I had expected my foreign accent might be problematic when I came from India to America to attend graduate school. I had, however, not thought I would even have a problem pronouncing my name. If there is anything I, and everyone else, can speak correctly and confidently, it is our name. But communication is not […]
Dogs, Feminism, and Colonialism
When I was a kid, my parents cautioned me not to mess with stray dogs. They drilled into me that a stray-dog bite had to be remedied with 12, or was it 16, shots in the abdomen. This dreadful prospect ingrained a lifelong fear of dogs, of any kind, in me. Ironically, I ended up […]
Vegetable Gardening 101
I caught the gardening bug when I helped tend the family vegetable garden during my early teenage years. The bug never left me; for the past 20 years, I have enjoyed cultivating a 350-square-foot vegetable patch. Vegetable gardening has for long had an uncool image. However, topical issues such as sustainability, climate change, and organic […]