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Twenty Years ... and Counting
A Polish dissident once told me, “If it took 40 years to create this mentality, why shouldn’t it take 40 years to undo it?” Indeed, though we’ve now surpassed 20 years since the Berlin Wall was torn down, Central and Eastern Europe remain a work in progress. Everything that happens within these young democracies must be seen through the prism of what happened here during four decades of Communism, and how far the region has evolved since. Here, then, is a look at twenty years... and counting.
A Love-Letter to Budapest
Friday, September 7, 2012
BUDAPEST, Hungary – I’d fallen out of love. This summer, I wanted so badly for that passion to reignite. No, I'm not referring to my marriage, but to the grand old city of Budapest.
If I Were To Break In Today
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Letter to an Aspiring Correspondent
PRAGUE – Foreign correspondence is dead. Long live foreign correspondence!
Lesotho: Bishop Tutu Urges Peace -- But Will the Leaders Listen?
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Political violence has flared ahead of May 26 Lesotho elections, but Archbishop Desmond Tutu urges candidates to keep the peace and respect election results.
MASERU, Lesotho – Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the legendary anti-Apartheid activist and Nobel laureate, is officially retired from public life.
Peek into the HIV-Scarred Lives of Young Africans
Friday, March 30, 2012
MASERU, Lesotho – The email arrived on the eve of a journalism workshop I’d lead at Kick4Life, an NGO that promotes sport and HIV awareness in a country with the world’s third-highest rate of HIV infection.
Connecting the Dots – and Woes – of Slovakia, Hungary ... and China?
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
MASERU, Lesotho – Last week was one filled with nostalgia and melancholy.
"The Help" ... Lesotho-Style
Friday, February 24, 2012
MASERU, Lesotho – Living overseas, I sometimes fall out of touch with the latest “buzz” within American culture. Like which Hollywood sleepers are garnering acclaim from the critics.
After Graduation, Central Europe's Journalism Students Stumble
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
"…There’s little interest in what Slovak journalism refers to as 'publicistika': serious news features, profiles and analysis. It turns out such stories can be bad for business."
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia -- Katarina Jenkutova was the sort of student who makes teaching worthwhile. Two years ago, she was one of my 30 Slovak journalism students at the University of Saints Cyril and Methodius, in the provincial but historic city of Trnava.
Sesotho: Both Bridge and Defense
Monday, December 5, 2011
MASERU, Lesotho – I’ve written before about my struggles to learn the language of countries where I’ve lived, be it my horrid Hungarian, survival Slovak or café Cantonese.
