• 5 Things to Know Before Teaching English Abroad

    Oh man, the dreams we have before embarking on expat life, the ideas we have before teaching English abroad! Visions of motivated students delighted with every inspired lesson, eager to listen to the wisdom you drop. Relaxing sunset…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Why I Decided to Stay in Kiev

    Two new coffee shops have opened up on my street in the last week. One is right down the block from a shop called Meat Loves Cheese, which I have yet to visit despite its tantalizing name.…