Matador Network's Blog, page 2214

Things you didn't know about Philly

Photo: Vic15

1. Rocky Balboa is immortalized in bronze at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

We love Rocky so much we’ve got a two-ton, 10ft-tall version of him outside of the city’s art museum.

2. Philadelphians eat the most pretzels.

If “you are what you eat,” then Philadelphians are the perfect pretzel; hard, salty, and a little tough on the outside but soft on the inside. Pennsylvania produces 80% of America’s pretzels, so it’s no surprise Philadelphians consume 12 times more pretzels than the rest of Americans.

Philadelphia even created National Pretzel Day, observed on April 26th, to celebrate our favorite snack.

3. Philadelphia did it first.

Philadelphia is home to a lot of American firsts, including the first post office, first fire department, first daily newspaper, first US stock exchange, first lager beer, first hospital, first zoo…the list goes on. You’re welcome, America.

4. Philadelphians love biking, and they’ll even do it naked.

Philadelphia is a bike-friendly city and has the most bicycle commuters per capita. Once a year, we host the Philly Naked Bike Ride. It’s a leisurely, 10-mile trek through the streets of the city where bicyclists can wear as little as they please.

5. Philadelphia is artsy.

Museums in the City of Brotherly Love is chock full of impressionist paintings. Philly also has over 2,000 outdoor murals thanks to city programs like the Mural Arts Program.

6. Philadelphian sports fans are incredibly hardcore.

Philadelphia sports fans often get a bad rap from national news outlets for things like throwing snowballs at Santa and the 2008 World Series riots. Veterans Stadium even installed a court, judge, and jail for rogue fans. But the unruliness of Philadelphia fans is a result of their lifetime dedication to their local sports teams. When it comes to statistics, Philadelphia fans fill the stadiums for games, are more likely to travel to away games than any other city’s fans, and are considered the best at tailgating.

Philadelphia teams hardly win championships, but loyal fans will follow their teams to almost-victory year after year.

7. Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon is a part of everyday life in Philadelphia.

Not only is Kevin Bacon a Philly native, but Philadelphians encounter this concept on a daily basis. It’s not like New York City where you might run into someone and then never see them again. If you’re in Philadelphia long enough, you’ll begin to see the same faces. It’s the fewer degrees of separation that makes Philadelphia feel like a tight-knit community.

8. It’s one of the best beer cities in the country.

Philadelphia bars have a wide variety of brews from around the world, but locals aren’t snobbish about it. Philly bartenders take pride in playing matchmaker when it comes to pairing a customer to a certain beer, so ask questions — your bartender will find a brew that fits your taste.

9. Philadelphia has over 200 BYOB restaurants.

Thanks to Pennsylvania’s antiquated and conservative liquor laws, Philadelphia has a high density of BYOB restaurants. And most of them have no corkage fee.

10. Philadelphians have one of the most distinct accents in the US.

The Philadelphian accent is considered one of the hardest to emulate. It’s seen as so peculiar that it’s also one of the most studied accents of American English. If you don’t know what a Philadelphia accent sounds like, listen to the Dead Milkmen or the Bloodhound Gang.

11. Philly is home to the world’s largest landscaped urban park.

Fairmount Park is 9,200 acres of hiking trails, forests, lakes, creeks, valleys, and wetlands. And it’s all within the boundaries of Philadelphia.

12. It’s got a museum dedicated to pizza.

Pizza Brain celebrates the culture and history of American-style pizza and is home to the world’s largest collection of pizza artifacts. They also serve pizzas with recipes so inventive you might think the combination of ingredients is heinous.

For instance, take a look at the Granny Divjack, a white pie with mozzarella, Gorgonzola, almonds, granny smith apples, and caramelized onions. At first glance it seems like a terrible idea, but these are flavors that complement each other perfectly.

Ultimate Burning Man packing list

Photo: Michael Holden

Note: This is a revamp of Ross Borden’s original article, with reader suggestions added. It was originally published on August 22, 2011. Feel free to contribute more packing-list items in the comments!

GETTING THERE

The first step to a successful trip to Burning Man is the trip itself.

1. Don’t make the trip twice. Make sure you have your tickets!

2. Printed out google directions to Black Rock City (BRC). There will be long stretches where you are out of cell service area, so don’t rely on directions from your phone.

3. A spare car key. In case one of them is lost on the Playa.

4. A hide-a-key. So that you can leave the spare and people from your group can get into the car if need be, while everyone is out running around.

5. Car charger for your phone.

6. Flashlight.

7. Make sure your tires are in good shape and you have a spare.

8. Either bring a small gas can or be very sure to fill up often. Gas stations are scarce along the 90-mile stretch from Fernley to BRC).

9. Some people choose to take illegal substances out to Black Rock City. Keep in mind that you will be driving through Nevada, which has some of the toughest drug laws in the country.1

10. A good set of ratchet tie-downs. Better than bungees!

1 IF you are going to take illegal drugs to Burning Man, make sure you drive the speed limit and don’t give a cop any reason to pull you over. Having open containers in the car or allowing your passengers to smoke ganja is asking for trouble, as either one would warrant a full car/trunk search.

Photo: Sterling Ely

THINGS TO HELP PIMP OUT YOUR CAMP AND MAKE IT MORE COMFORTABLE

The Black Rock Desert is not designed to sustain human life. It is hot, flat, windy, dusty, devoid of vegetation and water, and very inhospitable. The more of the following things you can bring out, the more comfortable you and your group are going to be.

1. Shade structure! Get creative…it is essential to have some escape from the sun – and something that can sustain high winds. If you don’t know where to start, get some ideas here.

