The last two weeks have been marked by the presence of my parents, who took a little time off of their stressful lives to visit me in France. Their visit also happened to align with …
Riley Beggin
The Klosterman cage match
Everyone has heard of those “what if” games—the ones that you play at family gatherings to fill time and learn weird, interesting facts about loved ones. The more exciting version of those games are the …
Follow the cats: Spring break edition
This last week and a half I was fortunate enough to have a “vacation from my vacation,” as I like to call it. I traveled on a ridiculously spread-out odyssey to Istanbul, Athens and Barcelona …
London Calling
Of course, I love Paris. But a couple weeks ago, I was missing my family and my hometown, my friends, The Daily Cardinal, the Terrace and the Majestic, and all those things that make my …
Louvre at first sight
I am currently sitting on my bed, reveling in how full I am from the meal of mussels and French fries I just had with my host dads. (Attempting to explain the feeling “I am …
The Exercise Chronicles
I think that attempting to get in some movement and attempting to explore a city go hand in hand sometimes. Most of my close friends know that I have a brilliant idea for a startup …
La vie est belle
To my American eyes and ears, nothing makes sense in Paris. But, being a Western culture, there is a vague familiarity to everything. It’s like seeing the skeleton of your own culture through a fun-house …
Sanity, suitcases, and the Seine
All right, suitcase, it’s come to this. It’s just you and me now. We’ve been through a lot together. You’ve taken your fair share of shampoo-bottle explosions, customs snoopers and disastrous journeys through the ever-mysterious …
Introducing Riley
As you get to know me through these blog posts, you will find that I am a bit of a music-head. You will rarely see me on the street without my earbuds in, or without …