Dr. Isabella Alexander–Nathani was a photographer for LR5. After graduating from Gallatin, in 2007, she moved to Rabat, Morocco, where she taught English at the national university and offered language courses to migrants and refugees through a community organization. The writing she collected from her students and the photographs she took of them were published …
Category: Volume 18
Dear Friend
Dear Friend,
I am finally writing to you from New York. I had wanted to do it for a long time, but as you can imagine, one always looks for a moment propitious to the heart and to the imagination these days, when everything is marked by trains, by new appointments, or more simply by the search for food.
Like Father, Like Daughter—An American Dream
Bacon and eggs. Pancakes and maple syrup. Those were the very first English words I learned as a child. I was probably about six years old. But aromas are so powerful in bringing back memories that I still can smell the salty aroma of bacon when waking up on Sunday mornings, as well as taste …
Impossibilities in an All-Possible City
I grew up in La Pobla de Farnals, in Valencia, Spain. The weather there is always warm. From the window of my bedroom, I could always see the beautiful mountainside and breathe the fresh scent of the mountain air. One thing wonderful about living in the country is the sound of silence. It always made …
Lady
A few years back/ I was on the A train/ Along with the rest of the passengers/ And I was staring at the view/ And this lady came on the train/ And greeted the passengers/ And made an announcement.
How I Encountered My Wife
In September 2010, I was invited by friends to spend some time at their place in Brooklyn. At that time, I was still living in Paris. On September 26th, almost at the end of my stay, I went down in the subway to go to visit another friend, in Tribeca. At around eight in the …
Surprises in New York
When I started to live in this city,/ There were lots of trash and rats on the subway rails./ I was surprised by New York!/ And when I tried to call on a subway platform,/ there was no phone signal on the platform (or in the subway)./ I was surprised by New York!
The World Seen Through Different Eyes
Every day, five million people travel by subway in New York City. There is nothing unusual about going places on a subway, but there are many unusual people you can meet. There is only a slight chance you will ever meet the same person again. I take the subway to Manhattan almost every weekend. Sometimes, …
New York City and “Mickey”
Before I moved to New York, I heard there are many “Mickeys.” (I will use Mickey, instead of rats or mice because that sounds much cuter.) So, after moving to New York, I’ve been seeing these Mickeys on subway platforms, on the streets, and in some shadowy corners. One day, I finally saw a dead …
Brooklyn!
When I exit the sauna below the ground at Utica Avenue/ My first experience of Brooklyn is gray and ashy,/ With a dazzling duet rainbow./ Perhaps Brooklyn’s way to say “Hello.”
A Sound I Will Never Forget
One day, I went to school. It was a regular day when we started history class. Then, my teacher started to scream at us, “Boys, go down under the tables.” The war had begun. We were so scared. A lot of students were crying because of the sound of the bombs and artillery. That sound, …
The Red Day
I had only been in America for a few months when I learned that on February 14th, we are supposed to wear a red dress because it is Valentine’s Day, when people celebrate love. Red is universally accepted as the color of true love, romance, and also blood. My friend Anju told me to wear …
The Priceless Toy Gun
About 80 years ago, Indonesia was still colonized by the Dutch, as it was for 350 years. Although the Netherlands was a small kingdom, they outsmarted bigger countries like Indonesia, and took everything from Indonesia for their seafaring enterprises. The Dutch didn’t educate Indonesians, or build the country, like the British did whenever they invaded …
A Broken Window
I went to sleep with my parents because the cold was severe. My father put wood in the stove to try to heat the room a little more. Once the wood caught the flames, I looked up. I saw the shadows on the dark ceiling in the firelight. I went back to sleep. In the …
The Key
One day, I came back home from school and stopped in front of the door to my house. I put my hands into the pocket of my pants to get the key, but only sand smoothly came out of the pocket. Since I had started to go to elementary school, I had had the key …