I have always known I wanted to lead the family Seder when I grew up. My father took the reins of this sacred ritual from my maternal grandfather, and I have always found power in its symbolism and storytelling. Each year, I find new wisdom in the timeless themes of the Passover story, and as an experiential educator, I love that intergenerational lessons are so...
We have had quite a unique return from our 8 month adventure around the world. After moving to a new country every 2-6 weeks, we are now hunkered down in my parents’ house in Baltimore, riding out the unanticipated, uncertain storm of Coronavirus. Just like after 9/11, the world order shifted this month, which doubles the disorientation we have felt re-entering...
Wedged between the booming regional economies of Thailand and Vietnam, Laos is a far less-developed agricultural society with a small and dispersed population. Laos has a vibrant oral culture which its people have used for generations to pass on their stories. During our time in Laos, we visited Garavek, a traditional storytelling project. There, we had the pleasure...
We hope you are staying safe and connected, despite social distancing. We returned to America a few weeks ago! We feel very grateful for our timing and, like you, are now hunkered down, weathering the Coronavirus storm (and looking for jobs). We were able to reunite with a few family members before social distancing took force (see below), and are staying in touch...
While Baltimore is famous for crabs, there’s another summer treat that every Baltimorean looks forward to all year long: the snowball. Snowballs are distinct from other forms of icy treats like Italian ice and the far-inferior snow cone. It is shaved ice (not chopped or ground), topped with a sweet syrup (never fresh fruit), and served in long cup. (Sometimes...
This is Part 2 of our Tasmania Roadtrip. Part 1 covers our time on the East Coast. After the lovely east coast we turned to the more remote and rugged western part of the island. Here unsealed roads stretched into a series of large national parks and the few cars we did pass all had their exhaust pipes wound up to the roof so that they could traverse muddy...
Australia had the perhaps unenviable task of being our last country before returning to the States. While we knew we were starting in Melbourne to accomplish Victor’s longtime dream of seeing the Aussie Open, we allotted ourselves a month here because we also wanted to see as much of this massive country as we could. (It’s quite a long flight to come...
Kia ora! After our classic Kiwi roadtrip, the second half of our month in New Zealand was spent traversing different parts of both islands with Genine and Josh. Whether via engaging local guides or peering out the windows of helicopters at alpine and volcanic vistas, we saw New Zealand from more varied perspectives than we had in...
Before we landed we knew very little about Tasmania other than it was far, wild, and home of the Tasmanian devil. But we’d read enough accounts describing the island as the “love child of Australia and New Zealand” for us to devote 12 days to exploring the island (almost as much time as our whirlwind tour of Vietnam). We’re glad we did...
While all of Melbourne reminded us of Brooklyn, the neighborhood of Brunswick really gave off the bohemian, immigrant-rich, verging on gentrification vibe that defines the Brooklyn archetype. We loved basing out of Brunswick for our week in Melbourne because it was an easy tram ride into the CBD to browse the laneways and catch the Aussie Open action, but it also had...