April 2026 Newsletter

April 2026 Newsletter

Call me an iconoclast, but I covet the few participation trophies I get as a middle-aged man. So much so that I once ran a 31-mile ultramarathon for a participation trophy (err, finisher’s medal).  “Hey Google, why did participation trophies become a bad...
March 2026 Newsletter

March 2026 Newsletter

A few weeks ago, I lost a close friend here in Istanbul. She didn’t have a long resume or advanced degrees, but when she moved to a new country, she noticed that people learning English had no place to gather and converse with native speakers.  She initially created a...
February 2026 Newsletter

February 2026 Newsletter

“Almost heaven sums up our experience…” — Guest review This note came from a family who traveled across the country—including a 101-year-old mother—for a rare week together. The hosts, Allison and Richard Moser (board members of the Washington Hosts Collaborative...
January 2026 Newsletter

January 2026 Newsletter

Ahead of every Olympic Games, the torch is carried across continents. Fun fact: Today it’s in Venice! The torch travels thousands of miles around the world because its journey isn’t a solo marathon; it’s a relay. The fire keeps going not because one person runs harder...