Tag Archives: Culture

Ethnic Food Fair at Balboa Park

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If you ever visit San Diego on a Sunday, Balboa Park is a must.  Each Sunday afternoon from 12pm to 4pm, the House of Pacific Relations International Cottages showcase national traditions from around the world.  This Sunday hubby and I headed to the International Cottages for the annual Ethnic Food Fair.  Each house was open for viewing and had a variety of traditional foods for sale.  There was also great (FREE!) entertainment representing various countries.  Here are some pictures from our ethnic outing:

Dragons danced through the streets courtesy of the House of China.

The House of Argentina served grilled sausages – delicious!

 

Each house decorates both the inside and the outside to represent their home country.

The Beauty Academy of Kabul

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While flipping through Netflix, I came across the documentary The Beauty Academy of Kabul.  Having been thoroughly entertained by Salaam Dunk, I liked the idea of another documentary based on women in the Middle East and I was not disappointed.  The documentary follows the opening of the first beauty school in Kabul, Afghanistan led by 6 American instructors (3 of which were Afghan refugees) and starting with 20 Afghan students.  The film depicts the reactions of the refugees returning to Kabul, the hardships that the students go through to get the training, and the culture of beauty that is hidden due to the Taliban regime.  The film is really well done and worth the download.

 

The Art of Choosing

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Sheena Iyengar just took me around the world in 18 minutes through her talk, “The Art of Choosing,” on TEDGlobal.  Although based at Columbia University, she starts her lecture with an experience in Japan where she tells a story about ordering tea.  From there Dr. Iyengar humorously, yet with scholarly background describes how the concept of choice varies around the world in comparison to the U.S.  She addressed the following American assumptions regarding choice and how these assumptions hold up in other cultures:

  1. If a choice affects you, you should be the one to make it.
  2. The more choices you have, the more likely you are to make the best choice.
  3. You must never to say “no” to choice.
Her talk reminded me of my experience choosing a college.  My dad was pretty determined that I should go to Emory University so I applied early decision, was accepted, and enrolled without applying to any other colleges.  At the time I was furious because I felt I didn’t have a choice.  It’s a story I tell students often and I always joke at the end that it was the best decision my dad ever made for me (it really was).  It’s funny the responses I get depending on who I tell.  My American students tend to be slightly appalled that I didn’t decide where to go to school, however, when I’ve told international students my story, I don’t get the same reaction. What are your thoughts on choice?
 
 

Abroad Blog of the Week: Fluent in 3 Months

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I came across Fluent in 3 Months this past week when a friend posted on his Facebook 29 Life Lesson in Traveling the World 8 Years Straight. The blogger, Benny, has been traversing the globe for (you guessed it!) 8 years and learning new languages along the way.  His blog is funny, insightful, and he brings in a variety of guest bloggers to spice it up.  I thoroughly enjoyed this Life Lessons list and think there is a lot to be appreciated from his experiences.  All 29 are pretty good but these were the ones that resonated with me the most:

1. Everyone everywhere basically wants the same thing

100% true

5. Seek out people with different beliefs and views of the world to yours and get to know their side of the story

It was actually at Emory University as a college student that I learned the value of this principle.  Having grown up in a sheltered suburb of Atlanta with little diversity, I started college incredibly closed-minded.  Surrounded and forced to interact with students who were of various faiths, sexual preferences, socio-economic statuses, and ethnicities, I finally was able to realized how really we are so similar and my role is to love, not judge.

15. Modern foreign culture does not have to satisfy your stereotypes

This one and number 5 go so hand-in-hand. I find it is so easy to stereotype other cultures and try to fit a whole county into a nice little box. Not only have I succumb to this abroad, but I’ve also been guilty here in the U.S. Think about the common stereotypes we have in the U.S.: people of certain ethnicities can’t drive; people from a certain country are here illegally; or this certain people group is lazy. If I take the time to get to know people, the likelihood that I will try to fit them into a box severely decreases. 

20. Wear sunscreen

Of course I have to agree with this one…my hubby is a dermatologist

23. Making new friends is easy and so is appreciating your current ones

This one reminded me of a recent experience.  I was at a wedding a few weeks ago by myself and the woman next to me befriended me.  We had little in common – I knew the bride, she knew the groom; we were probably 20 years apart in age; she’s a nurse, I’m a study abroad advisor; the list goes on.  But despite our differences, she saw a young woman on her own and decided to pull me in her circle. I cannot express how thankful I was. It made me really think about how I act when I am in the position of comfort.  Do I invite outsiders in, especially those of different cultures? I’m not as consistent as I would like…but I do hope to improve.

