Sharon BarrWhat Will We Do When We Can’t Turn our Cameras Off?We’ve learned new ways to escape being noticed this year, novel ways to disengage. We disappeared through technology, muting our voices…Mar 9, 2021Mar 9, 2021
Sharon BarrA Jew and Christmas TreesMy relationship with Christmas trees began when I was a child. In my upstate New York suburb in the 1960s, mine was one of very few Jewish…Dec 20, 2020Dec 20, 2020
Sharon BarrLearning to Live with Fear“Growing dread and acceptance of the winter ahead is weighing on Americans’ physical and mental health and raising fears about debt and…Dec 9, 20201Dec 9, 20201
Sharon BarrThis is My Brain on Spanish: Learning Language as an AdultI am sitting in a nail salon in Oaxaca. Carmen, the young manicurist sporting a black t-shirt with a white skull and the words “NEW YORK…Feb 18, 20201Feb 18, 20201
Sharon BarrLeaving Philly: Starting a New Life in the AdirondacksShortly before I left Philadelphia for good, I found myself in a crowded noisy courtroom in City Hall. On one side, the Painted Bride, a…Jan 20, 20202Jan 20, 20202
Sharon BarrAn Accursed Mountains Trek into Timeless AlbaniaAlbania evokes images of ancient blood feuds and Communist isolation, of which remnants of both remain. In the Accursed Mountains…Jun 19, 2019Jun 19, 2019
Sharon BarrSeeing the World Through Dance: Or How I Learned to SambaMany visitors go to a new place yearning to sample the food. Tasting street tacos in Mexico City, poutin in Quebec City, or jambalaya in…May 1, 2019May 1, 2019
Sharon BarrA Chiva Bus and a Discovery on a Colombian BeachThe evening air of Santa Marta hung warm and thick. Three chivas, traditional farm transport turned Colombian party bus, were waiting in…Mar 18, 2019Mar 18, 2019
Sharon BarrWhy Everyone Should Travel With an OctogenarianBarcelona is the perfect city to visit with an octogenarian. Old people walk slowly. In 2012, I was visiting Barcelona with my then…Feb 13, 2019Feb 13, 2019