2. An RV — this is a big one. I take an RV out with my group each year because during the day it’s (way) too hot to sleep in tents and provided your RV has a generator, the air-con will save your life and make you lots of friends. And it can mean the difference between getting sand-blasted in a Black Rock windstorm to being inside, rolling doobies and cooking quesadillas.

Unfortunately, RVs are crazy expensive for this week because it’s Labor Day and every rental place knows about Burning Man. If you can’t afford to rent an RV the traditional way, I’ve had luck the past two years scanning Craigslist for RVs that are listed “for sale,” and cold calling each owner to see if he would be interested in making a quick $1200 for a one-week rental before putting it right back on the market. If you can pull this off and split the cost between friends it’s well worth it.

3. Tent(s). If you have more than one tent, I would suggest bringing two. Anything left “out in the elements” will be covered in dust within 20 minutes of arriving on the Playa. It’s nice to have one tent to sleep in and one to store all your stuff in.

4. Extra-long tent stakes. As I said above, the wind is no joke in the Black Rock Desert. I have seen 60mph gusts at Burning Man and I’ve also seen tents cartwheeling down the Playa like tumbleweeds. No fun…so when setting up your tent you need to batten down the hatches and expect the worst. Sometimes for larger tents it’s a good idea to bring super skinny rebar, which can be bent and driven down deep into the Playa to hold your tent in place.

5. Warm sleeping bag. Yes, it is hot most of the time, but around 3am temps plummet and it can get very cold.

6. Sleeping pad. The more the better.

7. Pillow(s).

8. A tarp. To go under your tent.

9. Folding card table(s). If you have more than one, bring them all. It’s really nice to have a table to eat / cook on and just sit at when drinking / playing cards.

10. Folding chairs, camping chairs… Preferably with cup holders.

11. Lanters, tiki torches, or other sources of ‘space light’.

12. Camping stove and extra gas. The bigger the better, so if you have a Coleman that you use for car camping, better take that over an MSR backpacking stove.

13. Christmas lights or strands of LED lights to give your camp a nice glow.

14. A large tub for cleaning feet. After running around in sandals all day it’s SO nice to clean your feet off and put some clean socks on before going out at night.

15. Vinegar. Add it to that tub with water to soak your feet and help avoid “Playa foot,” a chemical burn caused by the alkali dust in the desert.

16. Don’t bring carpet or astroturf. They fray and pieces get blown away, and they’re a beating to clean up.

17. E-wire or battery- / solar-powered Christmas lights. Use ‘em to decorate your tent, bike, self.

18. Fire extinguisher. Especially if you’re going to, you know, burn anything.

Photo: Neil Girling

KITCHEN AND COOKING

Being a ninja about planning your food / booze and kitchen is well worth the effort.

1. A huge cooler. I bring all the coolers I own and one of them could fit a body in it. I store food (after the Costco mission) in a few of the smaller ones and pack the big one with ice. (You will be able to buy ice in BRC but it’s expensive and a pain to carry back to your camp from Center Camp. Bring as much ice as possible. Dry Ice is even better.

2. Pots, pans, cooking spoons, strainer, cutting board.

3. A couple sharp kitchen knives.

4. Cleaning supplies for dishes, sponges, paper towels.

5. A pack of large ziplock bags.

6. A washtub for doing dishes.

7. Bowls, plates, forks, and knives. I would recommend either hard plastic stuff that can be washed or paper stuff that can be burned.

8. A large pack of the heftiest garbage bags you can find.

9. Mugs and cups. Drinks are free, but drinking out of your dusty hands might not be the way to go.

See more: 30 of the coolest Burning Man art installations ever
FOOD AND DRINKS

1. Be strategic about food. Anything that goes out with you either needs to be consumed or brought back out of the desert with you. I would recommend planning every meal before you go shopping and bringing things that compress well or burn.

2. Water! Plan on each person in your group drinking a gallon of water per day. Yes, a gallon per day per person is a shit-ton, but if you are not constantly drinking water you will get dehydrated.

3. Booze. Booze is good, usually better cold so don’t forget your cooler(s) +ice. If you bring beers, it’s better to bring cans.

4. Eats. You want to bring things that are easy to prepare and have a lot of calories and protein…there might be days where you only get one real meal.

5. The more ‘preparing’ you can do at your house before Burning Man, the better. For example, it’s great to BBQ a bunch of chicken breasts before you leave and seal them up in ziplocks to be frozen in the cooler.

6. No-prep foods that don’t require heating or water. Example: trail mix, cereal.

Photo: John Curley

GEAR

1. Bike – absolutely essential. Burning Man is massive and you will want to go and do things that are very far away from each other.

2. A flashpack. This is a small backpack that can literally be rolled up and stuffed in your pocket, but also be unrolled and used to carry dozens of cold beers around the Playa.

3. A camelback hydration system. This will be nice to have during the day when you’re cruising around on your bike. Note: Putting margaritas in it at night can be dangerous.

4. Camera. Burning Man is a very photogenic place. You will get amazing shots if you always have your camera on you. Make sure to bring a few ziplock bags to ensure it’s not affected by the dust.

5. Headlamp. Critical for finding things at night in your camp and riding a bike at night.

6. Goggles. Serious sandstorms are serious. Search eBay for used military goggles.

HARDWARE

1. Extension cords and power strips.

2. Duct tape, zip ties, bungee cords.

3. A small sledgehammer to put in your extra-long tent stakes.

4. Rope.

5. Hand-held vacuum. If you have one, bring it. If you have an RV, bringing a full-sized vacuum is not a bad idea.

6. A rake. For combing through sand and keeping your camp clean.

PERSONAL ITEMS

Photo: Toby Keller

1. Sunblock. Even if you’re going for that deep, dark, Black Rock Desert tan, bring some high SPF for your face and shoulders. The sun is eff-ing hot.

