Matador Network's Blog, page 2179

Travel made me a better atheist

Photo: Elizabeth Phung

Like many atheists, I wasn’t born this way. I left the Catholic Church in my teens in a great huff of self-righteous fury that, at its core, had more to do with how much I hated sitting through an hour of mass every week than any moral stance about the Church’s take on gays, women, or pedophilia. The beauty of discovering morality in your teens is that you instantly realize it can be used as a smokescreen to help you avoid doing things you don’t want to do. I was intoxicated with this new power.

I became the worst type of atheist. I got into shouting matches with family members, I condescended to people, and I started expressing contempt for any tiny religious thought, even in the most inappropriate forums. I was like a hormonal Bill Maher.

At the end of my teens, I started traveling. I had done my reading — Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris — so I knew that, in order to be open-minded, I had to be equally contemptuous of all religions, so as I entered each new country, I tried to take in the cultures without taking in their religions.

I failed miserably.

Culture without religion isn’t a thing

One of the first things I noticed when going to certain countries was how inextricable the religion was from the culture. In South Africa, I got to see Nobel Prize winner and famed anti-apartheid activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu speak. He said, “When they colonized us, they took away our freedom and they gave us a Bible. But this was a mistake. They did not realize that the Bible was a tool of liberation.” He then went on to talk about how important Christianity was in the fight against apartheid.

None of this had to do with whether the Bible was technically, rationally true or not — but the church provided activists like Tutu with a pulpit that they would not have had otherwise, and they united communities in a common space with common values. Christianity, which has been such a central part of colonial conquest of the third world, could be used against colonialism. This was my first lesson: any philosophy can be subverted. It’s true of atheism, too. The far-right libertarian loony Ayn Rand was an atheist. So was Stalin. So was humanist and leftist Kurt Vonnegut. Lumping them together is as ludicrous as lumping Desmond Tutu and Christian Afrikaners together.

More like this How to piss off an atheist


People use religion for reasons other than belief

My second lesson was in Brazil. After a long dinner with all-you-can-eat steak and wine, me and my friends went to a small town’s Carnaval celebration. When I eventually left, seven hours later, I was soaked in sweat, wine, beer, and possibly a couple of other bodily fluids I’d lost track of. It may have been the best night of my life.

During the party, though, I kept seeing statuettes of a crucified Jesus and endless crucifixes. It was perplexing imagery to have coupled with at a party to say the least — the next day was Ash Wednesday, one of the most somber days in the Christian calendar. But these people were fucking rocking it like people who don’t believe in Hell, sin, or heavenly oversight. They were just having fun. And that’s when I realized: in many cases, religion is just an excuse to get together with your friends and party. It’s just not something I could ever pit myself against.

Traveling atheists

I’ve been traveling for ten years now, and I still don’t believe in a god. I’ve met a few other nonbelievers in my travels, but I don’t particularly like talking to them. In my experience, my fellow atheists have more of a chip on their shoulder about their beliefs than most believers, and it makes them difficult to be around. Which isn’t to say I’m not still on their side, It’s just to say that I can understand why people would not want to be on our side.

What travel did for me — what travel should do for everyone — is it slurped all the contempt right out of me. It’s hard to fully participate in a culture, see where people are from, how they live, and why they do the things they do, and really feel anything except warmth for them.

In the first act of Hamlet, Hamlet says to his friend, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” You just can’t be all that rigid about your philosophy when you’ve seen some of the things that don’t fit into it. And that’s true as much for believers as nonbelievers. You are better than no one, travel taught me, and there are things you don’t know and will never know.

11 things to know about Mexican men

Image by mutant_happiness

1. When the Mexico football team ‘el tri’ play, there is nothing in the world more important.

Do not interrupt a Mexican man watching football. You have been warned!

2. They’re momma’s boys.

It’s perfectly normal for a Mexican man at age 25 (or 50 something) to still be asking his mom to cook him some quesadillas.

3. The spicier you eat, the more macho you are.

Mexicans, especially men, start eating spicy food from a young age, so by the time they’re adults it’s practically a competitive sport. Don’t even think about not liking spiciness — that’s a no go! There’s a Mexican expression, ”si no pica, no sabe” which means, “If it’s not spicy, it’s not tasty.”

4. They’re gentlemen.

Don’t be surprised if you see a Mexican opening the door for his girlfriend, or even carrying her handbag. This is how things are done in Mexico.

More like this: How to piss off a Mexican


5. Swearing is a form of endearment.

If a Mexican is swearing in front of, or even at you, then it’s a good sign.

6. They love to party in a communal way.

In some countries, when you go clubbing you buy your own drinks, but in Mexico you buy a bottle together with your amigos!

7. The men always drive.

You will very rarely see the woman of a couple driving in Mexico. This is because of two reasons: Mexican men don’t trust women drivers, and if they let the woman drive it makes them seem less macho.

8. They are very protective of women, especially their loved ones.

Most Mexican men aren’t keen on their girlfriends taking public transport or walking the streets alone. Even when couples are walking on the street, the man will always walk on the side closest to the road so as to protect the woman from anything bad that could happen.

More like this: 11 things you gotta know before partying in Mexico City


9. They are romantics.

Mexicans woo their girlfriends by paying for dates, showering them with gifts, and showing them affection constantly.

