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In a Los Angeles café I noticed a T.S. Eliot line written small and low beside the espresso machine: “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.” I was struck by it because it made me think about how I measure out my life: in miles.

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LIFE IN MILES

The Adventures of a Girl in Motion

  • FEATURES
  • SHORT STORIES
  • REVIEWS
  • ABOUT ME

Waking Up In Bali, Part One

XOAO March 2, 2018

I never realized how loud frogs could be. The first night I slept in Penestanan — a small village near Ubud, Bali where there are no roads, no cars, no street lights —  I thought war had broken out. An …

Read More "Waking Up In Bali, Part One"

Running for the Kids & Other Personal Anecdotes on Exercise

XOAO February 1, 2018

I was a chubby kid. I loved to eat. I didn’t like to exercise or play sports. I watched soap operas. I got migraines. Before I was a teenager I started wearing plus sizes. Sometimes my mother would suggest I …

Read More "Running for the Kids & Other Personal Anecdotes on Exercise"

Call Me Duchess: Tracing My Roots in Medieval Italy

XOAO November 18, 2017

It’s hard to know exactly where my della Torre family line begins. Many accounts say it was with Charlemagne — and our crest indicates this “fact” with its prominent fleur-de-lis — but almost every person with European heritage can claim as much. What …

Read More "Call Me Duchess: Tracing My Roots in Medieval Italy"

Peace in Langshi Village

XOAO November 2, 2017

After a four-hour flight from Beijing, I am met at the Guilin airport by an older woman holding a bag of clementines. We will ride together for the next two hours along deserted mini malls and through rolling mountains, eventually …

Read More "Peace in Langshi Village"

Off the Beaten Path: Exploring Angkor Wat on Two Wheels

XOAO May 26, 2017

November 2016. For all the weight of Phnom Penh, Siem Reap is light. The heavy layer of dust in the air doesn’t matter; I’m finding it easier to breathe here… the streets are wider and the touch of the city …

Read More "Off the Beaten Path: Exploring Angkor Wat on Two Wheels"

China to Texas: The Tiger Who Brought Me Home

XOAO May 11, 2017

My granddaddy — a tall, imposing, fifth-generation Texan — used to boast to me with a wide grin and his best twang: “Nita, I’ll tell you a secret…” He’d lean in as if other people might be listening… “You’re my …

Read More "China to Texas: The Tiger Who Brought Me Home"

Life in Shanghai, Or How I Confused Lennon and Lenin

XOAO April 29, 2017

December 2016, Shanghai. I’ve just left Phnom Penh and the emotional roller coaster of Cambodia. I also just decided to leave Remote Year, so I feel simultaneously anxious and relieved. There’s no time to stop and think about all of …

Read More "Life in Shanghai, Or How I Confused Lennon and Lenin"

Stirring Emotions in Cambodia: A Daughter’s Story

XOAO April 18, 2017

I was raised by a revolutionary. I actually hesitate to the use the word "raised." My dad did more of the raising, as did my grandparents and my aunts — I took a village. But the influence my mother, The …

Read More "Stirring Emotions in Cambodia: A Daughter’s Story"

A Day with the Gentlest of Giants

XOAO April 4, 2017

It’s like being in a storybook, spending a day with elephants — meandering through a forest with them, feeding them, playing in the mud, bathing in a stream all together to wash off said mud… They are sweet, curious, and always hungry. They are …

Read More "A Day with the Gentlest of Giants"

Why I’ll Return to Koh Pha Ngan

XOAO April 2, 2017

Karen Blixen said, ”I know the cure for everything: salt water... in one form or another. Sweat, tears, or the salt sea.” This evaluation pretty much sums up Koh Pha Ngan for me. I was incredibly stressed there for a …

Read More "Why I’ll Return to Koh Pha Ngan"

Escape to Chiang Mai!

XOAO April 1, 2017

By the end of our month in Koh Pha Ngan, I am tired of living with bugs, drops of blood on my duvet, and Remote Year drama. We only have about a week left before we go to Phnom Penh, …

Read More "Escape to Chiang Mai!"

Hips and Dips in Koh Pha Ngan

XOAO October 16, 2016

I have had more hummus in the last week than I’ve had in the last year. And I am in Thailand. Don’t get me wrong, I love hummus. If I were stranded on a deserted island, and all I had …

Read More "Hips and Dips in Koh Pha Ngan"

The Extraordinary Flavors of Kuala Lumpur

XOAO September 8, 2016

While Kuala Lumpur has some gorgeous architecture — like the stunning and imposing Petronas Towers — it is not a particularly beautiful city. It feels like so many places where the approach to urban planning is... mysterious. The streets literally …

Read More "The Extraordinary Flavors of Kuala Lumpur"

Gone Nomad: My Inevitable Life of Excess Baggage

XOAO September 1, 2016

Starting from a very early age, I was always traveling, and very often I was flying off on my own. Between two parents, one in NYC and one in Austin: I was the Unaccompanied Minor. I feel like you don’t …

Read More "Gone Nomad: My Inevitable Life of Excess Baggage"

Saturdays with Pasquale

XOAO August 18, 2016

I first went to Da Fortunato when I was in college. My dad’s best friend had recommended this Roman restaurant right up the via from the Pantheon, and it always stayed in my heart. When I moved to Italy twenty years (!!) …

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Riding the Waves in North Africa

XOAO August 18, 2016

Growing up in New York City, I never really learned how to swim. Maybe I shouldn't blame the City. Other kids learned... it just somehow skipped me. And I skipped it. As a result (and as an adult), I had …

Read More "Riding the Waves in North Africa"

Tales of an Unlikely Marathoner

XOAO August 1, 2016

Before 2015, I completed three full and three half marathons. That's pretty good for someone who doesn't particularly enjoy running. I mean, I kind of hate it while it's happening. But I love the discipline of it, and afterwards, I …

Read More "Tales of an Unlikely Marathoner"

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