From an airplane, the Peruvian Andes look like fists. Its peaks are knuckles, with permanent grooves and bends etched in brown rock. A few… — From an airplane, the Peruvian Andes look like fists. Its peaks are knuckles, with permanent grooves and bends etched in brown rock. A few hundred years ago, one of the fists decided to loosen its grip. When it did, a knuckle flattened. At this breach between peaks is Ayaviri, a…

On February 13th, two-hundred bouquets of Colombian flowers go on a trip. — On February 13th, two-hundred bouquets of Colombian flowers go on a trip. They are plucked from the fields of Antioquia and pushed a plane. Fasten your seat belts, they are told. They eat their pretzels, watch their movie, cross an ocean, and stop, briefly, in Miami. After some pampering, they’re…

I like to think of Duke as a snow globe I can fit in my hand. — I like to think of Duke as a snow globe I can fit in my hand. I can see the flakes toss and turn over the chapel. If I squint my eyes and look real close, I can see myself.

College has three purposes (according to David Brooks): — College has three purposes (according to David Brooks): the commercial Crafting a resumé. Behavioral interviews. Networking. Etc. The building of tools to start a career. 2. the cognitive Oxidative phosphorylation. Supply and demand. Foucault. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Etc. The learning of stuff. 3. the moral Open to interpretation, but…

In dire need to entertain on her last night in town, I suggested we ride bikes through the city. When we finally made it to this park, I… —

When we were little, my mom would do this thing. — When asked something she didn’t know the answer to, she would respond with these declarative statements about my grandmother that she assumed would satisfy all of our naive inquisitions. “You should ask Mamita that. Mamita knows everything.” Are you kidding me? What do you mean she knows everything? “Guys, she…

words by me, drawings by father. —

I began questioning words when I moved to Lima and was given a label I didn’t quite ask for. — I began questioning words when I moved to Lima and was given a label I didn’t quite ask for. I was raised by a Peruvian dad and Cuban-American mom. Peruvian dad meant we always had Inca Kola in the fridge. Cuban-American mom meant we liked our tostadas tightly pressed, smothered…

What’s your relic? — What’s your relic? He asks this as you sit, sipping on soup in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by unfamiliar faces. What’s a relic? You ask back. He explains that relics are remains of a religious saint that has passed. There are different “classes” of relics, he says. A first class…