Maple toffee is a winter tradition in Canada. It is made by pouring maple syrup onto snow. Thanks to Xiaozhuli for sharing this one!

Pocketcultures loves to discover food from around the world. If you have some photos, why not join our Food of the World Flickr group?

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“Doe maar gewoon, dan doe je al gek genoeg”

Act normally, that is crazy enough - is a favorite Dutch expression.

The Dutch landscape extends beyond the tulips, cheese, dykes, canals and windmills as anyone living in The Netherlands for some time would vouch for.

Having spent the last 1.4 years here in expatriation, I have come across many of the traits from the Dutch character set - some apparent, some needing an observing eye.

The Dutch Way

• The Dutch are firm believers in equality in all spheres of life. Nobody has an undue advantage over the other.

• They are friendly people - kind, polite and helpful to tourists. They become your guiding force during the initial days of expatriation.

• Moderation is the key to a successful living for the Dutch. Show-offs are not encouraged in any field.

• There are probably more bikes than people in Holland. It is the most prized possession of the Dutch. This reflects well in their fitness and healthy lifestyle.

• The Dutch are very good planners - week days as well as the week ends are planned, well in advance.

• The Dutch lifestyle is regulated by diaries. It is probably the single most popular gift on the new year!! Everything is jotted down religiously in the diaries from meetings to leisure time.

• The Dutch seek consensus whether it be a meeting or discussion. They live by the principle of agreement and harmony.

• The Dutch enjoy a great family life and firmly believe that money cannot buy happiness. The personal and professional lives are kept separate.

• They are a private bunch and emotions are kept under check during dealings with strangers.

• Weather is the most discussed topic in short conversations. The Netherlands weather definitely merits this, what with it showing all colours from snow, to rain, to wind, to sun.

• The Dutch like to practice their English. As soon as you start off in your broken Dutch, they start speaking to you in English.

• Thanks to their spirit of openness and frankness, humour resonates well with most of them.

• ‘Koninginnedag‘ (Queen’s Day), and ‘Zomer Carnaval‘ (Summer Carnival) are the most awaited holidays, perhaps for their colourful splendour and unique attributes.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments!

This is Arwa’s first post for PocketCultures and we’re very pleased to welcome her to the team. Arwa is originally from India and is now based in the Netherlands.

We’re looking forward to reading more about Arwa’s comparisons between Indian and Dutch culture. In the meantime you can find her on her blog Orangesplaash.

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Navigating Chicago’s cultural stew: diverse cultures of Chicago

I have the luck of living and working in two of the most diverse neighborhoods not just in the city of Chicago, but also the whole USA: Rogers Park and Uptown. 

I was reminded of this fact by several people I met on a recent Monday night as I stopped into my favorite Rogers Park watering hole. It’s just a little neighborhood dive; cheap beer, pool table, dart boards, cracked tile, and the standard wood-paneling of any old-style American bar.

The bartender that night was Cuban-American, and I ended up in conversation with 3 Sudanese refugees. One of the Sudanese fellows wound up talking to an ethnically-mixed gentleman who grew up in Hyde Park (15+ miles away) about politics, while I spoke with his two friends about Sorghum and Millet (two types of grain very common in Africa) and the resulting beverages one can make from them… among other topics.

We were suddenly interrupted by a Mexican-American gentleman… he was either perturbed by the fact that I was speaking Spanish to the Sudanese immigrants (I was doing my best Cuban accent for them and the bartender), or that I wouldn’t speak Spanish with him.

In any case, he had some choice Spanish words for me, and I decided to head home for the evening. I could have been upset, but the ludicrousness of the situation just made me laugh. There wasn’t a potential for cross-cultural misunderstanding… there was going to be cross-cultural misunderstanding. It was as if five drivers obeying five different sets of driving laws all ended up on the same road.

I returned the next day to watch a hockey game with some friends, and found six Montenegrin immigrants (former Yugoslavia) quite jovially singing traditional songs together.

I talked to the bartender, and neither of us could figure out what had made the one gentleman so upset the night before. The best part was after I left, he apparently was trying to ask the Sudanese refugees if they would “step outside… I got my people outside,” in other words, he wanted to fight. The Sudanese gentleman had been confused: “What’s outside? Why would we want to go outside?” The bartender and I had a good laugh over that one.

