Writing in the local paper. Local issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here’s my version, then theirs. I spent some time in Libya before the fall of the Ghadaffi regime. Among the many almost surreal aspects of the Green Republic, one of…
Neighborhood vetting committee. @ Caceres, Spain
Writing in the local paper. Local issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here’s my version, then theirs. It seems like the mighty New York Times can never quite get it right when writing about this country. Many paella-moons ago I remember a…
The Crusaders might have had a more difficult time getting here and the bus is surely faster than Freya Starke‘s donkey, but the windy trip into the ancient realm of the mythical Hashshashin is still a modern day adventure. Deep in the Alborz mountains an 11th-century sect hounded the invading Crusaders with fierce warriors stoned out of…
Writing in the local paper. Local issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here’s my version, then theirs. I’ve come to know a fair number of saints, both dead and alive, since I moved out here to one of the last stops before…
Rather than doing a ‘please stop raining’ dance, I’ve decided to look at old pictures and try to remember what summer once looked like. Where better to start than the Greek Isles? About a day’s sail out of Rhodes or maybe more, days melted into each other like ouzo, ice and water. Turkey was always…
Writing in the local paper. Local issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here’s my version, then theirs. Bright ideas for bright places One of the things that foreign friends visiting Spain for the first time never fail to comment on is their…
You’ve really gone off the beaten path when the GPS in your rental car shows you are literally off the map. You’re out here castle hopping your way north from Andalusia just as the Moors did a thousand years ago. A beautiful mountain range rises out of a carpet of vineyards. Set in the Sierra…
Arabic ouds, Senegalese drums, and Mongolian fiddles bounce off 10th-century walls and reverberate onto 15th-century churches but have no fear, this is no military invasion. Spanish grannies rub shoulders and trade dance steps to the bouncing beat with dreadlocked Dutchmen, while pierced locals teach newfound Polish friends that it’s not a sin to mix wine…
Writing in the local paper. Local issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here’s my version, then theirs. It’s hard to tell which Americanisms will get adopted in foreign lands and I suppose it’s even more difficult to predict just how these foreign…