Matador Network's Blog, page 2055
September 4, 2015
Things Canadians miss after leaving
Photo: Charly Meunier
1. Caesars.
Go to any bar outside of Canada and order a Caesar and they’ll tell you they don’t have salads. You’ll long for the perfect hangover-curing, brunch companion as others mock your love of a drink that is in fact, partly clam juice. And no, a Bloody Mary isn’t “kind of the same thing.”
2. The changing seasons.
It’s a national pastime to complain about the weather, but without -30 degree winter snowmaggedons we wouldn’t appreciate our beaming hot Canadian summers. Every season has its beauty — we just got lucky and got four of them. (And two separate wardrobes.)
3. Ketchup chips, Hickory Sticks, and Crispy Crunch.
And in extreme cases, you’ll order them on Amazon.
4. The Hockey night in Canada tune.
Hockey fan or not, when that Saturday night tune comes on CBC, you know our boys are hitting the ice. We may not always win, but when we get close, this country’s united fandom is unbeatable.
For more like this, check out 30 things you'll never hear a Canadian say
5. The convenience of Tim Hortons.
We all agree — the coffee isn’t great. But there is some comfort in knowing that no matter where you are in Canada, a bagel and cream cheese or a double double for a toonie aren’t too far away.
6. Cottage country, stargazing on docks, and the comfort of Muskoka chairs.
There is nothing quite like filling up with s’mores, dousing out the fire, and laying down on the dock with, above you, a blanket of stars. These are the moments that make winter seem worth it.
7. The hidden wealth of realizing just how much your collection of loonies and toonies add up to.
Complain about the bulge in your wallet all you want but when you sprawl those coins on your table and realize you have $20, you know you’re winning.
8. Being understood when you want to buy a “two-four” or a “mickey”.
The same applies for finishing sentences with “eh?” and using a “u” in words like neighbour and colour. And sometimes you just want to “give’r!” and put on a “toque.”
9. Hearing the word ‘sorry’ on repeat.
We say ‘sorry’ a lot, but when you hear it less and less you’ll start to realize just how polite we really are.
10. The natural beauty of our country.
There is no denying it — Canada is a stunning place. From the Banff Mountains to Lake Louise to the read earth of P.E.I. and the flat plains of the Prairies. It might just take you leaving Canada to realize just how good we have it. 
20 differences between a normal friend and an Iowa friend
Photo: Wolfgang Lonien
1.
A normal friend gets grossed out by the mud on your shoe.
An Iowa friend is impressed by the quality of soil you managed to track into the house.
2.
A normal friend brags about biking 25 miles yesterday.
An Iowa friend did Ragbrai this year. Twice.
3.
A normal friend asks you if you want to go to Chipotle.
An Iowa friend, when forced to go to Chipotle, brings along their own Panchero’s queso.
4.
A normal friend suggests you stay at home to avoid the snow.
An Iowa friend knows that 380 is more than cleared by 9am and it’ll be fine. What are you, a baby?
5.
A normal friend can’t believe you’re stuck behind a tractor on the road.
An Iowa friend excitedly waves at Bill.
6.
A normal friend doesn’t understand why you want to go to the Nickelback concert.
An Iowa friend is equally excited just to watch someone play guitar on a megatron.
7.
A normal friend asks you where all the vegetarian options are at your party.
An Iowa friend is too distracted by the bacon tater tot casserole to notice.
8.
A normal friend eats a Maid-Rite with a spoon and still leaves a giant mess.
An Iowa friend leaves their table pristine like they weren’t even there.
9.
A normal friend texts you on Saturday afternoons and expects a response.
An Iowa friend knows you’re MIA till the game is over.
10.
A normal friend thinks you’re too nice to say how you really feel.
An Iowa friend tells that friend to STFU and keep a lid on it until they know what they’re talking about.
11.
A normal friend can’t believe how many hipsters are in Iowa City.
An Iowa friend is already making a beeline for a peanut butter mocha at Java House.
12.
A normal friend wakes up to that loud thump on the door at 6am.
An Iowa friend will get up two hours later and gets the Des Moines Register eventually.
13.
A normal friend can’t believe you’d drive all the way to St. Louis to see a pro sports game.
An Iowa friend is already planning your next trip to Chicago.
14.
A normal friend is confused as to what “Hy-Vee” means.
An Iowa friend can’t wait to make sure all the employees are indeed smiling.
15.
A normal friend “can’t wait to see Amish people!”