In the Uptown neighborhood where I work, the maintenance staff of our building is mostly Bosnian. There’s a refugee/immigrants’ services organization that operates out of our building, and it’s not uncommon to see people in full Hijabs, Burkas, traditional Afghan dress, etc. entering and leaving the building. This is juxtaposed with a slew of “native” Chicagoans, with backgrounds typically from Poland, Germany, Ireland, Italy and other European countries, as well as a sizeable population of African Americans, and newer Mexican immigrants (and native-born Mexican-Americans). There is “Little Vietnam” just north of my office on Argyle, where you’ll find a wide plethora of Asian immigrants, and the buildings East of Sheridan road along the lake where you’ll find large numbers of retired people and dog-walking professionals living in condos.

It gets confusing sometimes; elevator etiquette, for example. Many Americans would prefer to completely ignore people they see in an elevator, even if they may have ridden together dozens, or even hundreds of times. This is generally my preference too. However, there are certain US subcultures, who generally believe it is rude not to speak to people. So every so often, I’ll adopt my usual glazed-eyed stare at the wall while the elevator goes up, and I’ll hear a *cough*, and a “Well, how do you do today too sir?”, indicating displeasure with my failure to greet them or make eye contact. I’ll smile sheepishly, and say “Oh, excuse me, I’m fine, how are you?” and do my best to strike up polite conversation, usually about the weather, sports, or lately, the economy.

It’s inevitable. You can make your actions as contextually specific as you want, but there are simply too many cultures present at any given time to always be able to effectively communicate. You just try your best, and are prepared to laugh at the results.

Chicago’s claim to fame has always been immigration. In horribly over-simplified order: Irish, Germans, British, Scandinavians, and Swedes; later African-Americans, Czechs, Lithuanians, Serbs, Croats, Greeks, Russian and Polish Jews, Italians, Chinese, Koreans, and Vietnamese; and more recently Mexicans, Caribbeans, Central Americans, Indians, a new smaller wave of Eastern Europeans, Africans and Middle Easterners. 

Neighborhoods have changed drastically in terms of main ethnic group since the early waves of immigration as well: Mexicans have replaced once-Czech Pilsen, though the East Side of Pilsen has lately become gentrified with artists and other non-Latinos. The major Puerto Rican neighborhood in the city, Humboldt Park, was previously a Jewish and Polish neighborhood, and before that, was mostly populated with Germans. Rogers Park formerly had large Jewish and Cuban populations, but is now a mix of most everybody.

Both neighborhoods have historically been points of entry for various immigrant groups, and as a result, in the stretch of Broadway and Sheridan road between them, I can buy pretty much any food product in the world. Sometimes on a Saturday, I’ll pick a recipe from a country I’ve never been to (and never cooked), and just try to find all the ingredients on my way home.

In the summertime, everyone in Rogers Park comes out to the beach, and you can listen to music from every corner of the globe, and smell all the different foods cooking on the park’s grills. Kids play soccer, football, or softball; adults sit and talk, and a few local neighborhood characters who like to sleep on the beach drink beers out in the sunshine on park benches. We don’t always all get along, but we try.

All photos courtesy of Rogers Park in 1000 words

This is Sean Oliver’s first post for PocketCultures. Why not say hello in the comments?

Sean is a project manager for Language & Culture Worldwide, a cross-cultural training and consulting firm. Sean grew up in Ohio, ending up in Chicago after extended periods in Costa Rica, Chile and California. He now has no intentions of living anywhere else; Chicago is one of his favorite places on the planet. Sean will be writing on PocketCultures mostly about American culture, and drawing attention to the vast differences between Americans across ethnicity, class, gender, generations, etc.

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If someone asked me to describe my country in one or two words, I wouldn’t think twice about it.

“Pura vida” would be the answer. The most commonly used phrase in Costa Rica literally means “Pure life”, but the saying goes beyond its simple translation: it’s a way of life. Contextually, then, it symbolizes the idea of simply enjoying life and being happy. As the Urban Dictionary states, it’s a synonym of “hakuna matata” and reflects the relaxed lifestyle of Costa Ricans.

Foreigners can hear this Spanish expression in informal settings as a greeting, a farewell and as a way to express gratitude or satisfaction. It can also refer to someone who is nice and friendly.

