culture
Get the authentic cultural experience on your next foreign jaunt. Wander like a local; here, there, and everywhere.
The Authentic Saint Patty’s Day Experience
When they say that the streets turn green over Saint Patrick’s Day, they aren’t kidding. Dublin transforms for the weekend into an exciting realm of Irish culture as travelers from all corners of the world come together to celebrate. Complete with Guinness, pub food, and rugby, Saint Patrick’s Day is definitely one to remember.
By Ashly Helfrich8 years ago in Wander
I'll Be Damned
This is a true story as told from my own personal perspective of growing up on an island on the eastern coast of Canada. There were many good times interlaced with many bad times as well, but all the while showing how resilient people in my family and in my community are. I hope I am able to convey to you the specialness of this place; the good, the bad, and the ugly. This is a story about living in an isolated home and community, living with parents that are hearing impaired, and also a story about challenges and resliliency, strong family bonds, and love in all its forms. Maybe you will catch a glimpse and wonder about Isle Madame and perhaps visit and see for yourself just how glorious and wonderful and bizarre Isle Madame is! And maybe, just maybe, you will feel with your eyes, feel with the depths of your soul, how challenging and yet how beautiful this island has been and continues to be to this day.
By Bonny Martell8 years ago in Wander
Wearing a Hijab in London
The train was red and blue; the seats were made of some kind of orange faux leather, and it was sticky to the touch. After discovering the sticky bit, I chose to stand. It was Wednesday midafternoon and a rare English heatwave had struck up, so the train smelled heavily of foreign spices, cumin and turmeric, and of body odor. This train was different than all the trains I had been on in London thus far. Long gone was the sleek look of the underground, the air conditioned cars, the intercom that had worked. This was one of the above ground trains to the outskirts of the city. This was the train to Little Bangladesh.
By Megan Cruey8 years ago in Wander
Standard American Greetings
The usual way Americans say hello to each other is to ask “How are you?” with the answer being, “Fine, thanks.” To outsiders, this is strange since depending on where you come from, the greeting goes deeper than that, as in, to Thais, as reflected in the book Distant Mirrors: America as a Foreign Culture by Phillip R. Devita and James D. Armstrong, it means “Have you eaten?” (p. 69). In the United States, your personal life and your income are something to avoid talking about — but in other countries, not so much. Curiosity is extended to provide further means of discussion.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez8 years ago in Wander
India's Wonder
Not at all what I expected of India and her people. Jaw dropping architecture; warm, friendly people and poverty that is overshadowed by the citizens of this realm. Their happiness to invite you into their humble homes is overwhelming. Families just do what they have to so as to survive a life of extreme poverty and desolation. The opposite of the elite rich in the country.
By Cheryl Singh Seepersad8 years ago in Wander
Rolling The Dice On Vietnam
February, 2017 Phu Quoc, Vietnam Earlier in 2017 I had a three week vacation coming up. I was getting off a ship in Singapore and had to be in Sydney for my next assignment. I was pondering where in Asia to spend my long vacation. Unable to make a decision I took to a strategy I had read about in a book a long time ago. I rolled the dice on it! First I asked my colleagues on the ship to suggest 6 countries in the area and we appointed a number to each country. The dice fell on Vietnam and my decision was made.
By Anna Balog8 years ago in Wander
Grand Canyon & Ancient Mythology
Grand Canyon & Ancient Mythology The Grand Canyon in Arizona has long been a source of beautiful mystery. The age of this stunning site has been a debate for about 140 years among scientists. It is estimated to be around 80 million years old, when the sea was last present there. As recently as 2012, studies of its age have broken down segments of it into five parts. Each segment was then analyzed to see how long ago each took to be carved. Only two segments, Marble Canyon and Western Grand Canyon, are less than 6 million years old. Hurricane Canyon is aged at approximately 70 million years, and the Eastern Grand Canyon is aged about 25 million years. The Colorado River first emerged from the Rocky Mountains about 11 million years ago, according to river sediment found. Where the river flowed before the Grand Canyon, and how exactly it began to flow there, are still mysteries among Geologists. They all agree that 6 million years ago, the Colorado River began carving its path through the segments, linking them together to form the Grand Canyon. Just that portion of its journey is 277 miles long. The Colorado River begins in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, and it stretches 1,450 miles, to the Gulf of California. The Grand Canyon is so huge, there is a completely different weather condition at the top, than at the bottom. Canyon rock on the bottom has been dated to 1.8 billion years old.
By Lady Sunday8 years ago in Wander
Are You Experiencing Reverse Culture Shock?
Re-entry. It feels like living on another planet in another time. Truly. Especially when you first get home. Everything is different, everything is weird. Your time is thrown off and you’re not sure what is happening. I know it sounds crazy, but everything really is different: the air, your skin, your bed, your friends and family, hell, even the sunlight feels slightly off. It’s not just jetlag, because you’ve had that before and it was never like this. Unlike jetlag, this feeling lasts for a while, at least. Slowly things start becoming more... ‘normal’ but this could last days, weeks, months or years and it’s hard, it actually is.
By Acasia Tucker8 years ago in Wander
