I didn't have a lot of expectations when I drove up the winding road leading to Monsanto. I passed two of the town's famed giant boulders at a narrow turn and I could see the beginnings of the beige stone walls that I associate with quaint, European towns. My GPS had stopped working an hour … Continue reading The Most Portuguese Town in Portugal
Previous Posts
An Anniversary
Last night at 4:30 a.m. I sat in the back of an Uber listening to my date talk about the differences between football and futsal. He held my hand, tracing swirls between my fingers and palm. It was our fifth or sixth date. We'd just spent the evening in downtown Porto grabbing drinks and dancing … Continue reading An Anniversary
A Tale of Two Boxes: Don’t Ship to Portugal
Before I moved to Porto I looked up the logistics of shipping my goods from Thailand to Portugal. Reviews and blog posts screamed: DON’T DO IT. My packages were held up in customs for months, one man said. I had to pay extra tax, despite already paying tax when I bought the item, another blog … Continue reading A Tale of Two Boxes: Don’t Ship to Portugal
Leaving Bangkok: Thank You, Next
Last week I moved from Bangkok, Thailand to Porto, Portugal. This marks the 19th move of my life, a number which includes moving state-to-state, country-to-country, and just from one neighbourhood to the next (I only did that once; every other time I’ve at least moved out of state). Each move is relatively the same: right … Continue reading Leaving Bangkok: Thank You, Next
Why I Hate ‘The Beach’
Many people told me to watch The Beach before moving to Thailand. The scenery was to die for, they said, and the story was a classic expat-moves-to-Thailand tale. Maybe I would relate? I saved the film in my Netflix cue, but never got around to watching it before my move. During my year and a … Continue reading Why I Hate ‘The Beach’
Welcoming 2019 with Tenacity
For the past few years I've listened to friends choose 'anchor words,' which they use to ground themselves for the New Year. They choose words like "courage" to remind them each month to be brave, or "persistent" to encourage them to strive for what they want. Since being surrounded by wordsmiths in graduate school I've … Continue reading Welcoming 2019 with Tenacity
How To End Up In A Sexy Convertible VW Bug In Hawai’i: A Short Story
When you’re jet lagged and running off maybe two hours of sleep, you forget to check the open/close hours of the place where you booked a rental car in Honolulu (which you only booked because it was so much cheaper than picking up at the airport). You take a city bus to the rental place. … Continue reading How To End Up In A Sexy Convertible VW Bug In Hawai’i: A Short Story
Broken Hearts and the Power of Women on the River Kwai
The blue destination dot on Google Maps seemed far away as my two friends and I crawled out of the minibus at the Kanchanaburi bus station. It was nearing 8 p.m. We'd left Bangkok around 4:30 p.m. The driver shut the door and drove off, leaving us standing dumbly in the street. My two friends, … Continue reading Broken Hearts and the Power of Women on the River Kwai
Trekking Through Sapa
When a desk agent from my Hanoi hostel asked if I wanted to book a hiking trip through Sapa I thought, Sure. Why not? I'd hiked plenty of times. I had a limited amount of time in Vietnam and Sapa was supposed to be a "must see" place. A hike seemed like fun. The journey … Continue reading Trekking Through Sapa
Expectations in India
While flying down an Indian highway at 100 km/h, I didn't have the normal thoughts someone would have during their first trip to India: This is awesome! I'm in India! On a motorcycle! Why is there a cow in the road? Instead, at nearly 11 p.m. at night, after driving 470 km, all I could think was: Oh … Continue reading Expectations in India
The Wandering Writer 