It feels strange to write a second blog post in less than a week. Yet, this is how my first blog began in 2015! I started a travel blog on my first summer study abroad experience to the Czech Republic that summer. My college friend and I were brainstorming ideas for my new blog name. She’s the one who originally came up with “A New Kat in Town”! I wrote on that platform almost every day of my summer travels and studies. Unfortunately, I lost the email attached to my website and it couldn’t be recovered. That’s how “A Newer Kat in Town” became what it is today! It was no longer simply a travel diary, but a newer version of my blog, hence the name. It became a custom-built website of sustainability advice, travel tips, and eco-fashion. I’ve written a few travel reflections dotted along my journeys to different countries, but nothing like that first summer.
Authentic writing is what brings me joy. I can write a thesis, a business plan, a philosophy paper, or a book, but the kind of writing that I started on this platform is my jam: honest stories of my life and the people and places I meet. Those are the same stories I love reading on other blogs and memoirs.
So here I am with another blog post! Today, I visited Lehigh Valley to meet my Fulbright friend Colleen. She also taught English in Ukraine in 2019-2020 with me! You’ll get to know her if you read my book, Blue Skies. Actually, you’ll get to know almost all of my Fulbright friends there! We spent the day wandering around Lehigh University, taking polaroid pictures (here’s the camera and film I have), drinking coffee, and laughing over old memories of our time in Ukraine. To be around a friend for the day, and to forget the renovation projects waiting for me at home was light and joyful.
I am usually wearing work clothes and flannels with paint stains so it felt good to put on a real outfit on today! I wore my favorite thrifted black jeans from a secondhand store in Ukraine, a hot pink vintage ski jacket, a NWT secondhand beanie, and barefoot sneakers from Suav Shoes (I switched to barefoot shoes in June 2019). If you’re looking for new jeans, I’d recommend searching for a used pair by Reformation or Everlane on Poshmark! For new jeans, check out Warp + Weft!
If you’re reading this, I’m happy you’re here. xoxo
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