Packing

I cannot believe I’m leaving tonight.
This year has been such a whirlwind, and it comes to a close unbelievably soon. I know I’m not leaving it all behind – there’s no way I could leave and not take it with me (in clothes, especially!), but I know that I will be coming back, as soon [...]

On Specs and Spectacles

The past week has been relatively uneventful. I’m trying as best as I can to take care of everything I need before I move from India back to the U.S., and I’m slowly but surely checking things off of my list.
My close friend Kristin Wall also came to visit me. She’s en route from her [...]

Two Weeks

My days in Mumbai are dwindling. Two weeks from today (at almost exactly this time), I will be landing at JFK. What a strange thought.
With my time here waning, and a college friend visiting, I’ve been doing a little last-minute touring. I revisited the Jehangir Art Gallery, the Gateway of India, and Colaba Causeway. I [...]

Nepal!

Wow. What a week away!
My vacation with Sarah to Nepal was exactly what I was hoping for. I needed a break from the usual hectic travel I’ve been doing around India, and I found it on this vacation.
We landed in Kathmandu around 1:45 p.m. on June 7.
We glided through a health check for swine flu [...]

Bagels, Books, and Youth Camp

After another reasonably long wait, I finally have some good things to write about. So, I come to you from the Bagel Shop, in Pali Naka (which I can finally find without needing a compass, a map, a skilled rickshaw driver, and a trained hound). I’m happily munching on one of their not-quite-New York but [...]

Winter Passing

I’m a little astounded by how much time has passed since I last posted. I started to realize the large gaps in my posts back in November, before the Mumbai attacks, before my canceled trip with my dad, before my trip with my sister, and before my conference in Israel. Now, all of that has [...]

Off to Israel

My apologies to you all since the latest blog updates have pretty much said: “Hi, I’m around… but not here and not for you!” This time, I’m off to Jerusalem, Israel for about a week for the mid-year seminar for the Jewish Service Corps fellows. I’ll spend Shabbat with a family friend, and then I’ll [...]

Happy Hanukkah!

I can’t believe it’s already that time of year. Generally, I associate Hanukkah with cold nights in upstate NY, cuddled up in five or six different layers, reading by the fireplace until it’s time to eat latkes (potato pancakes) and light the hanukkiah candles, looking out on the snow and ice covering the world outside. [...]

More Press

An article about an acquaintance of mine from Bombay, another American Jew, and one of his (also American Jewish) friends: Local Expats Pained by Attack in Mumbai
NPR’s “All Things Considered” featuring my country director, and boss, at the JDC, Antony Korenstein: Jewish Community Shocked by Mumbai Attacks

Back to Mumbai

Well, I’ve returned to Mumbai. I apologize for the gaps in my postings, but I had limited access to the Internet while in Israel.
Sarah and I spent about 10 days in Jerusalem, staying with a couple very good friends of Sarah’s for both Shabbatot. We ate, slept, and played Settlers, for the most part. It [...]