We are the only two foreigners. Scratch that — the only two Asians in a sea of local Jordanians and other Arabians. In a balcony cafe awash with the perfumed smoke of nargile, we overlook the quiet chaos of downtown Amman. For a moment, everything seems simple, unable to be deconstructed and analyzed. For [...]
Archive for the ‘Epiphanies on the Road’ Category
Understanding a Moment in Amman
Sunday, June 19th, 2011On the way from JFK Airport
Saturday, April 23rd, 2011I took this shortly after landing from my South America trip 3 weeks ago, somewhere outside of JFK International Airport in NYC. I had forgotten about it until I found it in my memory card the other day. This image just gets to me; a memorial arrangement of flowers in the middle of a expressway, [...]
One Week in South America
Monday, April 4th, 2011As I step back on the escalators leading down to the NYC Subway, I see how much of the last 9 days I can remember. I remember Lima; the way we danced around the fountains as they danced around us, the taste of Peruvian chicken in the middle of the night, getting our 5am flight [...]
Bogota!
Thursday, March 31st, 2011Within the moment I stepped in line to board my flight to Bogota, Colombia, I noticed the difference: I was the only foreigner on this plane. I’ve been used to this, having traveled more of my fair share on alternative routes in Southeast and South Asia, but it became more of shock having spent the [...]
San Salvador, Lima, and a Mid-flight f*** up
Sunday, March 27th, 2011Before I know it, I’m already fast packed to another trip across the border. What’s different this time is that out of all the inhabitable continents of the world (sorry Antartica, unless global warming happens, you don’t count), only South America and Australia have remained elusive to me.We get on a morning TACA flight at [...]
When it’s over…
Tuesday, January 4th, 20113 months of fundraising and 4 days of construction later… Day 1 Day 2 Day 2 Day 2 Day 3 Day 3 Day 4 As you can tell, we had no idea which camera to look at I don’t believe any of us fully grasped the impact of what we were doing until we had [...]
It’s about to begin, again.
Friday, December 24th, 2010No rest for the weary. A little preview of what we’re doing Not even 3 days after unpacking from Hong Kong, I’m already repacking for 5 days in Mexico: 2 short-sleeved shirts 2 long-sleeved shirts 2 pairs of pants 4 pairs of underwear 4 pairs of socks 1 fleece 1 sweatshirt 1 krama 1 pair [...]
Everything I missed about airports.
Thursday, December 16th, 2010I won’t lie, the first thing that came over me when I stepped into JFK Airport 30 minutes ago was “Again?!” “Ay, but I’m tired.“ Like a familiar scent the sterile linoleum gloss of JFK Airport reminded me everything I hated about flying: long lines, either having something lost or destroyed at security, misplacing my passport, [...]
From the Moleskine: Batad, Philippines
Thursday, August 19th, 2010Written Friday June 4th, 2010; 2:40pm Philippines Time, around the publication of Batad Reviewed The nature here is so splendid, complete with the sounds of villagers preparing rice, the caw of roosters, the buzz of inects, you’d think the world never changed in the last millenia. The life is so rustic and simple, you would wonder why [...]
“kuch bhi ho sakhta hai”
Friday, August 13th, 2010Now playing: M83 – Lower Your Eyelids to Die With the Sun The echoes of Jeff Buckley. An autorickshaw roars by an airport runway. I came in as a stranger, left as a friend. I came in unsure what I was looking for, I left knowing what I needed to search for. It’s not about [...]
