• The Best Bars in Kyiv

    When people ask me what I miss about Kyiv, I say my friends – including my bartenders. I think my mom cringes at this, but I promise it’s not a confession of alcoholism. What I love about…

  • Required Travel Reading: Books About Ukraine

    Books are (sometimes) better than travel. Even with over a year and a half in Ukraine, there’s only so much culture and history and cocktails I had time to soak up. Reading books about Ukraine added dimension…

  • On Leaving Ukraine

    I knew it was time to leave Ukraine when they knocked down the cigarette stands across the street. It’s not that I smoke cigarettes, but that was my go-to place for late night chocolate. I had established…

  • 5 Things to Know Before Teaching English Abroad

    Oh man, the dreams we have before embarking on expat life, the ideas we have before teaching English abroad! Visions of motivated students delighted with every inspired lesson, eager to listen to the wisdom you drop. Relaxing sunset…

  • Why Visit Odessa, Ukraine, for a Film Festival

    If you’re looking for general recommendations about what to do when you visit Odessa, Ukraine, including food, bars, and beaches, please scroll to the bottom of the page. It was 9:58am, and I had just run across…

  • Two Years of Expat Life, Three Lessons Learned

    Today is my two year anniversary of getting on a plane and flying over Canada to Tokyo, where I’d spend a brief, adrenaline-pumped fourteen hours before continuing on to Singapore. It was the start of my expat…

  • What To Do on Your Second Visit to Paris

    Your first time in Paris is a champagne-soaked vision of dreams come true. You eagerly check off all the must-dos, the Eiffel Tower, the Mona Lisa, a Seine picnic. Paris the first time is all about throwing…