I am many things in Vietnam that I am not in the US.
Vietnamese Gina is a carnivore, a coffee drinker and a night owl. She drinks bottled water and light beer with ice.
She remembers her dreams and doesn't wear makeup.
Vietnamese Gina still smiles and nods at people, but mostly because she can't speak properly to anyone ( Read more... )

Chengwei ordered breakfast Bahn Mi Sammies for breakfast. Eggs, peppers, green onions and hot sauce were stuffed into a baguette. I was going with Nancy, Chengwei's mom, to see the Ho Chi Tunnels that the Viet Cong used during the Vietnam War. The bus is 50 minutes late to pick us up and the security guard in front of the apartment keeps asking us ( Read more... )

I sat next to a rising sophomore from the University of Illinois at Champagne-Urbana on my cross oceanic flight to Seoul. He sounded like perhaps Korean was his first language but then started asking me about customs and if he could leave and return to the airport before his 8 am connection. I told him about visiting Brianna and that he could ( Read more... )

I was reading the most beautiful in-flight magazine called Morning Calm. It's in Korean and English and featured beautiful photos of scenic vistas and pastoral first person narrative including this lovely little poem about summer.
GREEN LEAVES
By Chung Dong-muk
Return to the source, I hear
Impossible it may be
To roam with the deer
The morn scenery at ( Read more... )

July 5, 2013
Thanks for reading you're are getting this message because you are an important part of my network and have supported me in this trip in some way, expressed interest in knowing what I'm up to, are a fellow globetrotter, or have received my travel emails from past trips. But hey, don't feel obligated to read and let me know if you want ( Read more... )

Day I ( Read more... )

Blu’s an obstinate soul all of her days ( Read more... )

This afternoon I weathered an earthquake ( Read more... )

I. Do Now

I am respecting the conundrum
I am from the pages of novels
I wonder why you think
what you think
of me
I am respecting the conundrum
I worry about things I'll never control
I understand the laws of physics don't govern
the soul
I am respecting the conundrum

II. By Sara B.

Gina's skin is warm and inviting
Like sand heated up by the sun.

She is ( Read more... )

The near-empty glass pot with the pink lid reminds me ( Read more... )