archives: Culture

Korean Beauty

  8 Comments

John Francis Power learns what it means to be beautiful in South Korea.   More »

Expat Life in Japan: Baby Shower Lost in Translation

  3 Comments

I wondered if the guests approached it as a novel, if not slightly wacky event, in the same way that many Japanese are attracted to prison and church   More »

Notes on Personal Space: A Canadian Expat in Turkey

Popular  11 Comments

All that kissing! One cheek and then the other, the two faces weaving dangerously close, the noses almost touching. You could study your friends' pore  More »

How To Study Xhosa

  2 Comments

Unfortunately, the nature of South Africa’s past, and the diversity of its population has prevented linguistic assimilation to a large degree. Even   More »

Authenticity And The Banana Pancake Trail In India

Popular  11 Comments

What and where is this pure, pious embodiment of Indianness that we are searching for?  More »

How I Learned Bahasa Indonesia

Popular  21 Comments

Things went fine for a while, but pre-planned conversations can only go so far. Indonesians have no qualms bursting out in laughter when a foreigner m  More »

Photo Essay: Dominican Snapshots

Popular  14 Comments

Snapshots of the Dominican Republic.  More »

Peru’s Incan Celebration of Inti Raymi: Cultural Preservation or Capitalistic Exploitation?

  6 Comments

It is an evocation of a long-dead past, but a past that defines the Peruvian national identity to an almost unimaginable extent.  More »

A Kashmiri Wedding, Part 2

  1 Comments

Even if Sayma was the intermediary between me and this world, I still wanted to try to absorb it on its own terms.  More »

A Kashmiri Wedding, Part 1

  6 Comments

It is not a place I would have ventured as a young woman traveling alone, but Sayma had invited me to attend her brother’s wedding, where I would be  More »

What Ikebana Taught Me About Japanese Culture

  3 Comments

Mary Richardson finds integrating into Japanese culture surprisingly easy - until her Ikebana show.  More »

The Perils And Possibilities Of Revolutionary Tourism: A Visit With The Zapatistas

  2 Comments

Reflecting on the meaning of revolutionary tourism after a visit to a Zapatista community in Chiapas, Mexico.  More »

Qoyllur Rit’i: Beating Drums and Freezing Feet


Thousands of people thronged the immediate surrounds of the church, haggling over dream-replicas in the symbolic market, competing drum beats and twir  More »

How to Make and Eat Indian Phuchkas Like a Local

  4 Comments

Find out what a phuchka is, where to find them, how to eat them like a local and how you can make them at home.  More »

My Cultural Noise Threshold is Being Violated

Popular  14 Comments

Cement grinders and jackhammers run from sunset to sunrise. The construction workers also like to blast Punjabi pop on crackling radios during their   More »

How To Score Cheap Theatre Tickets In London

  3 Comments

The British government has long recognized that young adulthood does not come with deep resources, and so many cultural institutions offer discounts f  More »

Haka: Cultural Dance in New Zealand

  4 Comments

Expat Marie Szamborski sets the record straight about the haka, a traditional dance of the Maori.   More »

5 Things NOT To Do After Returning From Abroad

Popular  24 Comments

Think twice before you: Say something like, “Going to Denmark was the greatest experience of my life. You really need to get out of the country, Col  More »

4 Wildly Popular TV Soap Operas From Around the World

  6 Comments

From 'house slaves' in China to mother-in-laws in India, Alex Sehmer looks at some of the most popular international TV dramas.   More »

Dating Tips From Around The World

  8 Comments

Be careful buying someone a drink in Norway; watch out for thrown punches in Mongolia.  More »

Street Performance Artists in Santiago, Chile


While Willy threw the juggling knives into the air, focused yet seemingly unconcerned about the blades, Luis juggled with fire.  More »

Over Before It Starts: Life And Death In Mongolia

  7 Comments

Medical facilities aside, the families of Bayan Ulgii face another obstacle to fighting infant and maternal mortality: poverty.   More »

Finding Art In Tanzanian Tingatinga

  4 Comments

I go back outside and look up and down the impossibly colorful street. I’d been very close to losing interest in Tingatinga - purposefully plagiari  More »

