http://keralalala.gather.com Recent Articles on Gather by Kerala Goodkin en-us Copyright Gather Inc 2009 Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:01:38 GMT 2009-12-28T15:01:38Z en-us Copyright Gather Inc 2009 http://www.gather.com/images/header/logo_gather.gif http://www.gather.com/ http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977052473   Read Parts I, II and III here. Sucking on my cigarrette, I pass through the Plaza de Estudiantes, where teenagers congregate to hang out and brave the cold. Just "hanging out" is a popular . . . Tue, 10 Jul 2007 22:21:46 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977052473 Kerala Goodkin 2007-07-10T22:21:46Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977040609 (Read Parts I and II here) My chico (boyfriend) doesn't call that night or the next. I am ready to give up on him altogether, but then on Friday, I answer the phone as I'm headed out the door . . . Tue, 26 Jun 2007 23:09:49 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977040609 Kerala Goodkin 2007-06-26T23:09:49Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977027873 (Read Part I here)  I drink my café con leche and smoke another cigarette. I look out my window at Rio Churuquasqua, which is not a river at all, but a rushing torrent of brown sewage contained . . . Tue, 12 Jun 2007 22:24:03 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977027873 Kerala Goodkin 2007-06-12T22:24:03Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977011232 Now that it is winter, I can't seem to get warm. When indoors, I am always shivering, and I've taken to spending my early evenings in bed under layers of blankets. I stare out the window and smoke . . . Mon, 28 May 2007 17:18:27 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977011232 Kerala Goodkin 2007-05-28T17:18:27Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977000329 I spent last Thanksgiving in the Cincinnati ghetto. At least, that's how my boyfriend Rory described his father's neighborhood--where, he warned, I would be the only white person within a one- . . . Mon, 14 May 2007 22:54:57 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977000329 Kerala Goodkin 2007-05-14T22:54:57Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976973244 I spent last Thanksgiving in the Cincinnati ghetto. At least, that's how my boyfriend Rory described his father's neighborhood--where, he warned, I would be the only white person within a one- . . . Wed, 02 May 2007 03:23:34 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976973244 Kerala Goodkin 2007-05-02T03:23:34Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976961183 When I was 18, I discovered that contrary to what my teachers had always led me to believe, I really sucked at speaking Spanish. It had always been my strongest subject: I passed two Spanish AP tests . . . Tue, 17 Apr 2007 16:45:11 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976961183 Kerala Goodkin 2007-04-17T16:45:11Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976949081 When I was 14, I went to Kenya--kind of. By "kind of," I mean I was physically present in the country for two weeks. But please don't ask me what I learned. The Kenya that I saw looked like . . . Tue, 03 Apr 2007 14:42:11 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976949081 Kerala Goodkin 2007-04-03T14:42:11Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976936233 Try traveling to a country where there are virtually no tourists, no tourist attractions and very little alcohol. You may come to realize that traveling, in and of itself, is slightly absurd. Essentially, . . . Tue, 20 Mar 2007 01:54:59 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976936233 Kerala Goodkin 2007-03-20T01:54:59Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976925298 It's often been said that the best way to learn a foreign language is to date a native speaker. I wholeheartedly agree, but I would take it one step further: the best way to learn a foreign language . . . Wed, 07 Mar 2007 02:44:30 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976925298 Kerala Goodkin 2007-03-07T02:44:30Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976914147 Not all people know how they will react when faced with imminent death. Some might respond with heroic courage. Others, with Zen-like tranquility. I burst out crying. To my credit, I wasn't the . . . Tue, 20 Feb 2007 02:12:39 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976914147 Kerala Goodkin 2007-02-20T02:12:39Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976903408 The week after I graduated from kindergarten, my parents packed me and my on a 24-hour plane ride to Bali, Indonesia. We were to spend the next three months there while my aging-hippie father took lessons . . . Mon, 05 Feb 2007 17:52:26 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976903408 Kerala Goodkin 2007-02-05T17:52:26Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976887010 This is No Ordinary Parade Bolivia's Carnaval All my sources had told me two things about La Paz, Bolivia: 1) its people were warm and friendly toward foreigners, and 2) its geography was such . . . Tue, 16 Jan 2007 21:54:35 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976887010 Kerala Goodkin 2007-01-16T21:54:35Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976839211 I'm pleased to announce that my short memoir piece "Up North," which I had previously posted on Gather, is now available as an Amazon Short. If you didn't get a chance to read it, here's . . . Wed, 15 Nov 2006 15:49:03 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976839211 Kerala Goodkin 2006-11-15T15:49:03Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976835416 A follow-up to Why Everyone Should Write Now that I have one published novel under my belt, it feels funny to call myself a "writer." I suppose I have always considered myself one, just as I . . . Fri, 10 Nov 2006 14:58:12 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976835416 Kerala Goodkin 2006-11-10T14:58:12Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976826654 Last year, I didn't spend my holidays by a fireplace, but rather on a beach under a blazing sun. On December 25th, I was sipping margaritas in a city I once swore to myself I would never visit: Cancun, . . . Sun, 29 Oct 2006 19:58:36 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976826654 Kerala Goodkin 2006-10-29T19:58:36Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976821438 What is it that I, as a traveler, want? Plush-carpeted hotel rooms, palm-tree shaded swimming pools, Parisian-style sidewalk cafes? No thank you. Even if I had the money, I know such tireless luxury would . . . Sun, 22 Oct 2006 20:25:03 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976821438 Kerala Goodkin 2006-10-22T20:25:03Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976799338 In first grade, I announced to my parents that I either wanted to be a writer or "one of those people who pushes the cash register buttons at the grocery store." Alas, the magic of pushing buttons . . . Fri, 22 Sep 2006 22:27:41 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976799338 Kerala Goodkin 2006-09-22T22:27:41Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976793577 WHEN DAVE AND I met, he was a puffy, funny-looking guy with a flaming red Afro and an out-of-control drinking habit. It was fitting, I suppose, that we met at a party where we were both deliriously drunk. . . . Thu, 14 Sep 2006 21:50:16 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976793577 Kerala Goodkin 2006-09-14T21:50:16Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976785396 In trying to figure out creative ways to promote my recently released novel, I came up with this top 10 list. I find that people always respond well to both humor and humility, so that's what I was . . . Fri, 01 Sep 2006 14:20:34 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976785396 Kerala Goodkin 2006-09-01T14:20:34Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976773540 I had to remove this piece because it was accepted as an Amazon Short. Please check it out on Amazon! Thanks so much to everyone who read and commented. Mon, 07 Aug 2006 18:40:06 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976773540 Kerala Goodkin 2006-08-07T18:40:06Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976770823 WHAT IS WRONG with my generation? Is it just me, or are my 20-something-year-old counterparts markedly more selfish than generations past? The empty toilet paper dispenser in my bathroom says it all. . . . Fri, 28 Jul 2006 23:04:02 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976770823 Kerala Goodkin 2006-07-28T23:04:02Z