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Things you can do in Israel & not US

Photo: Or Hiltch

ISRAEL IS IN SOME WAYS very similar to the United States, and in other ways, very different. The perception of Israel in the US is almost of a mini-western country tucked into the Middle East, but in many ways, that’s just not the case. An anonymous Quora user wanted to know a bit more, so put the question to the ask-me-anything site: “What can you do in Israel that you can’t do in the United States?”

Here are some of the answers.

On the dress code: Natan Gesher pointed out that only in Israel can you “show up to a wedding in blue jeans and sandals,” while Yehudit Hasin says that in Israel you can “go in jeans and t-shirt everywhere and to any occasion.” Oren Shafir also points out that you can “dress casually at a funeral — without being disrespectful.”

On dating: Natan Gesher says only in Israel can you “be invited to a family dinner by a taxi driver so you can meet his single daughter.”

On travel: Lia Nuevo points out that in the US, you cannot “do a one day road trip and visit three seas,” and Andres Magnusson says that you can also “go to the beach in the morning, get on a bus and go skiing in the afternoon.”

On kissing: Erica Greene Rosenstock says in Israel you can “Hug and kiss your teenaged children’s friends without being considered a weirdo,” and that you can “see men kiss each other regardless of sexual preference.”

On titles: Erica Greene Rosenstock also points out that you can “call your teachers and professors by their first names.” Oren Shafir says “if you’re in the military,” you can “call your superiors by their first name.”

On priorities: Yehudit Hasin says in Israel you can “put your family and life ahead of career without anyone holding it against you.”

On police interactions: Aviv Eyal says you can “argue your way out of a traffic ticket (and not in the polite way).”

On trusting strangers: Aviv Eyal says you can “ask a total stranger to watch over your bag, laptop, and sandwich when running off to the bathroom (and know they will be there when you get back)” and that you can “watch children playing in the park (without being charged as a ‘sex offender.’” Nadine Bonner adds that “you can send your 7-year old to the supermarket to pick up an item you need for a dish you are cooking,” and that you can “have the child return with the item but report she was 5 shekels short and the cashier said to send the money tomorrow.”

On drinking: Shmuel Chak mentions you can buy booze at a store before you turn 21.

On food: You can have “mushrooms in the winter and not in summer,” Ilana Halupovich says. Erica Greene Rosenstock adds you can “eat proper pita, cucumbers, persimmons, apricots,” and can only have strawberries in the winter. She also points out you can “eat local produce without making an effort.” Yehudit Hasin goes a step further and says you can “eat the best food on the planet.” Matan Melamed also mentions that you can “reach into your friend’s snack and take a bite without asking.”

You can read the rest of the answers at Quora’s page for the question here. Do you have anything to add?

Things that happen moving to Egypt

Photo: Christopher Rose

1. You have no qualms about bribing a traffic cop.

You learn how to pass a balled-up 5 LE note into the palm of the cop at the traffic signal while appearing to cruise past with an arm casually extended out of your car window.

2. You start understanding IBM.

Inshallah Bokra Malesh (God willing — tomorrow — sorry) is something you will hear a lot from Egyptians at the most random of times.

Plumbers will leave bathroom repairs unfinished and will effortlessly commit to “IBM” each time you call to enquire why he hasn’t shown up. Ask your taxi driver if he knows the address you need to get to and he will leave it to divine intervention: “Inshallah.” Request extra cheese on your well-done burger — which will invariably get messed up — and the response will be a “Maalesh” (never mind).

3. It doesn’t bother you that the floor of your taxi has a gaping hole through which you see the road run past.

Or that the front seat of the 1966 Peugeot 504 is held upright with a bar of wood wedged at the back or that the seat belt is actually a trouser belt strapped across the driver’s belly.

4. You will no longer be alarmed when you are scheduled an appointment with the doctor at 1am.

Cairo is indeed a city that never sleeps and the traffic builds up from 11pm to 3am when people finally return home. The gardens around roundabouts are packed with parents, grandparents and kids picnicking well after midnight with food and football or whiling away the hours in idle talk. Soon you, too, begin to schedule errands, shop for groceries or pick up laundry after midnight.

