“Daisho in Temple, Miyajima, Japan” (CC BY 2.0) by Imahinasyon Photography A plain wooden trunk in the basement of the house of my childhood was off limits. Its contents included my parents’ mementos from the days before we children arrived. The kewpie doll my dad won for my mom at the fair, some dish towels mom had embroideredContinue reading “J is for Japan”
Category Archives: Blogging
I is for Iran
“Music Room” (CC BY 2.0) by D-Stanley I loved it and I hated it on the same day every day for 882 days. It was Iran, and my love-hate relationship began on April 2, 1975, at the start of what I referred to as the world’s most elaborate April Fool’s gag. Two years before, I hadn’t thought suchContinue reading “I is for Iran”
H is for Hungary
“Szechenyi scene” (CC BY 2.0) by karaian Five days in Budapest, Hungary, in October 2000: that’s all the time I spent there. On the Thursday of that week, October 12, while I was attending a conference on travel issues in Budapest, the USS Cole was attacked in Aden Harbor on the southern coast of Yemen. What’s the connection?Continue reading “H is for Hungary”
G is for Germany
“Germany” (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) by barnyz From 1985 to 1987, I spent my spare time in Germany in search of a bad German restaurant. I didn’t find one. The closest I came was a mediocre restaurant in an area that catered to tourists–Oberammergau. I decided that one didn’t count.
F is for Fargo
“fargo” (CC BY-NC 2.0) by almostsummersky I arrived in Fargo by way of St. Luke’s Hospital, my birthplace. While I never lived in Fargo–my family lived across the Red River of the North in Moorhead, Minnesota–there is no denying that Fargo had a big impact on my life. And initially, all I wanted was to get away fromContinue reading “F is for Fargo”
E is for Eritrea
Eritrea had been independent for less time than I had worked for the US Department of State when I arrived there in February 2004. I knew very little about it, only that it gained independence from Ethiopia in the early 1990s. My stay in Eritrea was short–just four months. But by the time I left,Continue reading “E is for Eritrea”
D is for Doha
“Doha skyline” (CC BY 2.0) by Francisco Anzola When I got off the plane late one October evening in 1987 in Doha, my first thought was Who left the oven door open? The heat assaulted me at the top of the stairs set up on the tarmac to facilitate passengers getting off the plane. I had never feltContinue reading “D is for Doha”
C is for Cairo
“The Great Pyramid & Sphinx, Cairo, Egypt” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Aero Pixels I didn’t want to go to Cairo. I had just arrived in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in August of 1996 to take up my responsibilities as management officer of the US Embassy there. I was eager to get started. But instead, I was sentContinue reading “C is for Cairo”
B is for Barbados
“Harbour” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Loozrboy Ever dreamed of living on a tropical paradise island? I did. Both the dreaming and the living. From December 1989 to June 1991, I lived in Bridgetown, Barbados, where I worked first as one of six consular officers and then as the financial management officer of the US Embassy. But Barbados wasn’tContinue reading “B is for Barbados”
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