Volcano! Mud Volcano?

Everyone knows what a volcano is, a mountainous object that erupts hot lava, which can destroy lives. However, have you heard of a mud volcano? I think not.

El Totumo, is a mud volcano that is located in the South American country of Colombia. It is believed that a priest once sprinkled holy water on the crater, which caused the lava to turn into a warm, gooey mud. The volcano is 50 feet high and is easy to climb. There is a staircase that makes it even easier. Many people climb up it to jump inside the crater and relax. Another bonus point is that they even give you massages there.

This adventure is great for a day time getaway. It is relaxing and even beneficial for you. This mud is dense enough, that humans can float in it. The mud is believed to have skin-renewing substances. It is a good way to cleanse the skin. Though it may get stuck in the crevices of your body, it will leave your skin feeling as smooth as that of a baby’s. There is also no time limit on this relaxation method. When you are ready to leave, there is a lagoon nearby to clean yourself off.

The reason that I am telling you of this place, is one you should definitely go there, I want to go there, but that is not the only reason. There is so much that this world has to offer. When we hear the word volcano, we think scary mountainous objects that pour hot lava into the air, destroying houses and civilization nearby. Never do we think, oh that’s a place to go relax in the mud. The world is so big. There is so much to see. There is so much to do. It is important to expand out of your horizons and go to these places. People ask me, “Why do you want to leave Iowa?” There is a simple explanation for that; I just want to see the world. For 17 years of my life, I have lived in one place. I have traveled to other areas of the world, but I have never gotten to live there or actually explore, and that is what I want to do. So, there is your answer, I do not want to stay here, because there is so much to see and do. Yes, maybe I will move back sometime when the time is right, but for now, the time is right to go explore.

All By Myself

Sometimes the best way to explore and the best way to learn about yourself, is to travel alone. Many people think travelling alone is scary, not as fun, and unsafe, but that is not always true. Alone time is good for the soul, and going to a new place to do so, is even better for you. It allows you to explore different avenues of life and of yourself. So, here are some advantages to travelling alone.

A majority of the people believe travelling alone is not safe, especially for women. It is just a matter of fact of taking the right precautions and not going into the bad parts of towns. If you make sure to keep yourself safe, then there is nothing to worry about.

Travelling alone, allows you to go where you want. There is no need to fulfill the requests of other people. Instead you can see the places you want to see, do the things that you want to do, and eat the food that you want to eat. There is no need to have a curfew or no requirement to see certain people, because it is just you and you get to choose what you want to do.

Though you are technically travelling alone, it is so much easier to make new friends and explore new parts of life. Because you are alone, when staying at a hotels or hostel, and going from place to place, you will most likely make it a point to be social. That way, in each place you visit, there will be people to spend time with, but also you are still alone. It is a great way to network and expand your friend pool to include people from all around the world.

By travelling alone, you will learn a lot about yourself. Your understanding of what makes you happy and what you like, will allow you to step out of your comfort zone and see parts of yourself that you have never experienced alone. Though you are alone, you are never really alone because there is this new you that is appearing. This new you is someone you will love forever and never want to say good bye to. When you come back, it will be a part of you  and travelling alone would have changed your life.

Travelling alone is quite an experience and if one gets the chance to do so, they should do it. Here and here are some more reasons to travel alone.

Nature's Beauty

Nature is such a beautiful thing. Earth is such a unique place that offers a place to live for all sources of life. Sometimes, it is just amazing to take a step back and look into what other beautiful phenomenon Mother Earth offers us.

Imagine that you are on a beach, the waves are crashing onto the sand, and the stars light up the sky. It is night time and it is quite dark outside, but you can still see everything clearly. Well, if you are on the Vaadhoo Island in the Maldives archipelago in the Indian Ocean, then the light is most likely coming from itsy bitsy marine organisms. These phytoplankton emit blue, starry light that glow in the gorgeous waters. With every step you take, there is a path of sparkling, blue footprints left behind, because of these glowing phytoplankton.

Aurora borealis is an amazing light show put on by nature, not by some DJ at a party. In the northern hemisphere, by the north pole, in the auroral zone, swirling lights of green, red, and blue, glow at high altitudes. This occurs when charged particles in the atmosphere collide with atoms of the solar wind. Though it is hard to predict when they will show up, they tend to be seen a lot in Norway from September to March. This amazing spectacle is a must see, if you have the chance.