5. Your maid takes charge of your affairs.

The matronly woman you hired as help will decide how your furniture needs to be arranged, at first. Later she will wrinkle her nose at the food you cook and instead give you detailed recipes of Egyptian food cooked with meat and lard. She will interrogate you about your health, the medical status of your husband, and decide it is time you had a child immediately.

6. You too learn to sneak out of the office early on Thursdays.

Like many Middle Eastern countries, the weekend in Egypt is Friday and Saturday. People start leaving for their weekend trips so early that no work usually gets done on Thursdays. Likewise, Sundays are usually not productive, as most people drive back straight to work, tanned and red-eyed.

7. You sit back and watch the raucous wedding procession crawl past.

Egyptian weddings are a very chaotic affair. The roads are taken over by a procession of cars with people sticking their torsos out of open windows, waving and shouting to the cacophony of horns and popular Arabic music thumping from the cars. The party of men dancing ahead of the cars leave a narrow space for motorcyclists, also part of the entourage, to perform daring stunts.

If this upset your appointment, it doesn’t faze you anymore. The person/s you intended to meet will understand when you tell them you were held up by a ‘zaffa.’

This story was produced through the travel journalism programs at MatadorU. Learn More


8. You will order ahwa mazbooth (Turkish coffee, sweetened) instead of cappuccino at the local coffee shop.

A thick brew of dark coffee served in a mini cup and saucer, you learn to sip carefully to leave the scum at the bottom. Egyptians need no excuse to hang out at the local ahwas, puffing on sheeshas all morning, all night or through the afternoon, and soon enough, you find that you won’t either.

9. You take to sheesha (water-pipe).

Every city has a smell, in Egypt it’s the heady aroma of Turkish coffee percolated with the fruity essence of sheesha, filtered through the smoggy air. Initially, it leaves you with a heavy head, then you start leaving your windows open, trying to ignore the smell. Finally, you find yourself expertly swirling strawberry or cantaloupe-flavoured smoke, amused by the tourist trying unsuccessfully to get a puff from the long water-pipe.

10. As a woman you realize that your bawab (doorman /caretaker) is a crucial figure.

Every apartment and most villas in Egypt will have a resident caretaker who supervises the running of the apartment, car washing and so on. But in addition to general upkeep, they decide whom to let in, which delivery boy to turn away, whether a guest can use the elevator, etc. This depends on how well you pay him, in addition to how often you tip him when he accompanies a guest.

For women, the bawab takes on the role of a moral guardian. You sneak past his room at the bottom of the elevator if you intend to go out late, or face the gossip that will make its way among your neighbours, whether you were sober or not. He will block all males from entering your domain if you are single — it doesn’t matter if you are a grandmother.

But like all things Egyptian, you can make a friend out of a foe by doling out enough baksheesh and a cigarette.

11. You begin to share the Egyptian sense of humor.

The average Egyptian on the street will have a quick-witted retort in reply to yours and most of the fun is in the way it is told. If it offended you in the beginning, you will realize they are equally magnanimous in laughing at themselves.

You begin to see that the only way to truly cope with the genuine eagerness to please is to learn their language. You may not be able to come up with a wisecrack like them, but you will be able to laugh from your heart like them.

7 German food myths that need to die

Photo: Diego Wyllie

1. Germans don’t have their own cuisine.

Germans are sometimes a bit shy about their cuisine, which tends to be simple, rustic, and with regional ingredients. We are often made fun of for our use of potatoes, sauerkraut and sausage, and with time we just learned to keep our mouths shut.

We might not use fancy ingredients like the French, nor do we have the reputation of a life-prolonging cuisine like the Italians do, thanks to their olive oil. But we do have our own cuisine, and yes, potatoes, sauerkraut and sausage are an important part of it. Happiness often lies in the simplest things, no?

