Thursday was a tipping point. It felt that way when I woke that morning. United States President Donald Trump spoke to the US on Wednesday from the Oval Office to explain the US government’s efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic. On the list of measures was a ban on travelers from Europe’s Schengen Area.
Today, I spoke to an Iraqi man about the lasting effects of the American intervention in his home country. A half hour before meeting him, I spoke with a Catholic priest from Brazil who was studying "Canon Law". Every week, I spend hours talking with people from South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and other nations. … Continue reading The World from a Chair
The first thing you should know is that I do not speak Spanish. That is to say, I know how to ask for beers ("dos cervezas, por favor") and I have the ability to read most signs and can even get the gist of more complex sentences, but when it comes to the actual act … Continue reading “Lo siento”: Welcome to Madrid and starting over, again
It's amazing to think, if not for my sixth grade teacher, I might be an engineer instead of a writer.
Sometimes, factotums are easily bored, always looking for something new to hold their attention. Just as likely, they're simply bad at everything and stumble from one failure to the next. And then there are the wanderers.
A New Journey: A little chaos can be exhilarating, to be sure, but living without any parameters, well, that’s frankly terrifying.
Epilogue: For the first time in my adult life, I didn’t have a goal. I wanted a lasting relationship, a reason to stay, a purpose for a life in Brooklyn.
I'm roughly a third of the way through my TEFL Certification course with ITA. The course is designed to prepare students to teach English in a variety of classrooms, both traditional and nontraditional, as well as to work as a private tutor. As I read about different teaching philosophies and method, I can't help but think about … Continue reading Teachable Moments: The Fragility of Manhood