10. They use a hell of a lot of hair gel.

Every Mexicano has got this thing for using loads, and I mean LOADS, of hair product. And it’s not just the quantity, it’s also the time it takes to get that hair just right.

11. They are the number one users of deodorant and male perfume in the world.

Just kidding, but seriously, Mexican men really do take care to never have bad body odor.

10 places real New Yorkers eat

Photo: Robyn Lee

New York City is THE most-amazing place on planet Earth. There, I said it. Biased? A bit. But ask any “real” New Yorker and they’re likely to brazenly declare the same thing.

We have everything, including an extreme amount of tourism populating the city 365 days a year. As a “real New Yorker” (typically someone who has lived in NYC more then seven years) and food lover, it breaks my heart every time I see someone step into a tourist trap to eat. NYC is a culinary mecca filled with some of the best chefs and restaurants in the world. From late-night grub to Michelin stars, here are 10 places where “real” New Yorkers eat:

1. Peter Luger (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

Established in 1887, this steakhouse has received one Michelin Star, award for “Best Steakhouse” 30 years in a row (Zagat Survey) and is on the “American Classics” list by James Beard Foundation. If that weren’t enough to prove itself, when you say the words “Peter Luger” to any carnivorous local they’ll salivate on command. Pavlovian reaction to the max.

2. Meatball Shop (six locations)

What started as everyone’s favorite Lower East Side late-night hang has blossomed into six locations (five throughout Manhattan and one in uber-hip Williamsburg). Besides the insanely tasty meatballs (multiple types), homemade ice-cream sandwiches, daily vegetables/salads, they also use locally sourced and all-natural ingredients as much as they can. This place is always a crowd-pleaser.

3. 15 East (Union Square East)

For a city with plenty of high-end sushi options, this tends to be a favorite among sushi snobs. Sit at the small sushi bar for classic omakase or rock a table in the additional dining room where you can order any of their mouth-watering dishes from the kitchen, as well as, any piece of sushi they have in-house. One Michelin Star (2014). Reservations highly advised.

4. Fette Sau (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

Fette Sau (“fat pig” in German) is where all of hipster Williamsburg goes for their BBQ fix. Dry-rub meats like brisket, beef and pork ribs and pork shoulder are served on butcher paper. The line gets insane so try to avoid peak dining times. Get your hands dirty at what many say is the best BBQ in all of NYC.

5. Minetta Tavern (Greenwhich Village)

Disregarding the fact that it’s been open since 1937, this is the home of the infamous “Black Label Burger.” The star of the show is the special “Black Label” meat blend from famous meat purveyor Pat La Frienda, as well as, the custom bun from the Balthazar bakery. Hold onto your seats for what I’m about to tell you, it costs $28! Is any burger worth that amount of money? While local New Yorkers, stuffed like sardines inside the restaurant will seem to think so, I’ll let you be the judge.

6. Mesa Coyocan (East Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

Angelenos like to say there is no good Mexican food in New York City. They haven’t have been here. Firstly, they have the best margaritas I’ve personally ever had in my life (featuring all kinds of fresh fruit, infused tequilas, perfect blends, etc.). Secondly, they do authentic Mexican cuisine (tacos, ceviches, entrees, etc.) with care, finesse, precision, and consistency coupled with extraordinary flavors. Take that LA!

7. Doughnut Plant (Lower East Side/Chelsea/Japan)

New York typically defines current food trends (see: Magnolia Bakery and Cupcake Insanity, Dominique Ansel and the Cronut obsession). The newest craze is doughnuts, largely because of this place. I remember having to wait on 30-45 minute lines at their first teeny-tiny shop only to find they were sold out of pretty much everything. Always a dark moment. Now with two NYC locations, and countless other shops that serve their doughnuts, it’s easy to get your donut fix on. My personal favorites: crème brûlée yeast and tres leches cake.

8. Ippudo (East Village)

One of the most-popular eats for the downtown crowd. The best move here is to go an hour before you actually want to eat because there is always a one-to-two hour wait. Sigh. The good news is you can order their addicting pork buns, numerous apps, cans of sake, and Sapporo draft on tap all at the bar. Ippudo is originally from Japan and has become very famous here for their take on Hakata-style Ramen. Ippudo East will have the younger, downtown crowd and the wait while Ippudo West has more of the midtown business crowd with less of a wait.

9. Sri Pra Phai (Woodside, Queens)

Authentic and underground Thai before that was cool. While this was a staple in Woodside, it’s worth the long trek out to Queens from Manhattan or Brooklyn to witness true Thai cooking. They serve true Thai spice so be careful when ordering.

10. Shake Shack (Madison Square Park)

The “In-N-Out Burger of the East.” Danny Meyer (one of NYC’s most influential restaurateurs) started Shake Shack in 2004 from a hot-dog cart in Madison Square Park. There are numerous locations globally, but this original locale is where you’ll find hundreds of New Yorkers waiting on endless lines for burgers and fries. While it’s gotten very trendy and touristy, everyone still goes there for an urge that nothing else can satisfy.

Free trip for anyone with this name.

Photo via Guillermo Fdez

JORDAN AXANI AND HIS GIRLFRIEND, Elizabeth Gallagher, put together an amazing around-the-world trip. Then they broke up. Axani is now stuck with two tickets, and he doesn’t want to just throw away the second ticket, but it’s really difficult to change the name on a ticket that has already been purchased.

