28 favorite moments

I am way behind on blogging favorite moments, considering that I'm now 30 and these are from the year I was 28. So these span basically the 2017-2018 academic year. I love this method of documenting what makes each year special. Here goes!

Seeing the sun rise over the Erg Chebbi dunes in Morocco

Seeing the sun rise from Jebel Toubkal, the highest peak in the High Atlas (after surviving the hike to the top!)

Eating lobster rolls over several great bottles of wine with my dad, Austin, and Austin's parents in the North End after moving to Cambridge

Dancing to Despacito and playing endless rounds of Secret Hitler in Denver 

Exchanging phone numbers with my first new grad school friend

Drinking pumpkin beers in the sunshine on the party flotilla on a lake in New Hampshire 

When Mashrou' Leila played Shim El-Yasmine as their second encore and something in my heart cracked open

Biking around Cambridge in the fall, feeling like a real-life Harvard student, knowing I would see my parents later that day, and thinking that life would never get better than this 

Winning at the Seeport negotiation and then celebrating/commiserating at Grendel's afterwards

Visiting a CSA farm with my Food and Agriculture class after my first math test in ten years (a statistics midterm) 

Watching a campy movie our professor was in at our cohort retreat, yelling at the TV, and teasing him about it afterwards

Wandering the Golden Temple in Amritsar in the morning and at night, surrounded by believers chanting and cleaning

Drinking beers and dancing on the bus on the way to the Taj Mahal

That first glimpse of the Taj Mahal on the way to the bathroom

Taking photos with the surliest mall Santa ever at a mall in Kolkata on an adventure to rat park

Genevieve remembering us when we went to Bad Saint over Christmas

Playing mafia around the campfire while staying overnight in Wadi Rum during a field study course in Jordan

Getting invited to a private roundtable on the Syrian crisis and feeling like I had begun to find my place at HKS

Nailing the last speech in Arts of Communication

Eating fried chicken and playing drinking games in Seoul

Getting chased by a horse on a hike in Jeju Island

Making fun of Sleep No More with my college girlfriends

Landing an internship offer and knowing I had a new adventure ahead (plus feeling a ton of relief after a stressful process)

Lounging by the pool all day with Austin in the dry Palm Springs heat

Watching the sunset and reading ghost stories from our cabin in Joshua Tree

Flying down dark Bangladeshi country roads on my first motorcycle ride

Eating cow brain at a baby-naming ceremony in Rajshahi and offering up a silent homage to Anthony Bourdain

Running for cover when a downpour hit while wandering around a hilly tea plantation in Srimangal

Favorite moments of previous years blogged here. 

27 favorite moments

Oh man. Coming up on my 29th birthday in a few weeks which means it's high time to post my favorite memories of year 27. I jot these down every few months throughout my birthday year, but am terrible about posting them. So without further ado:

Hitting three countries in one day (USVI, BVI, and French West Indies - we are island-hopping in the Caribbean) and getting a new passport stamp to celebrate my 27th birthday

Sundowners at Le Shambala and dinner at Le Tastevin on St. Martin to officially celebrate my birthday

Daily kayak adventures with Austin during our week in St. Michaels

Drinking cocktails out of a pail and suspecting we were in for a fun evening at Eve and Matt's wedding

When the live band pulled off Nicki Minaj's Starships and knowing for sure we were in for a fun evening

Watching Outlander, drinking gin and juice, and eating Magnum bars on Friday evenings in Gaziantep

Rolling the dice for a D&D-themed cocktail experience at Parla after a blustery ferry ride in Boston Harbor

The moment I stepped off camera after leading my first training session via Google Hangouts in Gaziantep

When I realized that I was successfully navigating an 8km solo hike in Cyprus and I felt 22 again

Watching the Countdown Cod drop on First Night in Chatham with Austin

Stepping off Metro onto the platform and being immediately surrounded by Women's Marchers (probably the only time Metro has figured into someone's favorite moments)

Stepping off the T to Harvard Square turned into a frozen wasteland in February (probably the only time the T has figured into someone's favorite moments)

Hitting the highways for a Turkish road trip and then accidentally crashing a Kurdish wedding

Learning I had gotten into HKS in my Gaziantep apartment

Seeing Chevrel and Alan (my host parents from my very first WWOOF site in Turkey in 2012) in Istanbul because of the craziest coincidence ever

Sneaking on board a whale-watching excursion in the nick of time - and then following a family of whales the entire time

Eating breakfast and drinking fantastic coffee with my family on the slopes of a volcano

Keeping my cousin's kids entertained for hours making sandballs

Celebrating Mothers Day with multiple bottles of wine in the sunshine at Rocklands Farm

Skipping the liturgy in favor of drinking champagne and taking photos of ourselves for our ten-year high school reunion

The first time I held the first baby among my group of friends

Feeling the love of colleagues past and present during a MENA meeting trivia about my time at NDI

Listening to a live rendition of "Landslide" in a Mississippi dive bar

Jumping into the pool after working in the fields in Provence

Successfully carrying on a conversation in French with a saxophonist at a concert-apéritif about French and American politics

Flying down the hills of Beaujolais on a bike

Seeing the sunset over the Erg Chebbi dunes on the last day of 27 and feeling totally content and ready for what's next

See also: 26 favorite moments and 25 favorite moments. Photo is from the day before my 28th birthday.