Something that is more close to home, are geysers, which can be found at Yellowstone National Park in the U.S. These are caused by a natural plumbing constriction of water and steam from magma. These geysers throw water and steam up into to the air every 90 minutes. Sometimes they can reach heights of about 180 feet and it is impressive to see.

Every April, in Changwon, a South Korean city, the streets are filled with the color of pink and white blossoms from the cherry trees. Nearly 360,000 blossoming trees emanate beauty and these blossoms cover the ground like a spring snow. The city has a ten day festval attracting many tourists who come to view these blossoms. Similarly, in D.C., cherry blossoms were given as a gift and planted, and people there also celebrate this festival.

The world is such a beautiful place. Nature provides us with these unimaginable beauties that are so hard to grasp. We just sit back and admire what it offers, and we need to appreciate it. Happy Earth Day everyone!

For more amazing things earth offers, click here. 

Bunnies, Eggs, Chocolate, Religion

This weekend is a religious weekend, with Easter coming up tomorrow. Though I do not celebrate this religious holiday, a majority of the people I know do celebrate it. It is quite an interesting time to be a bystander and see what happens. The whole week and a month before, the stores sell candy, chocolate, all bunny or Easter egg shaped. Then at school, we got only a half day, because most people leave to go pray for Good Friday. It is interesting to see how people celebrate Easter. Some people I know are very religious and must do everything religious that has to do with Easter, where as others are less religious and may just go to church for a little bit. Seeing how people celebrate certain holidays that are unusual to me, is quite interesting. I like learning about all these celebrations and I think other people should too, to gain tolerance. Have a good Easter weekend.

Globalization

This world is extremely interconnected. We live in a global world where all countries rely on each other to survive. If the balance is messed with, not only will one country be affected, but the world as whole will be hurt some way or the other. Globalization has occurred quite recently when looking out the world’s events as a whole and it has created a significant, mainly positive, impact on the world we live in. Today, the place we are living in, the time we are living in, the experiences we have, would all be different if this world was different and there had been no globalization that occurred.

Because of globalization, there has been a spread and sharing of ideas from countries all over the world. Lifestyles, culture, foods, and certain products can now be found in not only the native country, but everywhere else. That is why we now have Asian and Italian food here in America, even though it comes from a totally different continent from the other side of the world. Globalization and the influence of cultures on each other has been spreading since large immigrations, especially to America, were occurring. Nowadays, it is easy to see how it actually impacts the world because it was sped up by technology, keeping us even more interconnected in a totally different world, the virtual world, and our world.

The economy is also significantly affected by globalization. It has created more competition and more suppliers and consumers of goods. Here in America we buy things from throughout the world because of pricing and quality. The money we supply to those other countries helps their economy, which will help other areas around them as well. By taking one factor out of this economy, especially a big component, like America, then the whole system will topple, because we live in this interconnected global net.

Globalization has changed the world in so many different ways, especially for women. Women have becoming more independent and have been finding work outside the home. Though this has happened in more developed countries for a long time, people in less developed have taken these ideas and try to implement them in their own countries. Education has also changed because of this and more places are trying to get children to go to school, rather than having child labor. Though this is not occurring, it is slowly changing.

Globalization is an important phenomenon in our world. It has been taking place for so long with the movement of people to new places, but it has been significantly sped up in the technological era. This allows us to see its impacts and how important it is.

For more information on globalization impacts click here and here.

Speak? Shake? Hug? Or Kiss?

This vast world we live in encompasses so many different cultures, languages, and traditions. Sometimes it is best to understand the differences and certain particularities of a country. One thing that falls under this category is the method of greeting. It is quite important to know how to greet someone in a certain country. We don’t want you kissing someone when touching is forbidden, so here is a basic guide to ease this problem.

Here in America, when meeting someone, we say “Hello, how are you?” That is the most common greeting, which can be exchanged with slang. When meeting someone for the first time we usually shake hands with them. There is nothing more than that. If seeing a friend, then we hug, but that is after knowing the person for a long time.

