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Sunlight is a miracle, Spring is beautiful, and they make the rest of the world’s troubles vanish for a moment. I moved to the Netherlands in the greyest November in over a decade. The winter was milder than Ohio’s, but the rain and clouds and bleakness of it all made it difficult to really embrace…
People know me as a very kind, patient, and empathetic person. I see good in other people, and am quick to understand/forgive their mistakes. But I have a harder time applying this attitude toward myself. Especially over the past year, I’ve worked hard to try to be my own best friend. I’ve still got a…
The last time I took a big trip, I literally had no home to come back to. Now, I ended two months of travel feeling happier and more motivated than I have since I left Columbus, surrounded by new community, and eager to see what comes next. Travel Shortage My last travel post concluded after…
Public transit, foreign stares, surveillance state, and consumerism, yay! The China leg of my trip was the most unfamiliar to me, and I was nervous about existing there as a trans person. My first interaction with the Chinese government affirmed this anxiety, as I was made to write and sign this for my visa application,…
If I have to be subjected to global discourse on this bullshit, then you can at least read what a trans person has to say about it. My Experience As a trans person, and an American subjected to years of national (now international) media attention on this “issue”, I have thought about it a lot.…
Australia Part 2! Including a bigger detour than Kauai to see the Great Barrier Reef, and good times in Brisbane with another friend. A busy last week in Queensland! The Call of THe Reef So. I knew the Great Barrier Reef was in Australia. And I knew that I’d be in Australia. But my brain…
My first time down under! Australia has been generous to me, as have my friends. This is how the first 2 weeks went, in New South Wales. Sydney + Blue Mountains June 12th was lost to me as I flew over the International Date Line, and arrived in Sydney the afternoon of the 13th. After…
Whoops, this one got away from me. Hawai’i was so amazing, I had to spend my first week in Australia writing about it 😂 Trying out some new photo galleries, and for the first time – VIDEO! Maui Resorts The first 5 days were with my mom, aunt, and cousin in a resort on the…
This is the first of several travel updates for my 65-day round-the-world trip (context in this post). Although this trip is expected to be less stuffed with activities, I’m going to try to keep these posts short for my own sake. First up, we have a weekend stop in Luxembourg city, followed by 4 days…
I officially moved to the Netherlands on November 14, 2024, which means it’s time for a 3-month update! Here’s how I’ve been, what I’ve been up to, and of course more musings on life. Headings: Logistics – Adventures – Environment – Culture – Sadness – Future Administration, Bureaucracy, and Procedures As you might expect, there…