People of the World

What makes Argentineans special?

What I saw in my recent trip to our neighbor-country, Argentina, caused such an impact that I was eager to add it to my own cultural pocket and share it with you.

Are you already aware of the historical rivalry between Brazilians and Argentineans? Mainly because of soccer, and also because of territorial disputes. We are always making jokes the same way the Argentineans do with us. It is just part of the fun, for we are economic partners in Mercosur and we are part of the same big South American continent. Though we try to reinforce how different we are, and boast about our own national culture, we have much more in common than we want to realize.

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A totally practical way to see the world

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.

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Brazil: A Country of Constrasts, as seen through Carla’s Eyes

Carla, our regional contributor from Brazil, is a proud Brazilian, an English as a Foreign Language teacher, and a “world citizen.” Read more about why Brazil is such a pleasure to the senses, and how this country of contrasts will surprise you!

Tell us a little about yourself.

Where do you live? Where are you from? If those are different, can you tell us a little about what inspired your move?

I’m now back to Brasilia, my hometown in Brazil, but I’ve lived for two years in Key West, Florida. When I was a teen, I lived as an exchange student in a small town near Seattle in the U.S., and also in Mestre, Italy, a 10-minute train ride from Venice.

I guess I’m just an intrepid, curious traveler and world citizen who wants to learn more about other cultures and explore new perspectives.

If you would describe yourself as multi-cultural, tell us a bit about what culture you most identify with and why.

I’m totally Brazilian, but can’t deny my Italian traditions as my dad is Sicilian. I’m loud, laugh a lot, love to cook Italian food, and I just get thrilled when I can gather family and friends around a big table and spend the day just chatting.

Why did you decide to become a Pocket Cultures contributor?

I decided to become a Pocket Cultures contributor because I wanted to share with the world a bit more about my country and to dispel some myths and stereotypes about it, as well as become part of this multicultural group from which I can travel the world without even leaving home.

Can you describe a typical day for you?

Brasilia is still an atypical city, for we take our kids to school, go to work, then we pick them up at school and have lunch altogether at home. Lunch is all fresh and prepared at home. Then, back to work (I’m responsible for the Educational Technology area of the Bi-national Center I work for and the e-learning program) around 1:50 pm. I stay there until around 6:30 pm, I pick up the kids at the club where they practice sports. We have dinner (generally something light) around 7:30 pm, we watch TV and chat, the kids do their homework. Then, we watch the 9:00 soap opera (very popular in Brazil). The kids go to bed, I stay up with my husband, check my Facebook account, do some work on the computer, blog and go to bed.

What is the best part of living in your country? The worst?

The best part about living in my country? It’s people and the quality of life we have around, plus all the fun we have with friends and family.

In this post about a very famous Brazilian movies “The City of God”, you’ll see in the comments, some of my favorite Brazilian films and a great discussion about Brazilian movies http://brazilandbrazilians.blogspot.com/2007/05/city-of-god.html

What’s something that visitors are often surprised by when getting to know your country/culture?

Some visitors still have the stereotyped view of Brazil being simply a developing country made of social problems and poverty. This is certainly true. However, many foreigners get to understand that we cannot define Brazil by being this or that because of its regional contrasts, and mainly because of its economic contrasts. On one side you do see a Third World country, but on the other, there’s a well-developed country with one of the most modern banking systems in the world, electronic ballots that are a model for the world every time we have elections, among other aspects that surprise the ones who visit us. Plus, its cultural diversity and culinary richness is alluring to visitors. Their senses are always surprised by so many things around to explore.

Sharing travel experiences through photography

Photographer. Writer. Designer. Skier. Cyclist. Camper. Outdoor Enthusiast. That’s Jeff Bartlett’s twitter bio.

And in this interview with PocketCultures, Jeff shared his thoughts on his freelance travel writing and photography.

Jeff, are you a self-taught photographer or was there someone or something that inspired your interest in photography?

I’m definitely not self-taught. I have a diploma in Journalism and Photography from Western Academy of Photography in British Columbia, Canada. I also recently completed MatadorU’s travel photography program. My initial interest came from time spent in the mountains. I’ve always been into hiking, skiing, and cycling and have had the opportunity to visit some amazing places. Photography was the best way to share these experiences with others.

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What does your name say about you?

I’ve always taken pride in my last name. That distinctive “-ski” ending, asserting a clear and concise Polish root.

I must have first become aware of the Polish-ness of “Makowski” sometime during early grade school. There always seemed to be a few of us in every class. Those rogue Makowski’s, Jablonski’s and Kotarski’s, deviously appearing on the role call next to the Smith’s and the Johnson’s. Those poor teachers would trip over the pronunciation for at least a week.

Then, there was that one time, out on the playground at recess. It must have been around third grade. One of my kiddy classmates made up a chant to help her remember my last name. “MA has a COW that SKIS. Ma-kow-ski!” She thought it was totally cool. So did I.

Over the years, I got used to the pronunciation blunders and spelling errors. I can’t even begin to count the times when I’ve had to dictate my last name to someone. In one breath, the unfortunate receiver’s response is always something like, “How in the hell is that spelled?”, immediately followed by, “That’s Polish, isn’t it?” Polish names do that. Confuse and clarify, both at the same time.

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From Malaysia to Korea and back

LeX is a Malaysian university student who recently returned from a study exchange in Korea. Here he explains some of the differences he noticed between Malaysian and Korean culture and confirms that Malaysian food is really as good as everyone says!

First, please tell us something about yourself

Hi, I am Tan Yih Liang (陈奕良/단익량 – Chinese/Korean), my nickname is LeX.

I am Malaysian Chinese and my parents too. I was born in a small town called Butterworth which is located in the state of Penang. I live in a very average family.

My life getting into another transition after I graduated from High School, I was admitted to a Pre-University College in another state and then straight away admitted into University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur. During my junior year in University, I was awarded ASEAN scholarship to participate in Student Exchange program in South Korea for a year! And now, I am back in Malaysia to finish my study in the university. Finally, I will graduate at the end of this year very soon!

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