I had the most beautiful ice cream cone the other day. The rain was just stopping, and the Kyoto street colors were accentuated by the wet. Red lanterns, dark wood, carefully arranged potted plants, flocks of bright umbrellas. As I savored both the green tea color AND flavor, I remembered...
Baseball in Hiroshim...
posted by J
A memory of my maternal grandmother, who used expressive words and expressive gestures to carry everyday conversations so well: Mama Liz often worked in references to music in her stories. She would say something like “Dah dah dah dah dah” in a particular rhythm, and her hands and...
A Porter Who Pauses
posted by J
When we started this journey, our itinerary was a list of PLACES we would visit. Looking back on our journey so far, it is PEOPLE who are the milestones. We REMEMBER the steps of our journey through the litany of people we met — and loved. These are a few dozen steps of the many...
Family Lore
posted by J
When you think of Kyoto, Japan — you think of a “hamburg(er)” restaurant decorated like an Alabama southern cookin’ joint playing “You make me wanna roll my windows down” to a host of empty booth tables, right? Pass the fried chicken. Seriously. At...
Universal Language
posted by S
Ah, the joys of the universal language of….. Adele?? Last July, during the first week of our adventure, our family cozied up for pizza around a tiny wooden table in one of only two restaurants in a little coastal town of southern Iceland. We were giddy with anticipation of our year...
Scissor’s Reve...
posted by J
This slideshow requires JavaScript. When S called out from inside our Xian bathroom for a volunteer to cut her hair, E was the first to scramble off the sofa and take the scissors from her hands. She’d been inspired by a friend who described how you can grab a fist of hair just so...
Seamstress Mystery
posted by J
As rush hour clogged the Bell Tower area of Xian’s old city this evening, a handful of women stood shoulder to shoulder in the middle of a busy sidewalk. They shouted from their military-like formation at young, smartly dressed women who passed by. The scene was puzzling. Had the...
Dancing On Calligrap...
posted by J
Monday afternoon in Xian, China: Two blocks of vendors hang calligraphy brushes and stack thick parchment rolls in stalls under canvas umbrellas. A dozen women in comfortable clothing move through the delicate choreography of a sword dance, as their teacher — an elderly man —...
The Latest Moon Rive...
posted by J
We’re sleeping tonight in the eastern-most city of the ancient Silk Road. Opting for four berths in a sleeper train over camels or horses, we completed the 12-hour journey earlier this morning in Xian, China … home of the formerly buried terra cotta warriors. The center of...
Mystery and Epilogue
posted by J
I first entered a conflict zone as a journalist in Iraq in 2003. The international invasion had just ended. As my colleagues and I tried to make sense of things, the Jordanian Embassy was attacked … and the United Nations Baghdad headquarters was decimated by a truck bomb. It turned out...
Necessary
posted by S
J has a cool app on his phone that will speak Chinese for us. It has helped us out on several occasions, ordering tea, sorting out larger numbers, settling a time when a driver would pick us up. It is not super sophisticated — it is more of a phrasebook than a translator — and has...
A Strong, In-Between...
posted by J
The preschoolers at New Day Foster Home decorated felt hearts this week with thick princess stickers and crosses. They were crafting Mother’s Day gifts for the women who care for them in the in-between times — at night, during breakfast and dinner, over weekends, and every other...
Progress Report
posted by S
Usually when people ask us where we are heading next, the reply is a long and somewhat vague list of countries, sights, plans. But this week in China, our answer is…. um, Korea. And then home. This answer is shockingly short to me. How can it be that there is just one more country? Did...
Happy Birthday, Gigi
posted by S
My Mom has filled many roles over her 71 years. In our family, she has been Wife, Mom, Grandmother (Gigi!), Chef, Dog Trainer, House Painter, Project Manager, Temperature Taker, Party Planner, Exercise Leader, Math Tutor, Chauffeur, Furniture Repairer, Book Keeper, Landscaper, List Creator,...
A Name of Bronze
posted by J
I seem to have lost clarity on an important parenting principle over the last few years. It came back to me this morning as I helped a preschooler work on a 25-piece puzzle. The principle is this: it’s not about the puzzle. My puzzle partner wasn’t likely going to finish the...
Rhymes with Wowza
posted by S
Jiaozi. Unintentionally, we landed at a foster home facility in China at the beginning of a five-day weekend. Thus, we have enjoyed the slow pace of the national holiday and have savored the opportunity to spend time with the incredible, multinational families of this “instant...
Marching in Snow
posted by J
On May 1, 1947, the Brooklyn Dodgers played against the Chicago Cubs at home on Ebbets Field. The Dodgers scored three runs in the second inning … and the Cubs were never able to catch up. It was early in the baseball season — a ground-breaking season — as Jackie Robinson...