-¡Hola Tamara!, ¿Pura vida?              -Hi Tamara, ¿Pura vida?

-Muy bien, gracias a Dios.                   -Very well, thank God.

-¡Diay Felipe! ¿Cómo vas?                  -Hey, Felipe! How’s it going?

-Pura vida, ¿y vos?                             -Pura vida, and you?

-¡Nos vemos mañana!                          -See you tomorrow!

-Pura vida, ¡chao!                               -Pura vida, bye!

-¡Muchas gracias!                                -Thank you very much!

-¡Pura vida!                                         -¡Pura vida!

-¿Usted conoce a María?                    -Do you know Maria?

-¡Claro! Ella es muy pura vida.           -Sure! She’s very pura vida.

But where did Costa Ricans take this phrase from? According to a study of the expression by Anna Marie Trester, a film called Pura vida came to Costa Rica from Mexico in 1956, directed by Gilberto Martínez Solares. In the movie, “Pura vida” is the expression of eternal optimism used by a comic character, played by the actor Antonio Espino, who unfortunately can’t seem to do anything right. While a small population used it then, the phrase “Pura vida” was used nationwide by 1970.

Since this exclamation has become so popular in Costa Rica throughout the years, it is now common to find different kinds of businesses named “Pura vida”. Touristic ones such as hotels, language schools, travel and real state agencies, among others, make use of this idiomatic expression, even outside Costa Rica. Along with businesses and advertisement, the phrase is a must in souvenirs of all kinds. That’s the reason why “Pura vida” is even found in Costa Rican Spanish dictionaries.

Happiness, well-being, conformity and satisfaction is what “Pura vida” reflects; it identifies a Costa Rican wherever he or she may be. When you say, hear or see “Pura vida”, the facial expression of the person changes and a smile is drawn on his face. It is a very meaningful word for us “ticos” (Costa Ricans) because it reminds us of home and its beauty.

Just as Dr. Delise Dickard expressed in her article The simple bliss of ‘pura vida‘, even a tourist can understand what “pura vida” means by spending some time in this small country in Central America.

So, if you want to know what living a peaceful, simple, uncluttered life with a deep appreciation for nature, family and friends, just come to Costa Rica and experience it yourself! ¡PURA VIDA!

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No need to know Spanish to follow this video from Ciudad Bolívar in Colombia. We’re going on a moped ride to buy empanadas - hold tight!

Empanadas are eaten in Spain, Portugal and South America. Each country has its own version, but they are always made from dough with some kind of filling inside. Looks good?

Empanadas de atún - tuna fish empanadas from Argentina: credit

Do you like empanadas? What’s your favourite kind?

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Catalunya is in the north-east part of Spain and has a distinct language, culture and traditions of its own. Whereas in Spain Christmas is celebrated with a big family meal on the evening of 24th December, in Catalunya Christmas is celebrated on the 25th with a big lunch.

Tió the magic log. Credit

But before lunch, generally in the morning, (although some families make it on Christmas eve), we have a particular Catalan tradition, where children and not so children make “cagar el Tió”, which as a literal translation would be to make “the log poop”.

OK forget the translation, better I explain it! So you get a log and children feed it starting a couple of weeks before Christmas (usually Santa Llúcia on the 13th december). During the night parents remove the food and next day the child thinks that the log has eaten it, and it’s good because the more it eats the more presents it will “poop” or give.

On Christmas day, children go to the kitchen and pray, then they get a stick and while singing a song which can change from area to area in the differents parts of Catalonia but all about the “Tió”, they hit the log which is covered with a blanket.

caga tió,
tió de Nadal,
no caguis arengades,
que són massa salades
caga torrons
que són més bons!”

(poop log, christmas log, don’t poop salty sardines; they are too salty. poop nougats, which are nicer!)

“Tio” under his blanket. Credit

When the children finish the song, they remove the blanket and underneath they find the presents! (which while praying in the kitchen the parents have hidden under the log and covered with the blanket) and really, children are so happy they don’t think how come the log “poops” presents.

If the child has been not behaving properly during the last year at some point the “Tió” will give coal, which usually is a candy with the aspect of coal. At my home however, as we were good children (of course!) the coal was put at the last try to indicate that the “Tió” didn’t have anything else to poop.