In the United Kingdom, the same method of communication and greeting occurs. When greeting people conversations go “Hello, how are you?” Then the person would reply “Fine, thanks.” People usually shake hands there too or maybe they just smile at each other. If they see a friend, they hug, and if it is two women or a man and a women, then they give only one kiss on the cheek. If at a more formal or stylish event then people may even double kiss. The British however do not go around doing this all the time, a majority of the time is just conversation.

Now these forms of greetings seem normal to us, however, some countries have interesting ways of greeting that are quite unheard of to us here in America. In Latin American countries, people are quite friendly when they greet. In places like Argentina, they hug, hold hands, and kiss when greeting a person. For the Argentinians it does not matter what gender the person is. When placed in a more formal situation, they just shake hands, but usually that is the first time they meet. In Brazil they also take part in the warm Latin American greeting, with lots of hugs and kisses. Sometimes they even do taps, but when it comes to formal situations, it is once again back to the hand shake.

Asian countries have a different sort of greeting system. In China people will nod or bow. Koreans do a slight bow and hand shake, sometimes with both hands. Malaysians take both hands and touch the other person’s hands. They then proceed to bring it back to the breast, a gesture that is called salame. In the Philippines, they use a limp hand shake. In India, when greeting someone, it depends on gender and age. Usually a person will hold their palms together like they are pray, then they will bend or nod and say “Namaste.” Males will hug male friends, while females will hug female friends. Older people will hug the younger children. Usually for the elderly, people will bend down and touch their feet in seek of blessing. Sri Lankans place their palms together under their chin and bow slightly, much like India. Similarly, people in Thailand place their palms together, with elbows down, and bow their head, something called wai. Japanese people also bow, but they place their hands on their thighs and keep their heels together. However, Indonesians just say “selamat,” meaning peace. Just in one area, so many different forms of greeting.

Some other odd greetings include the Inuit form of nose touching, which puzzles me, because what if someone is really tall and the other person is short, like me. How does nose touching work then? It intrigues me to learn about and understand different cultures. Knowing how to greet people is good to know, so you don’t violate a person or don’t hurt their feelings by rejecting them.

For more information about greetings click here, here, and here.

Yummy! Just Kidding.

People eat a lot of different things throughout the world. Some of these delicacies may seem questionable to a tourist, but for those who constantly eat them or grow up eating them, they do not care. If it is tasty, then it is ok. So let us take a look at all these crazy and weird, but interesting foods from around the world, shall we.

In Southeast Asia, balut, is eaten some times. This meal is a developed duck embryo that is actually boiled alive and eaten while it is still in the egg. It is typically served with beer. Different places wait different amounts of time to eat the food. It is better to eat it after 17 days in the Philippines, but the Vietnamese people disagree, and prefer it 19-21 days old. Mongolian Boodog is another interesting and unusual food. It is a marmot or goat that is cooked in its own skin with hot stones placed on the stomach. Cambodians on the other hand enjoy fried tarantulas, called a-ping, which are the size of a human palm.

In the northern part of the eastern hemisphere, they eat certain interesting foods as well. A traditional Norwegian dish, called Smalahove, is a dish made of the sheep’s head and was originally for the poor. It is eaten whole, which may seem a little weird to us. If looking at a picture are actually in front of the meal, it seems like the sheep is just sleeping. Blood pancakes, made of pork blood, milk, flour, molasses, onions, and butter are eaten in Sweden and Finland.

There are a lot of variety of foods that are interesting to us. When people come to America our interesting and unusual food may be the amount of food that we served fried. From fried butter to fried Oreos, everything can be deep fried here, and that may seem weird to some. Learning about these interesting foods makes me want to try some, but also makes me want to throw up. However, I do not know, maybe some of these foods taste amazing, I won’t know till I try.

Click here for more weird foods. 

Sadly, We Live In Fear

It is sad that the biggest fear this generation lives in, is ourselves and our peers. Here we are sitting in school, a place that is supposed to be safe, but we don’t feel safe. Why is that? It is because of everything that has been happening around us. From shootings, to the recent stabbings, to the threat at my own school, how can we feel safe? A child will less likely learn in fear and it is sad that this is what the world has come to. 

