Ramble On

Because I am planning a trip later this month, I realized a little late that I needed to renew my passport. I also realized that I had to let go of my passport issued in 2003 when I was first heading off to study abroad in France.  That was a tough pill to swallow. It has certainly come full circle because the whole reason I am taking this trip is to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of studying abroad with a member of my Grenoble cohort.  I was flipping back through the pages and pages of stamps from different countries, remembering what it was like to be exploring and living in a new country and learning a new language with totally new people. This was my first visa ever.   I sat down and thumbed through the pages of the passport musing over the places that my eyes have seen and my feet have trod.  This was a really hard passport to let go of.   I remember running through Parisian train stations in winter hoping to catch a bus to the airport on time....

I am a long-time resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia.  2013 has afforded the opportunity for me to drive from the far western hills to the waves lapping at the shores in the east.  Most recently, I was in the east to a place I had never visited: Chincoteague. Prior to this, the closest I got to Chincoteague was a trip to Wallop's Island Marine Science Consortium in High School and we did a bunch of research on tidal basin water.  Turns out I was about 5 miles from Chincoteague and I was none the wiser.  Anyway, it was a pretty fun trip.  Here's what I remember the most: My friend Becca and I were finished with the experiments for the day and we were walking to the dining hall or evening meeting or something.  (The details are a little foggy after so many years.) We were walking past the boys lodge and we heard someone singing in the shower.  It was my good friend Brian who was singing a song dedicated to another friend on the trip, Charlie...

I have lived in the DC Metro area on and off since I was 5 years old.  I have been away from it for a collective total of 11 years, if you count college when I was still coming home most summers.  I make it a point to try new things and also to never forsake my first loves, if you will. I recently came to a point where I almost left DC for a job.  It ended up not working out but in my head and partly in my heart I had one foot out the door.  Since that time, it struck me that there is a lot in DC that I don't take enough advantage of.  When I was studying there, my Parisian host mom always told me "Profites-en bien!" meaning "take good advantage of being here!"  She's right.  Some of the best recent advice I have been given is to "bloom where you are planted".  Therefore, since my lease on DC has been renewed in a metaphorical sense, how can I bloom in this ground which I call home? Something has surfaced as I've thought about this, also ta...

Do you guys listen to This American Life on NPR? More often than not I come away from my weekly listen deep in thought.  It raises excellent questions, has very good reporting, and explores some captivating cultural corners of this country.  I learned early on that its host is a staunch atheist.  It doesn't keep me from having a super-geek crush on this married man with a nasal voice and insightful storytelling powers. He was raised by Jewish parents, but he doesn't support religion in his own life.  However, on his show, from time to time, I hear him say things and I think, friend, who are you kidding right now? I was listening to their 500th episode in which a bunch of the producers got together and compiled some of their favorite stories from over the last 18 years (the show began in 1995).  In this retrospective, the idea of unconditional love came up twice.  And I drew in one story from a past episode because it's an incredible exchange.  I'l...

The Search for authenticity as related by one of the greatest bands you've maybe never heard of and by one of my favorite writers.  The song starts at 8 minutes in and is one of my favorite covers.... ever. I was leaving a show last week and they were playing this song as I walked out the door of the club.  It stuck in my head.  I listened to it at work the next day and for the first time really heard the lyrics.  This is probably because when I heard Marah play it, my ears were close to bleeding.  They spend the entire first half of every set I've ever seen them play trying to get the sound guy to make everything louder. If you don't have 11 minutes to listen to the entire essay and the song that follows, I will include some of the best points from Nick Hornby's essay below: "I would have paid good money out of my grant for a little authenticity and credibility but now I was selling and I didn't know how to buy it anyway... " "I didn't ...

A something in a summer’s Day As slow her flambeaux burn away Which solemnizes me. A something in a summer’s noon — A depth — an Azure — a perfume — Transcending ecstasy. And still within a summer’s night A something so transporting bright I clap my hands to see — Then veil my too inspecting face Lets such a subtle — shimmering grace Flutter too far for me — The wizard fingers never rest — The purple brook within the breast Still chafes it narrow bed — Still rears the East her amber Flag — Guides still the sun along the Crag His Caravan of Red — So looking on — the night — the morn Conclude the wonder gay — And I meet, coming thro’ the dews Another summer’s Day! ---Emily Dickinson Happy Summer everyone.  May your days be long, languorous and lovely.

Friday Friday, gotta get down on Friday!  It was a lovely last day at the conference. After dancing until the wee hours the night before, we took it easy in the morning and then got to the expo hall to break down the booth.  It didn't take too long, but the weather was starting to swell.  They had been calling for big storms all week and after eating a delicious sushi lunch, we knew it was coming.  I decided that I couldn't let the opportunity to see the world-famous St. Louis zoo slip through my grasp because of a little rain, though.  So I headed to Forest Park to see what I could see, still not caving in and buying an umbrella.  It rained while I was on the train to the park but as soon as I stepped off it was sunny and warm, albeit very humid and still building.  Forest Park is gorgeous!  Expansive manicured green lawns, boathouses, running and biking trails, some sort of pavilion where they were setting up for what I'm sure was a BALLER w...

I didn't have any sessions Thursday morning and had left time to catch up on e-mails.  I went to a session in the afternoon about liberal arts colleges and why they are important for international students.  Basically just some marketing points that would be good for representatives to highlight on their recruitment trips. I had some time to kill before an alumni reception downtown after my session so I walked to go get Cardinals tickets for the evening, then walked back downtown and still had a bit of time so I stopped to get some frozen yogurt. I will note here that I will stop any time, anywhere to get frozen yogurt.  It is the perfect snack.  I have tried over 11 different places in the DC metro area alone.  This frozen yogurt, at Bella's on Washington Ave was the best frozen yogurt I have ever had.  My strategy for the self-serve yogurt shop:  no toppings, just straight yogurt, small dollops of as many flavors that interest me or as will fit in ...

This conference thing has been a pretty good gig so far.  I went to a session on Wednesday morning, put in some time at the booth, and then met up for lunch with a person I worked with in South Africa.  We went and had St. Louis style pizza.  They have deep dish here too. Here is the difference: cornmeal in the crust.  Instead of just using the cornmeal to keep the dough from sticking to the pizza stone in the oven, the cornmeal goes into the crust and gives it this extra sweetness and crunch.  Also, in their deep dish they put the sauce on top and they use Provel cheese, which I can't really explain except to say that it's not provolone and it's not mozzarella.  My pizza though, was delicious, and I plan on eating it again.   I had such a good time with my former colleague that I got locked out of my afternoon session because I got there too late and there were too many people already.  Since I didn't have anything else scheduled for the af...

I realize that my field is pretty specialized.  But internationalization in education actually is a priority on most college and university campuses.   Since the world is getting smaller, cross cultural communication more critical, and wanderlust is intensifying, it's a good time to be in the business of increasing student mobility and knowledge exchange. NAFSA national conference is the big dance.  I've been to a regional conference before but never to this;  at 8000+ attendees, it's a gargantuan event.  I've enjoyed being with my delegation and meeting the people they know from going to this conference so many times.  Many of them know presenters, partners, and purveyors alike, no matter if they are involved with our students or not. I was a bit overwhelmed when I first walked into the palatial expo hall filled with colorful booths of people vying for each other's students, services and solutions.  Also, the "SWAG" as Michael Scott would say (Stu...