Speed Skating in Sochi
The Olympics’ mythic weight translates perfectly into speed skating. Strength and finesse collide at exhilarating speeds, leaving little room for hesitation and even less for error.
Riding a Bike in Vienna
I can bike down each of Vienna’s alleys. I can scrape my elbow on any number of her streets. Still, the city will never be completely mine.
German at Calvin
After reading about the potential elimination of the German major at Calvin, I’m writing to tell you a bit about what German at Calvin meant and continues to mean to me.
The Tower of Babel
Like the Bible story after which it is named, Bruegel’s painting seems to critique humanity’s thirst for power. The tower is unfinished and crumbling.
What To Do About Baseball
On Sunday night, in the bottom of the eighth inning of game two of the American League Champion Series, the Detroit Tigers had a 5-1 lead against the Boston Red Sox in Boston’s historic Fenway Park.
Riding in Buses with Strangers
Fifteen minutes before you arrive, your Eastern European neighbor takes a pickle out of a paper bag and starts eating it. That’s strange, you think, but it looks good.
The Little Elephant
But more often than not, I’m surprised at the curiosity and ability of my students. Yesterday marked one of those moments.
Looking Beyond Bavaria
Rudi is a Catholic priest. He looks like Bavaria, if Bavaria were a person. What I mean by that is this: if the self-proclaimed Free State of Bavaria could pick a person, any person, to act as its mascot and all-purpose representative, it would be Rudi.
