the roster
Jacki Lewin is the founder and editor of Nothing to Declare. A Boston native, she now considers herself bi-coastal. Both coasts of the Atlantic, that is. Currently she resides in Madrid where she is cultivating her preference for personal projects over paid positions. Her monthly column “Serial Ascetic” found here, explores the implications of our most natural dependencies, through giving them up one at a time. You can email her at jacki@nothingtodeclare.org. 
Kelly Ramundo prefers her face, like her opinions, to be shrouded in a veil of secrecy. She came to Madrid from New York in 2003, just for a year though… and in the past four has rocked Spain’s capital with her teaching, tour guiding, and translating prowess, and above all her Euro state of mind. She has currently settled into a journalistic job at El Pais, where her brain and conscience are finally happy. You may disagree with her opinion column “WTF?” found here, but just see if you can recognize her to tell her…
The Principal Traveler hails from the plains of the Midwestern United States, but his current port of embarkation is JFK airport. When not traveling he can be found in the halls of a New York City high school, checking hall passes and educating the youth. He writes monthly about his travels abroad, his adventures and his insights, and if you are bad he will slap your wrist with a ruler. His columns can be found here.
A Vermont native, world traveler, and Madrileño for more than five years, Schuyler lately spends his time teaching, directing, acting, writing, cooking, playing ping-pong, and watching American TV shows. More hyperactive than Renaissance man, he just likes to keep busy and be productive. Schuyler’s column, “Don’t Touch My Eggs” will deal with language differences between Spanish and English and how the way we speak says volumes about who we are. His archive can be found here.
Yolanda “Yoli” Burke hails from the imagination. She is an amalgamation of the auntie who has “the dreams,” grandmothers that tossed around advice like curry chicken at the supper table, and a Halloween transformation brought on by years of yearning. She’s a cantankerous ol’ sage, who proffers unbridled commentary, savory advice from the heart and a shoulder to cry on. Ask her and she’ll consult the stars, her chocolatey crystal balls and the recesses of her spooky mind to help you get through this thing called life. To submit questions, send an email to yoyolanda@nothingtodeclare.org. Her advice column “Yo! Yolanda?” can be found here.
Jessica Ferruzzi, another native New Englander (CT in this case), was lucky enough to escape the northeast ten years ago and hasn’t looked back since. Bit by the travel bug at age 15, her family is not sure if she’s really related to them since they prefer not to stray too far from the Tri-State area. Although a traveler at heart, she prefers living in other countries rather than just visiting. In Thailand for almost 4 years now, she currently resides in the northernmost province of Chiang Rai. Her “Letter from Thailand” column, found here, discusses culture, language, and social issues, both local and international, from an American woman’s perspective in Southeast Asia.
Alejo likes uneven years. He measures the stages of his life by World Cups. He has somehow managed to make Madrid both the city of his birth and his adopted home despite the fact that he only feels at home in the ocean. He is frequently asked to lift heavy boxes to high places. He recently found out he’s an engineer. His column “My Dwellings Among the Savages” about his teenaged years as a Spaniard in Texas can be found here.
When Facundo Casares came to Spain from Argentina he came to stay. A Madrid resident with a Murcian heart, he travels around the country looking for subjects. He will find you, photograph your wardrobe, draw a draft of your life and show your underwear to the world. His monthly street photography column “Friends of the Lens” can be found here.
Laurie is often referred to as an “angry little girl” because of her small frame and her common temper tantrums also known as “The Wrath.” She recently returned from a year abroad teaching English in rural Japan, so she is slowly readjusting to reality in gritty crowded New York. Laurie’s column “Ranting and Raving,” found here, is about her experiences traveling around the world as well as her daily life in the Lower East Side in NYC.
Having been born in Iran, lived in Spain, studied in England and been madly in love with New York City ever since she can remember, Parisa considers herself a citizen of the world. She used to find her lack of “real roots” somewhat distressful, but after 28 years of exploring its wonderful perks, she is thoroughly enjoying her life - including the sleep deprivation that comes from having to hold down a day job while dedicating her evenings to her real work: acting, directing and producing theatre - ah, the joys of being an actress in Spain. Her column “Scheherazade through the looking glass” can be found here.
Emily Johnson is a writer working in publishing. She’s been riding the rails of NYC for six years and lives in Brooklyn. Her column “Subway Stories” documents the weird, wild, and everyday experience of travelling, mostly on the subway commute, but any liminal space will do. Her archive can be found here.
Zoe Benedict is an actor, theater educator and proud dog owner. After living in Madrid, Spain for five years, she has recently relocated to her homeland of Connecticut. Her column “Ex-expat,” archived here, explores her perspectives on living abroad and coming home.
While the Baby Boomer has done a lot of traveling earlier in his life, he now has a mortgage and a second daughter approaching college age. He is looking forward to the day his youngest daughter graduates college, which will coincide with the day he retires. He will resume traveling then. His column can be found here.
The Innkeeper spends her mornings in an apron and her afternoons in hiking boots. A recovering travel addict, she now contents herself with facilitating other people’s travels. Her column “Stationary Living,” archived here, talks about life in small town New Hampshire and the zany tales of Bed & Breakfast ownership.
A Texas transplant, Andrew Bennett has been moving steadily eastward during the past several years. After two years in Madrid, Andrew now seeks the tranquility and peace of mind that only teaching English to teenagers in Vietnam can provide. His column “Flash Saigon,” archived here, looks at the city and the people in it one frame at a time.
Chris Gladis has lived in Kyoto, Japan for the last seven years, which is much longer than he expected but he has no plans yet to leave. Despite living thousands of miles from where he grew up, he has discovered that he is not in fact a traveler; given free time, he turns to the thousands of new things to see within a short bicycle ride. When he’s not doing that, he’s reading, writing, drawing, taking pictures, or pursuing whatever other creative outlet catches his mind at the moment. His column “Letter from Kyoto” is archived here.
Dr. Good Bud is proud to be Canadian: home of Superman, hockey and the world’s greatest weed. Although research for her column takes up the majority of her day, she manages to find time to teach a little English, study for her second degree (advanced cultivating in hot climates), and teach her cats karate. As a full-time stoner, she believes it’s important to take care of her body, and has invented some new sports: smoke ‘n’ swim, reefer runner, and roll, roll, rollerblade. For further inquiries, you can find her in her office at Friday’s during happy hour, or check out her column archive here.
Paul Gladis happened to be passing by when an few dozen boxes of music fell off a back of a truck one day and he’s been sifting through them ever since. He now attempts to share the wealth through his column “Five Fünf Cinque,” archived here, in the hope that he will leave the reader with a glimpse of what the rest of the world is listening to.
Want to join the roster? Send pitches to editorial@nothingtodeclare.org