26 favorite moments

In the midst of my belated end-of-year blogging, I remembered that my birthday was back in July and I had yet to publish my list of 26 favorite moments of 26. Compiling these is one of my favorite exercises each year. It's always interesting to see that some of the moments I thought would make the list - some of the flashy, big-headline, gotta-be-important moments - had faded into the background and quieter, sweeter memories had bubbled up in their place. 26 was a good one - full of a lot of growth and a lot of fun. (And no spoilers, but we're six months in and 27 just might top it.)

Drinking beer on the dock and reading Station Eleven in beautiful Northern Michigan.

A private ferris wheel ride in Newport Beach.

An extremely fancy sushi tasting in Newport Beach.

When Austin got startled by a sea lion and fell off his kayak in Newport Beach. 

Running across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge feeling strong. 

Walking on the beach in Mauritania feeling like I was on the edge of something big.

Submitting my second-to-last PhD application right before I got on a flight from Nouakchott to Paris and then the very last right before getting on the flight from Paris to DC and (most importantly) getting to watch in-flight movies guilt-free.

Watching home movies with my family on Christmas Eve. 

Finishing the daily card project strong... and realizing on January 1 that I did not have to make a card.

Trudging through the snow and listening to podcasts during #snowzilla.

Drinking at a wine bar, eating at Maketto, and brainstorming about the future on H Street.

Austin getting into Harvard Law and spending the weekend toasting him with visiting friends. 

Going to our favorite neighborhood Mexican place at midnight after Austin finished a long night on Trump (working to defeat Trump, that is).

Dinner clubs with my friends where we lingered after dinner with wine. 

Driving through the Tunisian countryside listening to Manazel (and many other songs, but that's the one I remember) on repeat.

Racing through a zombie book over solo dinners in Tunisia.

Learning about a full scholarship to graduate school (after a series of defeats on PhD programs) and laughing out loud to myself in my hotel room in Tunis.

The birthday/mini-bachelorette party/dinner party/night at Wonderland with my girlfriends before the first of us got married.

Submitting the first grant proposal that I drafted all by myself.

Getting wooed by my organization to defer grad school and stay for another year.

When the rain stopped and the clouds parted for Raf and Ashley's sunshiney wedding ceremony in Roanoke.

Every moment of being back in Vermont - especially driving up Route 7 to Vergennes, drinking on a dock by sparkly Lake Champlain, and learning that there was a Bloody Mary bar at the post-wedding brunch.

Singing along to Like a Prayer at the top of my lungs with my best high school and college friends... at three separate weddings.

When the lights dimmed and the opening bars of Hamilton played at the Richard Rodgers theater. (Not to call it too early but that could possibly be the top moment of my 20s.)

Listening to Mashrou' Leila play an old favorite, Fasateen, the day after the Orlando club shooting.

That first day in St. John's, jumping in the Jeep, driving on the left side of the road, and happening to plunk down at one of the best beaches in the Caribbean.

                                                         
PS: 25 favorite moments are here and the original idea was borrowed from here.

25 favorite moments

Over the past couple weeks, I've been compiling my favorite memories of 25. This was such a fun, and honestly sort of heart-warming, exercise, and made for great nostalgic conversation at my birthday dinner.

At 25-going-on-26, I spend so much time looking forward and trying to figure out what's next that it's refreshing to take a look back and remember all the good that's happened on my way here. So here goes:

Bottling gin for an unconventional but fantastic 25th birthday party.

Pacing the French Quarter to get in my steps on my new Fitbit.

Going for an evening walk as the sun set on the Chelan apple orchards (again, #diditallforthefitbit).

Gazing up at the Washington night sky with my college friends and feeling like no time at all had passed since we were together in Vermont.

Sitting in the yard with Austin, drinking wine on a weeknight after playing kickball, in our magical new backyard.

Walking home from the Tunis office and listening to the Serial podcast while dodging traffic.

Observing three elections and realizing that the hard work of democracy, and the hard work of booking flights for 50+ people, all pays off.

Getting loopy in the call center at three in the morning with my organization's senior leadership a room away.

Realizing "hey, I know what I'm doing and I'm good at this" during the third election.

Getting told "you are good at this" over celebratory post-election drinks. 

Watching the sun rise over the Pacific Ocean driving to an early morning Bar Method class with my sister.

Buying my first real Christmas tree (and making Austin haul it home in the rain).

Seeing wood and ink transformed into words and print.

Entering our giant Victorian rowhouse airbnb in Richmond, the snow gently falling outside, and feeling like we'd just been handed the keys to a haunted house (but in a good way).

Yelling at the TV with my girlfriends during Bachelor fantasy football.

Making it through the St. Michaels 10k feeling stronger than I thought I could.

Eating at the restaurant where my college friend is a sous-chef and realizing she has made her dreams come true.

Talking to diplomats from around the world on a Nouakchott rooftop and thinking "huh, my dreams have come true too." 

Representing my organization to Mauritanian political parties in my halting French.

Jumping into the Caribbean to swim with manatees (even if I ripped my bathing suit bottom open on the way down).

Walking into a dark jungle full of T-rex sounds (aka howler monkeys) and Mayan ruins.

Sonia Sotomayor telling me that I clearly had a desire to do good in the world (even if I'm not a lawyer). 

Falling in love with art journaling over mugs of tea on quiet winter evenings.

Learning I can be creative every day.

Every time the question was "do you want tacos and margaritas for dinner?" and the answer was "obviously." 

Now I want to go back and do this for as many past years as I can remember. I can also tell I work in international development and spend a lot of time doing reporting and monitoring & evaluation because for a moment there I was worried about double-counting the memories that fell in 2014, which has already been well-documented here.

Inspired by.