Fill Up, and Empty: Seven Days in Chengdu, China
What do you know about Chengdu, China? What I knew about Chengdu, China, would not fill a teacup. How could I know so little about a city of 21 million people? David and I came to Chengdu because it...
Sister Strangers: Remembering not to Forget Japan, April/May 2025
My spouse and I have been living on the road for eighteen months, as perpetual strangers, in a different country every month. I have been writing an essay about each place, with a historian's...
The Sound of Silence: Jeju Island March/April 2025
White waves, green water, and black volcanic rock, stirred by high wind. The view was wild, but inside, all was calm. I was at a coffee shop in the Naedo neighborhood of Jeju City, on Jeju Island. A...
Sri Lanka: Hard and Hopeful Land. February, 2025.
I come from Minnesota. USA, a region of the world where February is so cold, artists create shanties on frozen lakes and people flock to see their creations. They build ice castles and call...
Fill Up, and Empty: Seven Days in Chengdu, China
What do you know about Chengdu, China? What I knew about Chengdu, China, would not fill a teacup. How could I know so little about a city of 21 million people? David and I came to Chengdu because it...
Sister Strangers: Remembering not to Forget Japan, April/May 2025
My spouse and I have been living on the road for eighteen months, as perpetual strangers, in a different country every month. I have been writing an essay about each place, with a historian's...
The Sound of Silence: Jeju Island March/April 2025
White waves, green water, and black volcanic rock, stirred by high wind. The view was wild, but inside, all was calm. I was at a coffee shop in the Naedo neighborhood of Jeju City, on Jeju Island. A...
Sri Lanka: Hard and Hopeful Land. February, 2025.
I come from Minnesota. USA, a region of the world where February is so cold, artists create shanties on frozen lakes and people flock to see their creations. They build ice castles and call...
Recent Posts
Fill Up, and Empty: Seven Days in Chengdu, China
What do you know about Chengdu, China? What I knew about Chengdu, China, would not fill a teacup. How could I know so little about a city of 21 million people? David and I came to Chengdu because it...
Sister Strangers: Remembering not to Forget Japan, April/May 2025
My spouse and I have been living on the road for eighteen months, as perpetual strangers, in a different country every month. I have been writing an essay about each place, with a historian's...
The Sound of Silence: Jeju Island March/April 2025
White waves, green water, and black volcanic rock, stirred by high wind. The view was wild, but inside, all was calm. I was at a coffee shop in the Naedo neighborhood of Jeju City, on Jeju Island. A...
Sri Lanka: Hard and Hopeful Land. February, 2025.
I come from Minnesota. USA, a region of the world where February is so cold, artists create shanties on frozen lakes and people flock to see their creations. They build ice castles and call...
Welcome!
I write about nationalism, immigration, public history, sustainable economies, MeToo issues and the politics of travel