“Mommy is Granddaddy speaking Spanish?” “No Jennifer, he’s speaking English – just like you!” I can’t recall if the first accent I heard was the Spanish of my Ecuadorian babysitter or the now endangered Gullah spoken by my grandfather and many South Carolina Sea Island natives. I do recall believing that if you weren’t…
For most people, travel equates with vacation – getting away from something, like work or the cold winter of Montreal. However, for me, it’s about seeking a powerful yet fleeting feeling, loss of bearings, a place where all my sense are reset. I am forced to disengage from the autopilot that is daily life: going…
Have you ever visited a place that gave you nightmares for months? That was Pompeii for me. I was six years old, and we visited the historical site with my parents on our way from Hungary to Algeria. I have no regrets, and it remains one of the most fascinating places I’ve seen. Nowhere else…
I was very excited on the eve of my first-ever airplane flight – probably like any four year old on a sugar high. I imagined how it would be, exciting sounds, big airplane, flashing lights, but most of all, I imagined whom I would meet – and I’m not talking about the other passengers. I…
These beautiful photographs of Afghanistan in the 50s remind me of Beirut in the 70s. I look at them both with fascination and sadness. I’ve visited Beirut after the civil war, in the summer of 2001. I had the privilege of making many Lebanese friends and live among them for over a month. They are…