Hi, Reader

I'm on a series of petsits in the Seattle area. We watched a corgi for a few days in Woodinville, two pugs and two cats in Bitter Lake, and now we're watching a dog and a cat in Port Townsend.

We have one more dogsit after that (another corgi!) in Seattle for a couple weeks before we conclude petsitting for the year and begin heading south down the coast. My parents are coming to visit for a few days while we are in LA, then we're headed back to Guatemala.

It's time for the annual doctor follow-up for my leg (you know, the one I broke last year). It's also time I visit my dentist (who is also my friend's mom). And also get a check-up. We're doing all of that in Guatemala now for a number of reasons, but primarily because my friend's mom is a dentist with some good doctor recommendations in the area.

I have a cocktail of feelings about this. On one hand, the healthcare I have access to in Guatemala is far more affordable than I could ever get in the United States, and I'm grateful for that. On the other hand, the care I'm accessing there is not accessible to most Guatemalans. So, my ability to get this affordable healthcare is a double privilege – one that most US Americans cannot access and most Guatemalans can't access.

Why am I saying all of this? Well, because I think it's important to acknowledge the layered complexity of privilege and access in this world. It's something that's on my mind as a privileged human being on this earth. 10% of the living human population has never been on an airplane, and then there's me, someone who has used an airplane close to 40 times in the last three years, and adding another plane ride to that list so that I can access healthcare a lot of people can't access. I'm not trying to wallow in shame but rather call attention to the disparity. In case it wasn't clear, I'm solidly in the camp of "everyone should have access to affordable (ideally, tax-funded) healthcare, education, resources, and freedom of movement." But that's just not the reality. So, rather than ignore that reality, I see it as my responsibility to call attention to it, even as I participate in it. (I deserve access to affordable healthcare, too.)

Upcoming Talk

I'm giving a virtual talk on Thursday, November 2nd, at 6:30 pm ET/3:30 PT for the American Humanist Association called "How Can Humanists Travel Ethically?"

Travelers and tourists have earned a bad reputation, and for a good reason: many behave carelessly and/or unethically as guests in other lands. How can Humanists avoid reinforcing this bad traveler reputation? How can we travel more ethically? Anya Overmann answers these questions and more.

You can register to watch it here.

What I've Been Working On

I've started working on a new project with a good friend of mine from college. It's a children's book (I KNOW: WHAT? ANYA IS WRITING A BOOK FOR CHILDREN?!). I'll share more about that next month because we're putting together a Kickstarter to make this book a reality.

All for now! I'll be back in your inbox in November from Guatemala.

Thanks for following along with me,

Writer | Marketer | Activist | Humanist | Digital Nomad

​