The worst thing I can imagine happened to a friend of mine this week. I started writing this the morning I found out (Wednesday, December 12, at 4:30 am). Then I had to put it aside to finish up my semester here at MIU, but now I am picking it up again. So it’s a … Continue reading When the worst thing happens →

What I look like these days The last few days have been really hard for me, and I thought it was mainly just end of semester fatigue; classes wrap up next week, and teaching four new courses at the same time has definitely been challenging. Plus, another friend died—this time the mother of one of … Continue reading Between worlds: On homesickness, not feeling like an alien, and finding home →

Hot water pipe in the bathroomI was planning to take a shower this morning, but as I walked in the bathroom, I sensed there was no hot water. No, I’m not psychic. The floor and pipes on the wall are warm when there’s hot water (it is part of the building’s heating system), so I … Continue reading Learning to live with limits →

The view from my apartment yesterdayThe same view, before the air pollution got too bad I’m slowly getting a handle on the research work I am trying to accomplish while I’m here in Mongolia. Instead of getting course relief to do research, I am doing it on top of teaching four completely new courses and … Continue reading Making sense of Mongolia’s environmental issues →

Potluck dinner in the dorm's student kitchen For the record, Thanksgiving has never been my favorite holiday. Growing up, I did enjoy the food, but once I became a vegetarian surrounded by omnivores, I lost interest, mainly because of my family’s insistence on the turkey-centered meal. More recently, after my parents died, my brother started … Continue reading Thanksgiving in Mongolia →

About five minutes before I was leaving for the office this morning to teach my 9:20 class, I found out that a friend of mine had died. Well, not a friend, exactly. More than that. One of my main supporters, mentors, sounding boards, cheerleaders. Since January 2017, I’ve been working with a business coach to … Continue reading Loss from a distance →

This is my home: My daughter drawing on the sofa shortly after we bought it. When I lived overseas before, I was in my 20s and 30s. Each time, I packed up my apartment and moved out, leaving whatever I wanted to keep in storage and giving the rest away. My parent’s house would become … Continue reading Where is home? →