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In which, surprisingly, I am asked if I speak Mandarin Chinese (spoiler: no)
As you may know, I grew up in New York. And my parents were adventurous eaters. I have fond memories of walking through neighborhoods far from home where my father would hold up different food items...
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Feria report, with tomatoes with real tomato taste
There are times when you go to the feria obligado, you go because you have to, because when you open the fridge there is more space than stuff, and when dinnertime comes, you think, “I could eat rice...
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Water water everywhere, but not a drop to drink in much of Santiago
Rain, rain and more rain in Santiago. What’s a city to do? The first year I lived in Chile, I was caught unawares by many a rainstorm. First of all, because rain here seems to have a higher ceiling...
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Street Spellcheck. What the Fock?
When I was living in DC, I worked at a publishing company, writing business-to-business compliance manuals and newsy bits about environmental law. It was a pretty big office, maybe 60-80 people, and...
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December Newly-Returned-to-Santiago Feria Kvell/Report
There is this piece of Smith family lore, by which I usually mean to introduce something false, which I will later disprove or reframe, except in this case it’s true. It tells of a time when I, fresh...
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On sewing, nostalgia and the challenges of the day
Way back in a recess of my mind I am sitting in the backyard on East 19th Street in Brooklyn and it is early summer. My grandmother is sitting in one of those woven beach chairs with the light...
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Quantifying the unquantifiable, Getting Better after Breakthrough Covid...
A forget me not, which I noticed on a walk far from home. Or cuento corto, “I’m back.” Of all the household tasks, perhaps the most vexing is the putting on of the duvet cover. For those who don’t...
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Redditors be darned, I went to the feria again, now with “exotics”
For reasons that are perhaps only clear to the gods of Reddit themselves, I got some 2500 extra hits on my blog over the course of a couple of days, due to (I guess) someone in Ecuador getting fleeced...
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The Ultimate Architecture Disrespect, Santiago’s Patrimonial Architecture on...
This morning I woke up thinking many things. Maybe I would finish a blog post on language, or give you a feria report, now that the asparagus, cherries, blueberries and nisperos/loquats are in. I...
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Button, Button, Who’s Got the Button in Santiago?
I recently stepped on a sweater of mine. And by me telling you this, you now know two things about me. 1. sometimes my clothes are on the floor and 2. I don’t even pretend that that’s not the case, and...
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