An Iowa friend doesn’t bat an eye when they pull into K-Mart.
This story was produced through the travel journalism programs at MatadorU. Learn More
16.
A normal friend asks you if you usually vote in the presidential election.
An Iowa friend challenges you to see who’s shaken more candidates’ hands.
17.
A normal friend sends you a greeting card to express their condolences.
An Iowa friend leaves a homemade apple pie on your back porch.
18.
A normal friend asks you when you got a cat if they see kitty litter in your trunk.
An Iowa friend texts you for a bailout, when they’ve just used up the last of theirs.
19.
A normal friend tries to find Iowa on a map but points to Idaho or Ohio.
An Iowa friend doesn’t get confused by vowels.
20.
A normal friend asks how Michelle Bachman got as far as she did.
Okay, fine. An Iowa friend can’t explain it either. 
Indonesia has the greatest ocean on earth, and these 13 photographers prove it
Selfie with style in Jellyfish lake by Parnupong Norasethkamol on 500px
2. A wall of fish, Komodo Island
Got some Fish by Thomas Conrad on 500px
3. Duck diving in Bali
Duck dive by Arti Firsov on 500px
4. Giant turtle, North Sulawesi
Big T. by Andrey Narchuk on 500px
5. Cruising at Uluwatu, Bali
Tim Latte at Uluwatu by Tom Ellis on 500px
6. The Thysanostoma Thysanura jellyfish
Thysanostoma thysanura II by Jean François Lacilla on 500px
7. Young barracuda swarm, Barracuda Point, Sipadan
Swarm Theory by Alex Solich on 500px
8. Padang Padang, Bali
Padang – Indonésia by Fabricio Garcia on 500px
9. A baby turtle, Sangalaki Island
The long journey by Marcello Di Francesco on 500px
10. Unique underwater scenery of Sangeang Volcano, Sumbawa
Nymph in the water #3 by Parnupong Norasethkamol on 500px
11. Soft corals, Misool, Raja Ampat Islands, West Papua
Pick your Color by Gabriel de Leon on 500px
12. Liberty Wreck, Tulamben, Bali
Diver and Coral Window by Mike Veitch on 500px
13. Chasing Manta Rays, Nusa Lembongan
Manta by Evelyn Pritt on 500px
How to eat sushi
WE HERE IN THE WEST ARE RELATIVELY new to the idea of eating sushi. So it’s understandable that we have no clue what we’re doing when it comes to sushi etiquette. But there IS a right and a wrong way to eat sushi, and if you want to travel to Japan and eat some delicious sushi without looking like a completely oblivious idiot, you’re going to need to learn it. Fortunately for us, Peter Arkle, a New York-based graphic designer, created this infographic to help break down the do’s and don’ts of sushi etiquette. 
9 reasons you should never date an Israeli guy
Photo: Israel_photo_gallery
1. He only eats salads.
But his salad game is on point. He chops his vegetables super tiny, which somehow makes the final product taste so much better. He’s such a salad master, he even eats them for breakfast. But you don’t have to worry, his breakfasts usually feature 10 other platters for you to choose from, if breakfast greens aren’t your thing.
2. He’ll use up all your hot water.
Those years in mandatory military service also translated into an unparalleled appreciation for the luxury of having a shower whenever he feels like it. So, indulge he does, showering every morning and every night (sometimes even more). This also translates to your space. Because he was used to military rules, he always makes the bed, picks up his clothes, and keeps your apartment really tidy.
3. He’s way better with languages than you are.
He’ll put your little bit of high school Spanish to shame — because he’s at least bilingual, and probably even trilingual. Israel itself has three languages — Hebrew, English, and Arabic. All Israelis start learning English in elementary school, and being fluent was a requirement for him to graduate university. He also probably speaks a bit of Arabic (at least a few good swears), and maybe even Russian.
4. He thinks he needs two birthdays.
Because the Jewish calendar is different from the Western calendar, yeah, he gets two birthdays. And it seems like the Jewish calendar has way more celebrations than any other religion or culture. Every month, he has something to celebrate and feast over, or lament and fast about.
5. He’s way too straightforward.
Whatever your Israeli boyfriend thinks, he will tell you, especially when it comes to your relationship. You always know where you stand. There’s no game-playing, or waiting a few days to call, or holding off on the power of text. He’ll likely be the one to ask you out, to tell you that he likes you, and to tell you that he loves you. And when he tells you that you look beautiful, he means it.
