Boudhanath Stupa/Kathmandu

November 2014

 

San Miguel de Allende + Ciudad de Mexico

June 2014

 

African Roadtrip: Kpalime, Togo

December 2011

If I had to be away from home on Christmas, Kpalime was not a bad place to spend the holidays. Traveling with two Israeli friends, we spent longer than planned in this paradise of a town in the mountains of southern Togo because it was just too good to leave. On Christmas Day , we climbed a mountain, swam in a waterfall, ate freshly picked pineapples, sipped palm wine from gourds, and spent the evening dancing to drumbeats. Kpalime is also home to thousands of species of butterflies, and a cultivation site for coffee beans and cacao.

 

La Fete de Vodou: Porto-Novo, Benin

January 2012

Benin is known as the “Cradle of Vodou,” and legends of pinpricked dolls aside, this traditional religion predates the presence of Abrahamic faiths in the region and remains an official religion today. January 10 is the annual national Vodou holiday, and I was fortunate to attend a celebration on the outskirts of town with a friend who moonlights as a diviner of the Fa.

 

Malo-les-Bains: Dunkerque, France

April 2011

Malo-les-Bains was my neighborhood for eight months while I taught middle school in France. Full of picturesque pre-war buildings and a boardwalk that stretched for miles, I spent countless hours on my bike exploring the Flemish landscape.

 

Turkey: Istanbul, Izmir, Amasra, & Safranbolu

October 2010

My generous French vacation schedules afforded numerous trips around Europe, but my favorite destination was Turkey. A week in Istanbul and Izmir with my aunt was followed by a second week visiting a friend and fellow Fulbrighter in her post on the Black Sea Coast, with a short stay in Safranbolu.

Izmir was one of the largest outposts of the Roman empire; the Black Sea Coast is breathtakingly gorgeous; and Safranbolu is known for it’s well-preserved Ottoman architecture and cultivation of safran.

And Istanbul. I could have stayed forever in Instabul.