Travel writing
I am a writer and living in Groningen, the Netherlands. Born and raised in the US and educated at Yale, I met my Dutch husband while I was in the Peace Corps in Malawi. I blog at Rachel's Ruminations (rachelsruminations.com) about travel and occasionally other topics that interest me.
I am available for content writing--blog posts, for example, and articles--but also for copywriting and content editing. In addition, I am looking for opportunities to collaborate through my blog by writing sponsored posts or through other forms of social media work.
While I am based in the Netherlands, I write in English and my biggest audience is in the US.
Travel writing
Slowly surfacing from a deep sleep, I gaze up at the dim outlines of the canopy above us, draped with a white mosquito net. A sliver of gray light peeks through the gap in the curtains to my right, the direction of the sunrise. I
Listen to Amateur Traveler Podcast episodes free, on demand. Amateur Traveler is an award winning audio travel show that focuses primarily on the question: "where should you go next and what should you see, do and eat there?".
I've visited Amsterdam - about two and a half hours from home - more times than I can count. Hamburg is only slightly further away - three hours by car - and I'd never been there. It was time. This photo taken in Hamburg includes the new Elbphilharmonie
Malawi, known as "The Warm Heart of Africa," has held a special place in my heart ever since I served in the Peace Corps there back in the 1980's. A small land-locked country in southeastern Africa, Malawi stretches along Lake Malawi - the third largest lake in Africa - on the southern end of the Great Rift Valley.
My first thought on seeing the new TWA Hotel at JFK Airport was "Wow, this is much smaller than I remember." I have vague memories from my childhood of passing through the TWA terminal: clutching my mother's hand, overwhelmed by the size of the soaring white
Planning a Vacation with Teenagers "Can I bring my Nintendo?" This was my then-14-year-old son's first question when we announced that we were taking a trip to Malawi, East Africa. Traveling with teenagers is a completely different experience than traveling with children. Sometimes they seem like a whole different species.
7+ Tips For Traveling with Teens! In an earlier article on Ten to Twenty about traveling with teens, I addressed planning a vacation with teenagers. Now that you've built your vacation at least partly around your teenager's interests, here are some tips that might help both you and your child to enjoy it.
Groningen is the perfect place for an off-the-beaten-track weekend escape. Home to a world-class university, its young population makes it dynamic and hip, yet its small size keeps it friendly and relaxed. This walking tour could last from two hours, if you just stroll, to all day, if you take your time and stop to see everything.
Expatriate Life
This post discusses how to handle arriving as a teacher at a new international school and finding that it has a very different school culture than your own.
There are two kinds of expatriates: the kind who move to a foreign country to seize an opportunity for a job or education, and the kind who move to a foreign country for love. A sponsored post.
An advice article about learning a language as an expat in a new country
"I think the quality is the same in the Netherlands as it is in the U.S.. The difference is that it's used more efficiently in the Netherlands so money isn't wasted on unnecessary treatments or on specialists treating simple illnesses." "I do feel comfortable talking about mental health issues, but I've always been pretty open about myself.
After my American Studies lectures, amid the clamor of students packing up and making their way out of a crowded lecture hall, a few students often line up to ask me individual questions. Usually these are practical: to explain an absence or to ask about course requirements.
Other Topics
an article about a Dutchman, my father-in-law, who fought for the Germans in World War II.
I hate the word "influencer." It has taken on a bad connotation: young people, generally female and white, who claim "influence" through pretty poses on Instagram. Articles circulating on social media accuse them of all sorts of bad behavior: buying followers and demanding free rooms
As you may know, Morning Coffee is my thing. But a good cup of chai is never a bad thing either. So in this edition of our regular "Morning Coffee" posts, guest writer Rachel Heller takes us to David Rio Chai Bar in San Francisco to show us how important such places have become in our modern lives.