March 2018

Milan, Italy

It’s almost unbelievable to me how much I did in March. I thought I might go on two trips, instead I went on three. I thought my workload would be light, but some last-minute assignments kept me busy. The beginning of March feels like it was ages ago, and yet time keeps flying.

Kiev, Ukraine

Best Of The Month

I went to Kiev with my friend Dalia— my third visit, her first— and was reminded how much I love that city, and how much I love showing it off. There’s something gritty and vibrant and beautiful about Kiev. We ate delicious food, from ornate brunches with pumpkin cream poached eggs and multicolored pike dumplings to streetside Uzbek plov at a weekly Muslim market to hearty beet-colored borscht. We visited the humongous Mother Motherland monument in the snow, with the gray skies pressing gently down. And we drank amazing beer, which led me to return to Ukraine and visiting Lviv a couple weeks later. Though that’s a story for a later time.

Milan, Italy

I also visited my dear friend Emma in Milan. I hadn’t been to Italy since I was 13 and I’d never been to Milan. What a lovely city! The architecture is fascinating, a mix of ornate facades and modernist shapes. The food is divine, of course. But really the best part was Emma’s company.

Lviv, Ukraine

Worst Of The Month

Remember my computer woes back in the fall, when my keyboard was broken and I lost access to all my 2017 files for a few months? Remember how my keyboard finally got fixed at the end of December?

On my first day in Milan, the keyboard ceased to work again.

I had an immense amount of work to do and I was FURIOUS (and I still am). I ended up buying an external keyboard on Amazon Italia, which lets me do my work but is an absurd solution.

Also, after three back-to-back trips, I was completely exhausted. It hit me really hard during my 48 hours in Lviv. So I just gave into it and let myself be cozy in my Airbnb instead of dragging myself all over the city.

Kiev, Ukraine

What I’m Loving

Reads: A friend lent me Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and I tore through it on my trip in Lviv. I read Americanah when I was in Bangalore last year and enjoyed it very much, so perhaps that’s no surprise.

Music: I’ve been listening to old playlists, so recommend some new jams please!

Movies: I watched Death of Stalin with my friends in Milan and couldn’t stop thinking about it. It’s funny, but a sort of poison gut-punch funny that feels scarily relevant in this era of political bread and circuses.

Milan, Italy

Podcasts: I often run on the seaside in my neighborhood, but since I sort of hate running, I try to incentivize myself to keep going. Recently, that’s been by listening to the 7-episode podcast A Killing on the Cape ONLY when I’m running, so I have to go out and jog to hear what happens next. The podcast was great for that, and I’m always a sucker for a good Massachusetts accent and a bit of true crime.

Also, the podcast Ear Hustle has returned, and you should be listening to it. They record inside San Quentin Prison and it’s an illuminated perspective on the brokenness of the criminal justice system in the US.

Istanbul, Turkey

The Film Files

I finally got my film from February developed! Some of my Van pictures appear in this post; otherwise they’ve been trickling out slowly on my film Instagram.

Kiev, Ukraine

Ephemera

My article about Tunis was in the Turkish Airline’s Skylife Magazine in March! And thank goodness I didn’t think about how many people would read it because holy moly, a lot of people read it.

Istanbul, Turkey

Upcoming

I think I’ll be staying in Istanbul this month, partially thanks to a slew of visitors! My friend Lada came at the end of March and only just left; I’m looking forward for my darling friend Susannah, my cousin Olivia, and my soul sister Simone all swinging through Istanbul. And there’s a film festival! And tulips! And my birthday! I love April!