2. Germans eat sauerkraut even for dessert.

First let me say this: the per capita consumption of cabbage (including sauerkraut) in many countries, even in the USA, is much higher than in Germany. ‘Nuff said.

Now let’s talk sweets. Sadly, delicious desserts and divine pastry are not people’s first association when they think of German food. But you have no idea what amazing sweet treats you are missing out on. Admittedly, for some of them we share custody with our Austrian neighbours, but of course Germans do it better!

Who wouldn’t want to indulge in apple strudel, powdered with a thin layer of sugar, bathing in a creamy vanilla sauce; thin pancakes with thousand different sweet fillings; Black Forest cake, featuring layers of chocolate cake between tons of whipped cream with sweet cherries; or coated and deep-fried sugared apple slices. You’ve got to try one of the various sweet main dishes like Kaiserschmarrn or Scheiterhaufen (old bread marinated in milk, baked in layers in the oven with apples, cinnamon, almonds, and — in the grown-up version — with rum-marinated raisins).

3. German food is savory, greasy and there is pork in everything.

While this traditional cuisine (pork aside, we also eat beef. Sometimes.) still exists, it is a remnant of the past, when people didn’t yet spent the whole day sitting in front of the computer and could use a few extra calories every now and then. There are still households and many restaurants where you can get these hearty, often meat-and-potato-loaded deliciousnesses like beef rolls, roasted pork leg or potato dumplings, but in general the new German cuisine consists of low-fat adaptions of traditional dishes, inspired by a modern lifestyle and the internationality of Germany’s population. Vegetable casserole and countless salad variations will help you to keep in shape.

4. Germans drink beer all day long, and only beer.

There is no way to deny this, we do drink a lot of beer. We didn’t become the nation with the 3rd highest beer per capita consumption sitting on our couches sipping tea. And yes, we have some of the oldest and most famous breweries in the world like Weihenstephan, Weltenburg, Erdinger, and Beck’s. But never forget that we have amazing wines too! Due to favorable climate mostly concentrated along southwest Germany’s river valleys like Mosel and Rhine, Germany has first class wine regions to offer. Nothing can beat drinking some Riesling, or a heavy Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) directly in the vineyard where it was produced, overlooking the Rhine castles.

5. White sausage must be eaten before noon.

White sausage with a pretzel, sweet mustard and beer is a traditional dish from Bavaria. In earlier days, meat was easily perishable, so the sausages were made freshly in the morning and eaten soon after that. Derived from that is a saying that white sausages must not be allowed to hear the noon chime of the church bells. Today we have fridges, and you won’t suffer from an upset stomach if you eat your white sausage after 12. But it is still a good excuse for drinking beer for breakfast!

This story was produced through the travel journalism programs at MatadorU. Learn More


6. Real Germans eat only real German food.

Nowadays, it is hard to determine what German food actually is. We have incorporated foreign food in our daily lives and adapted it to our own tastes. What would Germany be without its döner kebab shop around the corner? Or without all the pizza delivery services that save the lives of thousands of couch potatoes daily? What would the stressed office worker eat during lunch break if not Chinese fast food? Like in most other European countries, you can get whatever country cuisine your heart desires within a heartbeat in every bigger town.

7. There is a “German cuisine.”

Somehow contradictory to point 1, isn’t it? But let me explain. For one thing, the south, especially Bavaria, is influenced by the Austrian cuisine and all the countries that once were part of the Austrian Empire. The north is influenced by the sea and the Scandinavian cuisine. In the south you’ll find more meat on your plate, but you should not miss out on the well-seasoned, grilled fish on a stick. Travelling north, things will get a little fishy and herring will be your new travel buddy, but meatballs and salted pork leg will never be too far away.

Secondly, Germany in general is a very diverse country when it comes to landscape, culture, and language as well as cuisine. You maybe can talk about things like a Bavarian cuisine or a Hessian cuisine, but for sure not about a German one without extremely over-generalizing it. Every state, even every village has its own cuisine, its own specialities and it would take you years (and several upgrades of your pants-size) to try them all.

