Here Goes Something

Flying Blind: The Night Before Peace Corps

September 26, 2016 First Person ForeignChanges

WHAT THE HECK BOBBY. Tomorrow I am going to Peace Corps? I got a Medical Clearance Message Reminder email, a separate email about Menstruation. I got another with the itinerary for Houston (we are there[…]

Song & Storytelling: The Events Before I Go

September 26, 2016September 26, 2016 First Person ForeignAlaska

Act One: Five days before I flew away, Laura and I performed The Last Five Years. It took five minutes and a handshake to reserve the Arctic Bar patio. Tom Thompson donated the equipment. Brooke[…]

“So This is Ketchikan,” (The First) Conversation in Alaska | 1 of 50

September 25, 2016September 25, 2016 First Person ForeignAlaska

I texted Danielle- “Just landed!” at 4:05pm on Friday April 15th. “Okay! Slight change of plans. We will be picking you up with a boat as of right now. Some of us have to do[…]

“Baby?” Conversations in Alaska | 5 of 50

September 25, 2016September 25, 2016 First Person ForeignAlaska

I stood in a dear friend’s living room in July. I asked “What’s been going on?” I was hung up on a Fisherman, she was hung up on fertility. Different boats. This is what followed: “It’s[…]

Drumming in Zimbabwe, Conversations in Alaska | 3 of 50

September 23, 2016September 25, 2016 First Person ForeignAlaska

A fella greeted me from behind the counter. He said “I can’t run the register but I can go ahead and make your food. What are you getting?” I don’t eat out much in Ketchikan[…]

The Scrambled Departure: Leaving the Rainforest

September 19, 2016September 20, 2016 First Person ForeignAlaska

Yesterday: Dude. I just got hit by a mack truck called Alaska. It’s none of the things you might visualize. I wasn’t even crossing the street. I crossed the Tongass Narrows on a 1.25 minute ferry[…]

“September is breaking my heart!”: Conversations in Alaska, 8 of 50

September 19, 2016September 20, 2016 First Person ForeignAlaska

September 1st rolled around and you could feel it in the air: realization, regret. It’s winding down and the excursions you hoped to take, the hike you were supposed to do and the post you[…]

2nd Intro Peace Corps Phone Call | Conversations in Alaska, 12 of 50

September 18, 2016 First Person ForeignAlaska

“What is one thing you wish you’d done before you left the States?” “Honestly, this might sound a little odd but I wish I’d taken a bath. That’s a luxury I miss.” “I couldn’t get[…]

Til the Last Drip | Leaving the Rainforest, 1

September 15, 2016September 15, 2016 First Person ForeignAlaska

I’m not one for schmaltz. Who Am I Kidding. I am one for Schmaltz. You know the scene in The Sound of the Music (the lovely film) when Julie Andrew’s Maria is dancing with the[…]

1st Intro Peace Corps Call, Conversations in Alaska | 21 of 50

September 12, 2016September 13, 2016 First Person ForeignAlaska

It’s July 15. It’s my Grandmother’s birthday. I’m in Southeast Alaska, the nation’s largest national rainforest. It rains 13 feet a year annually in Ketchikan. But today it’s all sun and civilized life as I[…]