To Educate a Girl

“I’m not like the other girls here.  My thoughts are different from theirs. I’m willing to push the boundaries more. That’s because I was lucky to receive an education. But it’s hard to try and bring change when it’s just me. If everyone was educated here, maybe they would think like me and we could […]

Preserving History

A nation’s history is not full of roses and butterflies. No country has a history like that. Humanity is flawed. There is war, suffering, and pain.  But there is also strength, perseverance, and empowerment. Our history shows us how far we’ve come and how far we have yet to go. My Rohingya friends have taught […]

The Help of a Stranger

Sometimes it takes a complete stranger to help you on your way. It’s hard to know when or how that help will come…in my case, the help I needed was a message from a complete stranger on Instagram. The Help of a Stranger Social media. We either love it or hate it — but it’s […]

Face to Face with Genocide

Not quite sure how it happened, but somehow I was able to integrate myself into a quirky Rohingya family and follow them around the world. Despite the strong language barrier and logistical difficulties, this family has welcomed “Teacher Sophie” into their lives. They’ve taught me what it means to be resilient in a world full […]

Found in the Middle of Nowhere

“Ahhh! Teacher!! Helloooo!” Absolute chaos erupted the moment I swiped to the right of my incoming Viber call. I usually ignore anonymous Viber calls. Most of the time, it’s just another die-hard Burmese fan who’s trying to ask me if I have a “lover” (No really, I wish I was joking). I had no idea […]

From Rwanda 1994 to Myanmar 2016

“I had a good friend from Rwanda. We met in high school. She was an exchange student at our school. We became best friends. But she went back to Rwanda after studying abroad in the States.” “Oh wow, that’s really cool! Do you still keep in contact? Have you visited her in Rwanda?” “No. She […]

One Fish, Two Fish, Dried Fish, Fried Fish

When you move into a Burmese community, probably the first thing you will learn is that they have a strange fascination with fish. The more I think about the variety of fish they have, the more I always revert to Dr. Seuss. Dried fish, canned fish, fried fish….one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish, green […]

The Luck of Time

“What makes life valuable is that it doesn’t last forever, what makes it precious is that it ends…I know that now more than ever.” – Gwen Stacy

The (supposedly) Greener Grass on the Other Side

“He was the single most hopeful person I have ever met…” If I was Toby Maguire, those would’ve been the words I used to describe Leonardo DiCaprio in The Great Gatsby. Jay Gatsby, the man who had “an extraordinary gift for hope” and possessed a “heightened sensitivity to the promises of life…” (Fitzgerald). But I’m […]