Berkley Center

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to tag along with my host mom and her friends as they attended a community Syrian refugee lunch. After signing up in advance, each person paid €15 at the door and entered a small kitchen nestled in Mouraria,…

I’m very used to being self-reliant, a trait that does not match well with my life in Japan. In America, I believed I was capable of accomplishing whatever I needed to get done, all on my own, safely wrapped in the security of my own ego. Here, I…

Friday evening in 50 Amigos—Mexico City’s hip pizza joint—some friends and I make our way to the cashier. My male friends start dividing up the cost of the food. One female friend quietly tells the other girls, “We should pitch in too,” though she…