T̶w̶o̶ One p̶e̶r̶p̶e̶t̶u̶a̶l̶ ̶e̶x̶p̶a̶t̶s̶ immigrant settling into home country number five.
As I mentioned in my previous post about Gatlinburg, its tourist shops specialize in t-shirts of all sorts. Two big themes are the wearer’s love of the United States of America, and the wearer’s love of Jesus. It seems that love really is best expressed in t-shirt form. Jesus math! … Read more
I’ll get back to Europe soon, I promise. But in the meantime, allow me to introduce (to the uninitiated) the town of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Nestled in the Great Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg is easily one of the top 10 kitschiest destinations in America (and we all know how much I love kitsch). The main drag is … Read more
And… I’m back in the southern US this week. Do you think they use little tiny little milking machines to make the rat cheese? Boiled peanuts (or berl’d p-nuts, spelled phonetically). They’re boiled for a long, long time in brine, and are soft and salty. Okra! Mmmmm. People from other parts of the US tend … Read more
The steaming cup o’ soup is gone, but otherwise Times Square looks pretty much the same as it did the last time I was here. One of those cheesy touristy things I love to do in New York is have a drink at The View, a revolving bar and restaurant on the 48th floor of … Read more
American grocery stores are totally overwhelming – so many food-like substances that we don’t have in Switzerland! It’s really fun to explore, but sometime I’m a little, um, disturbed by what I find. Here are some products I’ve discovered in the past couple days that I don’t think existed last time I was in this … Read more
After weeks of religiously checking The Daily Show’s website, I was able to score tickets for one of the days I was in New York. The email from the show recommended arriving between 3:30 and 4:00. I got there around 3:45, and there was already quite a long line. A little after 4:30, they came … Read more
I escaped the Bible Belt for a few days this week and headed up to New York City, probably my favorite city in the world. I spent most of the time just walking around Manhattan, people-watching and soaking up the atmosphere. It’s so familiar and different all at once – I can’t get enough. New … Read more
This sticker was especially funny because it was on a box for a totally innocuous free women’s newspaper. They don’t mention what percent of murders are committed by happily married folks… Related posts: More signs you may be in the Bible belt
This week I find myself in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a city which is often touted as an excellent example of urban renewal. Over the past 10 years or so, the downtown area has gone from drab and unappealing to vibrant and interesting. The city invested heavily in redoing the waterfront area, creating parks and a river … Read more
That’s right, boys and girls, it’s that time of year again: Spargelzeit. The celebration of asparagus is in full swing in Switzerland. Thanks to a tip from Jack at Laughing Lemon, some friends and I headed outside the city last Sunday to check out the Flaacher Spargelfest (an asparagus festival held on a family farm … Read more