Before writing my more personal quasi-essay, I just wanted to take some space here to observe that this blog has somehow made it to 100 entries over two years. Despite an obviously minuscule readership, I have had some great moments and enjoyed the writing I've pursued here, even if I have ceased to do much of it in recent months. Writing is a fluid creative process for me, so there will never be a time when I can write on a fixed schedule, guaranteeing all four of you, dear readers, that there will be something eloquent and wordy popping up in this corner of the internet each week, day, or what have you. In the meantime, I encourage you to go back to some of my preferred posts, be they for my better writing, funny, or otherwise. I have also become an avid picture taker, and I refuse to say photographer because I lack the technical knowledge and tools to be one at this point in time, and I let the world see through my lens on Instagram, since that is the most convenient way to reach as many people as possible. An overview, a "top 10" if you will, is below:
My Instagram
1. The only post I have written on this blog as a matter of (semi-)fiction and unrelated to my life, my surroundings, or my observations thereof is a work of satire to which those who have ever been overwhelmed with life as a student on campus at university can relate immediately. The title is self-descriptive:
The Saga of the Run-On Sentences
2. My most-viewed post ever on this blog has been a post in which I wrote about my experience in life as a gay person and my relationship to the GLBT culture and community. It was prompted by interactions with many people over time and will continue to be relevant for considerable time to come:
Gay
3. I began writing as a way to keep in touch with people at home while I studied in France in a way that was less jarring to me than trying to Skype and disconnect myself from my surroundings. My viewpoint has evolved since then, but take a look at the beginning, from May of 2011:
Intro, Part 2
4. I began to explore the frontiers of language acquisition in France by trying to spend an evening with someone who didn't speak English. I have since frequently come back to this theme on my blog, as I have transitioned from language to language and the process that entails:
Lessons in French Adventure, or a Crash Course in Speaking Awkwardly
5. As I continued, I began to feel the effects of cultural fatigue, a phase of cultural adjustment not entirely unrelated to culture shock, nor the same thing still:
Realizing that Cultural Fatigue Exists, Despite Everything
6. There was an afternoon in which I discovered that, in fact, not all crepes made in France are as delicious as the Eat, Pray, Love-style fawning over them most travelogs and culinary articles would lead you to believe. I can still taste the utter horror each time I think of it:
The Day the Food Died and Other Reflections
7. I departed France with a post dedicated to the exploration of my transient view of life and how I am going about living it. The resounding message from that post has been carried into the everyday of my life since then; as I effectively broke up with a complicated affair and learned to enjoy the world for myself and set my priorities in a way fitting for me, my world and how I viewed it around me changed:
Outro, Mosaic: One Piece of an Endless Reverie
8. When I made the decision to study abroad in Portugal, the choice was as novel and eye-opening as anything I had ever done prior. Finally, I was doing something of my own accord that had bearing on the future in all aspects, despite having to leave behind a newly kindled romantic flame and delay my graduation by another semester. When I got to Portugal, I began to experience tensions with my American colleague while I was learning how to be on my own in the world. The saga resulted in three posts:
Decoding Derp, pt. 1 - "malandra"
Decoding Derp, pt. 2 - "dog shit"
Misquoting, Mildew, or What Happens in Lisbon Goes on the Internet
9. My original period in Portugal was marked by being submerged in an entirely unfamiliar society and language and, naturally, I wrote quite a lot about that experience. Crash-learning Portuguese challenged my intellect and my resolve and forced me to take a renewed look at how I approach things. The best of these posts are these:
Stirrings, a Continuance of a Motif
In Which Portuguese Becomes Vaguely Intelligible
Traveling Reconsidered, or Contemplations of Position
10. My return to the United States, decision to move to Portugal again, whether permanently or not, and subsequent return to Lisbon have been marked by a melange of posts dedicated to themes similar to those already described throughout the rest of my journey. Again, these are the best:
From Portugal to Paris, Continental Affairs
Cracks in the Silver Lining
Post-Grad Redaction
Things Not to Do, from Leaving to Landing
My Instagram
1. The only post I have written on this blog as a matter of (semi-)fiction and unrelated to my life, my surroundings, or my observations thereof is a work of satire to which those who have ever been overwhelmed with life as a student on campus at university can relate immediately. The title is self-descriptive:
The Saga of the Run-On Sentences
2. My most-viewed post ever on this blog has been a post in which I wrote about my experience in life as a gay person and my relationship to the GLBT culture and community. It was prompted by interactions with many people over time and will continue to be relevant for considerable time to come:
Gay
3. I began writing as a way to keep in touch with people at home while I studied in France in a way that was less jarring to me than trying to Skype and disconnect myself from my surroundings. My viewpoint has evolved since then, but take a look at the beginning, from May of 2011:
Intro, Part 2
4. I began to explore the frontiers of language acquisition in France by trying to spend an evening with someone who didn't speak English. I have since frequently come back to this theme on my blog, as I have transitioned from language to language and the process that entails:
Lessons in French Adventure, or a Crash Course in Speaking Awkwardly
5. As I continued, I began to feel the effects of cultural fatigue, a phase of cultural adjustment not entirely unrelated to culture shock, nor the same thing still:
Realizing that Cultural Fatigue Exists, Despite Everything
6. There was an afternoon in which I discovered that, in fact, not all crepes made in France are as delicious as the Eat, Pray, Love-style fawning over them most travelogs and culinary articles would lead you to believe. I can still taste the utter horror each time I think of it:
The Day the Food Died and Other Reflections
7. I departed France with a post dedicated to the exploration of my transient view of life and how I am going about living it. The resounding message from that post has been carried into the everyday of my life since then; as I effectively broke up with a complicated affair and learned to enjoy the world for myself and set my priorities in a way fitting for me, my world and how I viewed it around me changed:
Outro, Mosaic: One Piece of an Endless Reverie
8. When I made the decision to study abroad in Portugal, the choice was as novel and eye-opening as anything I had ever done prior. Finally, I was doing something of my own accord that had bearing on the future in all aspects, despite having to leave behind a newly kindled romantic flame and delay my graduation by another semester. When I got to Portugal, I began to experience tensions with my American colleague while I was learning how to be on my own in the world. The saga resulted in three posts:
Decoding Derp, pt. 1 - "malandra"
Decoding Derp, pt. 2 - "dog shit"
Misquoting, Mildew, or What Happens in Lisbon Goes on the Internet
9. My original period in Portugal was marked by being submerged in an entirely unfamiliar society and language and, naturally, I wrote quite a lot about that experience. Crash-learning Portuguese challenged my intellect and my resolve and forced me to take a renewed look at how I approach things. The best of these posts are these:
Stirrings, a Continuance of a Motif
In Which Portuguese Becomes Vaguely Intelligible
Traveling Reconsidered, or Contemplations of Position
10. My return to the United States, decision to move to Portugal again, whether permanently or not, and subsequent return to Lisbon have been marked by a melange of posts dedicated to themes similar to those already described throughout the rest of my journey. Again, these are the best:
From Portugal to Paris, Continental Affairs
Cracks in the Silver Lining
Post-Grad Redaction
Things Not to Do, from Leaving to Landing
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