Test your cultural expertise with our weekly quiz question. Know the answer? Tell us about it in the comments.
China is a multi-ethnic nation. How many ethnic groups coexist in the country?
A. 56.
B. 76.
C. 106.
Happy Monday to you! We have a double offering for you this week as two people have sent in their market photos.
The first photo is from Sandra and was taken at Luilabloemenmarkt in Almere, The Netherlands. It was snapped during Pentacost weekend and she says, “Pentecost occurs seven weeks (50 days) after Easter Sunday and comemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection. It is celebrated on Sunday and Monday, the first and the second day of Pentecost.” She explained that people buy all these lovely flowers to put in their houses and gardens.
Mary Anne Oxendale currently lives in Shanghai, China. In this interview with PocketCultures she tells us about culture shock, teaching to travel and the difference between Mandarin and Shanghainese.
From your blog I see that you have moved a few times. Where are you originally from, and where have you been previously?
I’m originally from Vancouver Island, which is a small island by Canadian standards, off the west coast of British Columbia. I tentatively left when I was 19 and went traveling around Europe for a few months. After that, I alternated attending university terms with more escapes to Europe, eventually pausing my degree after three years to move to London when I was 22.
Fili’s World is a blog written through a “Western-Israeli yet culturally sensitive perspective”.
The site started in March 2005 after its founder, Fili, decided to record his journey after travelling to Asia. He’s currently studying for a PhD in Hong-Kong SAR, China and his regularly updated blog features sections on Taiwan, China and Hong Kong.
Explore Fili’s World and you’ll also discover expat blogs, and reviews of Israeli music and Albanian castles.
Read more:
Blogging from both sides of the border – an Israeli-Palestinian blogging team
Living inside the Great Firewall
What is Taiwanese culture?
We’d like to say goodbye to 2010 wıth a world tour of favourite posts from each of our contributors. Here they are, in the order in which each one celebrates midnight. Happy New Year!
Marie (New Zealand): The New Zealand Dairy
“Where would Kiwis be without the local dairy? Certainly situations such as running out of the milk needed for the perfect cup of tea or not having enough snacks to share while watching a film on TV could get quite hairy.”
Living in Beijing, I am constantly exposed to the center of China-ness. Many things in this city remind me of the magnificent China: classic landmarks like the Forbidden City and the Olympic Bird’s Nest, intimidating government buildings that sprawl across the city, and eight-lane avenues which are so wide that it would require two red light sessions to cross them, to name a few. Beijing is the place where the Chinese government officials meet foreign dignitaries, where important national policies are made, and where the 60th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party was wildly celebrated. The whole of China follows Beijing time. Whether you live in a village a few kilometers away from Pakistan or North Korea, your clocks tick at the same pace and tell the same time.
Living in the center of everything, it is easy for a Beijinger to forget that real China exists much further beyond the Beijing bubble. This is utterly unfortunate because China is a massive country that is amazingly diverse. But to recognize that China is diverse and to experience it are two separate notions.
Picture Postcards: Colours of Argentina
The Netherlands – a country of many names
Bucharest Seen From the Arch of Triumph
From our contributors: week of May 13
Familiarizing the World with Assam.
From our contributors: week of April 23
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