I’m sitting at a cozy four-seat kitchen table in the apartment of a fantastic and exceedingly hospitable friend in Fairfax, Virginia (D.C. metropolitan area). Why? Thanks to a random email sent a few weeks ago, I was invited to be a fly on the wall during the culmination of an incredible international sports endeavor happening in […]
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Stepping Stones: D.C. to the Appalachians and Beyond
Today marks two weeks since our Moody season was officially disbanded. The past two weeks have yielded some interesting connections and random opportunities in true life-of-Lauren-Schwaar style. Like stepping stones, just the next few short steps have been revealed so far. Let me fill you in. First step: In which I am invited to […]
Continue readingThe Last of Europe 2017: Oslo to Durham to Chicago
Written Thursday, August 10th. I write from a darkened American Airlines cabin midway through a nine-hour flight. Last time I posted, I was leaving the tropical beach paradise of Dubrovnik, Croatia for a slightly different locale in Oslo, Norway. I spent six days in Norway in the company of two good friends I met earlier […]
Continue readingEurope 2017: Camp Monty
I write from a secret-garden-esque villa in Dubrovnik, Croatia. A storybook lagoon overlooking the Adriatic Sea is a five-minute walk from here. Sights and sounds of tourists on their nearby hotel decks and patios don’t mar the tranquility of the garden in which I sit, boasting fruit trees and patio furniture fit for festivities. I’m […]
Continue readingEurope 2017: Poland Basketball and Montenegrian Coastlines
I write from an airy university dorm lobby in Nikšić, Montenegro. I arrived here with a bus-full of Americans arriving from the Eastern States. We are a team of about 35 American, Serbian, and Montenegrian volunteers, here to facilitate a week of youth activities in a small inland university town. We’ll hold sports clinics for […]
Continue readingEurope 2017: A Picture of Community
I write from an airy, inviting kitchen, overlooking a green walled-in yard through spacious windows. A collared boxer watches hopefully for playmates through the glass back door. The mother and young daughter of the household enter the kitchen holding a murmured conversation in Russian, and whisping sounds of other activity occurring throughout the house waft […]
Continue readingEurope 2017: Ukraine Round Two
It simultaneously feels like both a lifetime and a moment ago that I left Amsterdam to return to Ukraine. In reality, it was twenty-two days ago. Let me try to encapsulate the last three weeks for you. Ukrainian Under-20 National Team Before I left Ukraine the first time around (about six weeks ago now), I […]
Continue readingEurope 2017: From Hostel to Home (Concluding Thoughts on Amsterdam)
(Written June 6th) It just finished raining outside the room I have to myself at a beautiful resort-style tennis club. I’m back in Ukraine, this time for a yet-to-be-determined duration, to help coach the Under-20 national women’s basketball team. The transition from life in Amsterdam to life here has been swift and complete. I very […]
Continue readingEurope 2017: Canals and Coffee (My First Week in Amsterdam)
I write from a worn and comfortably familiar wooden table. It is one of several in the dining room and hangout space that anchors life at the Shelter Jordan Christian Hostel in Amsterdam. This morning marks the beginning of my second week volunteering here in exchange for my room and board. Here are a few […]
Continue readingEurope 2017: Haide, Cluj Napoca
I write from an airport terminal in Istanbul. I’m bound for Amsterdam where I will stay for almost two weeks before heading back to Ukraine. I’ll explain, but first, let me catch you up to speed on the past week. As my trip to France met its conclusion and I still didn’t know yet what […]
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