My Big Year of Not Birding
If they heard an unusual call, birders may even backtrack those ten steps of progress and bring you back to the parking lot where you began.
Monky Business
I watch over my friend’s shoulder as they make mistakes and then correct them, reassured somehow that typos aren’t just a modern malady.
The (Non-)Contradiction of Belief and Unbelief
Doubt and faith, though mutually contradictory, can be gently held together.
Fantastical, Flammable Gas
Like everything magical, though, the airship project was riddled with realities.
Reflections on Cologne: Changed and Unchanged
Böll wrote prolifically about his city. I thought to turn to him for two thoughts about Cologne and what makes it distinct.
On Fall in Europe
My American Saturdays began with a coffee and a crescendo of college football media. Blogs, Twitter, and ESPN College Gameday made for a surround-sound cacophony of predictions, punditry, and hot takes.
Seeing Things Again
There’s a Dutch phrase about the Dom, my grandpa claims. “See the Cologne Cathedral and you can die.”
Wearing Sweatpants to a German Supermarket
In the US, wearing sweatpants to the grocery store is an act of conformity. In Germany as in many other countries on the continent, it’s an act of rebellion.
The Literal German Word
I was satisfied in my decision. There was thrill in riding without a ticket. And I was convinced that what I was doing was right. I was in line with the spirit of the law, even if the law had no spirit.
Crossing German streets
Life as an expat can be categorized according to two phenomena: experiences that reinforce the expat’s sense of belonging to her heritage and experiences that point to a shift in identity.
