• On Leaving Ukraine

    I knew it was time to leave Ukraine when they knocked down the cigarette stands across the street. It’s not that I smoke cigarettes, but that was my go-to place for late night chocolate. I had established…

  • Why Visit Odessa, Ukraine, for a Film Festival

    If you’re looking for general recommendations about what to do when you visit Odessa, Ukraine, including food, bars, and beaches, please scroll to the bottom of the page. It was 9:58am, and I had just run across…

  • Two Years of Expat Life, Three Lessons Learned

    Today is my two year anniversary of getting on a plane and flying over Canada to Tokyo, where I’d spend a brief, adrenaline-pumped fourteen hours before continuing on to Singapore. It was the start of my expat…

  • What To Do on Your Second Visit to Paris

    Your first time in Paris is a champagne-soaked vision of dreams come true. You eagerly check off all the must-dos, the Eiffel Tower, the Mona Lisa, a Seine picnic. Paris the first time is all about throwing…

  • How to Get to the Tunnel of Love in Ukraine

    You’ve seen the pictures. A lush tree canopy over a train track, stillness and peace radiating from your computer screen. A leafy tunnel that looks like it leads to Narnia or Titania and Oberon’s realm or at the…

  • My Favorite Kharkiv Cocktail Bars

    I have come a long way from being the girl who was scared of entering English countryside pubs solo. A long way. Now, I head to cities with the determination to make a thorough investigation of their…