We decided to spend Orthodox Easter (16 aprilie 2023, a week after Catholic Easter) in Sighuetu Marmatiei, also known as my favorite town in Romania. We first took a train to Baia Mare the Saturday before Easter, and barely anything was open. (Actually, barely anything was open from Good Friday to the following Tuesday.) Our …
Month of Mărțișor
Romania really surprised me with this fun spring tradition. I'm writing about it here so that it's engraved into the blog; I don't want to forget this one ;-). A "Mărțișor" is a gift that consists of a wrapped or braided red and white string that's tied to a bead or a small trinket. This …
Month 3 in Romania
Mid- March through the end of April was a total chaos. I wanted to do so much, but feel like I accomplished so little. We had a huge turnover at work once the Oxfam Project ended. Everyone went their separate ways, and most were frustrated with the lack of transparency and respect from our organization, …
Month 2 of Boren in Romania!
Where did the time go! Month two has come to a close. The month of March was as chaotic as expected. It's hard balancing work, writing a thesis, learning a language, taking classes, and my other personal projects. I spent the first two weeks of March preparing myself for a two-week visit from Casey. I …
The end of my first month as a Boren Fellow in Romania
UPDATE: I haven't written in such a long time. In fact, almost two whole years have passed since my last post. During that time I've: cycled across the United States of America (from West to East coast), lived in Uganda, began (and have nearly finished) a master's degree, and received a Boren Fellowship to move …
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Water Mammals, Movies, and Mixed Signals: La Paz Weeks 9, 10, 11, & 12
I don't know what happened this month. I REALLY dropped the ball on writing, blogging or generally doing anything creative. Graduate school is a complete time suck. I'm happy to say that, in addition to doing a bunch of cool stuff, I learned a lot about myself this past month. It disheartens me to know …
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Bobcats, Waterfalls, and Bike Rides: La Paz Weeks 7 and 8
Apologies for the delay in updates, I really did not expect that graduate school would dominate my life. However, we’ve done some really exciting things in the past two weeks and I’m excited to share! So, buckle in. Week 7 started off with a dive near Punta Arena BCS, at a beach with water so …
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The Gringo Gazette: La Paz Weeks 5 & 6
"I stood in the water, toes in, looking out at the beautiful expanse of the world... and all I thought about was... Matthew McConaughey."Gigi Vujovich Waking up to a Cabo sunrise on Valentine's Day, after watching a sunset over the harbor the night before: Sunset over Cabo Sunset over La Paz The way the colors …
“Sobbing in Cabo [San Lucas]” La Paz Week 4
We started the week off strong with a socially-distanced Jam Session hosted by our neighbors, Dave and Liann [a retired couple that has been backpacking the world for the past 10 years]! They bought a boat in Washington and sailed it down to La Paz. Fast forward 8 months, and they're still here. Apparently there's …
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Why Are There Cows On The Highway?: La Paz Week 3
We started off the week strong with a Sunday in Todos Santos BCS, a small surfing town an hour outside of La Paz. Our GPS misdirected us down a dirt road, but the Prius took the potholes like a champ. Luckily, at the end of the road we found a secret beach (COVID friendly!). The …
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That girl on a bike 