How to piss off someone from China

Photo: Matthew Stinson

Say Japan is better than China

For your personal safety, it’s best you stay out of any discussions about China’s rivalry with Japan. Many of us are still bitter about the Japanese occupation of China during WWII and the government’s refusal to apologize for the Nanjing Massacre. The continuous debates over the Senkaku Islands only add to the dispute. To suggest that Japan is superior will instantly stir patriotic feelings and very angry protests. At the very least, you’ll be treated as an ignorant laowai and be given a three-hour history lesson.

Complain that there are too many people

Really? Where are they? We hadn’t actually noticed!

Sarcasm aside, I’m well aware that there are 1.3 billion of us and approximately 44,000 more enter the world every day. We went to elementary school with eighty students in our class and we hate waiting in long lines as much as you. We also hate squeezing through people to get on subways and cross the street. But we’ve been dealing with this since we were born, so we don’t want to hear your complaints. In fact, when we travel or move abroad, we often miss renao, the warm feeling of being surrounded by a lively and noisy crowd.

“I love Chinese food! Let’s have sweet and sour pork, fried rice, and fortune cookies.”

There’s no such as thing “typical” Chinese food. We have four main styles of cuisine — Chuan, Su, Yue, and Lu — each with its own favors, traditions, and cooking methods. I’d never heard of sweet and sour pork before visiting Canada, and while it’s influenced by Cantonese cuisine, it’s barely recognizable in comparison to the original. Fried rice is cooked from leftover rice, and we avoid it, preferring to spend cash on braised lobsters, spicy hotpot, or dim sum. And fortune cookies were invented in America, by the way.

Assume we must be from Beijing

Beijing might be the capital city of China, but that doesn’t mean we’re all from there. Even those of us who live in Beijing are often beipiaozhu, visitors who have “migrated north” to the city for work or study. If we name a place you’re not familiar with, don’t be surprised, and please, don’t ask us if it’s “a tiny village.” With rapid urbanization, China has hundreds of cities you’ve never heard of, and a small town can be home to a million people.

This story was produced through the travel journalism programs at MatadorU. Learn More


“Do you really eat dogs?”

We’ll roll our eyes when we hear this, because you are the hundredth person to ask it. Let’s make this clear: we love dogs. They’re adorable. If you walk around our parks, you’ll run into pugs and Chihuahuas everywhere.

Yes, some Chinese people eat dogs. Others find it disgusting. It’s a personal choice, not a cultural one. But either way, we don’t fuss over it. With centuries of war, famine, and unrest, we’re not picky eaters. Stir-fried frog’s legs? Check. Stewed pig’s feet? Yup. Roasted lamb on a stick? Great.

If we invite you to try delicacies, that’s because we want to give our guests the best. Five Flowers Beef and Tingly Madam’s Tofu don’t sound appetizing, but blame that on the translator’s terrible Chi-nglish. The dishes themselves are savory and delicious.

Make us diunian

The surefire way to make a Chinese person your enemy is to cause them to diunian, roughly translated as ‘undergo humiliation’ or ‘lose social status.’

Some ways to make people lose face include criticizing someone’s personality, upbringing, or work ethics in a front of a group, or without asking for permission, reveal people’s secrets or embarrassing personal details (think ugly photos or break-ups). And never, ever rant about poor hospitality or complain about someone’s cooking skills.

Born and raised in Mexico

Photo: Rulo Luna

1. You’re highly trained in the art of garrafón lifting.

Next time you open the tap to get a glass of water, think about how easy that is compared to maneuvering a twenty-litre water bottle.

2. Even if you’re a self-proclaimed anarchist…

You respect the maximum authority in Mexico… and that’s your mom.

3. You have payed to receive electric shocks.

“Toques, toques, toques.”

4. You’ve been told to fear the “evil eye”.

But you know that such evils have nothing to do against the ultimate powers of a red thread. The same infamous red thread that cures hiccups, indigestion, and protects your unborn child.

5. But you know that even the red thread can’t save us from our greatest fear…

Watching La Selección being eliminated in penalty rounds…again.