His solution? He’s offering the plane tickets to any woman with a Canadian passport whose name is also Elizabeth Gallagher. No strings attached.

Jordan Axani

“I am not looking for anything in return,” Axani said in . “I am not looking for companionship, romance, drugs, a trade, or to take selfies with you in front the Christmas Market in Prague. If you feel compelled to toss me a couple hundred bucks, great. Really the only thing I ask for is that you enjoy this trip and that it bring you happiness. We can travel together and see some cool stuff – or not. I’m easy and have no problem with someone taking the tickets and doing their own thing (see ya on the plane!).”

The tickets, which run from December 21st to January 8, include stops in New York, Prague, Paris, Bangkok, New Delhi, and Milan.

9 signs you were raised Brazilian

Image by Kaitlin M

1. You pay for 5,000 TV channels just so you can watch Globo all day.

Whether it’s for knowing who’s sleeping with whom on the hottest novella, catching the latest soccer game, or having Faustão on during Sunday lunch, Globo is essential for every Brazilian home. It’s not a popular channel for non-Brazilian households, therefore it requires the highest level of most cable subscriptions. You pay for the whole package even though we all know Globo will be on 90% of the time.

2. Your week revolves around when the soccer game is.

Soccer is a religion. Since you were a baby you were indoctrinated into your family’s choice of team. You learned the chants of your torcida before you learned nursery rhymes. Soccer is on your mind all year long, with plenty of tournaments to keep you occupied. There will be screaming, cursing, anger, and hopefully some joy. Other sports might interest you, but your heart and soul belong to futbol.

3. You know where every Brazilian store and restaurant is in a 100-mile radius.

You drive an hour out of the way to find the one tiny Brazilian store that sells the right kind of flour. Every state has that one store in a strip mall located in the middle of nowhere. The store itself is always pretty bare, but it has a few shelves stocked with essentials like farinha, boxes of Garoto chocolates, and Guaraná. You’ve also taken stock of every Brazilian restaurant and made a list of everything it’s lacking (where are the chicken hearts?).

4. You naturally talk at a higher volume than everyone else.

Brazilians have one tone of voice: loud. You’re constantly shouting over your family members, and when they tell you to stop yelling you shout back, “I’M NOT YELLING.”

5. You know how to throw a party.

People love coming to your house for parties because they know they’re going to have a good time. Brazilians are fun loving, and we love to party. Your mom will make amazing feijoada and your dad will slice up the limes for caipirinhas. There will be plenty of laughter and samba that will last late into the night.

6. Your dessert table looks different than your American friends’.

Sure, there’s always cake, but next to the cake are various forms of gelatinous desserts: pudim, manja, or mousse de maracuja. And you truly don’t understand how people ever have a party without some sort of flan. If those don’t temp you, then the brigadeiros (condensed milk, butter, and cocoa powder) are the highlight of every party.

7. Your family isn’t afraid of offending you.

Unlike your American friends, your parents aren’t shy about telling you the truth. Brazilians are open (maybe a little too open). Your family is blunt about everything. They’ll let you know if you’ve gained weight or if they don’t like your new significant other. Nothing is off the table or too sensitive to discuss at the dinner table.

8. You’re always late.

“Brazilian time” is a real thing. You know that start times are just suggestions, and you’ll always show up fashionably late. You’re constantly surprised when people show up on time to your house while you’re still in a bathrobe. Even with the best intentions, your body clock is in a different time zone than everyone else’s.

9. You have fierce national pride, but constantly complain about Brazil.

You’re the first person to list all the problems with Brazil — corruption, crime, poverty, issues with education and healthcare, etc. But you’re also the first person to defend Brazil as the best country in the world. Brazilian pride courses through our veins, and we know that wherever we are, Brazil will always be our home.

Question travel writing's status quo

Photo: Terence Lim

Before my first trip to China in 1990, I bought a copy of Lonely Planet for its off-the-beaten-path approach. But I was taken aback when I got to the part in which the writer explained how travelers should expect lots of attention from locals, who are fascinated with our light hair, eyes and skin. At that point, I realized that as an Asian-American, I wasn’t the kind of traveler the writers had in mind.

Western travel writing reflects a particular bias around who travels and has the authority to report on other cultures. Look at the contributor photos for any of the biggest travel magazines and best travel writing anthologies, and you’ll find that the writers are overwhelmingly white. People of color show up only as subjects or exotic background characters who are “discovered.”

Given the huge success of writers of color in other genres, such as Amy Tan and Toni Morrison, it’s time for travel writing publishers to also move on from this tired narrative of white discovery. Instead of reading a guide by someone who got stared at a lot in Beijing for his blonde hair, I want to hear what a night out on the town looks like from a Chinese hipster. Instead of one more article about pristine beaches in Thailand, I want to know what the fishermen who call those places home have to say. Instead of another colonialist description of African safaris, how about more narratives from black Americans who seek to connect with their ancestral cultures. I don’t need travel writers to look just like me. But I do need them to understand that someone who looks like me is not by default the exotic other.

This kind of travel writing is out there — in the blogosphere and independent publishing — challenging dominant assumptions around who has the authority to speak for others. As Caribbean-based writer Abena Clarke reminds us, “Travel is not a white boy’s club, and never has been.” My hope is to, one day soon, find that reflected in The Best American Travel Writing and Lonely Planet.

