Category: Life

Marx and Lennon Soviet Propaganda Poster 4

Communism on Campus

It was my first month on campus, and I was still getting settled into my routines. I stopped by the International Center to grab some lunch after class, and that’s when I saw a...

Coat of Arms of Spain 5

Smacked in Madrid

It was my first day in Spain. After an unexpected date, I met up with my friends and we checked into our hostel. After dropping off our luggage, we took a walk around the...

Friends Cast with Mister Rogers 2

Friendship by Proximity

When you’re a little kid, it’s easy to make friends. For the most part, your best friend is the kid next door. Or the kid who sits next to you in kindergarten class. But...

Che Guevara Living Magazine 0

Guerrilla Redecorating

I was probably around nine or ten years old. It had been a normal day at school, so normal that I don’t remember anything about it. But when I came home, my world turned...

Italian Flag with Gateway Arch 3

St. Louis Style Pizza

One of the pleasures of traveling is sampling the local fare. For example, you can get pizza anywhere, but if you go to New York, you’ll get a large, foldable slice, and if you...

Pago Pago Postage Stamp 12

Samoan Post Office

The Samoan Islands are smack dab in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, so pretty much everything but coconuts and bananas have to be shipped in from off-island. So when homesickness kicks in, the...

Reunion Tower 2

Meditations on Reunion Tower

Every great city needs a landmark, like the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, the Space Needle or the Gateway Arch. All of these monuments evoke their host cities in any context. Here in...

Dollar Sign Through Earth 1

A Trip to the World Bank

It all started with the commencement ceremony in May 2000. The keynote speaker was James Wolfensohn, president of the World Bank, an international agency that provides loans to developing countries. Our normally apathetic campus...

Monopoly Home History 8

No Place Like Home

When people ask me where I’m from, I never quite know what to say. I was born in St. Louis but I grew up in Illinois. I went to high school and college in...