July 16, 2019

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: Five Fabulous Things

 busy city street

One of the perks of teaching at an international school is that you make friends that go teach at other international schools and you get to go visit them. This is how my boyfriend and I found ourselves in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam for the end of June and beginning of July. So without further ado, here are five fabulous things to do in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (aka Saigon) 1 Food (and coffee!!) Since Vietnamese food is a whole thing right now, I figured we should just start here. The food in Ho Chi Minh is amazing. The things you have to try are Vietnamese coffee (it…

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written by carolineschley@gmail.com - Posted in travel fabulous

June 23, 2019

The Common Ground of Validation

 validation is a balancing act

Writers are constantly scrambling towards the common ground of validation. For example, this weekend I’m attending a writing conference where we are getting feedback on the pitches for our novels. (obsessed with writing conferences lately, see related post here) You can picture it like a workshop for door-to-door sales, but the speech ends with a thoughtfully crafted Central Dramatic Question instead of an offer for a magazine subscription. Pitches are a finicky and endlessly important part of novel writing. (In fact, one of the great ironies of writing is that you spend half of your time locked in a room alone, scribbling in notebooks and mumbling to imaginary people. Then,…

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written by carolineschley@gmail.com - Posted in live fabulous

May 31, 2019

Book Expo America (and other mysteries of life)

 neon sign on a wall

It took me four weeks to gather up the courage to apply for the Book Expo America badge. In my understanding, Book Expo America (BEA) is one of the most significant events in the publishing world. Also, it happens to take place a 23-minute subway ride from where I am currently living in Manhattan (God bless the Second Avenue subway). It sounds like a win-win-win. First, Great networking, interesting panels, some free books (27 and counting, and I’m only taking the ones I really like). Second, I get to see the weird Hudson Yards womb-statue from relatively close up. But I was still nervous to apply. Here were some of…

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written by carolineschley@gmail.com - Posted in live fabulous

May 20, 2019

Madagascar: Smile and Wave

 smiling children gathering taken during daytime

I just returned from a two-week trip to Madagascar with my mother. It’s hard to quantify the important lessons I learned. I think on a very successful trip, you learn in two ways. First, there are facts about the country or area you’re visiting. Then, there are also feelings or cultural norms you understand better as a result of your journey. Madagascar: Facts I learned 1,213 interesting facts about lemurs, chameleons and the splitting apart of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana. We drove for 743 hours on roads that could also qualify as Class Five hiking trails (well, it felt like 743 hours, see note above about the difficulties of quantification)….

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written by carolineschley@gmail.com - Posted in travel fabulous

May 1, 2019

What Next?

 tennis ball

Happy May! Spring is in the air and it’s a great time to ask the all-important questions: What next? The question provokes a change in mindset. It’s a perspective I’ve been adapting mostly due to my fancy, new, goal-oriented planner. My planner (which I love-buy one here!) has pages for reflection scattered throughout. Two questions that inspire ‘What next?’ reflections Are you continuing to progress, redirect, or facing unexpected challenges? What were your most significant accomplishments in the last thirty days? The bulk of what I wrote about for April centered around an activity called Camp NaNoWriMo. There is lots of great information about the event available here, but for…

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written by carolineschley@gmail.com - Posted in live fabulous

April 25, 2019

Asturias, Spain: Five Fabulous Things

 coast at sunset

There is one certainty to keep in mind above all else while planning a vacation to Asturias, Spain: You can’t control the weather. That’s not to say I didn’t try. But as my boyfriend and I planned our Easter vacation to this a small region of northern Spain that clings to the Atlantic Coast, I realized that it rains 150+ days a year. Instead of stressing about the weather, we planned a blend of activities that allowed for some indoor days. It was probably healthy for me to give an obsessive-compulsive side a break, anyway. Below are five fabulous things to do in Asturias, Spain: 1 Hiking One of the…

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written by carolineschley@gmail.com - Posted in travel fabulous

April 22, 2019

What Comes After Easter?

The answer to the question above may seem relatively obvious. After Easter, we have Pentecost. Or Shavuot, depending on your religious preferences. Duh. (Those interested in more information on Pentecost click here and if you want to know more about Shavuot click here). But, what in the world does that even mean? You are dying to know! (and don’t have time to read copious Wikipedia articles, it’s Monday, I get it.) In the natural world, seasons can be divided by changes in weather and amount of daylight. But since climate climate is totally screwing up global weather patterns, so let’s talk about how they define seasons in religion: by the…

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written by carolineschley@gmail.com - Posted in live fabulous

April 9, 2019

Deep Thoughts on Alice Waters and Slow Food

Hi readers, I was just listening to the latest ‘How I Built This with Guy Raz‘ and I had some deep thoughts on Alice Waters and the slow food movement. If you’re not familiar with the show, it’s an interview-based format where Guy asks various successful entrepreneurs how they got their ideas and started their businesses. It’s always super interesting, with guests from Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler (Soul Cycle) to Haim Saban (Power Rangers). This week he interviewed Alive Waters (founder of Chez Panisse and by virtually all accounts, founder of the ‘Slow Food’ movement in the United States). They went through all the normal, interview-y stuff, then Guy…

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written by carolineschley@gmail.com - Posted in randomly fabulous

April 4, 2019

What I Do During An Airport Delay

 guy shows how sad an airport delay is

I’m flying to Madrid tonight to see my boyfriend, which would be a very happy occasion if I were currently on my airplane. However, the airplane had some sad, vague problem that prevented it from leaving (or possibly from landing? The stewardess was a little unclear.) So I am currently stuck in an airport delay, wishing for the thirty-seventh time that I hadn’t packed my book in the checked luggage. But stay positive, they say! So here is a fun little list of activities you can participate in the next time you find yourself stranded delayed at the airport for an additional five hours. Airport Delay Activities 1) Buy the latest…

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written by carolineschley@gmail.com - Posted in live fabulous

March 17, 2019

Horizon Lines

A yoga instructor said something interesting about horizon lines when I was in Puerto Rico. To defend the importance of outdoor yoga (as if we needed convincing), she said the reason the beach is relaxing for people is because our brains calm down when we are able to see a horizon line. It doesn’t have to be the beach, but it has to be somewhere that we can see the land meet the sky. (see confirming post from unverified but reputable-looking source here). Now that I’m traveling in Nebraska (long story for another time) where horizon lines also abound, the sentiment has been on my mind. Fact: we are often…

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written by carolineschley@gmail.com - Posted in live fabulous