After six long, unexpected months in the U.S., I have finally reached my final destination: Chicago. As I wind down my trip here and get ready …
Chicago: A Second Time in the Second City
United States
Hometown Hero: Goodbye North Carolina
I was once allergic to routine. It felt threatening, something that would trap me and prevent me from living my life fully. The rigidness of …
6 More U.S. Reverse Culture Shocks
One of my favorite parts of coming back to the U.S. intermittently is that I always get some surprising reverse culture shocks. Each trip, I …
Wet Hot American Summer
I never saw Wet Hot American Summer, but from what I understand, it’s about a bunch of camp counselors trying to cram a summer of …
Closing the Covid Chapter
Covid lockdowns meant a lot of sitting around in my own anxiety worrying about my life. But it also helped me come up with some …
Voting from Abroad and Why I Almost Didn’t Vote
Before you read any further, I voted. But, to be perfectly honest, I really did not want to. At some point, voting became the equivalent …
Watching the U.S. Fall Apart from Afar: A Note From Your Worried Friend Abroad
“Don’t you want to go back to the U.S. eventually?” I get this question a lot. I could write an entire blog post about my …
7 Things That Catch Me Off-guard When I Visit the U.S.
My Chinese visa expired. Time out. R.I.P. My future hangs in the grasp of the Chinese consulate in D.C. In the meantime, I’m banished back …
A Homecoming Surprise in New York
I don’t know a lot about my Great Uncle Allen, yet he’s a bit of a role model. He went all over the world in …
Passing the Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT)
I took the U.S. Department of State Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT) October 7th. Due to my move from Colombia to Argentina only two weeks …