2. Earplugs. Burning Man doesn’t stop when you do, so if you’re a light sleeper it’s a good idea to bring some.

3. One-ply toilet paper. For use at your camp’s local portos.

4. Basic dopp kit. Toothbrush, toothpaste, razor, etc.

5. Lip balm. Preferably with sunblock in it.

6. Towels. Bring a few per person; they will get dirty fast.

7. Lotion, or aloe vera post-sun burn stuff.

8. Eye drops. The wind and dust can be hard on the ojos.

9. Solar shower. These are great since your only other options for cleaning off are a shower in an RV or stripping down and chasing one of the non-potable water trucks that spray the playa during the day.

10. Smokes and gum! You can’t just run down to the gas station to get either one, and both of these can be constantly gifted. Both are crowd pleasers.

11. Multiple bottles of hand sanitizer.

12. Saline nasal spray. The desert can really dry out your nose.

13. Prescriptions. Be they birth control, contact lens solution, just anything that you might possibly need, and enough for a few weeks.

14. Spray bottle. Mist away.

CLOTHES

1. Bring functional clothes and leave the brand names at home. You’ll notice a lot of people aren’t wearing clothes that have the brand stitched right across the front. Better to rock random stuff you find at thrift stores.

2. You want to bring layers. It will get both very hot and very cold.

3. Warm jacket or hoodie.

4. A couple pairs of shoes. And at least one pair that you’re ready to toss after Burning Man. They will be dead.

5. Sandals.

6. Hats. Bring a few.

7. Sunglasses. The brand-less, gas station kind are best, and buy a few pairs because those are made in China and won’t all survive the week.

8. Bandanna, one big enough to tie around your neck. It’ll help keep your skin from chafing from things hanging ’round it, like cameras and Christmas lights.

Photo: Mindaugas Danys

9. Portable sewing kit. Potential costume emergencies abound in the desert.

COSTUMES!

1. Before you go thrift store shopping for awesome, silly, and sexy costumes, buy some LED lights, a few packs of glow sticks — or glow-anything. If not for aesthetics, you need to be well lit when walking and riding your bike around the Playa at night. You certainly don’t want to get hit by an art car or someone else not paying attention on their bike.

2. The sky is the limit for costumes at Burning Man. You can’t go too big. If you rock something completely outrageous that you’d never wear to a Halloween party, there will always be people that are more outrageous, remarkable, or naked. Be yourself and have fun.

THOUGHTS ON PARTICIPATION

One common misconception of Burning Man is that it’s a “barter economy.” It’s not. It’s actually a ‘gift economy.’ If you make someone a taco or a cocktail, they might give you a hug but they’re not going to give you their hat. And you might be surprised how liberating it is to not touch money for an entire week of your life.

This system only works because almost everyone who comes to Burning Man brings something — a good or service that provides value for total strangers. What your group’s contribution will be is one of the toughest decisions to make as you’re planning your trip to BRC.

Don’t think that you’ll always be carrying something around and giving it out…just make a meaningful contribution at some point. I find that people always appreciate good food and quality booze, so if you throw a little cocktail party right on your street and invite everyone who walks by to have some drinks and dinner, you will make lots of new friends and your contribution will be a success.

SOME GENERAL ADVICE

1. Plan out each individual meal as though you are going camping. If you don’t, you’re likely to either run out of food or buy way too much and have to toss it at the end.

2. Ziplocks. Buy the biggest ziplocks you can find and bag up your stuff. For example, it’s always nice to have a completely clean pair of clothes to drive home in. You’ll also need the bags for any cameras / iPods / electronics, and for cooler food.

3. Plan out and remember where in your car or around your camp you’ve stored things. It’s easy to pack a car or RV full of stuff and get to camp only to realize that you have no idea where things are being kept and have to go digging.

4. Pound water constantly. It is uncomfortable and unnatural to drink as much water as you need to be drinking in BRC. To keep myself and all of my friends hydrated at Burning Man, I use a ‘game’ that I use while climbing high-altitude mountains. At least 3 times each day I gather up all the people standing around my camp and we have a water-chugging contest. If you are hydrated you will be happy.

5. There are no dumpsters at Burning Man. You pack out everything you take in, including trash (and dirty water!), so always try to plan ahead and either choose things that can be cleaned and reused, or things that can be burned.

6. Separate trash (burnable, non-burnable, and recycling) from the very beginning.

7. Shyza sanitiza. You are eating and drinking and using porto-potties that a lot of other people are using. Keep the hands clean at all times.

8. Make no mistake… Burning Man is the biggest, bad-est party you’ve ever been to in your entire life, so get stoked! You are going to have a blast!

Check out all of Matador’s coverage of Burning Man!

Photo: Cameron Grant

Going to space in a balloon [vid]

Tired of continually hearing that space tourism is “just over the horizon,” MatadorU student Mike Dewey and a team of space enthusiasts decided to build their own spacecraft using household materials, a mobile phone, a couple of GoPros, and a weather balloon.

This isn’t the first time enthusiasts have taken matters into their own hands, but every time it’s done by someone not funded by NASA or some mega-corporation, it brings us a step closer to space access for everyone. Maybe, someday, it will be me soaring to the edge of space in a capsule tethered to a balloon invented by one of the guys in this video.

Sounds like the magic of grassroots innovation…as long as the descent portion of the journey is as well thought-out as the ascent.

Travel is the best education

“Never let school interfere with your education.”

While there’s plenty of debate over who actually originated that quote, and the context in which they said it, nobody argues the point — life’s real education happens outside the classroom.

