On sexual assault, feeling triggered and being jaded about men
Reacting to Lessons in Chemistry Bonnie Garmus’s bestselling novel Lessons in Chemistry is a unique story, sharply written…
Boys, booze, faith and purpose in Ecuador
It’s funny and terrifying how quickly ten years can fly by. Somehow it has been a full decade…
NYE lessons from Ecuador
Australian New Year’s Eve traditions mostly involve drinking hard, watching fireworks and calling it a party. This is…
Election reflections: Ecuador and Bolivia
A politician who keeps his word? Who would’ve thought! But after a whole decade as Ecuador’s head of…
Just another earthquake?
I didn’t think much of the earthquake, to be honest. And I’m going to be very honest about this.…
How South America messed me up good
People always ask me about my time in South America. Some are genuinely interested, while for others it's the polite and logical thing to ask. In either case, the truth is that these conversations have started to get a bit repetitive and I'm often left wishing I could say more than: that Latinos are warmer; that Andean dishes contain too many carbs; that working with survivors of child sexual abuse was hard as you'd imagine but so rewarding; that I'm not sure how to answer your question about how good my Spanish is.
The worst thing is that I can't seem to do Bolivia and Ecuador justice - not in a brief conversation that could turn to a different topic at any given moment.
So below are a few noteworthy things I don't generally get to share about the impact that my time in South America has had on me as a person and who I am now.
What makes a goodbye good?
One month from today I say goodbye to La Paz and Bolivia. And I’m feeling pretty good about…
About my body
One of the differences I’ve noticed between Bolivia and Ecuador is that people don’t stare at me here.…
Meeting La Paz
Apparently I’m now living in one of the 14 finalists for the Seven New Wonder Cities of the…
Loja Reloaded: Return to the Andes
Hola, Lojita – nice to see you, again It’s like I never left. On the surface neither you nor…
Ecuador vs Bolivia, and losing the Missionary label
Lately I’ve felt the unspoken question of why I decided to go back to South America but not…
365 days ago today
This time last year I … … said goodbye to a lot of people. Too many for one…
The photos you delete anyway
I’ve finally gotten around to the task of going through the 12,000+ photos I took in my two years…
The “novelty” of a Christmas and NYE at home
So it’s 2014. I’ve only just realised that spending Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Canberra, my hometown,…
The end of the honeymoon period?
About time for a new post, isn’t it? The last couple of months, I’ve wanted and not wanted…
After the mission field: two months on
It was exactly two months ago that I left Loja. I shed some tears on the plane to…
down and up again
Settling back in had been going pretty well. It was good gradually catching up with friends rather than…
Tapestry
I have a sadness that does not want to be sung She says to me, “I am deeper…
what i learned from burning my arm
What burning my arm taught me: It doesn’t hurt as much as you think it will. But it…
Clash or conform?
Culture clash? Thankfully, I haven’t really experienced culture clash as such. I think having travelled before has helped…
Yo soy mujer (I am woman*)
In preparation for this Saturday’s pijamada (slumber party), I’ve just started reading Mentiras que las jóvenes creen (Lies…
A good place
One of the things I’ve noted is that we don’t pray all that much together, neither us four…