A Spanish-speaking Asian server placed the avocado appetizer atop the zodiac-themed placemat, which told Spencer Flores his birth year animal was a rabbit. La Caridad, the Upper West Side Cuban Chinese fusion restaurant, had been the Flores family reunion spot throughout Spencer’s childhood. Each visit, he checked the placemats to see if the 1999 zodiac […]
State of the Avocado Address Read More »
An homage to the service industry. For the past five months, I worked as a hostess and server at a casual/upscale restaurant. Its interior reflects the building’s original, prohibition-era speakeasy architecture – a posh atmosphere lit by Edison bulbs, filled with eclectic décor. Down the hall hangs a 10-foot-tall set of golden winds, and above
All You Can Carry For Two Dollars Read More »
A hand-painted rainbow elephant hangs on a cloth canvas next to Emily Saathoff’s bedroom door. Above her desk sits a canvas of seven women carrying baskets on their heads. Her bedroom is riddled with mementos from her semester in Ghana, a country on the western coast of Africa. In the spring of 2019, the University
Gone to Ghana: Who Is Emily Saathoff? Read More »
The first time I tasted a cheese pierogi was the first Christmas that I had teeth. And I’ve tasted one every Christmas since. The browned onions, the salty dough, the sweet farmer’s cheese filling. It is the long-awaited dish after a day of fasting. There are a few courses before it, but only to tease
Pinching the Edges Read More »
“Ich bin ein bleistift auf dem flughafen [ick bin eye-n BLIE-shtift off dem floog-hoffen],” my dad chanted through the streets of Berlin with a cheeky grin on his face. His eyes shifted to my brothers and I, seeing if he could get a reaction. Usually Ryan would snicker, Camden would roll his eyes, and I
Lost in Translation Read More »
Winner of the University of South Carolina’s Havilah Babcock Short Story Award Step by Step Instructions: How to Walk Alone from the Library to your Car at Two in the Morning If you are a woman, please read section A. If you are a man, please read section B. A. Women. The process of walking
Due to my newfound abundance of free time, I’ve been rereading old books. Most recently was Viktor E. Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning – “the classic tribute to hope from the Holocaust.” I remember feeling moved after my first reading, like Frankl discovered the solutions to life’s problems. The second time around, I not only
Man’s Search for Meaning in COVID-19 Read More »
I’ve never been much of an “outdoors” person. Hiking is exhausting, camping is terrifying, and fishing is uneventful. I have allergies, which means watery eyes and a runny nose whenever I walk outside. And most irritatingly, mosquitos love sucking on my sweet skin, and I always find the red itchy spot before I find the
High Flying in Switzerland Read More »
A temporary blindness came over me as I stepped from the sun into the dark church. A large, blurry, blue hole morphed across my eyesight like a lava lamp. Shoes squeaked, bodies shuffled, and mumbled prayers filled the room. A deep male voice echoed a Polish song, heard but not seen. As peripheral objects began
My first day at La Casa Verde was a Tuesday, and Tuesday was trash day. The streets of Desamparados were lined with mounds of trash to the point where sidewalks were unwalkable. Rotten food, week-old diapers, used tampons, and sour milk. The stench was unbearable. Street animals broke open the bags in hopes of finding
