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On Trauma: 2023 Turkey and Syria Earthquake
I am devastated, angry, and shocked. I am so many things, but not okay. I go to work, come back home, and tend to my daily routine, all while trying to ward off the ghosts of the past. It’s not my first earthquake trauma, but I hope it will be the last. I was a…
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4 Things to Do When You Get Itchy Feet But Can’t Travel
It’s that time of the year again! The holidays are approaching, but I have still got work to do. I can’t help but daydream. I dream of mountains, rivers, seas, and towns—the longer I stay away from them, the bigger they loom in my mind. I contemplated writing about other subjects, but I can’t get…
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What People Don’t Mention When Talking About Living Abroad: Part 2
In Part 1, I talked about how loneliness and lack of support for foreigners can be two weighty problems for people living abroad. Today, I will continue writing about these problems and how they affect people’s lives. Before reading this article, please note that this post was written entirely based on my own and other…
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What People Don’t Mention When Talking About Living Abroad: Part 1
When I lived abroad for the first time, I was 20 years old—a sophomore in college. I did an exchange program called the Erasmus+ Program (formerly known as Erasmus Exchange Program), which countless students from my home country did back in the 2010s. During this program, I lived in Portugal for a year. I fondly…
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On Finding Happiness in the Tiny Details Of Life
Once upon a time, my roommate told me that she envied one of her friends because that friend was so carefree and therefore happy. I was microwaving my meal and turned to her and asked why she was envious of her friend. She reluctantly answered me after a long pause: “Because I want to be…
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Book Review #2: Embrace Fearlessly The Burning World by Barry Lopez
When I read the title via a post on The Marginalian, I thought it was a self-help book rather than an account of an acclaimed writer’s life. However, what propelled me to read the book was this quote within its pages: “The effort to know a place deeply is, ultimately, an expression of the human…
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4 Things I Haven’t Gotten Used to in Japan
I had written a blog post about the four things I liked about Japan before, which warranted a new post about the things I don’t quite like here. However, I thought the word “dislike” would be too strong and evoke negative feelings instead of encouraging a fruitful discussion, hence my preference for the title. It’s…
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Book Review #1: Sahara Unveiled by William Langewiesche
There are places in the world that we want to see and often fantasize about. However, when we actually go there, sometimes our dreams can turn upside down. I guess deserts are one of those places. The desert is a place we long for from afar, but it becomes frightening when it looms closer. But…
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4 Things I Love About Japan
My arrival in Japan was due to a fortuitous combination of circumstances. I was a dazed twenty-something traveling in Hong Kong and trying to figure out life. I didn’t have any plans to live in Japan, nor had I been actively looking for a job in Japan when I met my then-boyfriend, now-husband. Back then,…
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A Quest to See the World Beyond My Own Home
People travel for a myriad of reasons. It makes me wonder if humans are designed to stay in one place for a long time. Perhaps not. Our history is steeped in stories of travels or adventures or yearning for both. Fortunately, our century has made it much easier to quench our thirst for travel. Wherever…
Bahanur is abroad! 