For so many of us who suffer from wanderlust, finishing school is the roadblock that keeps us from living the dream and hitting the road. It’s a cruel irony that our education can stand in the way of our education.

This gallery is a collection of images and arguments that prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that classrooms and textbooks are only one way we learn, and that travel is, in fact, the best form of education.




1

Crysta Parkinson

"The world is the best classroom I could think of for our four-year-old daughter, Bria. In her short life she has been to five countries, exploring and learning up close and personal. She has seen Maori carvings in New Zealand, visited the Straw Market in Nassau, and investigated an indigenous village in Costa Rica. You can’t get those lessons from a textbook. This photo was taken at the Atlantis Resort in Paradise Island, Bahamas, where she learned about marine life in the best way possible – with her hands."

2

Nat Kuleba

"To know that you are here to live a life of bliss, excitement, and adventure. That you are here for a short time and are meant to explore the depth, wonder, and beauty of this thing called Life. To learn this and experience this from a very young age is a gift that absolutely comes from the freedom of seeing this glorious planet and the wonders on it. Travel teaches you how to live a life of total joy and passion in all that you do – it shows you the uniqueness of this world, it teaches you how to see inside and outside yourself, it expands your mind, it shows you deep appreciation for every moment, it teaches you compassion, it deepens your relationships and opens life doors for new and wondrous opportunities – it is the best form of education by any means. Travel is real school."

3

Johanna Nyman

"The best way to educate children is by traveling, showing them the world and how different peoples live their lives. An even better way of learning may be to live in another place for a while. This picture shows my daughter while we lived in a small town called Miramar in Argentina. It was not only a trip to the other side of the world, it was a trip that showed us a bit more of ourselves and about who we are, as the exciting days became every day life. To travel is to discover new places as much as it is to discover ourselves."

Intermission




8
18 people talk about their greatest insecurities as travelers
by Katie Scott Aiton



3
6 things we stand to lose by traveling too fast
by Maggie Wallace



6
An interview with Mary Sojourner on her novel 29
by Jo Jackson












4

Emily Stewart

"The town of Oundle was proud to support the Women's Tour Grand Depart in May. The Tour Series is the British equivalent to the Tour de France except it also has a separate women's race. The entire town, including schoolchildren, came out to cheer on the female racers. While most major races prohibit females, I was inspired to see schools empowering women, young and old, within a male-dominated sport."

5

Bethany Coan

"'Would you like to learn cat gut?' asked Thao, a young and energetic Sister. Having experienced the phenomenon a week prior at a Buddhist monastery in Hue, Vietnam, we were still pondering the mystery behind the practice of cat gut. Illegal in the United States and now made of synthetic materials (no longer cat parts), the sharp two-centimeter long cat gut is threaded into a hypodermic needle then injected deep into the many layers of human skin to work out aches and pains over a prolonged period of time (more than acupuncture needles alone) before being absorbed by the body. Now at a Catholic convent an hour and a half outside of Hue (only accessible by motorbikes on windy dirt-roads), the tables had turned and we were practicing the procedure on the trusting and eager Hao, an open-minded acupuncture student."

6

Abby Gallagher

"The young children in the Hill Tribes of Chiang Mai, Thailand have a lesson to teach us about learning itself. The 60 people that make up this particular tribe brought us into their small settlement to teach about their education system. It is mirrored as a Western school but is taught by the two adults who are the most educated. They let us into their classroom, showed off their school’s song and dance then fed us at lunch time. The most important lesson is something you cannot buy with college tuition; it is watching those with nothing share everything with you, and that is an invaluable moment."

7

Marie King

"Travel gives us something that a formal education cannot – a true sense of reality and compassion for how others live. To learn about something from books and in articles on the internet is an entirely different experience from seeing it yourself, and it is something you will not expect or be able to prepare for. To understand the very traditional simple lives that are lived next door to a thriving modern city. To be approached on the street by children begging for a quarter. You don’t know how your body and mind will respond to the raw reality. Everyone should experience this sense of travel, to gain a deeper connection and understanding of humanity."

8

Alia Radman

"This photo was taken in Desert Agafay, just outside of Marrakech near the Atlas Mountains. The best education for me was time spent with others or alone in different environments."

9

Heather Sinclair

"The complexity of mass poverty is rarely explored in North American public education. I had a chance to not just learn but feel the perpetual cycle of poverty in the rural community of Sinazeze in Zambia’s southern province. This was a community underrepresented by their government; I saw failed education, religion, and lack of basic resources. Despite the abandonment, there was optimism. School does not properly teach compassion, but travel will."

Intermission




3
7 things small-town life taught me about surviving in the big city
by Christi Helen



5
15 portraits of relationships on the road
by MatadorU Students



15
52 of the world’s best tourist attractions that actually live up to the hype
by Joe Batruny












10

Tony Toto

"I’m on a docent-led tour of the Mayall 4-M Optical Telescope that is located just below the 6,875-foot summit at the Kitt Peak National Observatory on the Tohono O’odham Nation, southwest of Tucson, Arizona. I learn that the Mayall has a prime focal length of f2.7, the dome and primary mirror weigh 35 and 15 tons respectively and the mirror is polished to one-millionth of an inch. I stand in wonderment at the possibility of the celestial photos this technological behemoth captures. After a 360-degree view of the observatory and Sonoran Desert from the Mayall’s scenic viewing gallery, the tour makes its way outside where I capture a photo of what I refer to as “Telescopic Skyline.” The Kitt Peak Visitor Center’s mission is to inspire wonder and awe and to inform and educate the public about basic astronomy and the scientific method through exhibits, programs, and tours – they succeed in this mission admirably."

