• Summer

    halloween abroad, pt. IV

    hello friends, i hope you had a nice halloween if you celebrate it! as it is one of my favorites, you can bet i did. it was the fourth we’ve celebrated abroad and it really came and went without too much fanfare. (below, the state of the backyard this morning) it’s been interesting talking about this holiday with the groups of teenagers i teach. usually about half the class seems interested and celebrates the holiday in some way (whether that is some activities at their school, going to a halloween party or gathering, carving a pumpkin, or even getting dressed up!), one or two are completely indifferent and don’t celebrate it,…

  • Summer

    the october spooky movie series

    i love movies that get you in the halloween mood, so much that last year, alex (pictured above in our paris studio, 2012) and i started a spooky movie series every october sunday evening. i get to pick two, and he gets to pick two. (you can see what movies we chose for our first incarnation here)i love doing this because we get to see new films that we’ve been meaning to for awhile, it gets you in the halloween mood, and it’s such a nice way to enjoy a sunday night instead of those usual stressed “oh no, weekend is ending” feelings. here is what our series has been…

  • Summer

    halloween abroad pt. III

    i love halloween. it always reminds me of roasty, sweet smelling jack-o-lanterns on a cold night and eating candy while watching halloween cartoons at home under the glow of the orange pumpkin lights in the window. so after a pair of mediocre halloweens spent abroad (one in paris, the other here in budějovice), i’ve decided it was time for me to step up my halloween game. this… this would be the year we actually plan a good costume, dress up and go out, ready for the best of what czech halloween had to offer. in the lead-up to the holiday, i planned plenty of quality halloween programming. after the viewing…

  • Autumn,  Daily Life,  Eats

    Hallo-Week

    hello listopad (november) in czech republic. i’ve seen you somewhere before. oh yeah– it was last year when we moved into you! yes, we arrived on a train from berlin fraught with worry and anxiety over an incident with the ticket checker and also our failure to follow instructions and meet our contact person at the correct place and time at hlavni nadraži (central station), prague. finally we were whisked away by taxi and shown to our simple apartment on kolbenova street, vysočanska district (prague 9). boy, that day was a culture shock. and going to one of the many chinese restaurants to realize we couldn’t say anything… not a lick…

  • Autumn,  Travel

    gay paris

    paris update– life is good here, and in our little studio apartment in gobelins.  the weather has been PERFECT for us (not too cold, blue skies and sun almost daily) and we’ve been enjoying kicking back, sleeping in, and exploring like it’s our job. there is so much to see in this city that twelve days leaves a mark, but a pretty small one.  i keep stumbling onto new streets, like rue moffatard– famous latin quarter market street only a short jaunt from my place. or rue montmarte, or rue lombards!  everything i find i wish i had found sooner. paris is WAY more expensive than i remember from visiting eight…