December 15, 2015. I remind myself regularly of this date. When I’m up at night, my brain whirrs as I count the days, weeks, months and now years since I turned my back on expat life. It seems like no time has passed at all, and yet all the time in the world has passed. DecemberContinue reading “Two Years of Home”
Category Archives: Spain
Why I Said “Adios” to Being an Expat
“You made me promise you two things,” Kyla begins as we sit in her car after my 24-hour trip from Madrid to Las Vegas. One of my closest friends in the world for almost a decade, she’s always been the one I ask to remind of previous statements I have made about life. “Yeah …”Continue reading “Why I Said “Adios” to Being an Expat”
The Night of 10,000 Candles: Inside Pedraza’s La Noche de las Velas
The Spanish countryside unfolds before me, vibrant greens, golden hills and that blue twilight sky that forever sears itself into memory. Holding a glass of chilled white wine in my hand, I lean against the ancient stone wall of Pedraza, taking it all in. It’s July 4th, Independence Day. Only, I’m thousands of miles fromContinue reading “The Night of 10,000 Candles: Inside Pedraza’s La Noche de las Velas”
When Your Travel Plans Turn into Murphy’s Law
“If anything can go wrong — it will.” The best laid plans. Today, we’re time traveling to late January of this year. I’m in Madrid and I decide that it shall be my new home. “It’s really easy to get a student visa here,” my friend explains to me. Seeing as Spain was always topsContinue reading “When Your Travel Plans Turn into Murphy’s Law”
The Best Place to Watch the Sunset in Madrid
Summer Solstice. The longest day of the year, in terms of sunlight, and also the first day of summer. I’ve never celebrated it before, because, really, it’s just never been important to me. But, I wake up Sunday morning and feel empty. It’s one of the side effects of starting a new life and just getting going.Continue reading “The Best Place to Watch the Sunset in Madrid”
The Story of My Thai Street Cats
If you would have seen me the day I dropped of my two cats, Keeley and Jezebel, at their new home, you would have thought someone I loved had passed away. Seriously. I hadn’t cried like that in a long time. There’s something exciting about starting a new life as an expat. A thrill. ThatContinue reading “The Story of My Thai Street Cats”
Reawakening in Spain
“Tonight, can you please take me on a tour of my new barrio?” I ask my friend, Tobi, who has been my unofficial tour guide of all things awesome in Madrid since the second week I moved here. “Yes,” she promises. And then, we’re off. It’s early evening (by Spanish standards) and the sun stillContinue reading “Reawakening in Spain”
Getting a Student Visa for Spain as an American
For most of my adult life, I have dreamed of living in Europe. But, as an American, actually living in Europe beyond the Schengen visa limit of 90 in/90 out in a 180 day period makes it pretty much impossible (unless I get hitched to someone with an EU passport, which is never entirely out ofContinue reading “Getting a Student Visa for Spain as an American”
When you go numb
There’s a pressure mounting in my veins. I can feel my heart race at night, before I go to sleep. The anxieties I fought so hard to quiet, surfacing and swirling in my mind, prohibiting my body to surrender to quiet. To black. To dreams. I’m in Madrid.
Daily Wanderlust: Alhambra, Granada
Somewhere between the sweet hookah smell drifting through the market and the quaint streets, I fell in love with the magical Andalusian town of Granada. In the rain, my friend and I hike up the hill to explore the historic remains of the Alhambra. Originally constructed as a fortress in 889 and rebuilt in theContinue reading “Daily Wanderlust: Alhambra, Granada”
D Travels 'Round 