Ruth Buchanan's Blog, page 13

15 Ways to Annoy Your English Friends

Pronounce literally any word the American wayUse the terms English and British interchangeablyClaim you don't watch Wimbledon because you "don't care for golf"Confuse football with American football Get lost in a traffic circle Call it a traffic circleMimic the accent and get it wrongMimic the accent and get it rightGive measurements in ImperialProve yourself incapable of converting Imperial into Metric in your head on commandFail to recognize "proper" butter, ba...

Should We Still Be Traveling?

In the past, whenever I discussed upcoming travel plans, I'd be met with enthusiastic questions about who I'd be traveling with and what we planned to see and do. This year as I've planned my travels, I've noticed a shift. Instead of being greeted with enthusiasm, I've been met with concerns, warnings, and questions regarding whether this whole travel thing is still a good idea.

Am I not concerned with the threat of international terrorism? Have I considered just staying Stateside until some o...

Four Reasons to Keep International House Guests

Whenever I travel, I try my best to stay with friends and connections. Not only does this cut down on expense, but it also affords me wonderful insider travel tips and home cooking. In return, I try to offer hospitality to international guests when I can. Apart from the obvious benefits of friendship and fellowship, there are other reasons to do so.
Reason One: They expand your understanding of language.
If your guest hails from a non-English-speaking country, you'll have a chance to learn voca...

No Story Left Unwritten

While out in New Zealand last year, my sister and I spent half a day in the Symonds Street Cemetery in Auckland. We wandered the shade-dappled lanes and let the noise of the city recede as we contemplated the deep thoughts that generally accompany cemetery walks. 
In such moments, I find it impossible not to contemplate my own mortality. I also find it impossible not to wonder about the lives represented by each faded marker. 

Current Western burial traditions have us merely recording...

Stay on Point

It's hard not to feel that the world's coming apart at the seams. Responding to the darkness can feel overwhelming. The good news is that responding to the darkness isn't necessarily our job. The response to darkness was settled long ago on Calvary. Our job now is to share the message of the Gospel and lead quiet lives among those blinded by sin.
To the early Christians in the Macedonian port city of Thessalonica -- Christians under direct persecution and facing the added pressures of paganism...

Florida Summer Is Your Winter: The Evidence is Undeniable

Living as I do in South Florida, I often joke with friends up North that our summer is actually their winter. It's not really a joke, though. Friends who make the mistake of coming to visit in the summer quickly learn that the reality of Florida summer is vastly different from expectation. 
In order to survive this brutal season, we treat it like the rest of North America treats winter. 
Don't believe me? Consider the following evidence.

Support #1 - Holing up Indoors
Don't worry, North...

An Extrovert, Her Books, and Her Quiet Evenings In

Last week, another one of those introvert memes cropped up on my Facebook timeline. You know the type I mean -- the ones that make you want to throw your computer through the window and then run down the street screaming. 
Oh, wait -- that's just me?
I don't dislike introvert memes because they're typically unflattering to extroverts. (I once read one that said introverts think long books are "wonderful friends" and that extroverts just use them as doorstops.) I dislike them because they'r...

When Our Heroes Say "Hail Hydra"

Today Marvel "revealed" that Captain America is--and supposedly "always has been"--an agent of Hydra. 

Over at Marvel, the first issue of Steve Rogers: Captain America sheds new light on the hero’s past that has a great effect on his present. This issue, written by Nick Spencer and drawn by Jesus Saiz, reveals that Rogers’s mother was recruited by Hydra, one of Marvel’s terrorist groups. Flash forward to today and Captain America is suddenly doing some terrible things: pushing an ally out...

Chasing Down Your Dreams

When I was still teaching high school, I would often travel over school breaks. When I returned with photos of sweeping views and tales of international hijinks, my students' number one response was to moan, "You're so lucky!"
I took issue with this statement. None of those trips happened by luck. They were a direct result of intentional planning and hard work, duly allowed by the sovereign grace of God.
I started planning each trip a year in advance. I would choose a destination, seek a travel...

Possible Titles for My Autobiography

Though I'm still a bit young to think about starting my autobiography, I have started a running list of possible titles.
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Fall Seven Times: My Failed Attempts to Overcome Gravity and What I Learned on the Way Down
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If I Did It: Confessions of a Middle Child Who Blamed Siblings for Everything
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A Rhyme a Day Keeps the Spouses Away: My Struggle to Overcome Compulsive Rhyming and Find True Love
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The Scarlet Sweater: How I Started the Summer-Running Selfie Revolution
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Smothering Heights: One Woman's St...