11

Stephanie Saint

"I’ve been living and teaching in South Korea for the past seven months. This is a picture of one of my kindergarten students and a co-worker on the roof of our school building. For me, the image encapsulates the concept that travel is the greatest form of education. Since moving abroad I’ve adapted to life in the weird and wonderful concrete jungle that is Seoul, learned how to (semi)control a classroom full of children, and formed many new friendships with some really wonderful people."

12

Christine Parcells

"When we look at something – a person, an image, an animal, whatever it might be – we make judgments and assumptions due to how our own culture and society have conditioned us. Graffiti in the United States has a mostly negative connotation, while in other countries it may not. In Buenos Aires there is a strong street artist movement to adorn public walls with art – all with the permission from the building’s owners. The art is not vandalism, but serves a larger purpose of expression, creativity, and satire. Traveling allows us to rethink the snap judgments we make and opens our minds to new interpretations."

13

Samantha Bilkey

"Over the past few years I realized that I learned and was emotionally impacted more from my travels than I was in any classroom my entire life. I took a fifth year in college to study abroad in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain (the end of the road for the Pilgrimage of St. James). I immersed myself as much as possible in the culture. One of the best ways to do so was trying all the local foods, such as grilled octopus slathered in olive oil and paprika served on a wooden platter for tapas. Having a home base in Europe also enabled me to travel around easily. I quickly understood how to avoid waiting in long museum lines, read maps, and the joy of traveling alone. Probably one of my best moments from that year was when I went to Rome for spring break all by myself and I realized, over my margherita pizza, wine, and tiramisu all just for me, how grown up and proud I felt to be on my own in a new country with only myself to worry about."

14

Amy Edwards

"I’m a nurse from Canada who works in hospitals where the main language is English. In this picture I was in a garbage dump village in Mae Sot, Thailand, working with Burmese refugees who did not speak a word of English. There I was with a backpack full of gauze, iodine, and bandages, with no translator and many patients who didn’t have a basic knowledge of their own anatomy, trying to diagnose everything from heart burn to tuberculosis and malaria. No doctor, no translator, just my own powers of observation, a lot of sign language and trusting my gut. I wouldn’t trade what I learned from that experience for the world!"

15

Vicki Jones

"Friends from Brazil, Argentina and the United States sit around a plastic table outside of a salumeria located in a rural town 30 minutes from Pergamino, Argentina. The deli man prepared us a mountain of cubed salami, mortadella, and provolone cheese. After handing us the plate he pointed across the street and told us to buy our bread from the woman who owns the bread shop. Though bread pairs with the food he sells, he told us he doesn't sell it out of respect for his neighbor's business. Such a simple gesture cultivates an environment of sharing and mutual respect."

16

Maria Christina Rizopoulou

"During our visit in the Sinai region in Egypt we had the chance to spend some time with the local Bedouins and learn about their life. One thing that struck me was that the Bedouin girls there have to work hard from a very young age, to assist for instance in the family camel breeding. However, unlike the boys, they are not allowed to get any basic education at all."

17

Samantha Lucey

"Travel is the best form of education because it gives you the opportunity to visit the places and schools that marked an inspirational change in your country's history. The picture above is
from the Monroe School in Topeka, Kansas that was recognized for the
Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court case. When the Supreme
Court ruled that separate school systems for blacks and whites were
inherently unequal, and thus violating the Fourteenth Amendment of the
U.S Constitution. Just having the chance to touch and see the subjects
that were once in a ripped page of a textbook is a mixture of emotions
that you will never be able to forget."

What you'll miss after leaving Egypt

Photo: Cameron Grant

1. The smell of incense burning everywhere

And I mean everywhere. Egyptians burn it in shops, on the street, in restaurants, hotels. Where there are people there is incense. Thin sticks of the stuff slowly burn away, filling the breeze with delicious smells of sweet vanilla, thick lavender, or heavy musk. Often different flavors mix together, creating a thin blanket of smoke in the air.

2. Tasty balls of Egyptian falafel

Egyptian falafel is not like regular falafel. Due to a lifetime of dislike for chickpeas, it wasn’t until I was 19 years old that I tried my first falafel ball. Luckily that was in Egypt, where falafel is made with fava beans (broad beans) instead of chickpeas, and my life changed forever. I could live almost exclusively off of those little fried balls, wrapped up with salad, or even just by themselves, served up in paper cones like chips at the seaside.

3. The call to prayer

It’s strangely comforting to have a daily routine of chanting ring out across town, and even stranger once you’ve grown so accustomed to it you barely take notice. Unless it’s to realize the time.

4. The sweet little Bedouin girls

Once you’ve made friends with them and they know you’re a local, they’ll stop harassing you. When you’re on first-name terms, and have bought at least a dozen of the bracelets they weave on their toes, they’ll stop trying to sell to you. Instead they’ll come over just to chat, play, and borrow your snorkel and mask to jump into the sea fully clothed.

5. Exploring the streets at sunrise

The sun rises at approximately 5am, so, unless you set a particularly loud alarm or pull an all-nighter, it’s pretty difficult to be up for sunrise. It’s absolutely worth it though. Egyptian culture lends itself to late, peaceful mornings and days that run well into the night, with most shops not closing until late evening. Early morning exploring means no people, just lots of cats.

6. Cats, everywhere

It’s perhaps not ideal for people with allergies or any amount of distain for the furry little guys. They’re everywhere in Egypt. They’ll be in every restaurant, cafe, or bar just waiting for your heart to break and your food to fall. Though, I don’t miss the wailing of cat fights, often indistinguishable from the screaming of babies.