Unfortunately like other traditions this one was fading with the omnipresent Santa Claus, however, recently it seems it’s beginning to be “trendy” again.

This was a guest post by Meritxell in Catalunya. Thanks Meritxell!

Visit again tomorrow for Christmas in New Zealand, by Marie.

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We often refer to ‘The Middle East’ as one region, but it is actually made up of more than 20 countries and territories. Most of these are Arabic speaking.

Middle Eastern countries share some cultural similarities, but each country (or region) has its own distinct culture and these cultures reflect on the spoken language too - each Arabic speaking country has its own spoken version of Arabic, known as a dialect.

The Arabic speaking world. Credit

Linguists disagree on whether Arabic dialects are really dialects, or whether they are languages in their own right. Sometimes they are called variants as a compromise.

A common past

All Arabic currently used stems from the same original Arabic, also called FusHa. The modern evolution of FusHa (known as Modern Standard Arabic, or MSA) is quite different to the one spoken a couple of thousand years ago. To get the picture, just think of how much English has changed in the few hundred years since Shakespeare’s time.

So it’s natural that as spoken Arabic evolved over the years, regional differences cropped up, leaving each community with its own particular dialect.

The relationship between MSA and local dialects seems complex at first. MSA is taught in schools and used for official communications, so those with an education can comfortably switch between local and standard Arabic. Newspapers are written in MSA, but national tv stations usually speak either MSA or the local version of Arabic, depending on the show.

The Main Arabic Dialects

Arabic dialects can be divided into 4 main groups:

Arabian dialects – spoken in Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, UAE, Qatar, Yemen and Saudi Arabia;

Mesopotamian dialects - spoken in Iraq;

Syro-Lebanese (Levent) dialects - spoken in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and Southern Turkey;

Egyptian dialects – spoken in Egypt;

Maghreb dialects – spoken in Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.

The Maghreb dialects also divide into sub-groups, with the Tunisian and Libyan versions having more Berber influence.

It’s all about culture

So all the Arabic dialects share the same basic structure, but each is modified by local cultures, histories, traditions and habits.

Fatima is a university student from Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. She shared some of her opinions and experiences as a native Arabic speaker:

“If you look into north African Arabic (which to me is the most difficult to understand) you notice a lot of French influence stemming from the French occupation. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon etc you can notice the French and the Turkish influence; in central Saudi Arabia and also I guess in Yemen, Arabic is more pure, while in Eastern Saudi Arabia (which is where I am from) and in the other gulf states you can notice the Persian and Indian influence. It all goes back to the history of each area.

These days English media also have a lot of influence all over the Arabic world, I mean we listen to English songs, we watch English movies and TV shows…etc so “OK”, “yes”, “yup”, “no”, “nope”, “cool”, “hi”, “bye”, “whatever”, “please”, “sorry”, “thank you”, “baby”, “music”, “movie”…etc are all words commonly mixed up with Arabic in everyday conversations.”

Pop culture. Credit

Dialects don’t stop communication

Fatima also says that any Arabic speaker who understands the differences in local customs and cultures has no problem communicating with other Arabic speakers:

“As a Gulf speaker, I’m familiar with other Gulf speakers. Yes, even within the Gulf there are differences! But they’re the same as English tomatoes and American tomatoes or taking a shower vs. having a shower,

Arabic spoken in North Africa (Morocco, Libya, Tunisia and Algeria) to me is most difficult because the local Arabic they speak is mixed with a lot of French. But when they speak to other Arabs, they tend to use their Arabic words along with some FusHa to make their speech more understandable.”

A reunited future?

Some see Arabic dialects as a threat to the Arabic language, arguing that they weaken the status of standard Arabic as a world language.

Others think that differences between local versions of Arabic are increased due to high illiteracy rates and restricted movement among people who live in Arabic speaking countries. These are factors which could change over time.

Old media. Credit

The rise over the last 10 years of pan-Arabic media such as the tv stations MBC and Al Jazeera mean that even Arabs who don’t travel are hearing more Arabic from different countries - although presenters may speak in standard Arabic, people phone in and participate from all over the Arabic world.

Increasing internet access across the Arab world could help further in removing some barriers. And as the Arabic blogosphere blooms, the future of Arabic in all its forms is looking bright.

Are you an Arabic speaker? Please share your opinions with us!

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