“The streets in midsummer. There they lie! The sun beating down upon them all day long, until the stones are individually as hot as frying pans; and the gratings, as you inadvertently set your foot upon them, appear to be of the proper temperature to repeat the martyrdom of St. Lawrence on an unfortunate victim.” (The New York Daily Times, […]
Summer Blog 2013
Caitlin Doughty in Perú, part 4
Arrival back into the United States has snapped me back to “reality” – academic e-mails, air-conditioning, over-priced metros, costly produce – aspects of the “developed” world that I did not miss in Peru. Face-to-face conversations, dung-fire warmed homes, three sole taxi rides and free, organic potatoes are all relics of the summer which already seems so far away. Thank goodness […]
Tess Croner in Rwanda, part 4
The third and final stop on our study tour of Rwanda brought us to the northwestern corner of the country, where a chain of dramatic volcanic peaks divides Rwanda from Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. On the slopes of these volcanoes, over half (480 of 880 total) of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas make their home. Back in […]
Carina Roselli in Iraq, part 4
One of my colleagues told me that my time in Iraq was just the right amount to make me feel weird about leaving, and he was right. I’ve been here long enough not to feel like a tourist anymore, but just shy of feeling like a true resident. I’m finally getting used to the place and starting to live like […]
Erin Beasley in Bolivia
It was still dark at 6 a.m. when I gathered my things for the day and headed out shivering into the Cochabamba morning, bare toes waiting for the warmth of the sun. I met Jaime on the corner and we climbed in to the red, white, and blue “micro” bus, that would take us south to the main market, la cancha, that was […]
Stephanie Stefanski in Patagonia
Over the past three months, I had the privilege to meet and interview over 300 people in Patagonia. From backpackers in hostels to families on winter vacation, from French to English to Spanish to Portuguese, each complemented my interview with his or her own story and words of advice. Among these 300 I found friends, a family, and a network […]
Erin Beasley in Honduras
About halfway through my bucket shower with mosquito larvae this morning, I thought, Why didn’t I spend this summer with my grandma? She being my go-to symbol of childhood creature comforts: air conditioning, trips to the North Park pool, walking through the mall, soaking up MTV and eating Klondike bars on her couch. Grandma would have loved six weeks of […]
Carina Roselli in Iraq, part 3
This blog entry tells a few stories about Kurdistan’s water usage. With considerable sadness, I must admit that my observations have not been particularly positive. As I strive to find my professional place in Iraq’s water security endeavors, I am daily reminded that water management is not just an environmental challenge – it’s a cultural one. My disappointment began one […]
Acheampong Atta-Boateng in Ghana
I headed straight up North without hanging out with my folks in the South, hoping I could complete work in time then follow up with fun. Well, things did not go as intended. The field had been deelyp ploughed while the ever-frowning sun greeted the early mornings with its scorching rays. Under such stress, two balls of warm-up “kenkey” (boiled […]
Caitlin Doughty in Perú, part 3
Fortunato ran across the Ollantaytambo town center to greet me in typical Peruvian fashion, with a kiss on the cheek. A huge smile filled his face as he expressed his relief in finding me (our plans had been less than concrete, yet worked out nonetheless – also in Peruvian fashion). Fortunato quickly became one of my favorite people in Peru […]
Marissa Galizia in Kenya
On the airplane flying back home after 10 solid weeks of adventure in Kenya, I wanted to reflect on everything I had seen and done over the past two and a half months. Yet, at the same time, it seemed like too much to think about. It seemed easier just to think about what was ahead with my pending arrival […]
Ben Friedman in New York City, part 2
I’m not ready to talk about my internship at the Natural Resources Defense Council, even though I’m already more than 8 weeks in (good lord!), so I’ll write about biking to work in New York City. My commute is becoming one of the central parts of my summer and as my girlfriend Emily recently pointed out to me, I’ll likely […]