Spain

Picture Postcards: Clothing in Minorca

Happy December!

This month we are looking at clothing around the world on Picture Postcards. Our contributor, Marta from Spain, has sent in this photo by Joana Muñoz of a shoe from Minorca. She says; “It’s a typical shoe from Minorca (Balearic Islands) called abarca in Spanish, avarca in Catalan, made from recycled tyres and leather. Seen throughout Spain during the hot and long summer holidays.” 

 

See more:
Horchata de Chufa from Spain
Funny Photo from Spain 
Graffiti in Granada, Spain 

Picture Postcards: Granizados from Spain

This delicious looking drink photo was sent in by our contributor Marta, from Spain.

She says, “GRANIZADO DE FRESA AND GRANIZADO DE LIMÓN. Ingredients= Strawberry or Lemon juice + water + sugar. (There are many types of granizados, coffee, kiwi, Baileys… you name it!)”

Read more:
Can you learn Spanish in Catalunya?
Five Tips for Raising a Bilingual Child
A Truly Spanglish Couple

Horchata de Chufa from Spain

This month on Picture Postcards we are taking a look at non-alcoholic drinks from around the world. Our contributor from Spain, Marta, wanted to share this photo of Horchata de chufa and a little bit of information. She says,

“Horchata de chufa is a refreshing drink from Valencia, Spain. It is made of tigernuts and is served cold during the summer throughout Spain. There is a Regulatory Council that ensures the quality and origin of the chufas with protected designation of origin. If you like almonds, hazelnuts and milk, you’ll probably like it, but it has a very peculiar taste, either you love it or hate it. Horchata can even replace milk for people who are lactose intolerant and its nutritional properties are excellent.”

Sounds good to me!

Read more:
The rain in Spain stays mainly in…
Futbolín: The origins of foosball
School Days Around the World

From our contributors: week of October 25th

We continue with our bi-weekly roundup of articles written by some members of our contributors team on their personal blogs.

Sandra, our contributor from Portugal, published a series of posts where she pairs a Dutch flower with a Portuguese song. A fun and entertaining way to enjoy beautiful flowers and great music.

Jenna, our contributor from Poland, describes her backpacking journey across Poland, visiting the towns where her ancestors came from and how those places have shaped the person she is today.

“And I’m even more dumbfounded by the history of seemingly coincidental connections that shaped my family past and who I am. Each of my great-grandparents moved from these very similar places in Poland to America – alone. As far as I know, they all met and married in America. Yet, their home villages were all so much alike – places that have probably retained these similar characteristics for over a century.”

Marta, our contributor from Spain, writes about 48H Open House BCN, an event during which more than 160 buildings open their doors to the public.

“48H Open House BCN means the chance to visit more than 160 amazing buildings in Barcelona, next weekend, and completely for free. I think it’s a really interesting activity, as many of the buildings are not usually open to the public for a guided visit.”

Mike, our contributor from Japan, brings us photo essay about old staircases in Okinawa.

“On the outer islands of Okinawa, Japan there are many old caves and sacred wells. Some of them are pretty cool and they make great subjects for photography.”

Read more

From our contributors: week of October 11
Italian food lover in California
Ethiopian art and culture

Picture Postcards: Graffiti in Granada, Spain

Today’s lovely Picture Postcard was dropped into our Flickr group by Kelly and was snapped in Granada, Spain. Thanks, Kelly!

This month we are extending our look at photos of graffiti and street art. If you have photos to share we’d love to see them – please send them to our Picture Postcards of the World photo group on Flickr.

Read more:
Funny photo from Spain
The rain in Spain stays mainly in…
Always Evolving: Some languages of the world and where they come from

Hand gestures from around the world

Hand gestures play an essential role in nonverbal communication. However, the same gesture may have different meanings -or even none- in different cultures. This collaborative post is an effort to bridge that gap.

India – Namaste

Namaste literally means “I bow down to you”, or “Salutations to you”, but it is used in the sense a handshake is used in the western world. For us, no matter whether the person we greet is older or younger, important or not, a man or a woman, he/she has to be greeted with due respect, and the most common way is to join our hands as you can see my son doing in the image, and say, “Namaste”.  When we are greeting an older person or someone important, we bow down a bit. This shows the additional respect due to that person. (more…)