“Do NOT get in line. I will LET YOU KNOW when the train is pulling into the station and I’m NOT gonna let anybody miss it.” She says this as if it were obvious. But it’s 10:24. Our train should leave in six minutes and still there’s no hint as to whether it’s here or […]
August in Chicago: Reflections on a Whirlwind Year
It’s almost Labor Day weekend, which in the US culturally marks the end of summer. But my mind is still on August 15, known as Ferragosto, which marks the middle of the Italian summer vacation season – not the end. Yet it was right around Ferragosto that Chicagoans started reminding me to enjoy the very […]
What is Italy’s “Ferragosto” and Why Am I Not On Vacation?
…And why does Europe shut down for a month in August? Two years ago, I wrote a post called August in Milan about the Italian holiday period of Ferragosto, and how the city heats up and empties out. I was half complaining at the time, but now – as a freshly repatriated expat in hard-working […]
What Pink French Toilet Paper Taught Me About Globalization
Being an expat lets you discover the little things about different cultures that don’t change with globalization. Being an expat in France, one of those things is pink toilet paper.
Starbucks Came to Milan… Is This a Problem?
I’ve been meaning to write about Starbucks in Italy for as long as Starbucks has been meaning to open here. Which is also as long as I’ve lived in Italy. Luckily we’re both equally behind schedule. Their mega coffee shop/roastery opened here last week, and I’ll admit I stood in a line, mostly full of […]
We Got Married! And Forgot to Tell You
I have news! Sort of old news, but most of you don’t know it, so it still counts I think. I got married! Yes, it’s true. I married the Italian man who I met in Shanghai, and traveled a dozen countries with, and moved to Milan for. Actually, Emanuele and I just had our seven-month […]
How To Eat In Italy – a Guide from Aperitivi to Dolci
If I’ve learned just one thing in the past year living in Milan, it’s how to eat in Italy. Like many things here, cooking and dining are respected arts backed by rules and tradition. There is a right way to eat a meal, and your friends (or the waiter) will tell you if you’re doing […]
August in Milan
I am writing this sitting on the floor of my apartment, where my clammy legs are sticking to the mercifully cool stone tiles. It’s nine in the morning. What’s that parable about the poor mouse (or maybe a frog?) swimming in the pot of cold water that doesn’t even notice when it starts to be […]
Ups and Downs of Travel Blogging and Expating
Getting back to writing and contemplating the blogging business, living abroad, and the elusiveness of ever feeling like I’ve got it all together. The more I learn about the industry, the more I believe the most important factor in blogging – and maybe in any writing or creative endeavor at all – is confidence. Just […]
Fresh Cup Magazine: Costa Rica
Costa Rica’s Café Culture Evolution The quality of coffee consumed in Costa Rica is catching up to the diverse, flavorful coffees it exports as brewing methods and café culture evolve. DECEMBER 26, 2016 KETTI WILHELM Costa Rica is famous for its eight distinct coffee-growing regions—each yielding beans with unique characteristics, brewed in kitchens and coffee […]
“Apocalypto”
It’s been a week since I woke up in Bulgaria (for no real reason) to the news of a new president-elect back home. During this week, I’ve had lots of dinners with Italians – not because of the election but because in Italy, there are almost always lots of dinners to be had – so […]
Fresh Cup Magazine: China’s Growing Coffee Culture
My first thoughts of coffee when I moved to China were ones of longing.It was my first time in Asia, and I arrived with a job at a city university and a stubborn commitment to experiencing the culture in as pure a form as I could—forsaking a few of my favorite comforts from home that […]
The Awl: “Spring Fever”
Spring Fever Is “craft water” any dumber than all the other artisanal nonsense people spend money on? by Ketti Wilhelm May 13, 2016 On a recent Sunday afternoon, on the waterfront in Wellington, New Zealand, an unusually large crowd gathered before a repurposed shipping container with a neat, black-and-white sign that read, “The Water […]
We Live in a Van Down By the River
After two months wandering around New Zealand, I think I’ve probably forgotten how to work on a schedule, how to be in a hurry, and how to deal with normal travel that refuses to go according to plan. New Zealand as a travel destination is smooth sailing, perfectly organized, “easy as,” as the Kiwis say. […]
Paste Magazine: The Case For China’s Trains
The bizarre combination of investments from quasi-communist China and a private Las Vegas firm might instigate a new era in American travel. Or at least introduce a quicker way for Angelenos to get to Vegas for a wild weekend. In less than a year, China plans to start building a high-speed train line from Los […]
China, This Is Why I’m Leaving You
This fall, my second Chinese home was Portland, Oregon’s sister city: Suzhou. Suzhou is an ancient, once beautiful city. Even though they’re sisters, the only thing I could initially find the two having in common is they are both places where people like to wear eye glass frames with no lenses, for fashion. Otherwise, Portland […]
Single and – NO MINGLING, I’M ONLINE SHOPPING.
On November 10 last year, I began an English class at the Chinese university where I worked with an American culture lesson. “Who knows what American holiday is happening tomorrow?” I asked my students. There was always a chance someone could have heard of Veterans’ Day, maybe from a movie or a foreign news website, if […]
The Cripple’s Guide to International Travel
I did something this summer I never thought I would do – and that I had never really thought about anyone doing. I traveled through 10 countries on crutches, with a broken leg and a school backpack. I sat next to a smuggler on a bus leaving Belarus, wore through four pairs of rubber crutch […]
Paste Magazine: A Tattoo Feature
International Ink: Searching for Rebellion in China China is a country of deep-rooted tradition and superstition that has survived a near century of Civil War, occupation and communism—a combination that doesn’t leave much room for a well-established Western symbol of rebellion: body art. So, when I took a road trip through industrial, inland China with […]