This first appeared on San Francisco’s public radio station KQED and is republished here with permission.

14 ways to understand Hong Kong

Photo: Akhradej Suntornsnoh

1. Respect the umbrella

Our recent pro-democracy protests (#umbrellarevolution) have transformed the humble rain-shield into our greatest symbol. Like a third limb, they’re in every handbag, briefcase and school bag, and have been given deity-like qualities. Along with protecting us from monsoon grade rain and blister-strength sun, the umbrella can now add tear-gas-and-pepper-spray shield to its repertoire. Watch out for old ladies using them as poking devices when the crowds don’t budge.

2. Become impatient

We’re always in a hurry. Power-stabbing lift buttons to make them go faster or tutting at pregnant ladies who are walking too slow is de rigeur. Minibus drivers all think they’re really racers on the inside — especially those plying the Mong Kok-Sai Kung route. Speeding is such a lifestyle choice, transit drivers are legally required to display giant speed monitors so passengers can see EXACTLY how fast they’re going and report their asses. Stand still at Causeway Bay’s five-way intersection and the crowd will sweep you along — no walking required. That waiter shooing you to your booth and slamming down your drinks? He’s not rude, just way efficient. When you go home, everything will seem like it’s in slo-mo.

3. Abbreviate like a boss

Our need for speed extends to our vocabulary. People from Hong Kong love to shorten things that don’t actually need abbreviation. 7-Eleven become Seven (se-fun). Hang gai (walk the streets) means you want your cha siu fan to go. Zhou sa (hold the sand) means you want your coffee unsweetened. Leng zhai (hot guy) is a bowl of plain rice and leng zhai fa zhong (hot guy with makeup) is rice with extra sauce. Confused? We all are. More ammo for those who think we’re walking, talking, riddle-making machines.

4. Learn the lingo

Cantonese is not spoken like it’s written, making it a bitch to master. Distinguishing between the 12 tones ups the ante — it’s easy to call your mother a horse by accident. Canto-slang changes monthly and our swearing twists the panties of even the most-seasoned truckers.

Sooner or later, you’ll learn these indispensable Hong Kongisms:

We use ai-yah with gusto — a catch-all expressing pain, anger, distaste, and concern.
We click our tongues to say “Bitch, please” / “Get out of my face” / “You can piss right off” without saying a word.
And we can express happiness with a drawn out waaaaah.
If someone flies your “plane” — fong fei gei — you’ve been stood up.
If they call you a black-faced god — huk meen sun — they’re so angry you look like our god of war. (It’s not a compliment.)
Someone muttering “chicken” — gai — behind your back? You’re not a wuss, they just calling you a ho.

5. Don’t whisper, ever

Whoever said Chinese were inscrutable has never heard us in our element. Skyping with the parentals, dim sum with 30-member extended fam-damilies or haggling for a catty (0.7kg) of choy sum is all conducted well above 90 decibels. Maybe it’s our language, but even the sweetest conversations sound like blue murder. Get over our “lack of manners” and you’ll soon be bellowing with gusto like the rest of us. Or we’ll just drown you out in the process. If your ears develop a constant ringing, it means you’ve gone native.

6. Perfect the art of cheque fighting.

A meal without wrestling to pay is just not worth eating. Manhandling waiters just so we can access the bill is a common form of post-meal entertainment. If all else fails, generic cash is just shoved or thrown until the poor server is left with a pile of red 100s and two sides refusing to budge. My 84-year-old grandma once out-ran my 6’1″, karate-black-belt boyfriend to the counter and ripped money out of his hands. Plus, she threatened the server with never coming back if he refused her money. It’s mostly ritual and one side always gives way, promising to pay next time when the whole shebang repeats itself.

7. Count with your hands

Numbers don’t need to be said out loud, and in our free-wheeling city of commerce and fierce haggling, flashing a hand sign (not a gang side) is all you need. What the world knows as “hang ten” is our sign for six. A curled index finger is nine. And two crossed index fingers is 10. We even use strings of numbers to replace entire sentences. Incredibly lazy or super stealthy — you decide.

8. Learn to share

With minor exceptions, solo eating makes you a social leper. We level-up on “sharing is caring” and only enjoy food when we have to fight for scraps. Just kidding — real HKers know there’s always too much food. Our round tables facilitate eating family-style, where the number of dishes outnumbers the diners. We like variety and the ability to taste all the foods — no matter the cuisine.

You’ll spot the HK group at the fancy French place straight away — everyone will order something different, there’ll be numerous rounds of plate swapping AND we’ll be loud. Commit social seppuku by refusing to share and you’ll never be invited again.

9. Differentiate your teas

Not all teas are created equal. The complimentary weak stuff they slam down before taking your order is not for drinking. Because we’re naturally suspicious and germophobic (see below), we use this faux-tea to rinse our cutlery and crockery. You’ll see it everywhere including the fanciest seafood joints. We have as many kinds of teas as ways to drink them. Order the milky kind from cha chaan tengs and traditional jasmine, oolong, iron Buddha, or chrysanthemum at the dim-sum house. Kung-fu tea served in shot glass sized eggshell-thin porcelain are only found at Chiu Chow restaurants or grab a bubble tea to-go after shopping in Mong Kok (purple taro is the best).

