I am leaving behind a girl who has been sheltered for all of her life, a girl who swallowed what the media fed her and accepted headlines that were only half of the truth. I’ve only ever seen the United States, and even then only my small, northeastern part of it. But as I was stepping onto the plane to Dubai at Logan, I shed that version of myself.
Read MoreWhat are you doing over the summer? My usual reply is: I am going off to summer camps, traveling with my family, and relaxing at home. Never have I understood that my freedom during the summer and my parents’ fulfillment of my happy and exciting summer is very expensive.
Read MoreI love airports. The overwhelming grandeur of planes taking off, the rush of people hurrying to their respective gates, the whooshing of deadlines flying by. The airport is a site of everlasting commotion and company; yet at the same time, it is inexplicably lonely.
Read MoreFor the past few days, I have been thinking about what I need for this trip – toothbrush, hat, passport, deodorant (weather.com says it’s going to be 108 degrees!)—but above all, I knew I would need an open mind for this trip.
Read MoreThis trip, steeped and stinking already with the desire to escape and renew, takes me by surprise. It is being Presented to me, using the word presented most literally, as in handed to me like a gift. An opportunity yearned for so often by others, unabashedly: a clean slate.
Read MoreWhen I stepped aboard Emirates flight EK238 headed for Dubai, I left behind everything familiar to me in America.
Read MoreAs soon as our feet crossed the entranceway of the terminal, I realized the impossibility of turning back and running
Read MoreLast night, I dined with my mother’s mother’s sister’s daughter’s nine year old son. (Dining might be too strong of a word – we went to an “All American Buffet” restaurant in a northern district of Seoul. The food was trying hard to be American, but the various peppers thrown into nearly every dish did not agree with my Boston-raised taste buds.) I didn’t even catch his name.
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