A different perspective on the world.

Too often these days, we only hear about somewhere when it's in the news - and the news is almost always bad. But that's not what life is actually like in all these places. Lenses is here to give you some real, everday stories about places you might hear about in the news.

I'm lucky to get to live around the world. I've spent real time living on every continent, with people from all walks of life.

Here's a few glimpses of the world as I found it.

🇹🇭 Thailand

Happy Thai New Year - the Wettest New Year on Earth. :)
The letter for April 17, 2016

April 17, 2016 — Bangkok, Thailand
Bees
The letter for May 15, 2016

May 15, 2016 — Bangkok, Thailand
Gentrification, Old Women, and Armed Mobs
The letter for May 22, 2016

May 22, 2016 — Bangkok, Thailand
Different
The letter for May 8, 2016

May 8, 2016 — Bangkok, Thailand
Try Everything
The letter for May 1, 2016

May 1, 2016 — Bangkok, Thailand
My First Word
The letter for April 3, 2016

April 3, 2016 — Bangkok, Thailand
Welcome to Bangkok
The letter for March 27, 2016

March 27, 2016 — Bangkok, Thailand

🇷🇼 Rwanda

I only got to spend a couple months in Rwanda, but it stuck with me. The people. The land. The history.

Welcome to Rwanda
The letter for January 31, 2016

January 31, 2016 — Kigali, Kigali Province, Rwanda
A Goodbye to Rwanda
The letter for March 6, 2016

March 6, 2016 — Kigali, Kigali Province, Rwanda
Unsettled
The letter for February 21, 2016

February 21, 2016 — Kigali, Kigali Province, Rwanda

Colombia

I sold all my stuff, and now live all over the world, slow-traveling my way across the planet. I immerse myself in culture after culture to learn what they have to teach about being alive. Here's what I've learned.

A Goodbye to Medellín
On leaving a city I love.

June 23, 2019 — Medellín, Colombia
Honest Work
Medellín, and living a life that's true to yourself.

June 2, 2019 — Medellín, Colombia
In the Leaves
Making a fresh start in a place without seasons.

May 26, 2019 — Medellín, Colombia
On Looking Up
What's above you right now?

May 19, 2019 — Medellín, Colombia
On Chapters
You never know what's coming next.

May 12, 2019 — Medellín, Colombia
What I learned in a Colombian hospital
Life is a funny thing.

May 5, 2019 — Medellín, Colombia
The Silent Semana
All across the world, we find ways to be still.

April 21, 2019 — Medellín, Colombia
Welcome to Medellín, Colombia
I'm back in Medellín. Let me show you around.

April 14, 2019 — Medellín, Colombia
A love letter to Medellín, Colombia
The letter for January 17, 2016

January 17, 2016 — Medellin, Antioquia, Colombia
Looking Over the Mountains
On being the best, the weird wiring of our brains, and a wonderful city in Colombia

October 25, 2015 — Medellin, Antioquia, Colombia
On Not Knowing
What a cafe in Colombia taught me about taking on the things we have no idea how to do.

October 18, 2015 — Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
I <3 Medellin
Finding an amazing city and people in Medellín, Colombia. My weekly letter for September 20, 2015.

September 20, 2015 — Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia

🇫🇷 France

A Goodbye to Paris
Saying another goodbye to the city I love, and how loss is never even.

September 8, 2019 — Paris, France
On Being Wrong
How so many of the things I love started out as things I hated.

August 18, 2019 — Paris, France
Paris, Cobblestones, and a Realization.
Walking along the Seine one afternoon, I was struck - literally - by the obvious.

August 4, 2019 — Paris, France
On Death
Death, hospitals, fireworks, and the value of every day.

July 21, 2019 — Paris, France
Welcome to Paris
Smell, sunlight, and the slow dripping of time.

June 30, 2019 — Paris, France
Those Quiet French Sunday Mornings
Each Sunday here, I wake up to find something magical.

July 22, 2018 — Paris, France
Leaving a Mark
Walking up the stairs here in Paris, there's a feeling I can never shake, in very the best way: I'm not alone.

June 30, 2018 — Paris, France
On Coming Home
After two years away, I'm coming back to the place that's felt most like home.

June 10, 2018 — Paris, France
A Goodbye to Paris
The letter for September 18, 2016

September 18, 2016 — Paris, Île-de-France, France
A Last Stretch of Summer
The letter for August 28, 2016

August 28, 2016 — Paris, Île-de-France, France
Ahh, those French Vacations.
The letter for August 14, 2016

August 14, 2016 — Paris, Île-de-France, France
Big news! (and I <3 Paris)
The letter for July 17, 2016

July 17, 2016 — Paris, Île-de-France, France
Nice, and a Hand Up.
A special letter for July 15, 2016

July 15, 2016 — Paris, Île-de-France, France
Welcome to...
The letter for July 3, 2016

July 3, 2016 — Paris, Île-de-France, France

🇲🇽 Mexico

My last letter from Mexico
Another goodbye to a great culture, and wonderful people. My weekly letter for September 13, 2015.

September 13, 2015 — Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico
My last entomatadas, and a wonderful abuela.
Letting go, and finding wonderful people. My weekly letter for September 6, 2015.

September 6, 2015 — Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico

🇦🇷 Argentina

I sold all my stuff, and now live all over the world, slow-traveling my way across the planet. I immerse myself in culture after culture to learn what they have to teach about being alive. Here's what I've learned.

