I’ve been thinking a lot about value. I have held a few “sales” positions before, ranging from Laila Rowe costume jewelry in the Danbury Fair Mall (what up Ridgefield, what up ‘05) to New Business roles for marketing and consulting companies. In those roles, the prices of goods sold were determined by someone other than me. The prices were likely determined based on a set of factors: cost of goods, cost of other operating costs e.g. rent and employees, and perceived “value” - how much something is determined to be “worth.” But what makes something more valuable, and therefore worth a higher price? From the customer’s perspective, some factors in the value equation might include emotional connection to a good...
Dear Diary aka you guys. Why is it always so hard to write the first sentence? Like I just get stuck in struggle city for ten minutes every time I sit down to write. I’ve been so consumed with building and marketing reign_wala that I feel like I haven’t really explained life in India since arriving here back in September. There were a few IGTV videos so you know there were some challenges but there is much richer detail to share. I’m really excited to unpack all that right now. In particular I’m going to spend some time on my Rajasthani brothers and their lifestyle since they have been such a big part of my experience here. So back in...
The following post was written Friday, September 7 at 10PM and contains deleted scenes from Portugal and France, including the moment that led me back to India. Since I got back from India in 2015, I have thought about it every single day, and I’m not exaggerating. Sometimes more than once a day. I would remember a funny moment, or a ritual, or a person, or a huge ass plate of paneer makhani, or how much more I liked myself during the months I spent there, and I would wish I were back there. I have always known in my gut that I would return. And here I am, on a flight to Goa. When I left New York in...
It is September 14. I’ve been in Goa, India for six days. I flew Air India from Paris so the second I stepped onto the plane I was slapped in the face with the smell of India which made me so giddy and happy that I was like, cheesily smiling with my eyes at the other passengers as if to say, I know, isn’t this the best!?!? We made it! We’re going to INDIA! In 2015 I was in Goa for a month. I loved it enough to stay for a month but it still wasn’t my favorite. I’d have to give that title to the hill stations of the Himalayas up north. But this time, it’s creeping into my...
Cao Bang is Jurassic Park. It's like the geography of Thailand beaches, but instead of rock formations bursting off of flat ocean water, they're bursting off of flat, bright green grassland and rice fields. Our homestay was located in a little village called Khuoi Ky (pronounced Koh-eye Kee). The home was made of stone, two hundred years old, with wooden floors inside. It had a lovely outdoor stone patio and was surrounded by 5 or 6 other stone homes in the village. A small pathway made of cobbled stone ran between the homes and led to a small bridge which crossed over a river. On the other side of the river there was a dirt road which led to the...
