Jan 15, 2025
Compassionate Immigration and Portugal’s Example
A reflection on immigration, hypocrisy, and Portugal’s more compassionate social imagination.
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.Archive 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.
Feb 15, 2014
PORTUGAL AND GENETIC MEMORY: MY NEWEST FAVOURITE COUNTRY IN EUROPE
What does it mean, Genetic Memory? We inherit genes from our parents, then learn our culture, our languages. Later on we go on to live in countries which are not…
Jan 15, 2025
What Is International Medicine?
A physician-anthropologist’s definition of international medicine, beyond romance, rescue fantasy, and institutional cliché.
Jan 15, 2025
A Transcontinental Flight on Royal Air Maroc
A travel note from Casablanca to Miami, assessing the ordinary realities of a long Royal Air Maroc flight.
Jan 15, 2025
For Better Health and Longer Life: Mediterranean Diet, Mediterranean Residence
A field note on food, place, and why health may require not only diet but a wider way of living.
Jan 15, 2025
Happy New Year from Porto
A New Year reflection from Porto, carrying hopes for Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, the United States, and beyond.
Mar 15, 2023
IF YOU ARE A FRQUENT FLIER, IT IS GOOD TO HAVE STATUS WITH YOUR PREFERRED AIRLINE. IF YOU DONT TRAVEL OFTEN, DONT WORRY
Since the post-pandemic rush to travel took us to busier airports and congested aircrafts, the idea of having a preferred status has come into focus and also to learn about…
Feb 15, 2023
REMNANTS OF THE JEWISH MELLAH OF AZEMOUR , MAROC/MARRUECOS/MOROCCO
AZEMMOUR , city on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. In the 15 th century Azemmour was a free city with 20,000 inhabitants, of whom 2,500 were Jews, mainly occupied as…
Nov 15, 2021
STRANGE TO BE DREAMING OF TRAVEL AND NOT BEING ABLE TO BOOK ANYTHING HA.. 2019 WAS SUCH A GOOD YEAR FOR TRAVEL PRE COVID
I felt that the year 2019 was an extraordinarily good year for travel . COUNTRIES VISITED IN 2019 MANY TIMES USA CUBA FRANCE MEXICO COLOMBIA BRASIL ARGENTINA URUGUAY CHILE EASTER…
Oct 15, 2021
WILD MUSHROOMS AND HOW THEY INFLUENCE THE MICROBIOME. THE FUTURE OF METABOLIC MEDICINE, NUTRIGENOMICS
A good friend of mine wrote: I developed a pinpoint rash on my left lower leg in early 2017. In September 2017, I developed a total body rash and saw…
Oct 15, 2021
CASUALIDAD NO ES TAN CASUAL.. AS INDIANS SAY, THINGS HAPPEN FOR A REASON, MAY BE YOU ARE NOT SMART ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND
Things have a reason for happening. A colleague who seldom talks about travel, sent me this I am on my way to Israel. It is fully vaccinated, as close to…
Sep 15, 2021
THIS JEWISH NEW YEAR FOR OUR SISTERS IN IRAN AND AFGHANISTAN..EVERYWHERE ELSE THEY NEED TO CELEBRATE
The Jewish New Year is upon us..Couldnt celebrate properly last year and this year seems we will celebrate on line with whoever wish to share these days.. This being human…
Jul 15, 2021
HOW TO TRANSITION FROM ONE CULTURE TO THE NEXT: IN MY CASE AN ENJOYABLE SOLUTION OF FLYING EXPERIENCE
In today's discussion, the airline in question is SWISS airlines. I have flown them a few times before, once Montreal to Zurich to Singapore and back, eleven years ago almost…
Jan 15, 2021
NEVER BEFORE HAVE I FELT THIS IMPOTENT ABOUT INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL
It was March 18, 2020 and I had packed my bags and ready to go to the airport to leave the USA. My sister and her husband begged me to…
Nov 15, 2020
NOVEMBER 2, 2020 DIA DE LOS MUERTOS. TOUSSAINT EN FRANCE. REMEMBERING DEAR DEPARTED ONES IN CUBA BRASIL
From the BBC: Three ideas for how to live a fuller life By Roman Krznaric 28th October 2020 By reimagining our relationship with time – and coming to terms with…
Oct 15, 2020
IDENTITIES WITHOUT BORDERS: LESSONS FROM MALAYSIA WITH GRATITUDE TO MY FRIENDS IN KUALA LUMPUR
IDENTITIES WITHOUT BORDERS Borders is what we create so that we can cocoon inside it and then feel comfortable in them with our fellow travelers. Currently I am reading a…
Jun 15, 2020
AMALIA RODRIGUES, LISBOA; CARLOS GARDEL, BUENOS AIRES; P. RAMLEE, KUALA LUMPUR; UMM AL KHALTHOUM EL KAHIRA
After writing a blog about Dame Vera Lynn who passed away on 18/6/2020, I thought of other icons of music from other countries that I could think of and also…
May 15, 2020
IMMIGRATION, POVERTY AND DEATH … DISAPARITY OF GLOBALIZATION PREDICTED BY FIDEL
There has been a disproportionate number of deaths from this virus, Covid-19, in France in 2020. If you look at the map, you would see a disproportionate number of infections…