In April of 1999, one of the biggest school shootings of history and of its time had occurred. Nothing of this capacity had ever occurred before, until the shootings and Columbine High School. Two seniors assembled an arsenal of guns and weapons and attacked the school, killing 12 students, one teacher, and injuring 24 others, before taking their own lives. This horrible tragedy left the nation scared and afraid; they did not know how to handle this. Nowadays, it feels like tragedies happen all the time of school

About a year and a half ago, the country was devastated with the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School. That December day, 26 people were shot, of which six were adults, and the remaining 20, were students. A man with a gun penetrated the school and destroyed lives forever. Listening to the police calls from that day hearing teachers in sheer terror is extremely heart wrenching. Listening to parents’ reminisce on their young kids who can never grow up, will make any one cry. These young children, so full of potential and so full of life, just disappeared from the world in a second. This is all because of one man with a gun who had the bright idea of entering a school on a rampage.

Just this week, there was a 16 year old boy who went on not a shooting rampage, but a stabbing one. He stabbed 20 kids at Franklin Regional Senior High School. When kids were entering the school, he stood there and stabbed or slashed anyone who got in his way. Though it lasted five minutes, he injured so many people and left many in fear.

It seems like these days all we do is live in fear. It has become a part of our society to go to school in fear that something may happen. In the past kids had drills for bomb threats due to war and weather related drills and fire drills. Now students are preparing for attacks from their own peers or people who could come into the school and cause devastation. That sense of freedom and openness where the doors were open and school was a safe haven has disappeared and remerged as an era of locked doors and fear. It is sad to see this is where society has led to and we must hope for change.

For more information about this week's stabbing events, click here and here. 

Children Are the Future

Though we live on one planet, Earth, it is crazy to think there are so many different countries and people out there. If you did not know, there are 196 countries in the world and more than seven billion people living on this planet, which is growing every minute. Out of these 196 countries, there are so many similarities and differences. One big difference, however, is the way kids act and have been taught to act.

Here in America, children are brought up with the idea to be more independent. They are sent to school from a young age and from that age, they are being built to become an adult who can succeed in life. In America, there are many opportunities that are offered to children, which allow them to explore and develop. Being creative and being unique is something that this country wants. When applying for colleges, kids are not only judged based upon how well they do in school or on standardized tests, but how well they are at writing, if they participate in other activities, both leadership and volunteer activities, and if they are social. It is not always about the grades, as some think more and more these days, but that is because it is how the kids are being taught from a young age. The way a child is brought up and the things they learn and explore are what make them who they are as they grow older. It is also what makes the country what it is, because kids are the future.

Many first world countries seem to bring up their children in a same fashion. They send them to school and are told to be active and have fun. However, developing and less developed countries cannot provide this for their children. Yes, the children are the future in their countries, but for them, that means who can work once they reach an age where they can walk and talk and handle things. These countries need the money and need people to help earn that money. They use all the labor possible and that may include children. Luckily in America, there is a part of the government that deals specifically with children, the Children’s Bureau. Ever since it started, it has worked to eliminate child labor, take on infant mortality, and foster care and adoption process so that children have opportunities.

One reason some of these countries are behind is because they do not prepare their future. They teach their children basic skills and send them to work. Right now that is what they need, and I am not criticizing them at all, but a good education is the foundation to a successful future. If these children are taught, they can help learn skills that will make them more successful and the country they live in more successful. This does not mean they have to attend a school where they learn all sorts of information that will never be useful, but they should learn the basic information or ideas that will help them understand what the world is about and how it can improve. The children are the future of this country, all the other countries, and the whole world. It is important to start early and ensure success, making a better and more peaceful world to live in.

Love, Don't Hate

People want the world to change, they want racism to end, they want world peace, and they want everyone to get along. However, there is one problem. Those same people and so many others work against going forward. This struggle hinders the world from ever moving forward and I do not think that it will ever change if this continues to happen.

One of the struggles has to do with culture. Many people want to progress and understand other cultures. They want to visit other countries and learn about other places and other cultures. At the same time, these other people of other cultures or in the same area, stop this progression. They judge others for doing things a certain way. Sometimes, they are not willing to share cultures. Stereotypes still remain a big part of life. It is sad to see that the world can never move forward in that aspect, no matter how hard we try.

