Tag: friends

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“So Long, and Thanks for All the Cheese!” – parting words from my appendix

At first I blamed the chimi crawl, three Dominican hamburger-sandwiches I’d eaten on Saturday night for the sake of a magazine article. They tasted very good, but shortly after eating them I experienced acute and severe stomach pain, and three days later it still hadn’t completely subsided. On Tuesday afternoon, my still present, low-grade stomach … Continue reading “So Long, and Thanks for All the Cheese!” – parting words from my appendix

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Blog from a Taverna Patio

Kalimera, fili mou! (Good morning, friends!) As I write from this taverna overlooking the ocean, on the northwest corner of the island of Ikaria, I am overcome with gratitude–not only for being here in this moment, but also for arriving to a place that felt immediately familiar even though it’s not my Thassian home; it’s not Archodissa, or … Continue reading Blog from a Taverna Patio

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Transition

I must say, as August 23rd approached, I was not looking forward to leaving Greece. I’d been hoping to stay for at least six months, and as my 90th day approached, I was afraid to transition back to real life because, as Tassos said, “It’ll be like you dropped down from outer space.” I remember when I returned from my … Continue reading Transition

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Kavala for a Day

It felt more like three days, in the same sense that Jesus died and rose in three days, departing on Friday evening and returning on Sunday morning*. But it was really one day spent away. *death is not exactly a vacation, but try to follow the logic I was a somewhat unwilling candidate to leave Thassos. I’ve been … Continue reading Kavala for a Day

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It’s Greek To Me

[Note: This essay first appeared published on The International Writer’s Blog at Brown University, which you can find here]

It’s Greek To Me

The day before I flew to Greece for a month-long writing residency program, I called my Greek friend to ask for advice.

“It’s summer, the weather is beautiful, you’ll be on the beach. What’s there to know?” he asked. Continue reading “It’s Greek To Me”