Category Archive: Perspectives

On occasion, we are fortunate enough to have an experience or conversation that sends chills for its human quality. Our time with Zikra Initiative and the women of Ghor al Mazra’a was one such experience.

From the moment I passed into the courtyard, Um Atallah took control and led me to a seat on the ground near her. Two other women swapped their attention between their work and us, offering encouraging smiles. These were the women of Ghor al Mazra’a near Jordan’s Dead Sea. And for a few hours, they shared with us a bit of their lives with us.
Continue Reading »

Article Series - Women in Jordan

1. Women in Jordan Snapshots: Coffee to Courage
2. Women in Jordan: The Once Forgotten Women of the Dead Sea

In Jordan, I spent a lot of time with men. Not only did my immediate company consist of men (our driver and host were both men and I had Dan by my side), but many of our in-home social and cultural experiences were dominated by them, too. Tea and coffee in Bedouin tents was served by and among men, dinners in homes — outside of some interactions with the women of the house – were largely a male affair.

Don’t get me wrong: I enjoy spending time with men and learning about their world, but I also look forward to sharing time with women so that I may get a glimpse into their lives and appreciate their work.

And so I did in Jordan. And for me, three stories stood out. The women I met and their pride as individuals, as mothers, and as breadwinners left an impression on me. Continue Reading »

Article Series - Women in Jordan

1. Women in Jordan Snapshots: Coffee to Courage
2. Women in Jordan: The Once Forgotten Women of the Dead Sea

For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

We often share stories of ordinary people who humble us by showing resilience and kindness in the face of challenges. In doing so, we highlight the positive — so much so that you might be thinking: “Do these guys only run into good people on their travels? Is the world really like that? Are all people around the world really that good?”

Not always. Sometimes you meet people who grind you to the edge.

And then, you must find your way back. Continue Reading »

Q: What’s the proper way to greet family you’ve never met before?
A: In Argentina: with kisses, warmth — and a heck of a lot of steak.

Earlier this year, with a visit to relatives in Argentina only days away, I received my first email in Spanish from my grandmother. This may not sound noteworthy, but the fact that she wrote it in her mother tongue transformed it for me from a simple letter into a welcome to a part of my family I hadn’t known before: the Argentine side.

Author’s note: Our visit to Argentina was months ago, so why am I writing about this now? With the holidays coming, I began to reflect on tradition, family and what it means to be “far away.” Continue Reading »

Thanksgiving, an American holiday fueled by family gatherings and gratitude, came and went last Thursday. Unfortunately, we were away from home this year so we couldn’t spend this occasion with our family. But this was borne of our own choice, circumstances of our own making.

In contrast, many people in this world do not have this choice. Simply put, they cannot go home. Because of their political or religious beliefs, they face persecution and the threat of injury or death if they do.

We met two such families this past weekend in Bangkok. While speaking with them and getting a glimpse of their lives, we began to comprehend what it really means to be a refugee: a life in fear, a life of prolonged uncertainty, and a life of fighting for survival. Continue Reading »

We are excited to announce that we have been selected by GAP Adventures for their Wanderers in Residence program. In preparation for the official announcement today, we answered a few questions about our journey, including the age-old travel writing and travel blogging query, “Why do you travel?”

In doing so, we ticked off a list, gazed at our navels and stumbled onto a stickier query: Is travel merely an instrument to achieve a set of objectives or is travel an aim in itself? Continue Reading »

There we were in Berlin. We’d been in the city for less than five hours and I was hovering over two frying pans cooking scores of Swedish meatballs. As people poured into a party thrown by the owner of the apartment we were renting, the question echoed: “Now, how did you end up here again?”

How do you do what you do? How do you find an awesome short-term apartment in Berlin?

The answer in this case: One-part Facebook, another part flesh.

Both were necessary, neither was sufficient. Continue Reading »

So their eyes are growing hazy ‘cos they wanna turn it on, so their minds are soft and lazy.  Well, hey, give ‘em what they want.

– Natalie Merchant (10,000 Maniacs) in “Candy Everybody Wants”

Have you ever come across a photo in a magazine or on another website and thought, “Hey, that’s my photo!”?

We were poking around BBC Travel the other day and came across an article about a tango festival in Argentina.  I looked at the lead photo and thought, “Hey, that’s our photo!!”

Ha! That’s everyone’s photo. Continue Reading »

Last week my grandmother died. She lived a long, full life to the age of 92 and she died peacefully. The news was not surprising, but it arrived earlier than I had expected. When it finally began to sink in, I cried. Then I wrote a few things in order to unpack and process my feelings – about saying goodbye to loved ones, enjoying them while they are alive, and trying to prepare for something most people don’t like to discuss: death.

Note: This is a personal story. But at the end, there’s some practical advice regarding travel, medical directives and handling the subject of death. Continue Reading »

“In your travels, did you ever feel like you were being followed?” a friend recently asked.

We looked up as if to page through our mind-file of creepy experiences: “No. At least we don’t think so.”

Even when we answered, our response struck me as supremely naïve. Although we aren’t terribly important in the geopolitical grand scheme of things, somebody somewhere must have taken more than a casual interest in our movements. After all, we’d been throughout the former Soviet Union – including Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan — and to places like China and Burma.

Surely we had a tail somewhere along the way. Continue Reading »