This also means he’ll tell you when your carrot soup sucks and that your other dress looks better.
6. His mom is going to be higher on speed dial than you.
No matter how much you think you call or text him, don’t worry. He’s already comfortable with smothering. His mom definitely calls and texts more.
He talks to at least a few of his family members every day, and sometimes talks to his mom twice a day. She’ll double check he’s eating a good breakfast, and that he’s dressing appropriately for the weather. There’s no bond like an Israeli mom and her son, but then again, he’s close with everyone in his family.
7. His curse words sound like spells from Harry Potter.
Half muttered, half spat out, Israelis know how to swear with a vengeance in a language that sounds completely dark side. And with meanings like “your mother’s vagina” (Arabic “kus-hemic”), maybe it’s better you can’t understand.
8. Politics are a borderline obsession with him.
He watches the news like its his job, and keeps a special eye on every single thing that goes on in Israel. For him, politics are and should be a part of every conversation, even date night and when he meets your parents for the first time. And he’s not just confined to his own country, he’s also informed and opinionated about politics in the US and Iran — and he’s not afraid to debate about them.
9. He believes he’s a doctor.
His time in the IDF prepared him for all sorts of crises, including injury. Whether you cut the tip of your finger off, or burn your whole hand in boiling water, your Israeli boyfriend knows how to fix it.
He’ll dress your wound professionally, seal it with a kiss, and remain calm the entire while. 
I’m an ‘unskinny Asian,’ here’s what that’s done to my self esteem.
Photo: David D
Growing up as an Asian American, I knew I would never have the long legs or double-lidded blue eyes of the models that graced the TV screens and magazines covers. I recognized early that it would be biologically impossible for me to achieve the majority of Western beauty standards, and I was okay with that.
Instead, I contented myself with believing I could do fairly well by Asian standards. My nose was upright, my hair was sleek and straight. Surrounded by petite Asian adults, I also assumed that I would grow up to be the same as them. Effortlessly, easily, thin.
Then puberty arrived.
No, “arrived” is too passive of a word. Puberty blistered across my body, ravaging my hormones, skin, bones, and self esteem all in one shot. I put on pound after pound. I worked harder than ever at swim practice, thinking it would help keep my weight in check, but instead my thighs thickened and my shoulders bulked up. I slowly, and painfully, realized I wasn’t blessed with the fast metabolism and birdlike bone structure I thought was a given.
I’m lucky my westernized parents never forced any sort of “girls should be docile and fragile” ideal on me, but that didn’t protect me from family and friends who still thought I ought to look the part. Aunts clucked their tongues at my round thighs. Family friends took my mother aside and muttered in low concerned tones about how wide I was getting.
It is a terrible, terrible thing to have people openly dissect the changes in your body that you are powerless against. I lived with two standards of beauty, neither of which told me any part of my body was worth loving.
I continued to struggle with my weight all throughout middle school and high school, oscillating between hating how I looked and hating how I felt about how I looked. I knew I had body image issues, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to obtain my distorted ideals of beauty anyway. By age 16, I had tried fasting, juice diets, cutting out rice, calorie-counting, lettuce diets, kickboxing, and more.
Some methods, like exercise classes and eliminating soda, certainly made me healthier, but I never got my weight down to the number I wanted. Other methods, like starving myself, only added to the colossally fucked-up web of low self-esteem, perfectionism, model minority mayhem, impostor syndrome, and distorted body image that was my mind.
There was a point in this past year where I was eating about 800 calories a day. I would come home, do my homework, guzzle a giant can of green tea with a yogurt, and then go running. I lost weight, but I was also absolutely miserable. Then I would snap, binge-eat everything I could get my hands on in the fridge, and restart the cycle.
I ate when I wasn’t hungry, then restricted myself when I was. Food stopped being nourishment to me. It wasn’t even a reward or punishment, but a lens through which I viewed every aspect of my life.
I hit rock bottom sometime in March. I had skipped lunch that day in favor of studying for my biology and English tests. By the time I got home after speech practice, I was absolutely ravenous. One moment of indulgence led to another, and by the end of it I had eaten four bowls of pesto pasta, two red bean cakes, and an entire pint of mango ice cream.
I ended up rubbing the back of my throat bloody that night, trying to make myself throw up with the back of a toothbrush. When nothing would come up, I curled up on the bathroom floor and cried for two hours.
