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.