Bad Pee
An absurd childhood: tales of the third world
Moving to Mexico
I started this blog to chronicle my first opportunity to re-visit three of my former expat homes (Laos, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Ghana, Liberia, Zaire, France, England). Life got in the way after I returned to America, but this seems like as good a time as any to re-start. Grab your passport and join the party!
Mom’s Infamous Expat Eggnog
My father was in the Foreign Service (pronounced with a knowing wink), and his job took us to a lot of very interesting places. Vientiane, Laos was our first posting. This was an extreme [...]
The Notorious Green Latrine Nightclub, Vientiane
It was Paris and we were sitting outside a café, blissfully sipping wine and studying the backside of Notre Dame de Paris. A friend had just returned from the bathroom. “Ah,” she sighed, settling into [...]
Coming home to Vientiane, Laos
Coming home to Vientiane, Laos, after an absence of more than 40 years.
Our Gift from Laos
Most siblings get a few months head’s up about impending newcomers, but we’ve always done things a little differently in our family, so Sean just kind of popped in one day: ten days old and the cutest baby in the universe!
Great Pumpkin in Buddha Park
Vientiane is special to me and many of my schoolmates because, well, we lived there. But let’s face it: most tourists hit Vientiane solely as a jump-off point to Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, or other [...]
Six useful travel phrases
It's always helpful to have some useful phrases down pat when you're traveling. When people ask me how many languages I speak, I usually 'fess up to "market language" in a number of languages. This usually involves [...]
Six tips for surviving Lao bathrooms
If you’ve read my mom’s piece on the toilet at the Green Latrine, you’ll know that Lao bathrooms can be, um, challenging. Note: I’m not really speaking to the men, here. I'll use whichever toilet is most expedient—men, [...]
Four weather survival tips for Southeast Asia
How do you say “Holy crap, it’s hot out!” in Lao? So! New Orleans summers too warm for you? Think DC is nothing but a hot-air swamp? Find Minnesota summers insufferable? Heh! Welcome to Southeast Asia. [...]