Shanghai’s Oriental Pearl Tower is pretty hard to miss.

At 468 meters high, it towers over Shanghai’s city skyline. When it was completed in 1994, it was the highest structure in mainland China. Today, it’s the fifth tallest tower in the world.

It also happens to look exactly like what I thought all the [...]

When I first thought up the idea of spending one to three months in each of the countries that I’ll be visiting this year, my reasoning was that by spending a significant amount of time in each place, I would have a better chance of learning more about the people and culture of the [...]

Before arriving on the organic rice farm six weeks ago, I had no idea what jobs my volunteer assignment would entail. Of course it being a rice farm, I had a vague notion that I would be involved in some form of, well, rice farming… but what rice farming was and how one actually [...]

Growing up, I loved reading Little House on the Prairie and other books about people living off of the land. But, personally, I wanted to live off of Lucky Charms and plump, pink chickens wrapped in plastic wrap and styrofoam.

You see, I grew up on a small farm in New York State, where [...]

This Monday marks my one-month mark on the organic rice farm in Southern Malaysia where I’ve been volunteering. Time certainly flies when you’re having fun! Time also flies when you’re busy worrying about pythons and mud parasites and sneaky no-good hoe-stealers.

To be honest with you, I’m surprised I’m almost at the one-month mark. [...]