May 15, 2026
Curing vs. Healing: An Afternoon at an Indigenous Clinic
A field note on the difference between curing disease and healing persons, drawn from an afternoon in an Indigenous clinic.
Stories
Field notes from the road
Medicine, culture, travel, food, healing, and human stories from my archive. Start with a trail, search for a memory, or move by year.
Roads, meals, clinics, and human encounters.
Featured field note
Vipassana Meditation: A Reflection
A reflection on mindfulness, impermanence, and the discipline of paying attention to the present day.
Read the storyArchive into inquiry
These field notes are not only memory. They are the ground from which my new field inquiries begin.
The current inquiry follows one trail through the archive: food culture, metabolic health, Indigenous knowledge, and Suriname.
May 15, 2026
The Sweet Ethos of Suriname
A reflection on Suriname’s food culture, hospitality, and the sweetness that carries through daily life.
Apr 15, 2026
Yaqut al-Hamawi: The Great Arab Traveller Who Was Not Arab
A portrait of Yaqut al-Hamawi, the medieval geographer whose life began in captivity and became a vast act of description.
Apr 15, 2026
The River Beneath the Numbers: Psychosocial Stress, Inflammation, and Disease
A medical-anthropological reflection on hidden stress, inflammation, and the slow currents beneath measurable disease.
Apr 15, 2026
A Physician-Anthropologist Among Indigenous Peoples
A reflection on medicine, anthropology, and long relationships with Indigenous communities around the world.
Apr 15, 2026
A Few Hours at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
A quiet Miami field note on gardens, attention, and the relief of stepping outside the city’s noise.
Apr 15, 2026
A French Lunch: Vive la France
A lunch in France becomes a lesson in nutrition, culture, and the social worlds that shape how people eat.
Apr 15, 2026
A CGM Continuous Glucose Monitoring, Artificial Intelligence, and the Limits of Cultural Understanding
A CGM, Artificial Intelligence, and the Limits of Cultural Understanding For the past week, I have been wearing a continuous glucose monitor, a device largely designed and marketed for the…
Apr 15, 2026
Alain de Botton on Love, Friendship, and Finding Oneself
A reflection on Alain de Botton’s challenge to romantic ideals, friendship, and the work of knowing oneself.
Apr 15, 2026
Goodbye Raghu Rai, the Great Photojournalist of India
A personal farewell to Raghu Rai and the photographs, memories, and human presence his work carried.
Mar 15, 2026
To My Friends in Iran
A note written in concern and solidarity for friends in Iran during a time of silence, fear, and resilience.
Mar 15, 2026
A Journey from Paris to Miami on Air France
A travel note from Cochin to Miami, moving through cancellations, airports, and the calm of a familiar route home.
Mar 15, 2026
What Did the Medicine Man Say?
A field reflection on humility, Indigenous wisdom, and the difference between knowledge and presence.
Mar 15, 2026
Pranayama, Vagal Stimulation, and Blood Pressure
A physician-anthropologist’s reflection on breath, physiology, and the clinical meaning of contemplative practice.
Mar 15, 2026
Goodbye, Ricky Café
A farewell to a Miami café that held fragments of friendship, memory, and ordinary ritual.
Mar 15, 2026
Pinecrest, Edgar Watson, and the moral edge of the Everglades
“To travel is to feel.” - Fernando Pessoa I went to Pinecrest today, though it no longer exists. Not in the way that towns exist-with a centre, a rhythm, a…
Feb 15, 2026
Spiritual Materialism and the Violence of Certainty
A reflection on spiritual materialism, ego, and the danger of turning belief into justification.
Feb 15, 2026
Spiritual Materialism: A Cross-Tradition Comparison
A comparative note on how different spiritual traditions warn against turning practice into ego.