I have been practicing yoga off and on for about a decade now. Try as I might, I haven’t managed to become an advanced yogi (ie, I can’t stand on my head or my arms, STILL). I can’t be consistent with my practice for one reason or another. Nevertheless, I …
This year is the third holiday season that I’ve spent away from home, marking it the longest consecutive holidays abroad. Truth be told, I was more homesick this year than usual. There is nothing particularly special about what my family does for the holidays, but just being around them provides that air of comfort. The holidays tunes about being home for the season resonated me more this year than ever.
It’s 9pm, and I am writing from my office. Somehow, and I am not sure how, there are only 12 days left of 2014. After putting in a 12+ hour day at the office, I wanted to stop and reflect, and think about where time has gone. Nearly two months …
Shanghai has been unseasonably warm this fall. Yesterday was the first of November, yet I was still strolling around the city in a t-shirt and a scarf. Days of rain had subsided, and I went for a stroll with a friend. It was still somewhat overcast, combined with pollution made …
It was a rather ordinary day here in Shanghai. I struggled out of bed at 6am and went to work. It was the 2nd week in a row of beautiful weather, so I took note of the clear Shanghai skyline from my 25th floor office, with floor to ceiling windows. …
Today is the last day of October break; what a whirlwind of a week it has been! I put my girls in a taxi to the airport this morning, and am now sitting at a café reflecting, and taking in this blissful week. On their last evening, we experienced a classic …
It is with immense gratitude that I welcome another new year of my life. Within merely 36 hours, I traveled 8,237 miles from St. Louis to Shanghai, caught up with friends who have been in my life for over a decade, as well as celebrated this milestone with new friends whom I’ve met over these past two years. In between, flurries of message came in from all corners of the world. I marvel at the connections that I have made, literally across the globe.
At times, the life of a wanderlust can feel awfully lonely, but today, my heart is full and I feel love coming from all corners of this magnificent world. How wonderful it is to travel between my different worlds, and be reminded just how wonderful the human connection is. I don’t know how else to express how thankful I am to the universe, so, in honor of my 28th birthday, I share the 28 things that I am thankful for today, in no particular order:
Amongst my travels, people seem to be the most impressed by my stint in Cameroon with the Peace Corps. People often asked, “What was it like adjusting to the culture?” Surely, something so different would have been massively difficult. Yet what most people don’t realize is that moving to a …
Recently, I’ve been getting back into running. I’m not a good runner by any means, but I enjoy the process. I enjoy the meditative nature of zoning out to music and having time totally to myself. Since being introduced to Runnershai, a running group in Shanghai, I’ve been going to …
A relatively new co-worker of mine is really into running, and has been trying to get the office to join in on various runs around town. I’m not a serious runner, but I do enjoy the occasional jog. I used to run a lot more when I lived in places …