Happy New Year, everyone!! I know 2020 was terrible on a global scale, but it was more of a mixed bag for me. I have a new decent-paying job that I love, I have the goal of moving to New Zealand for a year in the summer of 2023, and I’ve been killing it with…
The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the equatorial pacific by J. Maarten Troost I have seen this book recommended so many times that I really expected to love it, but it fell a little flat. The writing is dry and funny, but pretty often it falls into the trap of being too mean at…
Graduates in Wonderland: The International Misadventures of Two (Almost) Adults by Jessica Pan and Rachel Kapelke-Dale I was blessed to be turned onto this book by a random post in a traveling book club I follow on Facebook. I never would’ve thought I could enjoy an epistolary novel told through emails, but if my emails…
Happy December! Today was the first cold day in Florida and it feels phenomenal! The two goals I set for myself by the end of the year were to pay off 2 of my 4 credit cards (without increasing the balance on the remaining 2 of course) and to get my savings up to $4000…
A few weekends ago I was lucky enough to have a Teacher’s Work Day on a Friday, so I booked a mini-vacation to St. Augustine only 90 minutes from where I live. A friend came and split the cost with me so we decided to go a little pricier and get my favorite amenity: a…
Whatever You Do, Don’t Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide by Peter Allison I absolutely loved this book! In this collection of essays, Peter Allison tells some hilarious and terrifying stories of being a safari tour guide in Botswana, Africa. This author is what Bill Bryson wants to be but falls so far…
In honor of my 1 year streak on Duolingo I wanted to share some of my favorite ways to engage with foreign languages! I am by no means an expert. I took French in high school and one year of college and I have studied it casually over the following years. I’ve been to Paris…
Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe by Bill Bryson I enjoy Bill Bryson enough to keep reading his books, he’s a staple in the travel memoir genre, but they’re really too much for me. His humor is at times self-deprecating, but often turned against anyone who slightly inconveniences him. His disgust with fat people…
I realize that we are midway through November already but I’ve had so many wins lately that I just had to share! As of today my credit score jumped 37 points and I’m almost at 700! Last month I was able to pay off my second credit card completely (2 left!) and they upped my…
Anywhere But Bordeaux: Adventures of an American Teacher in France by Jacqueline Donnelly If there was ever a book more tailored to me, I haven’t found it. I have been in a bit of a slump lately, even with reading, and the fact of there being no end in sight to the ban on international…