When people ask me about my strangest experience, it is usually my early days in New Zealand that come to mind. It was a very hard story to tell because it is simply too bizarre to be believable. For years I never told anyone because they were sure I was making it up. It is … More Culture Shock New Zealand: a New Yorker does the South Island – 1980
One mustn’t look into the abyss, because there is at the bottom an inexplicable charm which attracts us. Gustave Flaubert Serene, quaint, calm, are the words that come to mind in describing the Banda Islands, a small group of ten islands in the Eastern Indonesian province of Maluku. Banda Naira, the administrative center of … More The Ragged Edge of Paradise: Postcard from the Banda Islands
The Gift Aru has held a special place for me ever since reading Alfred Wallace’s book On the Natural History of the Aru Islands many years ago. When this particular opportunity to actually go there came up, I couldn’t resist. I knew Aru would not be the romantic, exotic place I had read about so … More Short Story: The Gift: Postcard from Pulau Aru
Laine Berman 