a permanent foreigner.

This is a space for a European-American to write.

Back at home in Washington, DC.

Most recently living in Bologna, Italy.

Next place I’d like to create home: Los Angeles, California, or Berlin, Germany.

I’ve witnessed history in DC. When I first moved to the city, I landed in my capital city during the longest shutdown in the history of the federal government. On the night RBG died, during a pandemic, I went to the steps of the Supreme Court. On January 6th 2021, I lived less than one mile from the Capitol Building, and when fences went up across the city the next day, I biked through checkpoints to reach the university where I worked. Despite the constant change in the city, the Potomac River continues to flow towards the Anacostia, and I’ve found home in DC from hiking in Rock Creek Park to sharing Ethiopian Food with friends while discussing local DC and foreign policy.

“Took the first thing smoking on the runway out of here.” - Frances Mayes.

Before DC: I went to school near, but not close enough to London. Studying languages at a university in the UK took me to Vienna, Austria, and then to the Flemish college town, Leuven. The German language taught me the idea of Heimat. After university, and with limited time left as a European Citizen, I headed to Krakow, Poland, and Le Marche, Italy, to teach. In the United States, I’ve also explored home in Chicago. Inspired by Isherwood, I was “determined to become a permanent foreigner”. But, am I still a foreigner? Writing creates a space to share experiences grappling with Heimat while out in the world. More recently, auras have emerged pulling me from the present like deja vu. Perhaps I’ve always been pulled elsewhere?