Around the World and Back Again

I write you this final quarterly report from the Bronx, New York City, United States of America. It's hard to believe that mere months ago I was in the middle of the Tankwa Karoo desert dancing underneath a metallic butterfly with a bunch of strangers. If you'd ask me a year ago, I never would …

So Close, Yet So Far: Three Weeks in Mexico

Distant kin of my native Dominican Republic. A fellow Latin American nation. Despite having lived my whole life in the United States, I’d never visited Mexico. The narrative of this country was shaped by ignorant politicians and hyperbolic representations of either cartels or privileged American spring breakers in Cancun. In the USA, Mexico is a …

European (Mis)Adventures Part II

France After an incredible week of serendipitous, fulfilling encounters and experiences in London - long bike rides with new friends, exploring the city with skaters from Girls Can’t Skate crew, soaking in lessons from Pushing Boarders, and catching up on some much needed rest and artmaking, I took an 8 hour bus from London to …

Pushing Boarders 2018: The Beginning of a Movement

The Decision I found out about Pushing Boarders through my dear friend M. Dabbadie (they/them), who was invited to the inaugural conference in London to speak at a panel titled Not just some homogenised bullshit': Skateboarding and the Gender-Identity Evolution. M. asked me to come support them due to their discomfort with public speaking and …

Coin Flips and Contemplations

When I was visiting Angkor Wat near Siem Reap, Cambodia, I flipped a a 50-cent coin my mother gave me prior to leaving the States in June 2017. I used this coin throughout my Watson year to make decisions in moments, especially in moments of indecision or when I simply felt unattached to any one …

Coast2Coast: Three months in South Africa

Even though my original Watson itinerary would've taken me around the world - across the Atlantic to Europe, Africa, Asia, and eventually back to the States across the Pacific - a dwindling budget and shifts in my project's goals made me reevaluate whether going to my Japan was really the right decision for me. Believe …

India 2.0

After one week in Cambodia, I decided to return to South Africa by way of India. I returned to India just in time for Holi in Delhi, which was hectic!!! I think everyone should experience Holi at least once in their lives 🙂 On the Saturday after Holi, I flew from Delhi to Mumbai (formerly …

Adventures in India and Cambodia

When one door closes, all the windows open After the official end of the Girl Skate India tour, everyone went their separate ways - most flew home for work, others travelled to other parts of India en route to Nepal, and the remainder - six of us: two couples, me, and a French skater named …

Kava goes to India!

I arrived in India on the afternoon of 12 January 2018. My first hours in Delhi consisted mostly of watching the sunset from my taxi during my 2-hour (!) ride from the airport to my hostel in Laxmi Nagar. There, I met up with Marie Dabbadie, my first friend that I made during my Watson …

Happy New Year!

Greetings from New Delhi, India! It's been a while... last you heard from me, I was still in Durban, South Africa. You might want to know, why is Kava in India? This country wasn't on her original itinerary! Highlights from South Africa Before I get to why I am in India, I want to first share …