Black Lives Matter
Thoughts after listening to a radio interview
I sit here and I listen.
I listen to the news and I’m worried. Our country feels like it’s poised on some precipice; one that was supposed to have crumbled with Brown v. Board, and with the work of visionaries like Martin Luther King. But it never did go away, though the history books, (penned by white hands,) claim that it . . .
Posted in: african americanblack lives mattercivil unrestcontemporaryculturenewspolicepolice brutalityraceracismsociety
Traffic Tickets Just Don't Work
A Ukrainian perspective on the American police system...
I went to Boston last week to attend the Harvard Summer Institute on College Admissions. And the highlight of my entire week? Definitely my cab ride on the last day, when I was headed from Cambridge to South Station to catch my train home to Philly. Here’s what happened…
The cab pulled up to the entrance of the hotel, and . . .
Posted in: bostoncabcityessayethnicityfunnyharvardhumorimmigrantimmigrationjewishrussiastorystorytellingtaxiukraine
Living Technology
Musings on a rapidly changing world
A High-Tech Existence
According to a recent Quartz article, we now spend more than 8 hours every day consuming media. The article cites a recent study by ZenithOptimedia that found that people spend more than 490 minutes of their day engaged with some sort of media.
Though I initially balked at the number, when I . . .
On Being an Effective Speaker and Writer
Observations and thoughts from TedWomen2015 conference
To be an effective speaker and writer, you must, must be unabashedly and unapologetically yourself. There is no ‘right’ way, no ‘best’ way, to do or be anything. When I recognize this preeminence in another person, what I'm recognizing is their genuineness, their fearless, unapologetic uniqueness and loyalty to oneself. And yes, . . .
Dreamweaving
Philadelphia, March 2014
Shhh, quiet now. Listen. Let me tell you a story. This is a story of nighttime, of dreamtime. When the veil between what is real and what is magical thins into almost nothing. In these twilight hours our minds can finally find respite from the raging tumult of waking. Like the sea that falls quiet when the moon loosens her grasp, . . .
The American Passport
New Delhi, 2006 (re-edited in 2013)
“That would fetch over a million rupees on the black market, you know.”
I glanced up at my friend Satnam in surprise. I was filling out my guest information in the hotel log book while I waited for him to come meet me to go out to dinner. I had been mentally salivating at the thought of an air-conditioned room. ‘Hot’ doesn’ . . .
Posted in: abroadamericabackpackclasscultureimmigrantindiajournalismnonfictionpassportsemestertravelyear
Traveling Through South Asia
A Travel Diary
Articles cataloguing my travels through India, Nepal, Thailand, and Laos.
2006-2007
India, Nepal, Thailand, Laos
Posted in: abroadasiabackpackingindiajournalismlaosnepalsouth asiathailandtraveltravel writingwriting