7. Spending hot breezy evenings smoking shisha

I’m not a smoker but there’s something so beautifully peaceful about sitting in a cafe by the sea, slowly puffing on delicious flavoured air and laughing with friends. Your lungs might not agree, but nothing beats a sweet cherry shisha on a humid night out.

8. The best Thai restaurant in Egypt

Realistically I’m not sure how hard it is to be voted the best Thai restaurant in Egypt — Blue House may be only one of three. But it’s damn tasty, and when you can get a freshly made smoothie, spring rolls, and a veggie Thai green curry for less than a tenner, there’s no reason not to go daily. Except Mondays. They’re closed on Mondays.

9. Cozy evenings in the desert

Sipping sweet Bedouin tea, snuggled up in pillows, and staring into a sky filled with shooting stars. Of course you’ll have to get far away from Cairo to enjoy it. In the city you’d be lucky to notice anything through the smog and light pollution.

10. Hours spent playing in the sea

Living a five-minute walk from the Red Sea means an almost instant escape from the never-ending heat. Just throw yourself into the water. This won’t work in summer, though, when the water gets so hot you don’t feel any temperature difference at all. You might as well be getting into a bath.

But the Red Sea has some of the prettiest diving and snorkeling spots in the world. Coral gardens dot the coastline, fish swarm around your body, and if you’re insanely lucky, you may see turtles or dolphins.

The American 'ism' you can't escape

Photo: Alex

You find yourself sitting at a big conference table in one of those trying-to-be-classy corporate hotel meeting rooms. There’s a pad and pen in front of you. The company has sent you to a training on stereotyping. You figure it’s a waste. You’ve been through all of that before — doesn’t matter if you’re Anglo, African-American, Asian-American, whatever. You went to college and the racism training was part of the deal.

The room fills. Everybody’s got their laptops open in front of them and a cup of bad hotel coffee. A person walks in and closes the door. The person is dressed in baggy clothing. It wears a featureless mask and gloves. You wonder if this is some Occupy mic-check.

“Please put your laptops and phones away,” the person says. The voice is muffled. There’s no way to tell who’s speaking. You obey. You figure the company is paying for this, you might as well take a shot at something different from the featureless days of cell, email, Excel, tweeting, and Facebook that seem to be eating your life.

The room is quiet. A minute passes, then five. You wish there were a window, but of course there isn’t. You feel jittery. You remember that hilarious scene in Northern Exposure when the young New York doc is challenged by the Native woman to sit still for five minutes, and after a few seconds starts tapping the arm of his chair. You wonder when you got so wired.

“In the last week,” the person says, “I have been condescended to. Someone has said to me, ‘You’re really intelligent’ with amazement in his voice. Another person told me I’m not like other people she knows who share my condition. Yet another person told me there would be no job interview — even though my credentials are far better than hers. And, of course, I have been ignored.”

You’re prepared to be outraged. You tell yourself you have to be more attentive in the future. You wonder which race the person is. Is it disabled? Is it disfigured? You can see it isn’t fat.

The person carefully unties the mask. She is an old white woman. “Please begin writing on the pad,” she says. “Write everything you think you know about me. You have ten minutes to write. Keep the pen moving no matter what. I’ll let you know when time is up. Begin with this opening: ‘You are…’ Start now.”

You pick up the pen and hesitate. What if you have to read this? What if you write the truth and have to read it? She is old and she is a woman. You decide to be honest — even if it hurts. You write:

You are old. You are a woman. You are white. You are normal size. You have gray-green eyes and hair that is more white than brown. You wear no makeup. You wear two earrings in one ear and one in the other. You might be an old hippie, an old academic, an old Feminist, an old…

You stop writing. You look up. The woman smiles. You write:

You have a sense of humor. You have wrinkles fanning out from the edges of your eyes. You are angry. You are ironic. You are someone’s mother, someone’s grandmother. You are full of secrets. You are full of years. You remind me of my aunt. You remind me of my high school teacher. You remind me of something else. I don’t know what it is.

You write more, filling in the time. “Stop,” the woman says. “I’d like to hear what you’ve written.”

People read. You go last. No one has read “You are old.”

“I’m uncomfortable reading,” you say. “What do I really know about you? I don’t even know how you like your pizza!”

The woman laughs. “I don’t like pizza. Just read.”

“You are an old white woman,” you read. She nods. “Thank you. Thank you for writing the word ‘old.’ Perhaps the most interesting phenomenon in this workshop so far has been that no one wrote that I was old. What do you make of that?”

There’s silence. You look around the table and realize everyone except for the woman is younger. A woman raises her hand. “I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”

“Now,” the woman says, “we can begin.”

An hour later, the woman has told us a little from her own experience. The woman has told us how furious she is when someone denies her age. “People think it’s a compliment to tell me I have youthful spirit, energy, intelligence, whatever. My spirit, energy, intelligence are not youthful! They are 74 years old.”

You keep thinking about all the times you’ve told an older person, who’d said something about being old, that they weren’t old. You want to explain, to tell her what you’ve meant when you’ve described an old person as youthful, but the woman stops you with her next words.

“Look,” she says, “to tell an old person they aren’t like other old people is exactly the same as the not-so-subtle racism in telling an African American they aren’t like other African Americans; or being amazed when a person with cerebral palsy is intelligent; or telling a Mexican American there are Mexican Americans in your neighborhood and they’re really nice people.”

But it’s what she does next that finally allows her audience to open up. She asks you to close your eyes. “So,” she says, “let yourself imagine it’s perhaps 30, maybe 40 years from now. You are you. You talk with a younger colleague you don’t know well. He tells you he’s just come back from running a marathon in his hometown. You tell him you love walking, that you put in three to four miles a day. ‘Good for you!!!’ he says, as he would praise a child, and pats you on the shoulder. How does that feel?”

