Category Musings
Sleepless Nights
We humans are a reflective sort, forced every 24 hours to plunge the depths of our subconscious and dream. The universe opens in these few hours, whispers secrets to us that are forgotten mere moments after waking. Some things survive the light of day, an encounter or memory that our subconscious has chosen to draw […]
Leaving Civilization
I recently left civilization. I was one of the last to board the plane, chasing after my rolling hand luggage as it sped towards the ticket desk, having been informed by the flight attendant that the gate was about to close. Just because it was in a rush didn’t mean I couldn’t be amiable. “How […]
Life in the Bubble
Ever since moving to Ukraine, I have lived in a bubble. My interactions with the people and culture of this country have been decidedly limited. This is likely why I haven’t become an alcoholic.* My job requires that I speak and write in English, which I thankfully can manage. My girlfriend speaks English and she […]
A Journey Through the 16 Best Films of 2016
In my tendency to occasionally write about subjects that aren’t directly related to places I’ve been, I’ve had people say to me, “Brendan, you have a travel blog – focus on travel!” But watching a film is a form of travel. I love movies, always have, always will, because of their power to transport us someplace else. […]
Five Years Lost, Five Years Found
Five years ago last week, I left America for a life abroad. As I was 25 when I left, this means that an entire sixth of my life has now been spent living outside my own country’s borders. That may not seem like much, but to me those days feel like an old film being […]
What We’ll Always Have
Last Tuesday a friend I haven’t seen in eight years left a comment on my Facebook wall. We had met in the summer of 2007 in Prague, the two of us participants in the same study abroad program. I would often see her in between classes on the steps of a building at Charles University. […]
How to say “I have a cavity” in Ukrainian*
Of all the chairs it’s possible to find one’s self in, the dentist’s is possibly the worst. Ok, on second thought the electric chair likely gets that title… but you get my drift. It’s not that I’m afraid of the dentist exactly, I go willingly enough, but I do so with the knowledge that this […]