One day I hope that every culture and every person can accept each other and understand each other. I hope that people rather than hating another culture, embrace it. I know that this goal is very far-fetched and will probably never be reached during my life time, but some time, equality will occur. The only way to achieve this though, is to start now. We must work to accept each other and learn to get along, or else, we will constantly live in battle. 

Living Abroad: European Style

Though I am only a junior in high school, I still think about where I would like to go study in the future. Sometime in my life, I know that I want to study abroad. Many friends have or are studying abroad. They have gone all over the world from Australia to Europe. I would love to study abroad and from what I have learned from them and through research, I feel like the best place to go would be somewhere in Europe. I believe if people really want to live outside of America for a while, the best place would be to go to Europe.

Europe is a place that allows you not only to explore the place you are staying in, but all over the continent. You can cross many countries of your list, by just staying in one area. Over the weekend you can visit so many different countries and in a period of a few months you could have seen so much of the world. The easy transportation and connection with money that is set up in Europe allows tourists to easily get around.

According to CBS news and various blogs, the top 15 places in the world to live in work include places like Australia, Singapore, Japan, China, India, and the rest are all in Europe. The system set up in these European countries make it easy to live. Sometimes the cost of living may be high, but the experiences and memories that are made there will last a life time.

Getting the chance to live abroad is an honor. It is something that allows you to explore and grow as a person. People become more understanding, flexible, and open minded. I was recently talking to my friend who is studying abroad and she was talking about how it has made her into a better and happier person. The experience has changed her life and the classes she is taking are different. In Europe the classes are taught in a more open perspective where it does not just focus on how amazing America is. This creates a more open minded person. Plus, she is able to travel to a new country almost every week. This seems like the best opportunity to take advantage of.

So, I have been thinking about the future recently. If I ever traveled abroad, I would go to Europe. I would be able to see so many places and have so many experiences. If you ever get the chance to live abroad, then go, and I suggest Europe. 

For the list of places to live, click here. 

Travel For the Health

Travel is an activity with a plethora of benefits, one of which is that it helps the health. Travel is believed to be good for the soul and body. It can make a person feel fitter, happier, and healthier. It is understandable that not everyone has the chance to travel because they would not like to or do not have enough income to spend on it, but for those who have the opportunity to do so, should travel. It will create a better you and a healthier you.

People believe that travelling can make you healthier because it brings you further in life and allows you to better skills that were previously untoned. It allows for improvement in social skills. By travelling and living alone, it allows you to become more flexible and friendlier. Also, it can reduce stress, since taking time away from your real life, is like a break. Everyone deserves to rest and escape from everything in their life. By travelling, a person can do this. People who travel are also prone to be more patient. With travel comes waiting, from waiting at the airport to waiting in lines at the coolest restaurant in the world, everything takes patience, and it is a key part of travel.

Travelling can also keep you fit. Though many people can gain weight while travelling because they eat out all the time, it can also cause you to be lured into doing more activity, such as exploring and hiking. Also, you have the time to exercise if you really wanted to when on vacation. Plus, many countries are built on walking rather than other unhealthy modes of transportation. This is good for the body.

When travelling, people are allowed to accomplish goals. Seeing new places and exploring new places allows you to cross things of your bucket list, and that feeling can be amazing. It makes you happy and being happy is the first step to feeling healthy. Also, it builds and improves your skill of having better relationships. Surveys have actually shown that couples who travel together have better relationships. Going to a different place and having crazy adventures together strengthens relationships.

A big project was done by the US Travel Association called “The Travel Effect.” It was intended to provide scientific researching proving that travel has a healthful effect. It started in 2013 and has found a lot of key things. According to this research, students who travelled abroad are nearly twice as likely to complete a college degree and earn higher incomes, which may be 40% higher than their classmates. Also, workers who take time off are more productive and have more morale. They are less likely to lose interest and burnout. If travel and tourism was not there, each household would pay $1000 more in taxes. Also, travel provides so many jobs, around 14.4 million jobs in the U.S. and makes $124 billion.

As shown, travel is a great way to experience and find your inner self. It makes a better and healthier you, so do not hesitate to spend that money to go to a different country. Just do it.

For more information about the research click here, for more info about travel being healthy, click here.