Around the World… With Me.
B.A. - That's Buenos Aires, not British Airlines (2016).
There were miles of steaming streets and lots of laughter and kisses to newly made friends and squeals of “perfect!”. It was indeed “perfect-o!”
Bhutan: Oreos on the altar, phallic symbols on the doorposts (2023).
Bhutan takes your breath away. In so many ways.
Brazil… I'm back! (2017).
All along the road, entrepreneurs continue to turn dirt into money. Literally. They make sand sculptures of iconic buildings and charge you when you try to take a picture.
Brazil: where you can hail a helicopter as easily (and almost as cheaply) as an Uber (2018).
What do a professional medical clown and the President of the Brazilian Supreme Court have in common? Cármen Lúcia and Wellington Nogueira are both optimistic about their beloved country.
In the Amazon, Eat Ants to Reduce Stress (2023).
One night in the darkness cast a light on so many complexities of the region—and the importance of listening to answers from people of all different backgrounds and positions.
China: Behind the Great Firewall (2017).
Some of the innovations in China are surreal and others are adaptations of previously released concepts with a local twist.
Beijing: Two months and multiple biometric scans since my last visit (2018).
Beijing. I’m back! It has been 48 days since my last visit and the government came out to greet me. Well not just me—I’m not that important.
Beijing: My brush with life on the margins (2018).
Beijing slipped into Shanghai’s clothes, and they don’t fit. There’s no soul, just a lot of shine. There was something quite sad about this week. Maybe it was just that I was hungry, or because I felt so desperately dependent and marginalized.
The View from Here: Two Weeks in China (2015).
I was in China for a bit over two weeks. The first working on a Quest for Leaders’ Quest and the second, a mix of personal travel and a visit to a remote village with our fellows—young people who are trained by Leaders’ Quest to bridge the rural/urban divide in China.
Enter Confucius—He’s Back in Style (2015).
In four days and five nights I had a chance to reacquaint myself with China, which continues to provide deep brain stimulation every time I try to decode its intricate layers of history, hidden jokes, and enduring poetry.
“C” for Colombia (2016).
In Colombia, artists have taken to the streets to express outrage with dishonest governments, lack of trust in America's infusion of dollars, the treatment of women, the plight of farm workers, and even the seeds they sow.
Cuba asks us what it means to evolve (2016).
Looking towards the future, Cuba begs us to ask ourselves which historical elements we retain, what pieces from the past we polish, and what we choose to leave behind.
There’s a Monkey in my Bed! (2015).
A decade of work in India has allowed me to spend time with the waste pickers of Mumbai, professors in Hyderabad, fast food workers in Bangalore, police and politicians in Delhi and paper makers in Jaipur.
The Long Way Home (2014).
You mean we weren’t stepping off our plane and into the adjoining gate retaking our assigned seats and sliding back into our slumbers? Where is our promised plane? And then it gets interesting.
Israel and Palestine: Where everyone eats hummus (2018).
I’m spending the week with a diverse group studying leadership, interconnected communities, and our shared responsibility for ethical decision-making. We are looking out the window but finding a mirror instead.
Israel. Round Seven (2017).
Seven is a sacred number in Jewish liturgy. It appears 735 times in the Old Testament and repeatedly in various rituals, including wedding ceremonies where the bride circles the groom seven times as the sheva bruchas are chanted. So why, on our seventh trip to Israel, didn't my husband and I run to the kotel and immediately immerse ourselves in spirituality and, like other Jewish pilgrims from around the world, push handwritten prayers between the cracks of the bricks?
Japan: Slippers, shifting planes, flashlights, and resounding resilience (2025).
Traveling in Japan is a very sensual journey. The country’s quiet, clean, and calm heightened our olfactory and auditory experiences. Both the built and natural environments delighted my eyes. The food made my tongue smile with each taste sensation. The people we met touched my heart with their generosity, attention to detail, and desire to connect.
My, My! Montenegro, You Are Truly Stunning! (2018).
I wish I had another suitcase to bring home the many charming Montenegrins we met, but I don’t think we’d get through customs. Who wouldn’t try to bring all these new friends along?
Poland: History, Herring, and Homemade “Wodka.” (2018).
Why was I voluntarily going to a gray, cold, post-Communist country with questionable legislation regarding its role in the Holocaust? Exploring history motivated the trip, but it will be the people, the sensory delights, and the easy elegance that will bring me back.