• Moving Back to Kyiv. Again.

    I know they say be careful what you wish for, but it wasn’t like I wished to be back here. I just made a joke, that’s all.  It wasn’t even a particularly good one. About a year…

  • Three Days in Gdansk, Poland

    Of all the cities on our Polish road trip, Gdansk is the one that I squirreled away the most time for, taking advantage of the fact that I was planning this trip and my family was not.…

  • Practical Trans Siberian Tips

    I had never dreamed of this trip, wasn’t even considering it when I first moved to Moscow, but a few months in the seeds had been planted — sliding through Russia on the Trans Siberian train, one…

  • Is It Safe to Travel Dagestan? Or Stupid?

    Every time I told a new person that I planned to travel Dagestan during our school holidays, I had to digest their expression and ask myself, again, “What’s the difference between being stupid and being brave?” It…

  • The Only Thing I’ve Learned This Year

    It’s my expat anniversary! Three years ago, I boarded a plane headed for Tokyo, where I’d spend a night before going on to Singapore. I don’t remember which airline I flew, though it was definitely not United…

  • The Truth about Solo Female Travel in Georgia

    Solo female travel in Georgia is a mixed bag. There, I said it, and I know I risk riling some people. Georgians are renowned for their hospitality – which is completely true. They are some of the…

  • How to Choose Your Next Expat Home

    The snow pants were presenting a problem. As was my Little Red Riding Hood pea coat, my cozy and fluffy sweater shawl, and my snow boots. Leaving Kyiv and moving to Tbilisi in the middle of winter meant…