SPRING BREAK!!!

How to stay safe over spring break?

Spring break is upon us. Some people are staying home, while others are going on an exciting vacation. It is important to always stay safe. Spring break is typically known to be a crazy time. It is the start of spring and summer, and everyone is excited to finally be there. So, it can lead to some crazy experiences. Here are some safety tips to make sure you stay safe.

A common vacation type, is a road trip. If taking a road trip, always buckle up and drive safe. Though you may be in the car for a long time, you never know what happens, so stay safe and buckle up. If going to a bigger city, remember to keep all your belongings to yourself. Places with public transportation are places where things can easily get stolen. For girls, remember to keep purses and bags close and the zipper towards you. When staying at a hotel, do not mess around with their things. When hanging out with friends, do not do super stupid stuff. Teenagers are going to be stupid, just think before partaking in certain activities.

It is important to stay safe on break, that way you can survive. If you decide to make stupid choices, it can result in bad consequences. So keep that in mind. .Otherwise, have an awesome break, and stay safe. 

Beautiful Flowers

Before I start the actual content of this post, I would like to give a shout out to my mother for suggesting this idea. We were talking the other day, and she wondered how flowers are used in other cultures and what their importance is. In India they are used for religious reasons, as well as to decorate. She wondered if other countries use them the same way or not. So, let us take a look at it.

Flowers are sometimes used as gifts in various parts of the world. Instead of giving teachers apples, in China, the most popular gift for a teacher is flowers. For weddings, the most popular flower for the Chinese are peonies. However, if going to Asia, do not give a person a potted plant, it is not appropriate because it is thought to restrict a relationship. In northern Asia, like Russian territory, flowers are given as bunches or a single for birthdays. Roses, lilies, and carnations are used for funerals because of their shape that symbolizes death and rebirth. Unlike America, where a bouquet of flowers contains 12 flowers, Russians usually give odd numbers of flowers. Europeans, particularly in England, take flowers when going to a guests’ house. White lilies are avoided because they symbolic death. They, like the Russians, give flowers in odd numbers, except for the number 13, since it is an unlucky number.

Flowers are also used for various festivals, and certain flowers are only used for certain occasions. In India, during religious times, flowers are given and placed in front of god. Also, during festivals and weddings they are set around the house as decorations and given to girls to be worn in the hair. The Spanish who celebrate the Day of the Dead make altars and celebrate with bringing brightly colored flowers. People tend to bring orange, yellow, and red marigolds. During Chinese New Year and Oktoberfest in Germany, flowers are used to decorate as well. The Chinese New Year tends to stick with a red colored theme; therefore, red colored flowers are used.

Flowers are even used in foods. In Japan, cherry blossoms are incorporated into floral arrangements and even used in teas, because it is a very abundant flower in that area. Middle Eastern countries use orange blossoms in meals, particularly at times of celebrations. It is used in water and a variety of recipes.

Flowers are such an abundant and beautiful part of life. They add color and excitement to the Earth. As spring is upon us, they will once again start to bloom and make the days brighter and happier. The air will smell heavenly with the scents coming from the flowers. These flowers are also used in different cultures in different ways. Some countries use them for religious reasons, others use them for celebration, sometimes they are used for decoration, and other times they are used in cooking. Flowers even have different meanings or symbolize different things in various countries. It is just beautiful to see how one part of life brightens different countries around the world.

For more information on this topic, click here, here, and here. 

Two in One

What are the similarities and differences in a few celebrations from around the world?

Recently, on March 17^th, two amazing holidays occurred. Many locals know about one of those, obviously it is St. Patrick’s Day. The second holiday that occurred was Holi, the Indian festival of colors. Both of these celebrations are quite special and unique. They are very entertaining and everyone seems to have a lot of fun. People from all around the world look forward to both of these celebrations.

Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated by the Irish. Like most celebrations, it has become a nationalized thing that everyone celebrates throughout the world. It started a s a religious feast day for Saint Patrick, who was believed to get rid of all the serpents and snakes in Ireland. March 17^th is believed to be the day of his death. Now, this international holiday, is celebrated with dancing, parades, food, and people wearing green. Those who do not wear green, are supposed to be pinched. People spend time with friends and family, eat, sometimes, if of age, drink, and just have a great time. It is quite a fun holiday.

Holi, is from a totally different part of the world, India. It is the festival of colors, and this statement may be biased, but it is one of the coolest celebrations in the world. The holiday is based on the lunar calendar, so it falls on a different day each year. It happened to fall on the same day as Saint Patrick’s Day, this year. It is a holiday to celebrate the arrival of spring, hence, it is also known as the Spring Festival. Loads of food is made for the events. Flowers fill the cities, adding color and fragrance to brighten the air, much like the oncoming spring and summer. Holi has a religious tie to it, as well, so people do go to temples to pray and celebrate. My favorite thing about the festival is the fact that it brings people in a whole country together to celebrate in one large party. Everyone is dancing, singing, and throw colored powders, water balloons, and just spray each other with color and water. People get drunk during the day, and sober up for the night. At night time, it is family time. Friends and family gather to celebrate and eat sweets. All in all, it is a fantastic time.

