If you are in The Netherlands, your chances of not bumping into any road side stall/vending points selling the world famous “Patat Frites” is very small - nearly zero probability. Also known as the “Vlaamse Frites“, the traditional Dutch fries consist of long, thick potato fingers.

They are usually served in a paper cone, topped with mayonnaise. Different types of toppings are usually available including knooflok (garlic) sauce, tomato ketchup, fritessaus (a less fattier version of mayo) or the peanut sauce. These toppings are, however, not free. You can expect to pay a small charge for each one you add to your frites.

Photo credit

Frites are an extremely popular snack in the Dutch culture and one usually finds the Dutch savoring the frites on all occasions - while watching a high adrenaline football match or taking a leisurely stroll in the park or shopping in the streets with the kids.

So, if you are in The Netherlands, or planning to visit any time soon - don’t forget to grab your share of the patat.

Read more:
The Dutch Way: Arwa shares her impressions of Dutch culture
They’re special, my people: Thoughts on being Dutch
Story of a Dutch-Spanish wedding

At 4 am on July, 15, 2010, after a fourteen hour long debate, the Argentinean Senate approved the law that authorizes same-sex marriages. 33 senators voted in favour of the bill, 27 against and 3 abstained. Argentina thus became the first Latin American country and one of the few around the world to legalize gay marriage.

The debate became very heated at times. Every senator had the chance to speak; topics like homosexuality and what it means to be homosexual, religion, traditional family values and discrimination were discussed.

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Milton Street Dairy by Goeftheref on Flickr

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. Well, OK, it’s not as dramatic as all that, but the dairy, the local word for a small shop, is an important part of New Zealand culture.

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After talking about greetings around the world with our friends in PocketCultures, I would like to give a more detailed answer to this question:

The first thing one needs to know about language in the Philippines is that we have lots of them. We’re an archipelago of different cultural communities with various languages and dialects (not to mention foreign influences that enriched our languages). English is widely spoken here and we also have the vernacular Filipino with Tagalog as its base. Up to this day, this has become an issue to some who belong in other ethno-linguistic groups. It deserves a separate post.

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As much as Rajasthan is famous for its beautiful palaces, majestic forts and colorful folk dances, the state is also a food lover’s paradise. As I write this post, my heart is longing for all the Rajasthani sweets I have grown up eating!

Rajasthani cuisine has a variety of delicious and lip smacking sweets and snacks. So, if you have a sweet tooth, try out “Makhaniya Lassi” or “Mawa ni Kachori“; if you are a brave heart and cannot resist spices, then go for either “Bikaneri Bhujiya” or “Mirchi Bada”.

If you are not aware of any of these, don’t worry. Just read on :-

Makhaniya Lassi

Made up of sweetened yogurt, with a dollop of cream, this is my personal favorite. A pinch of saffron here and butter there - the drink is ready.

Makhaniya Lassi is a cool drink to beat the extreme summer temperatures. For added flavor, a host of dried fruits are sprinkled on the top.

The Lassi is easy to prepare at home - takes a few minutes and is generally had after the meal. Photo credit

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As I sat on the edge of a hill overlooking the beach in Vermilion, Ohio on the 4th of July (Independence Day in the USA), I looked across Lake Erie to the twinkling lights on the tall amusement rides of Cedar Point: mecca for roller-coaster enthusiasts the world over. I spent a week in the area visiting family, but as I’ve probably been to Cedar Point about 500 times in my life (I’m not exaggerating), I opted out of spending $45 and fighting the crowds this year.

In any case, Cedar Point puts on a large display of professional-grade fireworks over the lake on Independence Day every year, which can be seen for 20 miles. The pyrotechnicians who are in charge of the show must be licensed and trained, and these types of shows are heavily regulated (as they’re basically shooting off bombs, and these have been known to go astray and kill someone every now and again).

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This is the first in a new series where we explore different social situations from the point of view of our contributors around the world.

Today’s topic: how to greet people in different countries.

Credit

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