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What I Learned Flipping my Late Grandfather’s House
My grandfather passed away last year. My “papa,” my dad’s dad, my last living grandfather. It was dementia, ultimately, that took his life. And with that loss came a lot of things. Grieving, a funeral, a handwritten eulogy. But it…
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Pinching the Edges
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…
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Lost in Translation
“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…
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How to Walk Alone
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. …
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Man’s Search for Meaning in COVID-19
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,…
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Culture Shock
“It’s a bigger culture shock than you’d think,” a friend told me. She studied in Rome the semester before me, and despite her four months of experience, I didn’t believe her. Maybe for you, I thought. But not me. I’ve…
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Homeward Bound: Grief in the Coronavirus Outbreak
One month ago, I was living in Rome. Two weeks ago, I was laying on a beach in Ibiza. Today, I am in Raleigh, quarantined in my room. The coronavirus outbreak has affected everyone in a unique way. Businesses have…
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Hello MTV, and Welcome to my Crib
Romans live small. Kitchens are small, showers are small, beds are small. There are no houses in Rome, only overcrowded apartments in overcrowded neighborhoods. I knew this when coming to Rome. I was ready for this lifestyle shift and to…
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High Flying in Switzerland
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…
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A Walking Tour Through Rome
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and Rome can’t be explored in a day. There is so much to see and do, so I broke up my sightseeing into three separate days: historical sites, Vatican City, and Trastevere. I’ve always…
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Crutches
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…
