Borders
Borders are one of those subjects that become much more interesting when you have crossed one to build a life somewhere else. I have spent almost five years living in...
Questions & Society
ECLIXAR
digital diary
Journal.
fragments of quiet intelligence
There is a manner in which certain things ask to be written, not so that they may be found, but because to exist in silence, for too long, eventually becomes insufficient. It is not urgency. It is something closer to a necessity that makes no noise, waiting patiently until it discovers the proper form. This archive was born in such a way.
Not as a diary. Not as a blog. Not as something that is updated merely for the sake of appearing alive. It is a place where certain thoughts come to rest, those which do not dissolve, those which return, those which insist with the silent obstinacy of things that truly belong to you...
Every article is a scene. Every word, a frame of something that would not have remained, had it not
been writtenFrom the archive.
Identity & Life
All True at the Same Time
I have spent much of this week writing about identity, and I think I have finally arrived at the simplest possible conclusion: several things can be true about a person...
Identity & Life
Resident in the Netherlands
I received an ordinary piece of mail today addressed to me at our Amsterdam apartment, and for some reason it made me think about how much my life has changed...
Identity & Life
Italian
Some days I feel particularly Italian for reasons that would sound ridiculous if I tried to explain them to somebody who has never lived abroad. Today it began with coffee....
Identity & Society
European
I have been thinking about what it means to be European, which is a subject that has become considerably more complicated since the British referendum in June. People seem to...
Thoughts & History
Fifteen Years
Fifteen years. I looked at the date this morning and felt that strange mixture of distance and immediacy that comes with remembering something enormous. September 11, 2001, is one of...
Identity & Life
Dutch Identity
I spent part of today wondering what makes somebody Dutch, which is a dangerous question to ask in a country where people have strong opinions about everything from punctuality to...
Identity & Life
Italian Identity
Being Italian is one of those things I rarely think about when I am in Italy and notice constantly when I am somewhere else. It appears in small moments. The...
Identity & Life
Identity
I have been thinking about identity today, partly because of the conversations earlier this week and partly because I found an old photograph of myself while looking through a folder...
Questions & Musings
Which Ought to Mean Something
Yesterday I wrote about integration, and today I am still thinking about it. This is what happens when a subject gets into my head and refuses to leave politely. I...
Identity & Society
The Word Integration
The word integration appeared in a conversation at work today, and I found myself thinking about it for the rest of the afternoon. It is one of those words that...
Questions & Musings
Rules
I spent part of this afternoon thinking about rules, which is not a particularly exciting subject for a Sunday unless you happen to live in a country where people have...
Why?
Because every thought leaves a trace. If something moved you, disturbed you, softened you, or made you think, leave it here, quietly.