I told no one. Not my mom, not my boyfriend, not my closest friends. I don’t know what I felt more ashamed of at the time, the incredibly dangerous methods I was trying to lose weight with, or the fact that they weren’t working. Maybe it was both.
Slenderness is part of the beauty standard for most cultures. But part of the reason the pressure to be thin in East Asian culture is so suffocating is because it’s assumed to be a natural given. Terms like “Asian-metabolism” and “Asian skinny genes” point toward the expectation that being slender comes effortlessly (and biologically) for people of Chinese, Taiwan, Japanese, and Korean descent.
To some extent, there probably is a higher percentage of East Asian women who are naturally thin. But that blanket standard led me to believe that because I’m not effortlessly thin, there’s something wrong with me. I was defective, and any measures I took to try and disguise this fact had to be kept secret. Beyond the ritualistic, self-body-shaming sharing that most teenage girls discussed, I hid my struggle.
I silently resented my little brother, who was underweight and had to drink chocolate milkshakes after dinner to bring the scale up. I saw red after I got onto the subway in Taiwan and saw a beanpole-skinny college student toting a giant bag of fried chicken. I looked away in anger when we went out to dinner and my thinner friends would order burgers and joke about pigging out while I picked at my salad.
My name is Juliana. I am a 17-year-old Taiwanese American. There are many people of my descent who are naturally thin, and who are absolutely beautiful that way. I am not one of them.
But I am strong, and smart, and spunky. I can do 15 pushups in a row. I can make my dad laugh. I can rap. And one day, I’ll be able to separate my idea of beauty from my culture’s demands for thinness. Having to buy non-S sized clothing will stop ruining my day. I will eat a goddamn cupcake and not hate myself if it shows up on the scale the next morning. I will continue to be careful with my food, but it will be because I care about my health, not my weight.
All of that begins with me acknowledging what has happened. The shame, the anger, the hatred. It begins with girls like me speaking up about the ordeals we suffered in silence and the problematic cultural expectations that led to those ordeals.
So here I am, writing to the Internet about the most personal battle I’ve ever fought. That I am still fighting. If you can relate, please know you’re not alone.
This article originally appeared on xoJane and is republished here with permission.
21 questions only Utahns can answer
Photo: Rachel Rueckert
1. How do you make fry sauce?
2. How do you pronounce Tooele?
3. Why might someone’s car be covered in Oreo cookies or silly string before prom?
4. What does the symbol of a beehive represent in Utah?
5. What does “Stockton to Malone” reference?
6. Why are there crowds of people in the Salt Lake Airport baggage claim holding “return with honor” signs?
7. What color of Jell-o is Utah best known for?
8. Who showed up in Utah and declared, “This is the place?”
9. How does a local say 9,000 South?
10. What do we celebrate on July 24th?
11. How does a local say the following words?: “for,” “deal,” “milk,” “mountain,” and “pillow.”
12. Where can you buy the world’s best pork barbacoa salad or burrito?
13. Who is “your friend in the diamond business?”
14. Where can you ride “the Colossus?”
15. Why would you be excited about “good powder?”
16. What is a “DTR?”
17. What is the story behind the seagull being Utah’s state bird?
18. What is the second line in the following song?: “Utah, people working together, Utah_______________.”
19. What’s the name of that red arch on the license plate?
20. What is a “Utah bump?”
21. Which is better, the U or BYU? 
The 12 most inspiring travel photos this week
EACH WEEK WE CHOOSE OUR favorite images from readers, fans, and travelers, who tag their photos with #travelstoke and post them on our Instagram account. These pictures provide a daily dose of inspiration, and challenge us to photograph the world in innovative ways.
Here’s this weeks editors’ picks of people finding some serious #travelstoke:
1. Orcas chase herring at sunset, Norway
A photo posted by Paul Nicklen (@paulnicklen) on Aug 15, 2015 at 1:48pm PDT
2. Moraine Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada
September 3, 2015
Babies are the only real ‘world citizens’. Check how they discern all sounds of all languages, no matter where.
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In this short presentation, linguist Patricia Kuhl presents some startling data about how we acquire language, and most notably, the way our brain capacity for language learning drops as we age past 40.
As she says, “Babies and children are geniuses until they turn seven, and then there’s a systematic decline. After puberty, we fall off the map. No scientists dispute this curve, but laboratories all over the world are trying to figure out why it works this way.
Kuhl’s team studied babies’ brain activity and found fascinating patterns. Check it out, and get inspired to start learning a new language now! 
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