It was an unlikely connection on Christmas night in Bangkok, a connection that bridged four countries, and as I showed Boo’s picture to the men in Delhi, telling them about the pin he was wearing, I felt grateful I could say: “All of the world is with her.”
India
Operation Christmas Child in action: A full-circle moment in India.
At the end of our visit, my mind still swimming with the smiles of Vijay and Amir, Manisha and Madhu, I am left in awe of this full-circle moment – helping deliver boxes from Operation Christmas Child which I myself once packed.
Giving thanks on the road: Putting it down to experience.
Even as I mourn the pumpkin pie I won’t be having here today in Delhi, I’m still incredibly grateful for the experiences this year has brought me – grateful for the way each has been a portal into some pretty brilliant new connections and friendships.
On birthdays and candles left burning.
With that observation pointed out, as simple as it was profound, I realized how easy it is to take this world around me right now for granted. That differences like a candle left burning on a cake are always there; it’s just up to us to stay open and discover them.
Sand, space and silence: A journey into Rajasthan’s Thar Desert.
Sometimes you don’t notice the constant presence of something until faced with its absence. That thing for me here in India is noise – everywhere except, I recently discovered, in the Thar Desert, on the far western edge of Rajasthan.
Downtime in Darjeeling: My somewhat successful attempt at a weekend.
It’s the tricky part of loving your job, and something I haven’t quite mastered yet: learning to cut it off and allowing yourself to just be in the moment, without worrying about what you’re going to do with that moment.
Forty hours on the Brahmaputra Mail: On a train through India.
On a recent trip, I realized train travel is about slipping into a world that could only happen here – not on a plane – where strangers buy each other tea and hold their children and by the end of the journey, can call themselves friends.
Sacramento solitude: Notes on the first long roll of the sea.
I came to Sacramento to revel in silence; to be in a place where I know no one and no one knows me. I came to process, to think or not think, whatever my mood; to speak or not speak. I came for that thing called solitude.
Conversations with Micaela, part 4: How do you remember places?
What can you do while traveling so that once you return – once you’re back in the thick of work routines and responsibilities – you can still remember the piquant flavors and the thousand other little details not found in a guidebook?
Conversations with Micaela, part 2: What do you do when you travel?
If you travel alone, you’ve got no one else to bounce ideas off of, to debate having an early dinner versus a late one, or to perhaps even tell you it’s okay to take an afternoon nap. Here are a few tips on what to do when you travel solo.