Comments for The Air is Full of SpicesThe Air is Full of Spices »

Comment on Resorting to Hawaii by rzemansky

rzemansky — Tue, 01 May 2012 09:29:39 +0000

I grew up in a college town and it was always strange to me to see new students arrive and see it as something fresh, even though living there as a student was different even for townies like me. No tourists though! But I hope that still helps me be aware of how I come across when I visit other people’s homes. What is your favorite part of going back?

Comment on Places and their Holidays by rzemansky

rzemansky — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 08:11:49 +0000

There’s something so fresh and thrilling about the energy and anticipation of new years celebrations! And that crowded quick home and the scarcity of transportation reminds me of trying to find a taxi out of central Dubai in 2010

Comment on Places and their Holidays by rzemansky

rzemansky — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 08:07:53 +0000

Hmmm… I think I’d do well with everything except the staying silent a whole day – I may have to try that a few times before I succeed! Though thwarting evil monsters is a pretty major motivation…

Comment on Places and their Holidays by rzemansky

rzemansky — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 08:06:45 +0000

New Zealand seems to have a similar mix of British and Island events!

Comment on Resorting to Hawaii by Miriam

Miriam — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 23:37:08 +0000

What a nice take on Hawai’i. I was born and raised there, and became somewhat allergic to the whole idea of being a tourist because it is hard to avoid the overwhelming way that tourism dominates Hawai’i. But then I left Hawai’i for the first time to go to college, and I realized just how special it is. Now that I am older and more traveled, I can go back to Hilo to visit my brother and just enjoy the Big Island for all its wonders and great people.

Comment on Places and their Holidays by Denise Shungu

Denise Shungu — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 20:31:11 +0000

it is also fun to celebrate imported holidays in this country. In Cary, North Carolina there is a yearly Diwali celebration in a park with an amphitheater. Local groups dance and sing in the afternoon and Bollywood people perform in the evening. Vendors sell clothing and statues from India and also books about India in English for children of immigrants to learn about the old country. Local Indian restaurants sell dinner. A small building displays photos and explanations of the diversity in India as well as art work which varies each year.
Beside people watching, my favorite thing is to get a box of Indian candy. It is mostly milk-based, lots of sugar, a few with lentil flour called gram flour.

Comment on Places and their Holidays by Denise Shungu

Denise Shungu — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 20:22:21 +0000

I remember my son’s description of celebrating the Ethiopean New Year (different calendar from ours). He attended the big celebration in the center of the capital. When it finished everyone had to get home quickly before the mini vans stopped running. People piled in and sat on top of each other 3 deep. A number were pretty drunk and singing ever so often. There were also 2 sheep in the van that would become someone’s feast the next day. It was a noisy, cramped, and somewhat smelly ride! He made it to Brazil at the time of Carnivale and was able to march in the parade with the group of dancers who were the second place winners that year. His college roommate’s brother was teaching in a school where the leader of that group had children attending. I assume that he still has the shirt he wore.

Comment on Places and their Holidays by Trish

Trish — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:32:05 +0000

My favorite holiday ever is the Balinese Hindu festival called Nyepi: first you build huge papier-mache effigies of evil spirits, then you parade them through the streets making as much noise as possible, then you burn them, and the next day you must be completely silent all day so the monsters can’t find their way back. Everything about Nyepi is wonderful.

Comment on Places and their Holidays by Chrystall

Chrystall — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:28:13 +0000

I’m getting used to a whole new set of holidays here on Tortola. Some I think of as very British, like the Queen’s birthday. Others are very, very Virgin Islands, like Territory Day, when we celebrate the incremental step away from the UK and toward independence; or the birthday of H. Lavity Stoutt, the territory’s first and longest-serving chief minister. You wind up learning a lot about a place from what they celebrate.

Comment on Opening the Burj Khalifa: Two Year Anniversary by Rebekah Zemansky

Rebekah Zemansky — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:06:38 +0000

So true! We were so lucky on this trip to be there when it opened, it is something I know I will never forget. In case you are interested, our trip blog where we all wrote about what we saw is here: http://asu2dubai.wordpress.com/ You can see the other students’ impressions too!