Author Archives: Matt

Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. …

Continue reading “I Hate Dora the Explorer: Backpack Edition”

The day I learned to write cursive was the day my handwriting—and probably all semblance of fine motor control over drawing implements—died. It was 1982 or 1983, and I was living in Brighton, England, an 8-year-old temporary American transplant to the British state school system. Until then, I’d learned, as most kids do, to write …

Continue reading “The Miseries of Cursive”

In the Javanese city of Surabaya, I am sitting at an air-conditioned cafe with a man named Sudargo. He speaks slightly more English than I do Indonesian, but conversation is awkward. So far I’ve learned that he’s a chef/manager for this cafe chain, Ijen, and mostly travels around Indonesia setting up new franchises. That’s about …

Continue reading “I’ll Show You Mine if You Show Me Yours: How to Speak to Adults”