Mar 15, 2026
What Did the Medicine Man Say?
A field reflection on humility, Indigenous wisdom, and the difference between knowledge and presence.
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.
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.
Feb 15, 2026
A Wonderful Diverse World in Miami
A Miami evening of friendship, language, and human warmth beyond ordinary categories of nationality or identity.
Jan 15, 2026
Thinking of My Friends and Lovers in the Land of Fars
A note on Iran, friendship, meditation, and the discipline of holding one’s mind steady in difficult days.
Dec 15, 2025
Worldliness as Cultural Capital: Notes on International Childhood
A reflection on international childhood, independence, and the early-acquired cultural capital that shapes how children move through the world.
Nov 15, 2025
It Is Easy to Learn to Speak English Poorly
It Is Easy to Learn to Speak English Poorly by Yehuda Kovesh MD (London), FRAI (London) A Frenchman’s Remark A French academician once observed: “English is a language that is…
Sep 15, 2025
Upper Class but Homeless: Nostalgia for Iran
A multilingual reflection on Iran, hospitality, exile, and the ache of belonging from afar.
Sep 15, 2025
The Magnet of Alligator Alcatraz
A political and anthropological reflection shaped by Suriname, migration, medicine, and the pull of difficult places.
Aug 15, 2025
Cochin: Harmony Among the Inhabitants of All Faiths
A reflection on Fort Cochin, interdenominational life, and the quiet coexistence of many faiths.
Jul 15, 2025
Assassins
A historical note on the origins of the word assassin, moving through Bernard Lewis, Amin Maalouf, and medieval memory.
Jun 15, 2025
Mangroves and Memory: Hidden Currents Between Pine Island and Cuba
A coastal field note tracing mangroves, memory, Pine Island, Cuba, and the quiet routes between places.
May 15, 2025
Jamaica, Many Years Later and Saudade por Tudo
A memory of Jamaica, saudade, and the emotional afterlife of places where one once lived.
Feb 15, 2025
I Miss My Good Friend Pak Joe, the Humble Boss of Bogor
A tribute to Pak Joe of Bogor, friendship, workplace health, and the dignity of humble leadership.
Jan 15, 2025
A Hard Rock Café T-Shirt from Porto and Elvis Costello
A field note on travel, music, Indigenous patients, and the unexpected ways people and places are related.
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
Why Don’t You Stay?
A bilingual reflection on travel, belonging, and the question of why one does not simply stay.
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
Happy New Year from Porto
A New Year reflection from Porto, carrying hopes for Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, the United States, and beyond.