10. Understand our phobias

Surgical face masks are worn with great commitment by anyone with even a slight cough. Our collective hypochondria comes from the days when Hong Kong was a cramped, dirty cesspit of tuberculosis, diphtheria, and flu pandemics. Still the densest place on Earth, we’re the perfect Petri dish for a superbug. SARS confirmed our worst fears and germophobia rose to greater heights. Common symptoms include opening doors / pressing lift buttons with tissues, washing shoes when returning home, or using hand sanitizer at two-minute intervals. Don’t believe us? Sneeze on a packed train and marvel at the speed it empties of people.

11. Respect tiny homes

Everyone else calls them cupboards. To us, they’re apartments. Hong Konger’s have excelled at compact living decades before IKEA jumped on the bandwagon. Dad grew up in a 40m² box with seven siblings, his parents, plus an industrial sewing machine in the Kowloon’s resettlement housing. Personal space is so expensive and scarce we do most of our living outside. Don’t be surprised if you’ve never been invited to a friend’s house — we’re more comfortable socializing in roomier locales with half of HK.

You’ll find the streets crammed with people, eateries full and commerce booming — especially after dark. It’s no wonder they call it the city that never sleeps — since sleeping involves listening to the syncopated snoring of your seven siblings. Less awesome is the fact that some still live in barely legal cage housing — a travesty for one of the world’s richest cities and a big thumbs down on the humanitarian scoreboard.

12. Get snap happy at mealtimes

Foodstagramming has never seen so much fervor as it has seen from the dedicated gluttony in HK. When it comes to food posing, we’re champions. Watch as 10 smart phones click in unison over a plate of garlicky typhoon shelter crabs. While the food gets cold, Instagram filters are mulled over. We’re so food obsessed that we greet people with “Have you eaten yet?” when a simple “Hi” would suffice. So being able to relive our eating adventures is our greatest joy.

13. Use your Octopus like a pro

Hong Kong’s Octopus is like London’s Oyster — but on crack. Our miraculous one-card wonder works for ALL public transport. (Yes, this includes quaint, colonial-era trams and iconic Star Ferry.) Swipe it at club 7-Eleven for emergency booze, HK-only yuen-yeung at Starbucks, and your baked pork-chop rice at Café De Coral. It’s like free money until you realise it’s time to top up. We’re so sci-fi (HK inspired Ghost In the Shell), you can even Octopus your way into schools or apartments with a swish of your card. How James Bond is that?!

14. Don’t touch us

A city of 7.1 million keeps sane by communal neglect. When people are always in ya’ business, the greatest favour is giving people a wide berth. Body contact is out and huggers are treated like heavy mouth breathers — with suspicion and disgust. Growing up in New Zealand where I picked up “nasty gweilo habits” (mom’s words), a hug would elicit shock, fear, and, finally, defeat on her part. She’d give in and awkwardly pat me on the shoulder like a pet — that’s tough love HK-style. All body contact rules are abandoned though during crowds and queues ’cause we can’t resist that squashed-sardine feeling.

What we can learn from Argentines

Image by Sofia del Arcas

1. How to embrace people that aren’t just like you.

In Argentina, diversity is embraced. Gays? No problem. Argentina was one of the first countries in the world to legalize gay marriage and allow gays to adopt. Sex changes can even be covered under a public or private medical plan, and all it takes to ‘legally’ change one’s gender identity is to fill out a form.

As for foreigners, when taking a taxi in Buenos Aires they better be prepared for the driver’s enthusiastic, never-ending interrogation about their country. And Argentina has one of the most laid-back policies in Latin America for foreigners to be able to work or stay in the country legally. When I go visit the US (with a US passport, no less!), I feel like I sometimes have to make a case for myself to justify to whoever stamps my passport why I should be allowed in the country. On the contrary, when I show up at Ezeiza airport in Buenos Aires, I am always given a warm welcome.

2. The importance of family.

I’m in no way saying that people from the States don’t care about family. But Argentines in general seem to keep family closer. Argentines of all ages don’t hesitate to express to their mom or dad how much they love them, Sundays are almost sacredly reserved for family get-togethers, and many kids stay nearby once they finally move out of the house (which often doesn’t happen until their mid-to-late 20s!).

3. That a university education and medical care can be free.

How an economically messed-up country with extreme amounts of bureaucracy and political clusterfucks can figure out how to offer free university education and medical care to all of its citizens, when the US can’t get its act together even in the slightest in this regard, is beyond me.

4. How to chill the fuck out.

You crashed your car? ”Que bajón, pero no pasa nada, son cosas que pasan…” (Bummer, but no biggie, these things happen…) Your partner cheated on you? ”Ya fue, ya fue…” (It’s already done, so let it go). In general, Argies stay truly mad for a long time over very few things (ahem, futbol). Life’s too short to not spend it drinking bottles of great wine and having an eight hour asado with a bunch of friends, family, and neighbors every single chance you get. Everything else ‘bad’ that comes up in life? Situations, no más.

5. That there are more important things in life than working.

Storefront signs I have actually seen since living in Argentina: “We open when we open, we close when we close, and if you come and we aren’t open, it wasn’t meant to be.” The other? “Almost always closed.”