Tired
On what I found, in a small apartment in Buenos Aires - and restarting the letters. :)

March 31, 2019 — Buenos Aires, Argentina
Last Glimpses of Mendoza
The letter for June 26, 2016

June 26, 2016 — Mendoza, Argentina
Learning to Tango: Look at my chest!
The letter for June 19, 2016

June 19, 2016 — Mendoza, Argentina
Looking up.
The letter for June 5, 2016

June 5, 2016 — Mendoza, Argentina
Mendoza, Argentina and a long, deep breath.
The letter for May 29, 2016

May 29, 2016 — Mendoza, Argentina

🇳🇿 Aotearoa New Zealand

I sold all my stuff, and now live all over the world, slow-traveling my way across the planet. I immerse myself in culture after culture to learn what they have to teach about being alive. Here's what I've learned.

Racism.
Watching America wrestle with its racist history and present. And mine.

June 7, 2020 — Waiheke, Aotearoa New Zealand
Becoming home.
Stay still long enough, and you start to notice things you've always missed.

April 26, 2020 — Waiheke, Aotearoa New Zealand
A Little Bit of Everything.
As the lockdown has stretched on, I've found myself fascinated by the variety that's been sitting here, right under my nose.

April 5, 2020 — Waiheke, Aotearoa New Zealand
Be Strong. Be Kind.
One aspect of New Zealand's message through this crisis has stuck with me.

March 29, 2020 — Waiheke, Aotearoa New Zealand
Horses and Beaches and a Smile You Can't Lose.
For 160 years, the beach races have been a respite.

March 1, 2020 — Waiheke, Aotearoa New Zealand
A New Perspective
An unexpected sunrise on the water just taught me something.

February 23, 2020 — Waiheke, Aotearoa New Zealand
Waitangi Day(s)
Celebrating the day Aotearoa New Zealand broke from the script.

February 9, 2020 — Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand
Welcome to Waiheke
An hour's ferry ride outside Auckland, somewhere special is hiding.

January 19, 2020 — Waiheke, New Zealand
Not knowing is sometimes the deal.
On the times you're left without ideas, and time keeps marching.

October 7, 2018 — Auckland, New Zealand
Shipwrecked
The Letter for December 22, 2017

December 22, 2017 — Waiheke, New Zealand
Doubtful Sound and Riding the Waves
The Letter for February 26, 2017

February 26, 2017 — Fjordland, South Island, New Zealand
Middle Earth (A particularly geeky letter.)
The Letter for February 19, 2017

February 19, 2017 — South Island, New Zealand
On the Road
The Letter for February 5, 2017.

February 5, 2017 — North Island, New Zealand
A Wild and Woolly World
The Letter for January 29, 2017.

January 29, 2017 — Auckland, New Zealand
Nice, Medium-sized Poppies
The Letter for January 22, 2017.

January 22, 2017 — Auckland, New Zealand
Expect the Unexpected
The Letter for January 15, 2017. On the unexpected, and falling in love.

January 15, 2017 — Auckland, New Zealand
Whirlwinds and Sea Changes
The Letter for January 8, 2017.

January 8, 2017 — Waiheke, Auckland, New Zealand

🇯🇵 Japan

I sold all my stuff, and now live all over the world, slow-traveling my way across the planet. I immerse myself in culture after culture to learn what they have to teach about being alive. Here's what I've learned.

A Goodbye to Japan
Leaving my heart behind in Japan, and heading somewhere new.

December 15, 2019 — Tokyo, Japan
Kyoto and the span of years
I spent the weekend back in Kyoto - and it hit harder than I'd expected.

December 8, 2019 — Kyōto, Japan
Another One Bites the Dust
This week, the company I was working for went bust. And I found something out in the wake.

December 1, 2019 — Kyōto, Japan
Walking with Basho
This past week, I visited where Basho's journey began - and found him still there, waiting.

November 24, 2019 — Tokyo, Japan
Magic from Mud
Dorodango, and the Japanese art of turning mud into a jewel.

November 17, 2019 — Tokyo, Japan
Anticlimactic
Sometimes, things get better without the triumph. And it is weird.

November 10, 2019 — Tokyo, Japan
Walking in the Rain
Depression, and how 'meaningful' and 'feels good' aren't necessarily related.

October 27, 2019 — Tokyo, Japan
Aizuchi - the Japanese Art of Conversation
Watch any conversation here in Japan, and you'll notice something funny about the listener.

October 20, 2019 — Tokyo, Japan
Welcome to Japan
Settling into Tokyo, and the first thing you'll notice.

October 13, 2019 — Tokyo, Japan
You are not alone. I am not alone. We are not alone.
The letter for December 4, 2016

December 4, 2016 — Kyōto-shi, Kyōto-fu, Japan
Thank You
The letter for November 27, 2016

November 27, 2016 — Kyōto-shi, Kyōto-fu, Japan
The Beauty of Things That Don't Last
The letter for November 20, 2016

November 20, 2016 — Kyōto-shi, Kyōto-fu, Japan
Oof. What a week.
The letter for November 13, 2016

November 13, 2016 — Kyōto-shi, Kyōto-fu, Japan
A 1,300 Year-old Poetry Slam
The letter for November 6, 2016

November 6, 2016 — Kyōto-shi, Kyōto-fu, Japan
Of Well-Earned Exhaustion
The letter for October 30, 2016

October 30, 2016 — Kyōto-shi, Kyōto-fu, Japan
The Extraordinary
The letter for October 23, 2016

October 23, 2016 — Kyōto-shi, Kyōto-fu, Japan
A Quick Pit Stop
The letter for October 16, 2016

October 16, 2016 — Kyōto-shi, Kyōto-fu, Japan
What I found in a 700-year-old Zen garden
The letter for October 9, 2016

October 9, 2016 — Kyōto-shi, Kyōto-fu, Japan
Of Depression and Triumph
The letter for October 2, 2016

October 2, 2016 — Kyōto-shi, Kyōto-fu, Japan
Welcome to Japan
The letter for September 25, 2016

September 25, 2016 — Kyōto-shi, Kyōto-fu, Japan