6. Where everyone else sees people… you see güeyes.
7. You don’t have the least idea how corn on the cob tastes like…

Because you always eat it in its street stall presentation: full of mayonnaise, lime, chili, cheese, salt, and more chili (the spicy one please).

8. You have your share of photos dancing at a quinceañera party.

Maybe as a guest, maybe as a chambelán, or maybe as the quinceañera herself. No matter what, you fear the day when photos of that day will start showing up on Facebook… and that day will come.

9. Your speech is overcrowded with words finishing in “ito” or “ita”.

Yes, your use of diminutives is way higher than average. Momentito, por favor.

10. You never use your oven.

And you have always wondered where does people who actually use their ovens keep their whole kitchenware.

11. You have slept several times under the comfort of a San Marcos blanket.

Yes, the one with a family of lions portrayed on it.

12. Love it or hate it…

But you have seen several Pedro Infante movies and can even quote some of his characters. “Amorcito corazón, yo tengo tentación de un beso…”

13. Where the rest of the world sees Mayans and Aztecs…

You see Mixtecs, Zapotecs, Tzotzils, Mazatecs, Huicholes, Olmecs, Otomis, Totonacs, Purepechas… and you prefer the name Mexicas rather than Aztecs.

14. You know your tortillas…

You can clearly distinguish between freshly made and pre-packed, you know there’s a difference in taste between blue corn and normal corn, you also know that both sides of the tortilla are completely different, and have learned to leave the top tortilla as a natural heat maintaining device. Oh yes, there’s science behind tortillas.

15. It doesn’t matter how long and far you have traveled across Mexico…

It’s quite likely that you’ve never ventured past the Guatemalan border.

16. You know there’s nothing better for a cold morning outside…

Than having a cup of atole or café de olla.

17. You’ve been forced to clean beans or rice at least once…

And you know there’s something strangely soothing about it.

18. You were raised on sopa aguada.

And even though every variety tastes exactly the same, you had a favorite among fideos, munición, estrellitas, and letras.

19. You know there’s a difference between Mexico and… Mexico.

This is quite confusing for foreigners who are visiting Mexico for the first time. Mexicans normally refer to Mexico City simply as Mexico, so it’s possible to be in Mexico and take a bus that’s headed to Mexico. Want to complicate things a little further? There’s also a state called Mexico in the central part of the country… and no, it’s not the same as Mexico City.

20. You know at least five types of chiles by name…

And you clearly distinguish their flavors too.

21. Your horizons are made of mountains.

México has more mountain ranges than chili varieties. Wherever you look you’re gonna be confronted by some big ass mountains with some more big ass mountains behind…unless you live in the Yucatán península, which is flat as a pancake.

22. You know the best hangover foods in the world…

Chilaquiles, pancita, birria, consome and every single kind of salsa covered eggs. If that doesn’t help… you always have the michelada option.

23. You know the National Anthem by heart…

But also the Noa Noa… Juanga is the shit!

"Sea gypsies" worlds happiest people

THE SAMA-BAJAU PEOPLE of Borneo live entirely off of the sea. They spend their lives in tiny floating villages on remote parts of the ocean, and they grow up on boats and in the water. French photographer Rehahn spent some time with the Bajau — especially the children — and came back with these incredible pictures of what appear to be the happiest children on the planet.

The Bajau make their living by selling fish. They have, in the past, lived on coral reefs, but now most of them have moved to tiny islands off of Borneo and the Philippines.

They are nomadic, and are not recognized as citizens of Malaysia, Indonesia, or the Philippines.

They are an illiterate tribe, and do not keep track of age.

Children participate in the fishing and hunting as soon as they are able, and spend pretty much all of their lives either in or a few feet away from the water.

There are believed to be nearly a million of them, but they are hard to keep track of.

Traditionally, they lived on houseboats organized into flotillas.

They are spectacular free divers, and have been known to spend up to 5 hours a day submerged (not all at once, obviously).

