Wordless Wednesday: Looking back on the Oslo march on International Women’s Day

During January’s Women’s March, these two joined hundreds of others in front of Stortinget, the parliament building in Oslo.

 

When there’s protests in Norway, demonstrators often have lighted torches as part of a longstanding tradition. It’s said to symbolize raising awareness, shining light on the issue at hand.

 

In front of Stortinget.

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Top 5 (ish) things I love about Norway

We moved to Norway a year and a half ago and though it’s taken awhile to get our sea legs, I wouldn’t change a thing. I’ve been writing this piece for some time, but it’s been hard to whittle my list down to five. So here’s five-ish things I love about our new home country.

1. Community

I’ve never experienced such a strong sense of community like I have here. Yes Chicago is known as a city of neighborhoods, but it’s nothing like this. While Read more ...

Top 5 things I miss about America

I recently went home to my beloved Chicago to celebrate my birthday and was immediately reminded of all that I missed about America.

Sweet home, Chicago. (Photo by JH)

I had a few free hours after sleeping off my jet lag and instead of exploring my city, getting a manipedi, or catching up with friends, I spent it sitting at Starbucks, writing and watching. Honestly, I couldn’t have been happier. Everyone around me was speaking English (and American English at that!) I had small talk Read more ...

The Divided States of America: I’m inspired and afraid

Each day I sit down at my laptop and begin to write. There’s so much to discuss, so much has happened, but each day there’s a new political bombshell. Like many of you, I start each day wondering what’s next America?

Obviously, I’m talking about the President of the United States who has been in office for less than two weeks. In that time, presidential orders have been made to ban immigrants from a country founded by immigrants, to build a $40 billion wall, restricting … Read more ...

Saying Goodbye to President Obama

Barack Obama is no longer the president of the United States. That sentence carries a disquieting and heavy truth for many Americans.

While putting my 9-year-old to bed last night, I thought it fitting to read one of our children’s books about Obama. It’s “Barack Obama Son of Promise, Child of Hope” by Nikki Grimes. It tells Obama’s life story, touching on his experiences that are familiar to us: His roots in Kansas, his biracial background, and his time in Chicago.