You open your eyes. Some of the other participants are shaking their heads. One of the women looks at the old woman and nods. You begin to crumple the paper in front of you. The old woman grins. “No,” she says, “I want you all to keep what you’ve written — as artifacts.

“Today you may have learned a little, perhaps for the first time, about how it is for many old women in America, 2014. It’s slightly different for most men — especially if they’re white and middle-class. And it’s always different for the poor. But, by and large, to be old in America is to be marginalized and condescended to at best, ignored at worst.

“And that fate is heading for you at the speed of unexamined brainwashing and assumption. I hope what we’ve done today will be a significant speed bump.”

Dancing around the world

FLASH MOBS ARE COOL, but it takes a real traveler to put himself in front of a camera with some locals, and try to boogie with them. I love watching these videos by Matt Harding, who has made it his goal to dance in every single country in the world. What I like the most is how unabashed he is when it comes to learning the dances of the cultures he encounters, and how those dancing with him are so proud to exhibit their expertise. Not to mention, how fun it all looks, and how I can’t stop smiling while watching a tall, awkward man from Connecticut shake his stuff next to some pro Syrian ballet dancers.

9 French foods your kids will love

1. Escargot

Photo: Sean Perry

Yes, escargot. Cute little snails. Still in their shells. Wait, here me out.

Kids love interesting objects, nature, and eating with their hands. Escargot, done simply in olive oil and not-too-much garlic, tastes a lot more like chicken than most things people say tastes like chicken. Only juicier. Honest! Get them past the initial hurdle of a strange, new food served in a shell (which for some outgoing kids is a major part of the fun), and they’ll love the taste and smooth texture.

2. Duck confit

Photo: Isabelle Hurbain-Palatin

Duck confit will change everything your child thinks about dark meat. Just one taste of sublime, tender, oily duck thigh and the dark meat goes first at your next Thanksgiving. Duck confit is addictive. Though some poultry comes close, nothing can quite sate a taste for duck like the real thing.

Since returning from a recent trip to Paris, my nine-year-old has taken to saying, oh-so forlornly, when faced with a chicken-dinner dish, “Chicken just isn’t the same now that I’ve had duck.” Amen, we have a dark-meat convert.

3. Cassoulet

Photo: Kevin D Weeks

Pork and beans, French-style. Okay, and some duck, probably pigskin, sausage, and whatever else the chef has lying around. This hearty dish comes in a variety of forms, but I’ve found kids most enjoy the drier, casserole version over the runnier, stew version.

Whatever’s in there, make your kids at least try everything in the dish. And the dish! What’s more convenient than an entire self-contained meal served in a earthenware pot? Bravo French culinary artists.

4. Buckwheat crepes

Photo: Tavallai

“A crepe a day keeps the doctor away,” says my son after experiencing his first crunchy-creamy crepe in a homey eight-table on Paris’ Ile St. Louis. He and his mama quickly devoured two ham-and-cheese and cream buckwheat crepes, licked their lips, and pondered a third.

Widely available and ideal for all three meals and snacks, crepes are the Swiss Army knife of French food. Eggs, ham, cheese, nutella — it doesn’t matter what you put inside, the end result is a smiling, full-bellied child. Find the best buckwheat versions at restaurants specializing in food from Brittany and northwest France.

5. Pissaladière

Photo: Stijn Nieuwendijk

When in doubt, there’s always pizza. Pissaladière is so simple, and sneaky: onions, garlic, and anchovies served on a crust slightly thicker and doughier than traditional Italian pizza crust. Yes, you will get your kids to eat anchovies — pissaladière is often served with the onions and anchovies pureed together into a kind of salty paste, which they will devour as quickly as pepperoni, none the wiser to the anchovies.

All they have to know is that it’s pizza. It’s not lying if you don’t tell them something, right? This is often an appetizer item, perfect for getting the kiddies fed faster.

6. Quiche lorraine

Photo: Mauro Quercia

Here’s one you can try at home. Just mix eggs, cream, and bacon into a crust of your choosing (yes, go ahead, use that pre-made pie crust) and bake. Once you have quiche lorraine down, get adventurous with ingredients. My family treats quiche mornings like pizza nights — everyone lends a hand as we try new combinations of fillings.

Quiche lorraine is the perfect introduction to French food, a confidence booster for any young eater. Quiche, much like crepes, is readily available throughout France and perfectly suitable for any meal (though you may have trouble finding it for breakfast) or snack.

7. Crème brûlée

Photo: Sebastian Mary

Creamy on the inside and crispy on the outside, a freshly browned crème brûlée is your child’s initiation into the interesting world of food textures and decadent French desserts. Kids dig cracking through crust into the creamy pudding middle.

With all the sugar and fat in this one, it’s best to plan a post-meal trip to a park, playground, or the Eiffel Tower’s stairs. For that reason, my wife and I found it a better lunch than dinner dessert. While we’re on the subject, yes, you should be having dessert with lunch because it’s France and you can.

8. Croque-monsieur

Photo: Robyn Lee

More than just a sandwich, the croque-monsieur is an institution, a staple since the early 1900s for workaday Frenchmen seeking a hearty but quick lunch. This ain’t the school cafeteria’s grilled ham and cheese. Crunchy bread, melted Emmental or Gruyère cheese, smoky ham slathered in Béchamel sauce and served hot is a sure bet after a morning of sightseeing.

Served with cheese on top (or “inside out,” according to my son), it becomes quite the novelty. Add an egg and, voila, you’ve got a croque-madame. It’s a lot of sammy, but mom and dad will happily take care of any leftovers, no matter how much French onion soup, frites, and steak tartare they’ve had.