Between that attitude and more paid national holidays a year than any other country on the planet, not many Argentine businesses would ever even think of being open 24 hours a day or on days like Christmas. They actually have a life to go live. Often, in the States, people ask immediately upon meeting you, “What do you do?” This question doesn’t come up quite so quickly in Argentina — conversationalist Argentines know there is probably something much more interesting to talk about than what you do for a living.

6. How to weather a crisis.

Financial crisis? HA! No one knows how to take a financial beating better than an Argie. With rampant inflation, a dollar situation so fucked-up complicated that I don’t even want to try to explain it here, and a history of the whole economy basically collapsing and wiping out everyone’s bank accounts, Argentines still recognize that life goes on. Things change. Times will get good again. Then they will dive bomb. Rinse and repeat. Get used to it. Now dig up some of those pesos buried out in the backyard or under the mattress and go buy stuff for an asado to end all asados while you can, because you never know what tomorrow will bring.

7. The awesomeness of hugs.

None of this handshaking or pat on the back crap here. Argentines hug and they hug often. They’ll give you real hugs, holding you tight and simultaneously kissing your cheek. And if it’s perfectly acceptable for your mailman or the lady at the supermarket to hug you — look out when it comes to friends and family! It might seem weird at first, but you will be surprised at how soon you get used to it.

Upon return to the US, you might be surprised to realize that it’s one of the things you miss most. I remember my first time back to the US after living in Argentina for a while. I was a guest teacher at an elementary school to teach the Spanish class about Argentine culture. A little girl about 7 or 8 years old, who was a friend of my daughter, ran up in the hallway to hug me. Of course I returned the hug! Later in the day I was called into the principal’s office to receive a lecture about how ‘we can’t hug the kids’. I shit you not. At that point I explained with utmost clarity that I would rather quit the job than not return a hug from a little kid who asked for one. I couldn’t get back on a plane to Argentina soon enough.

8. Food is to be thoroughly enjoyed.

Prime example — no Argentine would think to take coffee to go — coffee is to be enjoyed while relaxed, sitting down, people watching or engaged in great conversation. Barbecues are dragged out to be all day and often all night affairs. Kids in school are given adequate time to eat their food — none of this ‘15 minutes for a nasty hot lunch you are expected to shovel down then get your ass back to class’ stuff. And even the most weight-conscious Argentine woman knows that a single scoop of gelato won’t kill her, and she probably won’t feel the slightest amount of guilt in savoring a cone of dulce de leche.

24 people who changed travel forever

For as long as there have been humans, those humans have moved. Whether it was from one forest to another or on lifelong treks across continents, humans have been a restless bunch since the beginning. A few people have stood out though, in changing or greatly influencing the way people travel over time.

Some of them are great political figures, some are inventors, some are pioneers, and some are writers, but all of these people have had a major impact either on the travel world or on the world because of their travels. I’ve tried to include a number of women and non-westerners, as a lot of these lists are totally dominated by white men.

Here they are:

1

Amelia Earhart

Though much of her story is overshadowed by her disappearance on a flight over the Pacific, Amelia Earhart’s greatest contribution to the world of travel was trailblazing a place for women in the field of aviation. She remains iconic to this day.

(via)

2

Charles Darwin

No one person so clearly shows how travel can change the world as Charles Darwin. The naturalist took a two-year-long journey aboard the HMS Beagle. Over the course of the trip, Darwin began to develop the theory of evolution, which has since fundamentally changed the field of biology and mankind’s understanding of its place in nature as a whole. And all because one man said yes to a boat trip.

(via)

3

Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway, the terse, hyper-masculine, brilliant voice of the Lost Generation was responsible, more than probably anyone else, for romanticizing the life of the expatriate. Hemingway’s Europe is one full of bullfights, benders, and failed romances, but it’s hard to read one of his stories and not think, “Maybe I should go to Paris.”

(via)

More like this 3 adventurers who paid the ultimate price




4

Anaximander

Anaximander was an early Greek philosopher who made one huge, monumental contribution to the world of travel: he made the first ever world map. While little is known about him as a person—whether, for example, he was much of a traveler himself—he started the long tradition of leaving behind a record for the benefit of later travelers.

(via)

5

Charles Lindbergh

Though the Wright Brothers had invented the airplane 20 years earlier, aviator Charles Lindbergh showed the world its incredible potential when he became the first person to fly his plane across the Atlantic.

(via)

6

Che Guevara

Che Guevara was a traveler before he was a revolutionary. In his 20s, he began to travel his native South America on a motorcycle, and what he saw on these trips turned him into a Marxist revolutionary and possibly the most recognizable face in the world. His incredible account of his travels in The Motorcycle Diaries remain influential to those who travel with a mind to not only change themselves, but to change the world as well.

(via)

7

Christopher Columbus

Though Columbus was a horrific human being, his impact on the world is still being felt. While he was far from the first person to set foot in the Americas, he was the person to make Europe fully aware of its existence, and that led to an explosion of exploration. It was an age of exploration that had murder, oppression, slavery, and genocide bundled up with it—but you can hardly argue it didn’t change everything.

(via)

8

Freya Stark

Freya Stark was a great British traveler and writer who became hooked on the Middle East when she got a copy of One Thousand and One Nights for her ninth birthday. Stark became a nurse during World War I, and then went on to travel through Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran, often as the first westerner. Her travel writing remains influential to this day.

