Travel in the Peace Corps is unique. You arrive to your country of service not knowing one soul, serve for 9 months and get a slight idea of what some of the other volunteers are about and then, choose to travel with a few. It’s a big risk. One chooses a group with a few … Continue reading
Kanawa, an island located about an hour by boat from Labuan Bajo, is the type of beautiful you only see in travel magazines. From the minute we stepped off the boat, desires to remain in Kanawa forever were impulsively expressed—with good reason. An aquamarine sea brimmed with starfish composing underwater constellations that glistened in the … Continue reading
According to Lonely Planet, Riung is a small fishing village surrounded by 21 islands making up the Seventeen Islands Marine Park—a name chosen out of nationalism rather than fact—in which you can snorkel and see flying foxes. I was immediately sold on the idea of spending some extended time near the beach for the first … Continue reading
I have a vivid memory of me as a little kid watching a TV program of some Komodo dragons devouring deer. I don’t remember the details, but undoubtedly that nature show was filmed in Komodo National Park. I was so disturbed by the images shown that I remember crying for quite some time for the … Continue reading
Our crew spent New Year’s Eve in a small, quiet topical island paradise named Kanawa. While the island is beyond beautiful, it didn’t quite foster the best atmosphere for a rocking New Year’s Party…until we came along. Suspecting that the evening would be tranquil, our crew mobilized to gather a few essentials: fireworks, drinks and … Continue reading
1. “Postcards from Italy” by Beirut – Ellen was brilliant and brought along her ukulele and she and Tim often graced us with this and other Beirut songs. 2. I’m counting the entire Jack Johnson In Between Dreams album as one, but particularly the songs “Better Together” and “Breakdown.” 3. “A Whole … Continue reading
Bali was the starting point of our Flores trip. Our crew made the journey together by bus to Denpasar, where we took a flight out to the island. The late night bus ride through Bali was an adventure of its own—as bus rides in Indonesia often are—where we were granted various opportunities to contemplate what … Continue reading
Ende was the first place we visited in Flores. It was our intention to fly into the East part of the island and slowly make our way to the West side, hitting some interesting tourist destinations along the way. Ende was the cheapest city to fly into, and to me, it was rather unimpressive. Though … Continue reading
Flores is so unlike Java. There is one main road cutting through the entire island. There are hardly any cars on this winding road, barely any motorcycles and only a few tiny villages scattered in between long periods of time. The landscape is gorgeous and untamed, changing in flora as you climb up into the … Continue reading
* for more logistical details about traveling to Flores check out this blog post. Blogging about 15 days in any place would be a difficult task. So my creative approach to this challenge is to retell my experience through 15 little anecdotes, which I will post over the next couple of weeks. The anecdotes will … Continue reading
I got the idea to do this from Tim, a PCV friend, who does his own top 10 albums of the ending year. His taste in music is much mellower—but way cooler—than mine. He explores more indie, folk-y and classic albums, where as I listen to more pop, dance-y and electronic albums. Collectively, we cover … Continue reading
Note: Writing posts like this is how I celebrate major Quito holidays – Que Viva Quito! In many parts of the world it is the most wonderful time of the year, but being in a primarily Muslim community—where the weather is perpetually hot, where the mango season is ending and mostly, where no commercialism is … Continue reading
Teacher Problem: Moderately liking a sugary pop song because your students overplay it…and then the next thing you know, you’re hoarding three entire Taylor Swift albums* and THEN, listening to these for your personal enjoyment and finding a song that actually relates to your life. The sum of my life as a PCV: “We’re happy, … Continue reading
November 15th marked the first day of the Islamic year: Muharram 1, 1434. To celebrate this, all the students and teachers from my school take a motorcycle drive around Bondowoso every year. As a Peace Corps volunteer, I am not allowed to ride a motorcycle (which is the reason why I was feeling left out … Continue reading
in the land of dragons 