Nepal

I fell in love with Nepal more than 50 years ago — first as a trekker, then as a Peace Corps Volunteer. It’s the birthplace of my wife, Champa, and it remains close to my heart. I’ve returned to Nepal many times and have written about it often on this blog. Here are some favorite posts:

Animal Market

Bandipur

Champa’s Family

Cheese Factories

Currency, Changed Appearance

Death-Defying Mountain Taxis

Earthquake, 2015

Falgunanda and Limbu Religion

Family Trip Video 2015

Former Student Reaches Out After Years

Gorkha

Grandchildren Visit, Video, 2022

Ilam

Indigenous Filmmakers

Jomsom

Kathmandu

Maanghope Religious Ceremony

Momo Dumplings in Australia, New Zealand

Mountains Compared to Others Worldwide

NY Times Op-Ed Article I Wrote About Nepal

Peace Corps Service Compared to Moldova

Prosperity Relative to India

School, New, in Samalbung (with video)

Sunrise Peaks

Tika Ceremonies on the Forehead

Moldova

Located between Romania and Ukraine, Moldova is a small country with a fascinating culture and history. I wrote about it often while serving there as a Peace Corps Volunteer in 2016-18 and continue to write about it occasionally. I’ve gathered some of these posts below. Moldova also features prominently in my book, Not Exactly Retired: A Life-Changing Journey on the Road and in the Peace Corps.

Bălți

Body Language in Meetings

Bulletin Boards as Info Source

Certificates, Omnipresence of

Cost of Living

Diamond Challenge Competition

Easter at the Cemetery

Egg Painting

Emigration From

Entrepreneurs

Exchange Rates

Expats Living in

Farmers Market

First Bell at Schools

“Frumos” and Beauty

Găgăuzia

Grocery Stores

Infographics, Growing Use of

Jewish Legacy

Jewish Museum

Language

Libraries, Changing Role

Marathon

Metro Superstores

Monasteries

Money Transfers

North Carolina Partnership

Our Lasting Impact

Plăcinte pastries

Political Sloganeering

Poștal Service

Reasons to Love

Return Visit to

Robots, Student Competition

Soroca

Street Signs Named for People

TV Story at Our NC Home

Tourism Industry

Traditional Music

Victory Day

Visual Design Aesthetics

Wine Consumption

World War Two Memorials

Fascism. Dating. AI. Yay!

Not Exactly Retired covers a lot more than travel and retirement. Here are some posts from the archive on everything from cutesy language (yay!) to the allure of reality TV dating shows:

AI’s Creepy Accuracy

Avoiding Cable News

Champa’s Paintings

Customer Service, How to Win with

Cutesy Language. Yay! Awesome!

Globalization of our Dinner Plates

The Good Around Us

Goodbye to Paper

Hand-Written Greeting Cards

Lasting Impact of Volunteering

Liberty’s Sunset in U.S.

Op-Ed Articles, How to Write

Partying as Fascism Approaches

The Power of Stories

Reality TV Dating Shows

Our New Look

Not Exactly Retired has a new look.

After more than ten years and 400 posts, the blog now has a colorful new banner on the top, clearer navigation and new story collections. I’ve been releasing these collections — on travel, retirement and other topics — during the past few weeks, with a few more to follow.

I hope these changes make it easier for you to find posts or videos that interest you and tempt you to see what’s in the archive.

Last year was Not Exactly Retired’s best ever in terms of readership. If you’re enjoying it, tell a friend! As always, it’s free to subscribe and there’s no advertising.

Please let me know what you think of the makeover and, as always, thanks for visiting.

Travel

Travel changes your life. These selected posts from Not Exactly Retired discuss where to go, how to navigate and what to expect on the road:

Destinations

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Airbnbs

Amazing but False Stories Tourists are Told

American Ethnocentricity

Assessing Danger of Foreign Travel

Combining Travel and Volunteering

Cruising at a Reasonable Price

Escaping U.S. Turmoil Overseas

Finding Your Travel ‘Tribe’

Learning From Travel

Phone Calls, Free Online Options

Places You Should Visit

Planning for Serendipity in Travel

Train Travel in Europe

Travel Personality Styles

Travel Planning is Half the Fun

Travel Surprises and Serendipity

Travel Tips

Travel, Fresh Perspective on Home

Travel, Seeing World with New Eyes

Traveling Beyond the Comfort Zone

Walking Tours, Free (1)

Walking Tours, Free (2)

Peace Corps

I served twice as a Peace Corps Volunteer — in Nepal and Moldova — and have been active in the Peace Corps community. Here are some of my posts about what it means to be a Volunteer and how Peace Corps service has changed

Older Peace Corps Volunteers — a special section

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Balancing the Three Peace Corps Goals

Champa’s “Full Circle” with Peace Corps

How Tech Changes the PCV Experience

Older and Younger PCV Friends

Peace Corps Macho, Glorifying Sickness

Touching Lives, Years Later

‘Wealthy” Neighbors of Developing Countries

Why Volunteers Serve

WorldView Magazine Profile