Sheron Long's Blog, page 12
November 13, 2018
Amazing Places on Earth: The Burren
The Burren reflects Ireland’s extraordinary geological heritage.
© iStock/Eugene_Remizov
Where Rocks Grow Wild
Torn between touring the Mediterranean and exploring the Arctic? See a bit of both, and experience Ireland’s natural beauty into the bargain! You can if you visit the Burren, where nature’s opposites create one of the most amazing places on earth.
Comprising less than 1% of Ireland’s national land cover, the Burren is a world of its own, quilted across northwest County Clare and southeast County Galway. More than 75% of Ireland’s native plant species flourish here, yet the Burren is 3,700 acres of glaciated rock.
Like a protective shoulder, the Burren surrounds the community of Fanore.
© Darach Glennon/Darachphotography
A Place of Stone
The Burren is a geopark, a UNESCO-designated area of geological importance. The name Burren comes...
November 5, 2018
Storytelling in Miniature
What does a postage stamp say about its country?
© Gingwa/iStock
Cultural Heritage and Traditions of the Mighty (Yet Tiny) Postage Stamp
As the popularity of “snail mail” dwindles in our digital age, it seems sadly plausible that some people today have never used a postage stamp. And that’s a pity.
Postage stamps of the world tell fascinating stories. And stamps—like the design of paper currency noted in an OIC Moments story last month—reveal much about a country’s cultural heritage and traditions.
Postal services have exploded with creativity to offer stamps that people look forward to adding to their letters and cards—like an artistic bow on a heartfelt package.
Chinese postage stamp artistry
© zjzpp163/iStock
These tiny works of art and historical significance also generate revenue and inspire collectors who value the documentation of a country’s...
October 29, 2018
Memorable Moments: When the Spirits Move You
Read on . . . if you dare!
© ThinkStock
No tricks, just treats, as we invite you to take a look at some of our favorite Halloween-inspired posts from the past.
Halloween Traditions: Spooks, Saints, and Souls
Cultural traditions abound at this time of year, when Halloween, All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day converge. Wherever you land on the globe, you’ll find a melange of traditions—religious and cultural—that invite ghosts and goblins, honor saints, or pay respect to the dead during one or all of these three days. Go to the post.
Picture-Perfect Pumpkin Carving
Two Brooklyn-based childhood friends pause their 11-month art careers to spend every day in October working until early into the morning carving, cutting, and hollowing out hundreds of orange gourds as part of their seasonal business. This post also includes a free download of...
October 23, 2018
Travel Tip: Savvy Travelers Hire Tour Guides
In Athens, tour guide Constantin Kalafakakos decodes an array
of native herbs and their traditional uses.
© Joyce McGreevy
It’s All About Cultural Context
Who needs a tour guide? Today 48-59% of U.S., European, and Asian smartphone users research and plan their entire trip to a new destination using only a mobile device. “I get all the travel tips I need online for free” is standard operating procedure.
Trouble is, the top research sites comprise brief impressions by first-time, short-term visitors—folks who arrived a few weeks before you.
So, who needs a tour guide? Travelers who value cultural context, accuracy, and certified training. Today’s tour guide typically has a degree in a specialized field, ranging from culinary or visual arts and history to environmental science.
You know where you’re going; a great local guide knows why it matters.
...
October 15, 2018
Cultural Traditions of the Japanese Tea Ceremony
The Way of Tea
© Meredith Mullins
Ichi-go Ichi-e: Life Lessons
Let the tea be simple and your hospitality heartfelt.—Sen no Rikyu*
When I entered the tea house, I suddenly felt reverential—a guest of some greater spirit.
The simple wooden walls, tatami floor, and perfect Ikebana arrangement created a sanctuary so serene that the only sounds were that of the birds in the garden and the simmering water for the tea.
I met Kozue, a student who was dressed in a silk kimono of muted tones of lilac and plum that had been passed through generations of her family. I asked her how long she has been studying the Japanese tea ceremony.
She bowed her head slightly and said, “Only 27 years.”
A lifetime of study
© Meredith Mullins
I knew then that there was a more profound layer to the seeming simplicity of the tea ceremony.
Some art forms take a lifetime to master. The...
October 9, 2018
Grand Openings
What’s behind doors and windows? In Hobbiton, New Zealand, that’s a trick question!