(via)

9

Gertrude Bell

You’ve undoubtedly heard of Lawrence of Arabia, but you probably haven’t heard of his female counterpart Gertrude Bell. Bell was an adventurer and British diplomat who worked as a spy and as one of the founders of the country of Iraq.

(via)

10

Herodotus

The world’s “first” historian delivered his histories to the masses in the same manner as the poets of the time: by traveling around and reciting them to crowds. Herodotus’ work is known for its international focus, and he had to travel to accumulate much of his research, making him an early example of the hugely important relationship between travel and knowledge.

(via)

11

Ibn Battuta

If you Google search “World’s Greatest Traveler,” every single list you find will have one man on it: Ibn Battuta. A Moroccan Berber, Battuta was born into a family of legal scholars, and studied law. When he was 21, he set out on his hajj, which should have taken him 16 months. It took him 24 years. He made it as far east as China, and upon his return, he continued to wander around Africa. But perhaps most impressive is that he did all of this in the 1300s.

(via)

12

Jack Kerouac

Like Hemingway before him, Kerouac served as the voice of his generation, and romanticized that now-great American pastime: the road trip. His book On the Road inspired an entire generation of Americans, and remains influential among young people, artists, and musicians alike. One of those artists he inspired was—I’m not kidding—Katy Perry, who based her song “Firework,” on one of his most famous passages.

(via)

13

James Holman

James Holman was much like many other 19th-century travelers in that he joined the navy and kept his travels going after that. He ended up becoming one of the most well-traveled people of his time, visiting every inhabited continent. The difference between Holman and other travelers? He was totally blind.

(via)

14

Jeanne Bare

Travel has long been dominated by men, to the point where it has really only been in the last 150 years that most of the great female travelers have come to the fore. Jeanne Bare is an exception. A poor orphan in Burgundy, she disguised herself as a man and joined Louis Antoine de Bougainville’s crew, and eventually became the first woman to circumnavigate the globe.

(via)

15

Lady Hester Stanhope

Lady Hester Stanhope was a British adventurer who left the UK after a “romantic disappointment” and led the first-ever archaeological dig in Gaza. She later moved to an abandoned monastery in Lebanon and made it into a home for the many refugees in the area. She died there after slowly becoming senile, but her legacy remains as one of the most-colorful British adventurers in the country’s long, troubled relationship with the Middle East.

(via)

16

Leif Erickson

The man who deserves—over Christopher Columbus—the title of the “First Westerner in the Americas,” is possibly the Viking Leif Erickson. Born in Iceland, Erickson left the Island when his father was banished, and was with his father when he formed the first permanent Norse colony in Greenland. Erickson himself was blown off course while sailing back to Greenland from Norway, and saw land he did not expect to see which he dubbed “Vinland.” It was North America—but no one’s sure if he was actually the first person to set foot there.

(via)

17

Leo Tolstoy

The man who may be the best novelist of all time came from a long line of Russian nobility. But at the end of his life, he became a Christian anarchist and began wandering the countryside on foot. The man who was the political forefather of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., was also the man to make being a mendicant cool.

18

Marco Polo

Marco Polo is undoubtedly the father of western travel writing—though he was hardly the first traveler, his 24-year journey accounted in The Travels of Marco Polo inspired European explorers including Columbus. Polo’s book is known for its tall tales, so he also started the grand travel writing tradition of constant, wild exaggeration.

(via)

19

Mark Twain

America’s first great writer was also the man to popularize travel writing in the States. His accounts of his travels through the Holy Land, Innocents Abroad, remains perhaps America’s greatest travel book, while his masterpiece The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is perhaps the first (and best) of the American buddy travel stories.

(via)

20

Nellie Bly

It’s a crime that more people don’t know about Nellie Bly. Aside from being an incredible investigative journalist, Nellie Bly (the pen name of Elizabeth Jane Cochrane) is famous for her around-the-world trip inspired by Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days. Bly made it around the world in 72 days, and wrote about her trip all the way around, which makes her the grandmother of travel blogging.

(via)

21

Sacagawea

Possibly America’s first (known) great female explorer, Sacagawea served as the Shoshone interpreter (and occasional guide) to the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Sacagawea was the wife of Toussaint Charbonneau, a Quebecois fur-trapper who joined the expedition, and she turned out to be incredibly useful to the expedition, and managed to make the entire journey with her young child.

(via)

22

The Wright Brothers

No two people deserve to be on this list more than Wilbur and Orville Wright, the Ohio bike-makers who invented the airplane. The moment of that first flight marked a turning point for the world of travel—without airplanes, travel would be far more difficult, and far less available to those without significant amounts of time and money to spare. Airports suck now, but without airplanes, “seeing the world” would be a class luxury.

(via)

23

Xuanzang

A Chinese Buddhist scholar in the 7th century, Xuanzang spent much of his time traveling around his country searching for Buddhist texts. His search eventually sent him on a 17-year pilgrimage to India, which made him legendary in China. He’s still revered both as a Buddhist and as a traveler.

(via)

24

Yuri Gagarin

Here at the beginning of the 21st century, space tourism is prohibitively expensive, but it is slowly becoming more of a thing. The man who started that, the first man to escape earth’s gravity and make it into space, was Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. In the US, we tend to focus less on Gagarin and more on our own astronauts, but Gagarin’s monumental achievement will cast a shadow over space travel for as long as it’s a thing.

