International schools and white savior complex

An ad at the old international airport; it reads "Empowering Students to Make a Difference" The other evening was Back to School Night at Devin’s school, and I had a thoroughly enjoyable evening. It was the first time I was able to attend one of these since 8th grade (they’re in 11th grade now). It … Continue reading International schools and white savior complex →

A long overdue update

The park where we walk the dogs Yesterday I got a message from a longtime reader asking if we were OK, which prompted me to to see when my last post was made. I had a vague sense of “sometime during the summer.” It was nearly three months ago, when we were back in the … Continue reading A long overdue update →

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 →