People

Defining Kyrgyz Identity

The fact that I find it difficult to define myself as a Kyrgyz person occurred to me  only when I moved to London. Not only most people around me find it difficult to pronounce Kyrgyzstan, most of them have no idea what Kyrgyzstan is. The fact that I am Asian, Muslim and speak Russian doesn’t make it any easier.  So the question occurred, how do I accurately describe myself as a Kyrgyz person?

By now I have realized that it’s impossible to do it without a lengthy introduction into Kyrgyz History, because after all identity is shaped by culture, and culture is shaped by history, well, and many other components. (more…)

Sweet-Sour Topoloveni Plum Jam

Recently I participated in an open day at Topoloveni Plum Jam Factory, in an anniversary moment: the company celebrated 10 years from takeover by purchasing the production units from Mrs Bibiana Stanciulov, a very energetic and determined woman,  which offered it the chance to continue Romanian jam manufacturing tradition after an old recipe from 1914.

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Express yourself through dance!

The idea of this post was brought to me by one of  Liz’ (one of the Pocket Cultures Founders) posts,  Can dancing unite the world? and the story of Dancing Matt, who travels worldwide persuading people in different countries to join him in a silly dance in the streets.

I don‘t know if the answer is yes or no, but dance certainly brings a lot of people together, creates a bond between them, radiates positive energy and joy and makes them forget their worries, no matter their nationality, age, religion, or social status.

Can you notice this in the pictures below (taken at different cultural events in Bucharest) and feel the energy ? (more…)

Rites of Autumn: The Midwest in the Fall

Usually, when people think of the Midwest, they think of a flat, boring, rural place, covered in corn and soybean fields – way too hot and muggy in the summer, and way too cold in the Winter. Well, that’s about half right. There’s really lots of urban areas, and even some elevation changes (Wisconsin, Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Minnesota, Southern Ohio). Though by and large, the Midwest is pretty flat.

Summers are oppressively hot, unless you live near the Great Lakes. Mosquitoes bite, cicadas buzz and keep you up at night, and electric bills skyrocket from keeping the house or apartment air-conditioned.

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From rural Mali to the world

Yaya Coulabaly is part of a group called Fasokan Segou which uses the Internet to connect with the world outside Mali. Here he tells us more about the project, and life in rural Mali.

Hello Yaya, thank you for taking the time of answering our questions. Can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?

Hello and first of all a big thank you to Eddie Avila from Rising Voices and Lucy Chatburn from PocketCultures for giving me the opportunity to talk of rural Mali and our blog.

Yaya Coulibaly

My name is Yaya Coulibaly, I’m 27 and am agronomist (agricultural technician and engineer). I play football and love soft music as it allows me to work on my data without losing focus.

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Picture Postcards: only in New Zealand

Today we have to thank Marie for sending a particularly New Zealand example of graffiti/street art showing Sir Edmund Hillary and a South Pacific wahine.

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