Hello
On Monday of this week, right around 11 a.m. CT, I presented my master’s project (this newsletter) to a panel of Northwestern University professors. Thus, I’ve finished my master’s program.
I did it, I mastered journalism, what a feat. Hold your applause, please.
The next day, Somba and I packed up and left town to visit family and attend a wedding. It seems like any time I arrive home, my family has decided that 'chilling out' and 'relaxing' will not be on the menu, for some reason.
So, while I have an awesome interview recorded on my phone, I need to ask for your patience. I’ll plan on publishing it next Friday, as per our usual schedule.
It’s funny to be your own head writer and editor. Instead of being yelled at for missing a deadline, I just get to shame myself. Things are going well.
In lieu of our regularly scheduled programming (sorry, again), I thought I’d share some photos from my camera roll below.
This was written in the kitchen of my family’s home while they repeatedly spoke to me and then said, 'Oh, you’re writing, right, sorry,' about 40 times. So, if my syntax sucks in this one, you know who to blame.
Things
Pictured above: A cry for help.
Pictured above: Me, describing my 'newsletter' for my 'master’s project.'
Pictured above: A photo of my strange dog after a hike in Door County, Wisconsin. It’s from March 2020, but I’ve been thinking about this place a lot, lately.
Pictured above: Me, any time someone tries to argue with me about one of my *objectively* correct opinions. Examples include: Twizzlers are the best candy, iced coffee should be consumed year-round, cauliflower sucks, etc.
Pictured above: In Malawi, meeting my large-eared son for the first time.
Pictured above: Arguably one of the best meals I’ve ever had in my life. Post-evacuation from Malawi (thanks, coronavirus — very cool), some Peace Corps folks quarantined at a friend’s cabin in upstate New York (thanks Lyd, you’re the best). I rented a car and drove back to Michigan to see my family, but stopped at my best friend’s for a few days to destroy his impeccable apartment and throw a wrench into his rigid schedule. He returned the favor by making this. I honestly could’ve died.
Pictured above: A favorite photo from Somba’s first snowy winter.
Pictured above: Possibly the best bottle of wine I’ve ever had. It was far too expensive for a grad student to buy, but I did it anyway. Rié and Hirofumi Shoji, a Japanese husband and wife team based in France, practice organic farming and natural winemaking. The results are mind-blowing. Info on the producers here.
Pictured above: A far more affordable bottle of wine that is very, very tasty. The Avinyó Petillant is an effervescent white wine from Penedès, a region in Catalonia, Spain. It’s bright, 'prickly' and perfect for summer. I recommend it extremely often at the shop. Great for sushi, charcuterie and a picnic, or just pre-dinner drinks.
That’ll do it for us, folks. My apologies for the unconventional style of this edition, but I hope you liked it.
Thanks for subscribing, it means a lot. See ya soon.
-Sam