About time I posted an update from Bali! I actually broke my laptop my first day in here- and by first day I mean within hours of landing in Bali after 36 hours flying from US my laptop simply would not turn on – so with some initial tears and “holy crap, I’m screwed” thoughts rolling through my head I was forced to hunt down a local computer repair center recommended by the locals (details at the bottom).
Telephone Conversation with my Computer Technicians
I’m going to jump right into my …

“The American South” is one of those phrases that carries with it all sorts of implications depending on who you ask; Hollywood has sculpted the image of a region dotted with slow-talking hicks settled alongside gun-toting cowboys and the good-ole Southern hospitality thrown in there to serve up some sweet tea, fried chicken, and a dollop of mayonnaise.

I actually grew up in the South, although saying that and being from Florida can cause all sorts of eye rolls from “true southerners;” but I do consider myself a southerner. Florida …

Travel Memories: Cambodian Child Dancers Training

Chatting with the children at the orphanage I volunteered at last year in Cambodian my eyes popped open and I stuttered into a shocked silence as they casually stretched their fingers backwards – their fingers dipping so far back over the top of their hands with pressure that the tips could actually touch their arms.
Just as I used to practice my Irish dance steps under the chairs during lectures in class, these kids took any opportunity to stretch their fingers and further the process that …

Travel Memories: Cuban Men Chatting Through Windows

I haven’t talked much about traveling through Cuba but this image is pretty iconicly Cuba in my memories – the cities are filled with crumbling houses once painted with an array of blues, yellows and oranges but the wealth that built most of Cuba decades ago has simply faded over the years – zero maintenance and little money an equalizer in the city.
Every single house has these huge floor length windows looking onto the streets and it’s completely common to glimpse grandmothers perched …

Nestled into the cozy, cushioned table beds in Café D’Noz on Lago de Atitlán I was taken off guard when my server climbed up onto the cushions to whisper in my ear. At first all I heard was a bit of hushed syllables inaudible over the blaring movie showing in the café. With a questioning look from me she repeated the sentence in a hurried voice and rapidly stilting English.
“If you have drugs – flush in toilet now, police do drug raid next door. Do now.”
San Pedro on Lake …

One full hour after starting our project we finally had the first layer of concrete blocks nestled next to each other, absolutely perfectly level and arranged in a large rectangular shape. Mitul and Grace, also volunteers from the Pop Wuj language school in Guatemala, carefully scrapped at the wet red clay while I was nearby hefting up each and every concrete block into tubs of pond water, allowing each block to soak for 10 minutes before taking it to Mitul and Grace. These concrete blocks were the first step …

It a moment that pretty much fully resembled the temper-tantrum two year olds throw, I stamped my foot, emphatically shaking my head at the taxi-driver attempting to charge me fully double the fare I know my ride should cost.
“No, no, no. Ridículo. Yo sé que este precio es absolutamente ridículo!”, I rapidly spit out.
And in English that would be “Ridiculous.  I know this price is absolutely ridiculous.”
Then, with a good-natured grin the taxi driver assures me that this is the standard price. The locals price. Everyone gets charged this …

As I glanced up from my task of delicately descending the roughly cobbled steps I noticed a group of six Guatemalan teenagers below thrusting small cameras and cell phones in my direction. Giggles and huge smiles on their faces, this group was clearly excited over something far bigger than just the presence of this sweaty gringa navigating down the steps of an old church in Antigua’s bustling Parque Central.
I darted a quick look around me and my gaze landed on something, quite literally, far bigger than me…about a full …