Visiting Mumbai’s Haji Ali Masjid and Darga during the rainy season is nearly magic. The mosque was built in 1431 in the memory of Islamic merchant Sayyed Peer Haji Ali Shah Bukhari (who is buried within the mosque) and...
Read MoreWhenever I come home from spending time in India, someone inevitably says "It is so good of you to give your time and your energy to help those those poor little orphan kids." The people who say this are those who...
Read More‘Mai aur samajhti hoon, uske baad bolti hoon.’ I understand more than I speak. It’s a line I use when I’ve been present with Hindi speakers and listening to their conversation without adding to it, and...
Read MoreIn the stations that stretch on and on, stray dogs touch their noses to commuters’ hands, hoping for some food or love. Rats like small wolves cross the garbage goldmine in the tracks, fearless. Crows fly out of the way of...
Read MoreIt is easy to travel to most popular destinations and just use English to communicate, but what could you be missing out on? Learning any language, in part or in full, requires dedication and effort. Fortunately, a lot comes out...
Read MoreIt only took a few hours in Mumbai to realize that I was in a completely different world than the ancient city of Varanasi. The majority of the many months I’ve spent in India have been in Varanasi: living with a family,...
Read More"When I was in Bali, I couldn’t wait to get back to Jakarta so I could eat some bread," my mom told me over the phone when I called from the Indonesian island of Bali. "Yeah, but that was 30 years ago,...
Read MoreI recently moved in with 21 orphan girls and all of their caregivers. The decision wasn’t taken lightly: what about my precious alone time, time to reflect on my experiences? Because I wanted to be more present with the...
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