Women Gather in South Carolina to Exchange Gifts for the Soul

Peace. Artistic Expression. Adventure. Beauty. Sisterhood. Self-care. My holiday season commenced with a road trip to Rock Hill, South Carolina where women of all ages gave and received gifts that nourished the spirit. Ruth Surface of Mended by Hand Massage and Wellness organized the event which benefited Keep It Real, Mommy,  a nonprofit organization empowering women to care for their emotional, physical, and spiritual…

Rising from Travel Trauma

Last spring when my friend Caroline offered me her holiday home as my private writing retreat, I was thrilled. Though we’d never met in person, we’d been in contact since 2016 just before I left Morocco. After I moved to the Dominican Republic, she bought the house and sent me photos of each phase of its restoration. I was returning to Marrakech in June…

Under the Moroccan Sun: Restoring a Holiday Home

The house is a metaphor for the self, of course, but it also is totally real. And a foreign house exaggerates all the associations houses carry…. And, ah, the foreign self. The new life might shape itself to the contours of the house, which already is at home in the landscape, and to the rhythms around it.–Frances Mayes, Under the Tuscan Sun I love…

Five Reasons for a Southern Girl Getaway in Asheville, North Carolina

Asheville, North Carolina makes a great girl getaway destination–not only because of the beautiful Biltmore mansion (which housed the Glamour On Board: Fashion from Titanic The Movie exhibit I LOVED) but also because of five other fabulous finds. Reason 1: The Downtown Restaurants Reason 2: The Shopping Reason 3: Biltmore Gardens and Grounds Wonder beckons as you enter The Biltmore Estate through what seems…

When the Crazy Child Writes…on Memoir, Loss, and Letting Go

I had thought the workshop would be good for me. I was thankful for a chance to focus on creating something rather than losing everything.

Piantini Pleasures…Good Eats in Santo Domingo

We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.–David Mamet I am not a glutton.  I am an explorer of food.–Erma Bombeck Santo Domingo has surprised me with its wealth of food choices– from mega groceries full of imports to familiar chains and international cuisine.  While many coworkers have cooks and cars,  I have neither, so I try to…

Salsa in the City: Santo Domingo Rises from Ruins

Dance first. Think later. It’s the natural order. – Samuel Beckett For those wanting the ultimate Dominican experience, check out Las Ruinas in Santo Domingo where every Sunday night locals gather to dance merengue, bachata (both invented here) and salsa—the world dance popular from Asia to Africa to Australia. I love hearing Latin music played daily in taxis, groceries, and restaurants and hearing it…

Farewell Brunch at The Selman

Leaving Marrakech was like leaving Oz– a technicolor, over-the-rainbow dream that brought together traveling companions from faraway places who became lifelong friends. Like me, Kate from Australia, Jasna from Canada, and Synovve from Norway discovered within us unexpected courage, wisdom, and heart.  I learned so much from these three Baby Boomer single ladies about reinvention, growth, and joy.  They are still in Marrakesh, and…

Moments and Memories of International Teaching

“What will be your moment this summer?” asked Jodie as eighteen coworkers sat Indian style on our apartment complex rooftop under a full moon. A packed school year had ended with high energy and emotion— Moroccan Heritage Day, ASM’s 20th Anniversary Celebration, Graduation, our final faculty meeting sending some of us off for summer…others for good. Tears, hugs, and kisses had given way to…

Branson, Beldi, and a Birthday

Before moving abroad, my friend, Dana, told me how important–how vital–my expat community would be.  She and I were part of the same school family  in the US, and she had a network of close friends at church.  Still, having already taught in Morocco and having lived in France, she said the way friends live together, work together, do life together when family and…

St. John’s Eve in Vigo: Midsummer Night’s Dream

He will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair.–Isaiah 61:3 Trust your heart if the seas catch fire; live by love though the stars walk backward.—E. E. Cummings Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second…

Finding Friends in Fes

Frazzled, frustrated, fearful in Fes. I left not a fan. To be fair, the seven- hour bus ride on CTM with no bathroom break began the trip badly. At 10 AM as Monica and I tried to board behind other passengers allowed on the coach at the station, we were yelled at angrily and herded back into the lobby. As we showed the glaring…