Every time I have done IVF, it has shattered me a little on the inside. It shatters—and exhausts—me because I know for the next four weeks, Bitter and Hope will be coming to stay as houseguests. Hope is great—she really makes such an effort, is so encouraging to me with gentle words and whispers like, “it’s okay that you have to cancel your plans to go to that wedding—remember the big picture is that you could be pregnant in a month.” Read more
BELGRADE, SERBIA–We first met Sayid* under the blazing hot sun in the park near Belgrade’s main railway station last Thursday. My friend Maja and I had decided to go down to the park to hand out milk, fruit, crackers and juice to refugee mothers, children and families who were in transit from southern Serbia to the Hungarian/Serbian border in the north. While talking with a fleeing family from Damascus—who had been on the road for the last month hoping to get to Germany— Sayid sauntered up and began helping translate. His English was pretty close to perfect, with a light accent, and so I asked him if he and I could speak when I finished the interview. He agreed. Read more
LONDON–I am going to bust open a London urban legend: Americans don’t automatically fail their driving exam the first time they take it.
I will admit this was a scaremongering myth even I perpetuated before I took my exam, as I had heard from American friends and colleagues countless horror stories of examiners failing people because they hesitated when backing around a corner (which feels so illegal for American drivers who had it beaten into us during driver’s ed courses to never ever do that), or because they hadn’t checked their mirrors every 45 seconds in a counterclockwise manner. Read more
FRANKFORT, MICHIGAN—I have been reviewing and writing about the arts for a good part of my journalistic career; everything from profiles of artists like Indonesia’s Heri Dono to theatre reviews like the strange site-specific production I saw in Lithuania in 2009. But I have never had to review anything I have done—because I haven’t been involved in the arts since I did some theatre back in college 20 (gulp!) years ago. Reviewing something you are in is akin to when a teacher allows the class to grade themselves; you either give yourself an A (healthy ego) or an F, if you have low self-esteem. Interestingly, no one ever gives himself or herself a C. Read more
LONDON—It’s the time of year that I love most, when spring has graciously stepped aside for summer. It probably dates back to my childhood; when school was out, not only did it mean no more teachers and no more books, but also a long period of time away from the perceived drudgery of daily life and a respite on the waters of Crystal Lake, near Frankfort. Michigan. My family has had a home there for four generations—now five, with my young nephew experiencing the joys of chasing chipmunks, being awed by sunsets over Lake Michigan and licking Superman ice cream, a tasteless swirl of blue, yellow and pink. Read more