A Thing For Wor(l)ds

I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t this. Maybe I thought I’d run into Hemmingway scribbling away while sipping a daiquiri. I’d see gentlemen puffing cigars on their verandas as they discussed the imminent horrors of the Cuban Missile Crisis, except probably ...Read More

I returned from a trip to Cuba two days before President Obama essentially broke down the last remaining obstacles. As of Tuesday, March 15, Americans can now visit the island under the guise of “people-to-people” trips, meaning all that it takes to make the ...Read More

On Christmas Day, four burly firemen ring my doorbell. Precisely four hours later, they pay another visit. Twice in one day – not even Santa’s elves could have dreamed up such a gift. The house isn’t burning down, and unfortunately, I am not on ...Read More

This is a follow-up to the very popular diet post, How to Gain 1,000 Pounds (454 kilos) in 9 Days in Italy. That diet, admittedly, was more fun to follow. This one places a much greater emphasis on deprivation. While no Finnish person would ...Read More

I used to believe that language barriers were just a social construct. An invention of the unadventurous. A non-issue because life is beautiful and “language is diversity” and everything you really need to say can be expressed with you eyes . . . Bullshit. That ...Read More

The inevitable happened. The 21st century Black Plague, otherwise known as Gluten Intolerance, finally infected this self-confessed bread lover. Perhaps my body started rejecting wheat once I began regularly pounding a baguette a day since moving to Spain—who’s to say. All I know is ...Read More

/Suljettu/ Language: Finnish. Meaning: Closed. The only Finnish word I learned, because I saw it written fu*!ing everywhere.  “You’ve chosen the worst day of the year to visit Helsinki,” the receptionist cheerfully greeted me as she checked me into my hostel. Such a warm ...Read More