My Arabic: a Progress Report

Having been in Morocco for little over a week now my Arabic is understandably limited. I am always impressed, however, by the aptitude others show for languages. On my second day here my host told me all about a Korean girl who volunteered for a month and how she was speaking Arabic fluently by the …

Counting, Butt Fights, and Sake Bombs

A conversation had with friends recently. Brianna: You guys just graduated then? Billy: In May, yeah. Brianna: So what’s next? Elliott: We’re actually going to be doing some traveling for a year, or for as long as our money will last. Brianna: Where are you going first? Billy: We’re leaving for Japan in August. Brianna: …

Thirty Days

In my room I have a whiteboard where I jot down notes or ideas when I’m working. At the moment the whiteboard has been consumed with my crappily drawn hiragana characters. Billy came over yesterday to do more planning for the trip, and upon seeing the whiteboard the following conversation ensued. Billy. You’re writing out …

Thirty-Two Days

We’re thirty-two days away from our departure date of August 19th. That seems like plenty of time, but the reality is that thirty-two days is not much time at all. We have thirty-two days in which to try and become as prepared as possible for this year-long (or as long as our wallets will last …