(via)

12 things Mexicans love to hate

Photo: Alejandro Lopez

1. Tex-Mex cuisine and its omnipresence

Also known as Mexican food everywhere around the world, Tex-Mex food is the source of our greatest disappointment when we’re traveling abroad. Imagine this situation: You’ve been traveling for months, far away from your home, and, suddenly, in the middle of this new town, a restaurant advertising food from your country emerges among the bulk of fast-food options. You go inside, and tears start coming to your eyes as you prepare to order some specialty that reminds you of your childhood and better times…but they only have nachos. It’s always like that for us! Not a single soul in Mexico has the least idea of what a taco salad is! And, being totally honest, taco shells are the worst invention in the history of fast food. There, I said it.

2. Halloween

Some Mexicans’ hatred of Halloween is so strong it would seem like an indicator of childhood trauma. However, the source of the problem is the proximity between this festivity and our very own Día de los Muertos. The slight similarity between these celebrations has been enough for people to start mixing them. Mexican children go out asking for candies, and pumpkins have made their appearance in traditional altars. This cultural mix isn’t welcomed by most Mexicans, who perceive it as an attempt by gringo culture to take over our very roots.

3. The “j” in Mexico

You want an argument that’ll make 99.99% of Mexicans really (and I mean really) mad? Show the slightest inclination toward the phonetic use of a “j” instead of an “x” in Mexico and get prepared to contain the beast you just unleashed. Why do Mexicans hate this so much? There are historical factors involving colonialism and pre-hispanic language and traditions that partly justify the hatred for this idea. To be fair, it’s quite interesting that in a phonetic language such as Spanish, the “x” has become a jack of all trades.

I must strongly advise you not to try this in Mexico, especially if you’re proficient with Spanish.

4. Chilangos

The distance from Mexico City to any other point in Mexico is directly proportional to chilango hatred, especially when that distance takes you to the northern parts of Mexico. Some people will have strong arguments against chilangos for being arrogant or uneducated (arguments that could, sadly, reflect a bad experience these people had with some lame chilangos), but it’s also true that the farther away you go the easier it gets to find people without arguments to support their hate. Some of them don’t even know any chilangos! People just love to hate, don’t they?

5. Politicians, especially the president

There isn’t an ex-president in recent history we don’t really hate. Hatred typically grows throughout the presidential term, and once it’s over you can’t find a single soul who admits to having supported the guy. Ready for a little experiment? Ask a Mexican friend to name you a Mexican ex-president she really admires. Then prepare to be transported in history to the early 20th century (or even to the late 19th century). Now, that’s not something to brag about…

6. Speedy Gonzales and every other similar character

The only thing we hate more than being stereotyped is being anachronistically and stupidly stereotyped. Characters like the so-called Mexican mouse have helped to maintain a misinformed image of Mexico in foreign countries. Of course Mexico was all about horses and sombreros a hundred years ago, but not anymore. We do say ándale though.

7. Public transport…and transportation in general

Try this the next time you have some Mexican friends around: start talking about how good public transport is in [wherever you want] and get ready to hear a mouthful of stories regarding every possible issue with public transportation in Mexico. There are a lot of things to hate about our transport system and about traffic in the cities, and we certainly know them all.

8. Penalties in the FIFA World Cup

This is a true classic. There are a lot of Mexicans who are able to recall at least three occasions when our national team’s been eliminated from the World Cup during a penalty or during penalty rounds. This has happened so many times (and in so many ridiculous ways) that people’s idea of a curse lying over the national team doesn’t sound illogical at all. I know you guys can come up with some good jokes about this.

9. Summertime…and its hurricanes

Of course we love to complain about our fabulous and wet summers. For the most part, the climate in Mexico is pretty benevolent, and we do prefer our damp summers to snowy winters or any other extreme condition, but even after living here our whole lives, the idea of a summer full of sun, beach, and fun never really abandons us. If you’ve been in Mexico during summertime, you know it equals hurricanes and lots of rain and tropical storms and cold fronts (yes, you read that correctly). And images on television of faraway beaches where people are having a hell of a time.

10. The relocation of Mexico to Central or South America

This is another simple experiment, so go ahead and try it whenever you’re among a group of Mexicans. Dare to tell them Mexico isn’t in North America. Personally, I’ve never really understood that strange pride we Mexicans take in being part of North America when we share a lot more with our southern neighbors. Of course anyone could argue we just hate geographical inaccuracies (yeah, right!), but there’s something in our reaction that goes far beyond that.

11. Faux tortillas

I know I’m always talking about tortillas, but we really have a strong fixation with them. When Mexicans travel abroad it’ll be the first thing we miss (even more than our own mothers), and it’s quite cruel that tortillas are advertised everywhere around the world, but they never manage to deliver the real thing. Prepacked tortillas will never hold a candle to the ones that originate in the depths of a tortilleria, not to mention the handmade blue ones.

12. Maná

There are two issues here. 1) Why do people outside Mexico like this band so much? 2) Why do we Mexicans hate them so? Yes, they’re really bad, but they play more in the leave them alone they’re super lame league than in the let’s hate them as we hate Ricardo Arjona league. Don’t get me wrong, I hate them too.