Essays

2.1K
5 min

So I Traveled the World. How Much Did I Pollute?

Before I started on this six-month-long trip, I worried about the waste I’d be adding to the world. Vacation makes waste. But it also opens countless opportunities for personal growth.…

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1.5K
8 min

On Respect: Being a Solo Female Traveler When Harassment is Guaranteed

When you’re a woman traveling alone, the most routine activities become a game that you are set up to lose. In the Cote d’Ivoire, I needed cash, so I hailed…

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1.3K
3 min

Tips for Solo Travelers

When traveling alone, you gotta watch out for number one. That’s you. Here’s some commonsense things I recommend: Carry lots of small change in local currency. If you’re starting your…

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1.1K
3 min

Should I Move to France?

A recurring thought on this trip has been whether I should move to France. This land of cheese and wine and art has always been a distant future home in…

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1.5K
7 min

What an Old Slave Trading Port in Senegal Means to Me

On the western tip of Africa, an old slave trading port in Senegal sits at the heart of an emotional pilgrimage for many Americans. I made my own way one…

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682
4 min

Lost in the Fantasyland of the Gili Islands

Close to Bali, but not close enough to be an exact copy of its resorts, are a group of islands that look like three teardrops from up above. Called the…

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1.2K
4 min

No Cash Money, Mo’ Problems: Finding Small Change is a Constant Hustle

It was my first time eating grilled fish with my hands, but it was absolutely delicious, presented whole with eyes and tail on a big round metal platter, and I…

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1.1K
4 min

That Time a Dentist Pulled Out My Tooth in Africa

I haven’t regretted solo travel for a single bit until today, when I got a tooth pulled out by a dentist in Africa. Let me tell you about this tooth.…

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556
4 min

The Beauty and Scars of Sri Lanka

During my three days in Sri Lanka, all of my taxi drivers and hotel managers couldn’t walk away from our conversation without first mentioning “the incident.” The incident being, the…

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1.7K
4 min

Essays

Why I Quit My Job

When I became a foreign correspondent four years ago, I didn’t think I’d come home for a long time, like at least a decade. Home was a pleasant, privileged life…

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So I Traveled the World. How Much Did I Pollute?

On Respect: Being a Solo Female Traveler When Harassment is Guaranteed

Tips for Solo Travelers

Should I Move to France?

What an Old Slave Trading Port in Senegal Means to Me

Lost in the Fantasyland of the Gili Islands

No Cash Money, Mo’ Problems: Finding Small Change is a Constant Hustle

That Time a Dentist Pulled Out My Tooth in Africa

The Beauty and Scars of Sri Lanka

Why I Quit My Job

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