We are back in the US for about seven weeks this summer. We’re starting out in San Diego, California, which is where I lived for about 20 years before moving to Mongolia. Emerson was born there, and until we moved to Mongolia it was their only home (for new-ish readers, Emerson is my agender teen … Continue reading Back in the USA for a bit
Tag: expat life
My neurodivergent travel patterns
Emerson's travels, 2008, 2009, 2010 I realized a long time ago that I don’t travel like a lot of people I know. When they list off their 14 European cities in 10 days itineraries, I have a panic attack. When they talk about how many sights they saw on a week-long trip to the US … Continue reading My neurodivergent travel patterns
Realizing what we’ve lost
Really, she's photo bombing. Start of school, 2018 It’s August now, and usually I/we start to think of the coming school year. I took July “off.” I wrapped up the sale of our house, did some administrative stuff (you never realize how many people and organizations have your address until you move, especially when you … Continue reading Realizing what we’ve lost
Back to Mongolia?
Sheltering in place, March 2020 What seems like a lifetime ago (it was March 12, 2020, less than two weeks), Emma and I were sitting at the café table outside of the art studio where she took art lessons until Covid-19 closed everything down. She was talking about what was becoming a familiar topic: how … Continue reading Back to Mongolia?
What we learned from living in Mongolia
A "ger" tissue box I wanted to write about our time in Mongolia for a number of reasons. I have lived overseas several times in my life, but many of my experiences are lost to me because I never consistently wrote about them. You always think you are going to remember things, but you start … Continue reading What we learned from living in Mongolia
How it all began
I am writing a book based on our experience in Mongolia, and this morning I wrote out how it all got started. People still ask me how we ended up going to Mongolia. Here's how: The email subject line was “Teach in Mongolia?” It was from a professor in my department at UCSD, sent out … Continue reading How it all began
My life as a ghost
Sunrise from my living room It’s my second morning waking up in Ulaanbaatar. I actually woke up several times this morning, starting at 12:35 am, then back to sleep sometime around 2. I woke up again at around 3:30, and after a decent-feeling sleep I woke up for the last time at 5:30. Tonight, I … Continue reading My life as a ghost
Heading back to Mongolia
The summer, like most things, didn’t go according to plan. I had thought that I would have plenty of time for writing and for making progress on the book that is emerging from our experience in Mongolia. Emma wanted to focus on her drawing and on hanging out with the dogs. Instead, inspired by our … Continue reading Heading back to Mongolia
What we miss about living in Mongolia
Our view of Misheel Expo and Bogd Khan Uul on our last day in Mongolia Now that we are back in the US, our experience of Mongolia has entered a new phase. We both miss it and talk about our life there a lot. Emma of course misses her friends. She had her first couple … Continue reading What we miss about living in Mongolia
Random things I’ve found interesting about living in Mongolia, in no particular order
Random skullCar free day It’s the end of the semester here, and I have a lot of things to get done as a result. It’s going to be hard for me to write a blog post for the next week or so. But I know I have a number of regular readers now, so I’m … Continue reading Random things I’ve found interesting about living in Mongolia, in no particular order
Two Vegetarians in Mongolia 