

In my second post from India I’ll walk through some of the interactions I had with locals and then reflect on my overall experience. I...

I've decided to split up my posts about India into a few bits because there's a lot on my mind. This one is about the whole reason I came...

I don't have a ton to say about toilets here. They were almost always remarkably clean. They don't use toilet paper but typically have a...

This post is a few weeks late; it's been pretty hectic. But I really wanted to highlight this experience in Cambodia, working with...

In this post I’ll describe trekking in the jungle of northeastern Cambodia for three days, exploring traditional jungle survival skills,...

Anyone who travels has privilege, whether it’s financial, social, or simply the ability to move freely across borders without fear of...

As I mentioned after my time in Dublin, I particularly notice toilets while I travel--for a couple reasons: I think it’s interesting to...

In this post I will talk about my scattered last couple of weeks in Mongolia, where I lived and worked for a master calligrapher and his...

After two months in Mongolia, the engineer in me cannot help but notice all the ways Mongolians think like an engineer, starting with...