Some Bajau have moved inland, where they are known for their horseback riding skills, but most of them remain near the sea.

They are an egalitarian people, with no castes, and with no strong social hierarchy.

If Rehahn’s pictures are any indication, they are the happiest people in the world.

All photos by Rehahn. Source: Bored Panda

6 US habits I lost in Peru

Photo: Kinoki

1. Ordering seafood past 2 p.m.

Listen, I grew up in the Laurel Highlands of Western Pennsylvania, where buying truly “fresh” seafood was never an option. So imagine my surprise when, after falling in love with Lima’s exquisite seafood, I made the following suggestion to a group of friends:

“Let’s get ceviche for dinner tonight.”

They stared at me in silence for a moment.

And then they burst into laughter.

Needless to say, I looked like an ignorant fool, because ceviche and other seafood dishes are not typically served past lunchtime. The reason? They say the fish loses its freshness after twelve hours. While I learned to accept this rule, there was one idiosyncrasy I could never quite wrap my head around: ceviche is off-limits, but Limeños don’t think twice about eating nigiri sushi for dinner.

2. Buying personal bottles of beer.

When I’m out with a group of friends in the States, we each tend to buy our own personalized 12-ounce bottle of beer. But in Peru, it’s more common for a group of friends to buy one or two big bottles to share among the group. Most times, each drinker gets his/her own refillable plastic cup, but occasionally, only one cup is given, obliging members to drink their fill before passing the coveted glass onto a friend. It might not be the most sanitary form of consumption, but it promotes a level of sociability I grew to respect.

3. Thinking of people as “acquaintances.”

When I first moved to Lima, I joined Conversation Exchange as a way to practice my Spanish with native speakers. I met up with a Peruvian girl for coffee once who was perfecting her English for an upcoming study abroad experience in Australia. We had a nice chat, but didn’t make plans to see each other again. A few months later, she sent me a direct message on Facebook to invite me to her sendoff party. I realized that had it been the other way around, I would not have done the same. I would have invited only close friends and family members to bid me farewell.

It was then I learned that when you meet a Peruvian, they are quicker to count you in than to count you out. I can’t tell you how many seemingly one-off interactions with Peruvians led to these types of invitations, but I can tell you that it made me more open to expanding my own definition of friendship.

4. Flushing toilet paper.

In the United States, we don’t give a second thought to flushing our toilet paper. But in Peru, you’ll see the message “Por favor, no botar papeles en el inodoro” posted in almost every bathroom stall. Some argue that this rule is due to the country’s “unsophisticated plumbing,” while others claim the t.p. won’t actually clog the toilet. I always aired on the side of caution. No one wants to be the gringa responsible for clogging the toilet…

More like this An intimate view of Peru at street level


5. Relying on metered taxis.

In Peru, taxis do not have a meter. There are pros and cons to this unregulated system of transport. The pros: no minimum ride fee, and no fuel or “wait time” surcharges. The con: haggling with the driver before you get in the car. As a new expat, it can be difficult to navigate these negotiations when you don’t know how much a ride to the airport or a quick trip to the supermarket should cost. I’ve even had friends who thought they negotiated a fair price in soles, only to be told by the wily driver at ride’s end that he had been negotiating in dollars (thus making the ride about two and a half times more expensive).

I felt uncomfortable and hesitant at first because in the United States, I’m accustomed to paying a set price for everything. But learning how to skillfully negotiate is sort of a rite of passage in Peru, and I ended up taking pride in my new skill, especially when I could show it off in front of my Peruvian friends.

6. Expecting to find posted schedules and routes for buses.

As Americans, we’re accustomed to planning trips by checking pre-posted bus routes and schedules. These schedules are easily accessible in brochures, websites, and downloadable apps. Heck, you can even plan your trip by plugging Point A and Point B into Google Maps and clicking the bus icon. In Peru, demystifying the transit system is not nearly as simple. Apart from the newly constructed Metropolitano and Lima Metro, transit is largely privatized in Lima and the rest of the country in the form of dilapidated microbuses (known as combis). While there are plenty of combis on the road, good luck finding a schedule or route map to plan your trip. And you can definitely kiss the concept on arriving on-time again goodbye.