It is important to learn about the various festivals in the world. Though these holidays are different and come from totally different parts of the world, many people celebrate them throughout the world. They are similar in some sort of ways. Personally, I think someone should throw a party with a mix of Saint Patrick’s Day and Holi traditions, that would be one crazy party. Cultures across the worlds have such interesting traditions and holidays. It is interesting to see how they relate and how they differ.

For more Saint Patrick's Day info, click here, for more about Holi, click here. 

The Ever So Scary Air Travel

Is air travel safe?

After what has recently occurred, air travel may seem to scare people a lot. About a week ago, a Malaysian Airline plane went missing it. It just sort of disappeared, which is really scary. They had information on the plane and when it went territory of another country, it became lost. A lot of theories were stated, from mechanical problems on the flight, a crash, terrorism, malfunction, and purposeful action by one or more pilots. These types of events result in a large fear in flying. Many people already are scared of flying, but things like these freak everybody out.

When in the air, the passengers are giving all their trust to the pilots and the crew to take care of them and safely land them. If this trust is lost, then there will be less air travel, less tourism, less money, and everything can go downhill from there. In this world, all countries and all aspects of life are connected, when one is affected, others are too.

As we all know, ever since 2001, there has been an increased scare in flights, resulting in more precautions, which we all get annoyed with. After 9/11 the idea that people can take over our flights and our air travel, scared everyone. Airports and countries pushed for high security, resulting in long security checks, and restrictions on what to take on board, and many other things. This allows for a more safe feeling. However, whenever something like what recently occurred happens, then everyone is in panic again, because they do not feel safe.

Air travel is something we should not be scared of. Many planes take off, fly, and land with ease. There are the select few instances when things go wrong, and that is what is talked about by the news and media, causing an increase fear. I am not saying more precautions need to be instigated to make sure that the passengers can feel one hundred percent safe when flying. It is something to push towards in the future. 

The Future

What is in store for the future of travel and culture?

The future is something that is unknown. To many people, this may seem really cool, to others it is scary. For me, I would say it is both. Life in all aspects as we know it, will not exist. The future will have so many changes, a majority of which will be technologically related. Travel and culture will also be affected by the future.

Technology will change the future of communication; it already has. These days, a person can meet a random person, in a totally different part of the world, who speaks a totally different language, because of the Internet and technology. Social media allows us to keep in touch and meet others. There is no barrier in communication. If the world is already like this, what is there to stop us from progressing? The answer is nothing. We are bound to progress and it is important to think about it now.

As this progression in our world occurs, there will be a lot of change to culture. Everything will be influenced by everything else. One culture in Australia, may be influenced by something we do here in America. This will result in a mixing of cultures, but also a unique aspect to it, because everything is done differently. Culture will become less unique though, because of this influence of other places. There will be a more general idea of how to live, though traditional beliefs will keep culture from disappearing.

In the future, travelling will be extremely different. First of all, it will be more efficient and better for the environment. Possibly, what we are all waiting for, there may be flying cars. This would cause a lot of difficulties, but if everything was figured out, travel would become so much more convenient. NASA is actually building a SkyTran, for travel in cities. Each person would have their own personalized pod, and a magnetic levitation system would be used to move it. In the future, passports will be used less. Also, space will be receiving a larger amount of visitors as space travel is become better. Already, celebrities are going up into space, so in the future, it will be spread out to a more amount of the population. The biggest change that is predicted to happen is maglev, or high speed trains using magnets, to travel, instead of planes. This would be so much different.

It is crazy to think about what is out there in the future. However, everything is evolving and changing in all aspects of life, not only in travel and culture, so keep an eye out.

For more information about future of travelling, click here and here.

The Quinoa Craze

Why is quinoa becoming so popular?

Recently, there has been a kick for eating healthier. In school the food portions being sold are much less. They type of food being sold is also healthier. Instead of selling loads of greasy food, there has been a movement towards more vegetables, fruits, multi grain breads, instead of white bread. Not only does this desire for eating healthier food remain at schools, but many people have realized they want to make their bodies healthier. Most of the time, people make eating healthier a New Year’s resolution, but many of these people have seemed to remain with this goal. At this time of year, it is a very unusual for this to occur.

One of the most popular foods is quinoa. I have been eating this food for a while now, but as usual, all trends seem to come to Iowa much later, and now I see many people in town eating this type of food. Quinoa is a whole grain, much like a much healthier rice. It is also very tasty and can be eaten all by itself. It provides essential amino acids, is gluten-free, and cholesterol-free. This amazing whole grain has properties that many diet seekers or healthy eaters are looking for. Also, it can be prepared in so many different ways. It can be eaten plain or as a salad. It can be used in place of rice. Its wide variety of uses also proves it’s something that should be watched out for in the grocery stores.

It is important to keep an eye on these healthy foods. As the nation progresses away from the fast food and obesity age that we are in, people are pushing for these healthier choices. Our elected officials, celebrities, famous people, and many non-famous people are pushing for this healthy eating style. One of the options to eat is quinoa. The reason to keep an eye out on quinoa is that it is one of the healthiest foods and will soon be found anywhere. It is one of the most protein-rich foods. Also, it contains a lot more fiber, two times to be exact, than other grains. It also contains other necessities needed for the human body. These would include iron, lysine, magnesium, B2, and manganese. All of which protect the body in different ways. So, in the end, quinoa is one of the rising popular foods in the nation, and now in Iowa. It is very good for the health and can be made into a lot of dishes.

For more information about quinoa, click here and here.