9. Pain au chocolat

Photo: cyclonebill

Bread stuffed with chocolate — obviously it makes the list. Kids love chocolate, especially in the morning, so it’s a great bribe, er, incentive to get them up and moving early. Perhaps best of all, it’s easy to eat on the go, even for tiny hands.

So make like a true Parisian and start your day right with a cafe au lait and pain au chocolat to go. If your child learns to love only one authentic French meal from this list, it just might be this one. And that’s a start.

On my first trip to Bangkok

Photo: Calvin

“I should have worn shorts.”

Walking out the doors of Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok’s hot, humid air hits me. It’s somehow harsher, wetter, and well, hotter than any other place I’ve been. Suddenly, having chosen to wear jeans on the flight seems like the wrong decision.

“These taxi colors are funky.”

Okay, so we managed to find the taxi line. Figuring out which color taxi to get is a task. Bright pink, lime green, sky blue, orange, yellow, blue and red, yellow and green…. Are they all the same? Are they different companies? It’s difficult to tell. Whatever. “Let’s just get in whichever one the guy at the stand tells us to get in.” Don’t forget to insist on the meter.

“Damn. This is cheap.”

“Let’s find lunch.” Okay. Pad thai is familiar. 35 baht? Deal. I’ll take two. How about that t-shirt? 100 baht? That’s a little over three dollars, yeah? Sold. “Is everything this cheap?” As far as street food and budget clothing goes, the answer is yes. Maybe there’s a 150 baht duffle bag to buy for storing newly purchased goods, just in case.

“Okay, so I can’t always wear shorts.”

Now it’s time to explore the Grand Palace. Seeing the Emerald Buddha Temple is on everyone’s to-do list. But the hostel staff says it’s imperative that pants are worn when visiting. The guidebook does, too. Hmm. “Let’s save that for tomorrow. I’m comfortable in these shorts right now, and it’s still damn hot.”

“Everyone’s really, really smiley here.”

The first thing you’ll likely notice, especially if arriving on a flight from, say, Paris, is how much everyone smiles in Bangkok. The people seem to be in a light and smiley mood pretty much nonstop. There are more than a few lessons to learn in the facial expressions of Bangkok’s residents.

“What’s that smell?”

It’s difficult to explain to anyone who’s never been to Bangkok. It’s sensory overload, condensed into one sense — smell. Burning charcoal, fish sauce, exhaust fumes, incense, canal water, cologne, dried squid, and dozens of spices. Needless to say, the smell is unique.

“So this is what traffic looks like.”

As dense as traffic is in New York or Los Angeles, there’s something rather different about Bangkok’s. With over five million registered vehicles in Bangkok, the situation is just about as intense (and slow) as it sounds. (It’s not very fun when combined with Bangkok’s weather, either.)

The number of motorcycles seen on the street will make your eyes widen…unless you’ve just arrived from Vietnam. And when there’s no traffic, drivers like to drive. Quickly. Just remember that next time there’s light traffic and you’re in the backseat of a taxi.

“Well, these toilets are different.”

The famed squat toilet might make you feel as if you’re looking at a computer for the first time if you’ve never come across one before. The logistics can be confusing. There’s no toilet paper, just a water hose on the wall, further complicating the situation. For a while, you open every bathroom door with fingers crossed, hoping for a Western toilet. But not to worry, after several uses, the restroom situation becomes manageable.

“I like the mall food here.”

When on a budget, food stalls are the way to go. Another suggestion is the San Francisco-themed 5th floor of Terminal 21 Shopping Mall. Seemingly geared toward office workers, the meals are typically less than 50 baht. And they’re damn good. Just as good as any food stall. Some, even better. Elsewhere in the mall are less budget-friendly options, including tacos (yes, tacos) and hot pot.

“Everyone wants to show me their cousin’s jewelry shop.”

Every guidebook mentions it — and for good reason. Many taxi or tuk-tuk drivers will ask if you’re interested in jewelry. If so, they might just happen to know someone who owns a jewelry shop. What a coincidence, right? As good-natured as everyone may be, it’s evident the bills aren’t going to pay themselves.

“This market sells snakes?”

There’s no shortage of markets around Bangkok. Some strictly sell clothing, tapestries, and wares. I’ve seen similar ones in other parts of the world. What I haven’t seen elsewhere are food markets like Bangkok’s.

A short walk from my hostel was the most intriguing one. With a panoramic neck turn and eye scan, it’s laid out for me in plain sight — snakes, eels, frogs, chickens, insects, and more. If (an official) Whole Foods decides to open in Bangkok, they’ll have some stiff competition.

“Anything can be negotiated, apparently.”

With six people traveling together, logistics become tricky — even regarding situations as simple as getting across town. Tuk-tuks aren’t meant to fit six passengers, and the driver makes it known. No problem. Nothing 25 baht can’t fix. The same goes for any sticky situation. A few handshakes, smiles, and effective communication can make anything work out. Well, a small sum of well-placed money never hurts, either.

A mountain biking odyssey in Peru

The network of Incan trails winding along Andean mountainsides have drawn some of the world’s most adventurous mountain bikers to Peru. Typically, surviving these trails means possessing super-human route-finding skills and being happy to suffer a beat-down on tough terrain at elevation.

Because getting lost in the labyrinth of ancient trails isn’t adventure enough for Joey Schusler and his crew, they ventured into the notoriously rugged Cordillera Huayhuash, in Peru’s Ancash region, as shown above in the short film Huayhuash.

Being surrounded by 21,000ft peaks and miles of untouched singletrack? Sign me up. Miles of hike-a-bike? Armed drunks who can’t decide between robbing you and being your buddy? No worthwhile adventure is ever easy. I’m still in.