My first six months in Lima, I rarely traveled by combi without a Peruvian onboard to guide me. When I did, I would shyly ask the cobrador if the combi traveled to my destination and ask him to alert me when to get off. It was only after I got comfortable with combi culture that I finally felt like I could call myself a true expat.

How to parent like a Greek

Photo: Nimrod Bar

1. Mealtimes are to be respected.

Greek parents insist on their children eating as much as possible, and maintain that if kids leave even one morsel of food on the plate, “αφἠνουν την δυναμἠ τους,” they are “leaving their strength behind.” Parents also teach their children that mealtimes are almost always a social event with the whole family and plenty of conversation. Even if Greek kids are out all day, it is normal for them to tell their friends they are going back home for dinner and will be back out later.

2. Remember that it is always cold. Even when it’s not.

Your child will always need a jacket, and you will remind them of this right before they walk out the door, every single time, even as they desperately try to pretend they can’t hear you. Even if it’s an 85 degree night in August, you never know, there might be a draft. According to Greek mothers, drafts are everywhere, in all seasons, at all times, and their sole purpose is to sneak up on their children and make them sick.

3. Impress the importance of family and extended family upon your kids.

Their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins will be a major part of their life, and Greek children maintain much closer ties with these relatives than children in the US. Greek kids may dread holidays, because they will have to call every second cousin they have to wish them a Merry Christmas or Happy Easter, but in the end, they will appreciate the network of loved ones around them.

4. Make sure your kids know how to be a good guest.

Most Greek parents would die of shame if they heard their kids behaved like brats at a family friend or relative’s house. Greek kids learn from a young age that they should bring something to a friend’s house if invited for an event (usually baklava or mini ice creams), and always offer to help, multiple times if necessary.

5. Keep your children close, but don’t shut them inside the house with you.

Some Greek parents may be protective with their children and like to stay close to them, but pretty much all parents will let their children roam around the neighborhood, beach, or local town square (plateia) with friends from a very young age. Go to any plateia and you will see children from ages 7 and above playing with or talking to their friends well into the night. To a Greek parent, a skinned knee or a sprained ankle as a result of playing outside is not a big deal; it’s just kids being kids, and a part of growing up.

6. Your social life doesn’t end when you have children.

Greek parents consider being part of your community and having a good social life as essential, so having a child doesn’t mean you stop seeing friends and going out at night to a nice restaurant or upscale bar. Besides, it’s not unusual for the parents of your child’s friends to become your friends as well, or vice versa, so entire families will know each other quite well and often head out to dinners or events all together.

7. Babysitters are rarely necessary.

Babysitters in Greece are usually for the rich or elite; most parents don’t really use babysitters, because if you need someone to take care of your child, you can call grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors, or friends to look after them for a couple of hours. Closer social ties means there is always someone available to help out; just be willing to return the favor in the future.

8. Loosen up on alcohol and bedtimes.

Children in Greece will start heading to bars around the time they’re 13 or 14, and as the years go on will stay out later and later. Parents will give their children wine and beer from a really young age, and have no qualms about going out to a restaurant with children as young as 8 and staying there until 1am. Greece operates on a later schedule than the US in general, so your child might as well get used to this from early on.

Intimate Peru at street level [vid]

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Join cinematographer, Cole Graham, on a trip through the beautiful country of Peru. Cole traveled to Peru with his brother, grandpa, and Canon 60d. He returned with this stunning video.

Peek inside the world's largest cave

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This stunning video was shot by cave, adventure, and travel photographer Ryan Deboodt. Discovered in 1991, but only recently explored in 2009, the world’s largest cave, Hang Son Doong, in Vietnam is now open to public exploration. After traversing a mile through the enormous stalagmites and stalactites, a beautiful, otherworldly scene emerges. Watch this breathtaking video, all captured on the first aerial drone to ever enter the cave.