Stories Beneath the Surface.

From Caribbean Motoconchos to Andean E-Bikes: My First Shock I still remember the first time I swapped the humid streets of Santo Domingo for the crisp hills of Medellín. After a decade of weaving through Dominican traffic on motoconchos, hopping on an electric bike felt like teleporting into the future. The vendor at the kiosk […]

Un boleto, dos culturas: my accidental upgrade I still remember the first time I tried to buy a panoramic-roof ticket on the brand-new Dominican Scenic-Train that snakes from Santo Domingo to the lush coffee highlands near Jarabacoa. Ten years deep in the island, I thought I spoke Spanish like a pro. Yet the ticket clerk’s […]

The Day I Signed My Life Away in the Rain Forest I had been living in Santiago for nearly a decade when a visiting college friend dared me to ride the newest zip-line strung across the cloud-kissed ranges outside Jarabacoa. The waiver, a thick slab of Spanish legalese, was shoved into my hands by a […]

El Día de la Firma: A Personal Anecdote from a Sweaty Conference Room Two years ago, on a humid Santo Domingo afternoon, I sat in a mahogany-clad conference room surrounded by three lawyers, one corredor de bienes raíces, the seller’s aunt, and a stoic notario público who looked as if he’d been carved from cedar. […]

When Paint Meets Paleta de Colores: My First Hunt for Lienzo in Bogotá I still remember landing in Bogotá with a carry-on full of sunscreen and an empty space where my sketchbook should have been. Ten years in the Dominican Republic had taught me the rhythm of merengue Spanish—quick, clipped, full of dropped s sounds—but […]

The Day My Great-Grandfather’s Birth Certificate Made Me Sweat I was halfway through my cafecito when the clerk at the Oficialía del Estado Civil in Santiago asked, “¿Usted viene a depurar su árbol genealógico o anda buscando papeles para casarse otra vez, joven?” I laughed, partly because her side-eye suggested option two sounded spicier, partly […]

When My License Plate Betrayed Me Last August I rolled my old Yamaha out of my friend’s garage in Medellín, blissfully unaware that that day’s date—an innocuous Wednesday—matched the last digit on my Colombian license plate. The traffic officer’s whistle pierced the afternoon heat, and before I could even lift my visor he asked, “¿Señor, […]

“¿Se fue la luz otra vez?” Those were the first words out of my mouth the night I arrived at a mountain eco-cabin above Jarabacoa, fresh off a prop-plane from Santo Domingo. Ten years in the Dominican Republic should have prepared me, but the sudden hush of appliances still makes my heart skip. The caretaker […]

Ten years ago I was sweating through my first July in Santo Domingo, wrestling with ceiling-fan screws and the subjunctive mood at the same time. Last month, on yet another getaway to Medellín, I found myself in a different kind of twist: the realtor slid a thick folder across the desk and said, “Entonces, firmamos […]

Guayabas, Gargantas Rasposas y Mi Bautizo Botánico Una mañana picante I still remember the first time I walked into a Colombian yerbatería. I had flown from Santo Domingo to Medellín for a weekend escape, sure that a couple of chilly paisa nights would cure my lingering sore throat. Instead, the altitude slapped me around and […]

From Santo Domingo Rooftops to Andean Valleys: An Accidental Foodie I was leaning over the balcony of my apartment in Santo Domingo one humid Thursday night, coaxing my basil plant back from the edge of death, when my friend Juan in Bogotá video-called me. He rotated his camera to flaunt a crate of ruby-red tomatoes […]