When the Moon Hits Your Eye…

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Not only did we have an annular eclipse in San Diego today (stunning!), but it was also the annual Sicilian Festival in Little Italy.  Of course we couldn’t pass it up.  We scoped out the Gesso Italiano (Italian Chalk), took pictures of the human music box, devoured delicious meatballs, and eyed the cannoli with desire.  If you are interested in delving into Italian culture from home, visit the National Italian American Foundation and check out these great sites:

Netflix Recommendation – Mao’s Last Dancer

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After a long work week in our household, we decided to spend Friday night in. After some delicious Cooking Light corn fritters, I began to search Netflix and came across Mao’s Last Dancer. I personally haven’t been to China, but it’s definitely on my short list so I was interested. The 2010 Bruce Beresford film depicts the “true story” of Li Cunxin, a ballet dancer who came to the U.S. on exchange from Communist China, and his struggle to remain in the U.S. With flashbacks to his childhood and training in China, the film was full of cultural incidents that really struck me. For example, Li’s parents don’t call him by his name but rather call him Sixth Son (he is the 6 of 7 boys in the family). There is also a great scene with Li and the artistic director of the Houston Ballet addressing American frivolity and excess that was excellent (part of it is in the trailer). If you are looking for an inspirational, cultural film for your Saturday night, I would highly recommend Mao’s Last Dancer.

Abroad Blog of the Week: My Embassy Letters

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I love themes – theme parties, theme parks, and of course theme posts!  Since I can’t travel abroad right now, I enjoy living vicariously through others’ blogs as they galavant around the world.  Thus the theme – Abroad Blog of the Week!

Although I follow a good number of abroad blogs, not many have brought a smirk to my face like My Embassy Letters.  The blogger, Barbara, went to Jordan this past fall and though her blog is no longer active, it is still one of my favorites.  First, Barbara is extremely witty and brutally honest – both make her blog entertaining and worthy of being added to my Google Reader.  Second, I don’t know much about Jordan so I’ve learned a lot from reading My Embassy Letters and thoroughly enjoyed the stories of living with a Muslim Jordanian family.

But my favorite post is Barbara’s last with a list of thoughts on going home.  I connected with so many of these from my own study abroad experience, expect I think Barbara probably says them much more eloquently than I would have at age 21.  Anyway, here are some of my favorites:

  • You can’t run away from life.  Life follows you.  Sometimes you can put it on hold for a very short while, but it will still be there.

    This is not Barbara

  • In light of above, you can use struggle and hard times to get stronger.  Sometime you can feel yourself toughening up.
  • Maybe devices that save time and labor are not all they are cracked up to be.  There is a beauty in work.
  • Language is beautiful, and powerful.
  • All cultures have good and bad things about them; some should be loved, some should be scorned. America is not as bad as I thought it was when I left.
  • Sometimes I wonder if coming abroad teaches you more about a foreign place, or about the place you left.
  • There are too many problems to fix in the world, but we have to keep trying because there is no other option.

Thanks to Barbara and My Embassy Letters!

Salaam Dunk

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Last week the IRC here in San Diego did a showing of Salaam Dunk.  I’ve never been much into documentaries but one of my students studied abroad in the Middle East and thought we could go together.  I have to say that I was highly entertained and moved by their story.  The film follows the season of the women’s basketball team at American University of Iraq.  The team is in their second season and prior to coming to college, most of the girls had never ran, let alone played basketball.  While their record and skills are somewhat dismal, they are redeemed by becoming a team and overcoming the barriers of ethnicity and religion.  There were a few things that struck me about the film: 1) I was amazed at their English; most of the girls had perfect accents, 2) they were very honest about the war and the fear it invoked, which made me really think about what they went through, and 3) I thought it was amazing how a simple thing like basketball could be so controversial but also was a vehicle for reconciliation.  Check out the trailer:

Global From Home

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I am a study abroad advisor so naturally I love to travel.  My adventures started at 16 when I went to visit my brother who was stationed in Germany and since then I have studied abroad in Italy and have traveled to 15 other countries.  However, the older I get the less I travel.  Job constraints, financial constraints, or family constraints keep me homebound.  Fortunately as social media continues to grow, so do the opportunities to be global from home.  So that is my goal – explore the world around me within a 30 mile radius of my front door and share what I find.