Moving abroad doesn’t have to feel insurmountable. Image by Flickr user Cambodia4Kids. Attempting my eighth move in the last eight years, I’ve honed the ability to pack up and move out…
America vs Germany
When I came to the United States last year I thought for some reason I would go back to the Western World and everything would be more or less the…
Boston: 10 Things I’ll Do In My New Home
Boston is Samantha’s to explore! Image from generationcitizen.org. I’m loving living in the Boston area again, so instead of thinking about all of the things I wanted to do but…
Last Goodbyes and First Impressions
Is this real life? Is this just fantasy? The opening lyrics of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” may seem commonplace, but on the eve of my move to Marseille, they came to…
Home Is Where Your Bunk Is…
Two years ago I went on a trip where I lived on a converted bus for a week and did a tour of America’s National Parks. I had with me…
Seeing the invisible; or, why I decided to move to Marseille
“Only he who can see the invisible can do the impossible.” – Frank L. Gaines It had been almost two years since I’d graduated from college. I was lucky enough to…
The Big Move
If you think Adventure is scary, try routine — Paulo Coelho December 2008. My father had passed away a month earlier. I felt numb, unable to feel joy or pain….
When No Place Is Home
This post deviates from my usual focus on being a religious feminist in the USA, and it deviates for a good reason: I am in the process of moving to…
Religion: A Stable Force for a Traveling Girl
In just a few days, I will leave Provo, Utah, a town where I have lived for eight years now. A number of people have told me that I’m adventurous…
Surviving without Driving
I’ve had a car with me throughout my life, in high school, through college, down to my first apartment in Washington, DC, and certainly to my new place in North…
A Tale Of English Charm, Donkeys and Breast Enlarging Cream
When my husband accepted a job as the manager of a large fruit farm in rural Morocco, we moved there with no preconceptions of what our life would be like,…
Boxes, Baggage, and New Beginnings
Life comes full circle after your heart breaks. In May, I proudly packed up all my remaining belongings at my parents’ house and shipped them to the east coast, only…
Chicago…That’s My (New) Hometown!
Chicago is a big city. Maybe not as big as New York or Beijing, but it’s still a good size. As a new resident to a lot of places in…
Reflections on Home
Home is a funny thing. For the first 18 years of my life, home was the one bedroom apartment I shared with my mother, father, and sister in Manhattan. And…
Chicago: The City That Smells of Chocolate
We’re on the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s river tour looking at the Willis Tower (which will always be the Sears Tower to me, by the way). And suddenly, the smell is…