January 29, 2026 The Reluctant Chef (or How Comparative Advantage Finally Failed Me) Is it true that many people who enjoy cooking — or who excel at it — had a parent or close relative they watched and learned from? I’ve heard that theory, and it makes sense to me. So what happens when you’re raised by a single mother who not only does not cook, but wouldn’t recognize a fresh vegetable if it came up and bit her on the nose? My mother was a huge fan of TV dinners. And canned vegetables. And other unmemorable meals. On holidays, she made matzah ball soup with…
July 19, 2025 Culture Shock – Giving and Receiving After my recent trip abroad, I’ve been carrying around a persistent feeling. Our world in 2025 feels smaller and more connected than ever, much easier to navigate, a place where cultures mix freely and borders seem less rigid. This blending offers exciting chances for greater understanding —and it also brings moments that can be uncomfortable or challenging. How often do US citizens hear the label “Ugly Americans”? Our culture can sometimes clash with others, whether it’s our insistence on comforts like air conditioning and ice cubes, our assertiveness, or simply our limited foreign language skills. When we travel, we carry…
July 16, 2025 A World Apart – A World, A Part I recently returned from a long-anticipated summer trip to France. Not having been overseas in a couple of decades, I genuinely believed that—with proper planning, strategic thinking, and an adequate budget—I could create an experience for my husband and me that felt both “foreign” and comfortably “domestic.” It turns out, as with many things in life, that was wishful thinking. The old saying, you don’t know what you don’t know, has never rung truer. I expected my husband to struggle a bit more out of his element. In fact, I gave him what I now realize were slightly patronizing pep…