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.
Archive
Category: <span>Field Notes</span>
Browse the field notes by date, topic, place, and memory.
May 15, 2026
Vipassana Meditation: A Reflection
A reflection on mindfulness, impermanence, and the discipline of paying attention to the present day.
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
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 Physician-Anthropologist Among Indigenous Peoples
A reflection on medicine, anthropology, and long relationships with Indigenous communities around the world.
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
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
Goodbye Raghu Rai, the Great Photojournalist of India
A personal farewell to Raghu Rai and the photographs, memories, and human presence his work carried.
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
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
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.
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…