© Joyce McGreevy
A Cross-Cultural Tour
of Doors and Windows
With more than 12 million posts and counting, doors and windows are among the most shared objects on Instagram. Clearly, doors can be adorable and windows wonderful. But beyond pretty pictures, what cross-cultural stories do doors and windows tell?
In Lismore, Ireland, a medieval window has been silent witness to both
Sir Walter Raleigh and John F. Kennedy.
© Joyce McGreevy
In Zagreb, Croatia, a post-Civil War window showcases the city’s renaissance.
© Joyce McGreevy
When Is a Door Ajar?
Doors can seem ordinary; their job, after all, is to hang around the house. But doors are also sentinels between opposite worlds: the private and the public, the inside and the outside, the secular and the...
October 1, 2018
A Secret World of Discovery
What can we learn from this work of art?
Image photo by Meredith Mullins
Cultural Heritage and Traditions Revealed
Countries reveal their cultural heritage and traditions through art, dress, storytelling, history, heroes, architecture, monuments, museums, language, music, products, and leaders.
They are also proud to present their natural treasures such as flora, fauna, and other gifts of nature.
Natural and human-made treasures
Image photo by Meredith Mullins
What do these two images have in common?
Both of the images are from a country’s currency (paper money). The colorful coffee harvest scene appears on a five-colon bill (now out of circulation) from Costa Rica.
The drawing of the Great Wall of China appears on the one-yuan Chinese note. (China, by the way, was the first country to use paper currency, back in the Tang Dynasty.)
This banknote from Costa Rica (no...
September 24, 2018
Wild and Woolly Wordplay
Red pandas, like this one at the Wellington Zoo, New Zealand, have influenced human language.
© Joyce McGreevy
Animal Idioms Around the World
Animal idioms have burrowed into everyday wordplay since Moses was a pup. It doesn’t take a fisheye lens to get the picture. Animal words prowl the planet.
You don’t have to be a bookworm or wear a deerstalker hat to ferret out examples. A simple mouse click ponies up swarms of animal buzzwords.
Fledgling Phrases
Animal idioms are cross-cultural and nest in every language. Some are as timeless as a phoenix rising from the ashes. Others are newly hatched.
Bird idioms abound, so don’t quail. Have a lark and let wordplay take flight!
(Carmel, California)
© Joyce McGreevy
Consider the Red Panda Effect
People who experience this condition see things that aren’t there or misidentify what they do see. The term...
September 17, 2018
Whose Trip Are You Taking?
Go to that “great little place” or discover your own great little place–it’s your trip. (London)
© Joyce McGreevy
When Travel Tips Hit the Tipping Point
It begins innocently. The planning, the packing, a travel tip or two. “Roll, don’t fold, your clothes.” “If you’re heading to A, you might enjoy B and C.”
Now Sam and Kate are at the airport. They’re excited, eager to make personal travel discoveries on their very first trip overseas. New place, new people, new language, new food, new everything. They post a brief announcement on social media and get numerous “Likes.”
Here’s a crazy thought: What if you traveled as you liked to travel?
© Joyce McGreevy
A Tip or Two
Many people add well wishes. “Bon voyage!” “Enjoy!”
Some people offer suggestions. “Will you visit X? It’s lovely this time of year.” “Do...
September 10, 2018
And Now For Something Completely Different—The Big Sur Fashion Show
The Big Sur Fashion Show is so much more than a fashion show.
(Designer, model, and dancer: Jamie Oksas)
© Meredith Mullins
A Cultural Encounter with the Spirit of Community
The Fashion Week buzz is brewing in Paris, New York, and London, where unsmiling models will soon walk briskly on catwalks with haughty disdain. But we, on the California Coast, are thousands of (metaphoric and real) miles away.
We’re at The Big Sur Fashion Show—a vibrant and unconventional celebration of artistic imagination.
Elaine Gateno and Daniel Munoz are Big Sur Fashion Show regulars.
© Meredith Mullins
This event is not a no-smile zone, as in the fashion world of haute couture. This is a party. A cultural encounter with community spirit like no other. A fashion show for, of, and by the people. And everyone is smiling.
Neva Case—”Living the Dream” (in plastic, paper,...
