What I Wore Today

[molovesvintage]

Pausing and Taking Stock: A New Year's Post

View On WordPress

[molovesvintage]

Summer Break: Teaching English and Learning Life Lessons

I took a breath, switched on the lights, and looked around the room. Desks were lined up in rows, somewhat neatly, some adorned with light graffiti. The window along one wall boasted a view of the roof of the next building. Two chairs were tucked behind the desk for some reason, one a swivel, one with four legs firmly planted on the floor. I glanced at the whiteboard. No markers. Figures. I took…

View On WordPress

[molovesvintage]

Finding the Balance

Last night, I dreamt that it was the start of the fall semester, and my first paper of the term was due. I felt pretty good about it, and arrived to class, ready to turn it in. While chatting with a classmate, she proudly showed me her work, which was a dissertation-length booklet, and she went on and on about all of the research she’d done and all of the different points that she’d analyzed to…

View On WordPress

[molovesvintage]

Caves, Hikes, and Waterfalls: Getting Outside Oaxaca City

View On WordPress

[molovesvintage]

Two Weeks in Oaxaca: Churches, Cactuses, and Culture

View On WordPress

[molovesvintage]

Two Weeks In Oaxaca: Mezcal, Mole, and Much More

View On WordPress

[molovesvintage]

New Year's Intentions

New Year’s Intentions

December always offers a lot of juicy, culturally rich topics to discuss in the classroom as an English teacher. Different ways of celebrating Christmas, winter weather around the world, personal family traditions – the list goes on and on. Many of my students have had little to no interaction with Jewish people, indeed, often I’m the first Jewish person that they’ve met, so I love telling them…

View On WordPress

[molovesvintage]

Fresh Ink

I laid down on the table as instructed, and stretched out my left arm. I felt myself growing a bit hot and my pulse quickening, and observed that I was getting a bit chatty, a nervous tactic of mine.  “This isn’t my first rodeo, but I’m still a bit nervous,” I admitted. “That’s normal,” she assured me. “Are you ready?” I nodded my head, and heard the buzz of the needle as it touched my…

View On WordPress

[molovesvintage]

Another LA Move

View On WordPress

[molovesvintage]

Starting Over and Making Friends

Starting Over and Making Friends

I’ve lived in 5 different cities in the past 10 years. For me, that’s been quite a lot of moves, especially considering my stable childhood, where the only time we moved was a few blocks away. I didn’t even leave LA until I was 24. Now that I’m 34, it seems I’ve been making up for lost time. One aspect of moving and starting over that I seem to have not quite figured out is making friends.…

View On WordPress

[molovesvintage]

Midsummer Travel Catchup

View On WordPress

[molovesvintage]

New Developments On The Inner Journey

New Developments On The Inner Journey

Often, life works out just as it’s supposed to. When I left Japan, I didn’t have a concrete reason for doing so. It just felt like time. So when I got back to the United States, I didn’t have a plan for what was next. The plan was to allow myself some space to figure it out.  Pretty quickly I determined that I wanted to stay in education. Teaching has been pretty great for me. It’s the right…

View On WordPress

[molovesvintage]

LA Tales: Signs of the Times

LA Tales: Signs of the Times

Returning to my hometown of Los Angeles was somewhat jarring. At times, it felt like I’d woken up from a dream. Here I was, back in a place that I know in my bones, like I’d never left it. But the city had changed a lot, in sometimes perceptible ways, ways that made it obvious that I’d been gone and for just how long.  Take marijuana. When I left LA on New Year’s Eve 2010, weed was not legal.…

View On WordPress

[molovesvintage]

Teaching Tales: My First Day As A Substitute Teacher

Teaching Tales: My First Day As A Substitute Teacher

“Hi, I’m Ms. Stone,” I said. “You wanted to see me?” The assistant principal motioned for me to sit down. He folded his hands and eyed me seriously. “How much do you know about our school?” He asked. “These boys have seen it all. They know how to work every angle. If you are weak, you’re done for. How confident are you in yourself?” “Um, middling, I guess,” I replied, taken aback. “It’s my…

View On WordPress

[molovesvintage]

Where I Am

For the past year, it’s felt like every time I get used to a situation, the rug gets pulled out from under me. I was in a relationship for the first time in years, then he suddenly left Japan. I had a pleasant final summer traveling and hanging out with friends, then I moved countries. I got settled in Los Angeles, and felt ready to start my life here, then I got Covid. And now, I’ve had a…

View On WordPress

[molovesvintage]

New Houses, Old Roots

New Houses, Old Roots

My parents moved into their new house this month, the house I’ve dubbed the “retirement dream house.” And when I say new, I mean it: it was built from the ground up for them, a marked contrast to the house that I grew up in, a house that was built in the 1950s and where they have lived for the past thirty years.  Moving thirty years worth of living is no small feat, and I tried to help out where…

View On WordPress

[molovesvintage]

Ukraine On My Mind

Ukraine On My Mind

I woke up this morning to the news that Russia had invaded Ukraine. It’s the kind of news that inspires a lot of emotions: sadness and grief about the pointless bloodshed that will ensue; worry for my friends and students there; and anger at an act that, in the words of Heather Cox Richardson, “has brought into the open that authoritarians are indeed trying to destroy democracy.” What does give…

View On WordPress