Body Image and Culture: My Watermelon Butt

Popular  15 Comments

Different cultures have different ideas of what constitutes feminine beauty. I’m trying to learn how to appreciate the cultural norm while still man  More »

Learn Or Perish : Graduation In Uganda

  1 Comments

A Glimpse Correspondent in Uganda explores the meaning of graduation.  More »

Breaking Down The Staredown

Popular  22 Comments

As an avid traveler I often get asked how I deal with, you know, stares, when I travel in regions where not a lot of black people travel.  More »

10 Things To Know About Turkey

  9 Comments

Turkey doesn’t have a desert, and it doesn’t have any (native) camels either.  More »

Tales From the Frontier of Expat Life: On Being An American Woman In Thailand

Popular  19 Comments

More often than not, I feel like nothing I’m doing is right.  More »

Bring Your Own Food: Eating Out In The Philippines

  9 Comments

“I know a place,” he said, and then stepped on the gas.   More »

The Stigma Of Foreignness: Traveling Back To The Motherland

Popular  14 Comments

Motherland travel can sometimes be more challenging than visiting a country in which you are an obvious foreigner.   More »

Coming To Grips (Or Not?) With Violence As Communication In Bangladesh

  5 Comments

Alarmingly, what I found myself doing was adapting to another way that Bangladeshis communicate: through force.   More »

One Frenzied Weekend In Fes

  5 Comments

Stunned silence, and some obvious disbelief, hung in the air. As if it proved anything, Denny reassured us, “It’s true. Just heard it.”  More »

Studying In South Korea: An English Teacher Asks How Much Is Too Much

Popular  23 Comments

The way I see it, studying in South Korea is out of control.  More »

Tourism And The “Preservation” Of Culture: A Rebuttal

Popular  14 Comments

I find the loss of traditional cultures distressing, but I don’t think that allowing traditional cultural practices to be commercialized and purchas  More »

Cooking in Lahore: An American Woman In A Pakistani Kitchen

Popular  17 Comments

An American expat in Lahore gets a glimpse into the lives of Pakistani women.  More »

On Blogs Of The World, Intercultural Marriage, and Travel Writing: An Interview With Liz Chatburn of Pocket Cultures

  5 Comments

Liz Chatburn, managing editor of Pocket Cultures, shares her perspective on being part of a cross-cultural couple, how blogs could change travel in th  More »

The Origin of The Ugly American

Popular  17 Comments

Exploring the history of the ugly American abroad.  More »

Group and Ceremony: One Expat’s Experience With Japanese Culture

Popular  12 Comments

Group and ceremony. They have been the hardest part of adjusting to life in Japan.   More »

Burakku: Black Culture In Japan

Popular  33 Comments

“Kokujin kakkoii!” is what I was often told whenever I asked what was behind the admiration of black people. Basically, I was cool, simply for bei  More »

Tales From The Frontier Of Expat Life: A Memsahib In Pakistan

Popular  28 Comments

It is in Pakistan that I have had to come to grips with the inherent advantages and disadvantages of historical and cultural white privilege.   More »

Traveling As A Mixed-Race Couple In Asia: No, Sir, I Did Not Buy My Wife

Popular  27 Comments

There is a lot of subtext crammed into the nine-word question “Where in the Orient did you meet your wife?”  More »

Gringos In Mexico And That Elusive Quest for Authenticity

Popular  12 Comments

We got out of the bus in Mitla, blinking, stumbling, little swirls of dust rising around our feet, plunk, plunk, plunk, one gringo after another plunk  More »

How To Express Your Emotions (Or Not) In Other Cultures

Popular  11 Comments

How emotional expression varies across cultures, and why it's a good idea to keep your anger to yourself in Thailand.   More »

Does Travel Abroad = Less Conspicuous Consumption At Home?

Popular  20 Comments

Exploring the potential of travel to alter the way we think about our needs and lifestyles at home.   More »

Getting Hassled In Top Travel Spots: Preventable or Inevitable?

Popular  11 Comments

In many popular travel "destinations," travelers are little more than a path to the cash.   More »

What Makes Travel Abroad Unique, and Why Should Americans Do It?

  5 Comments

So many travelers seem to assume that traveling abroad in and of itself is a good thing, and the fact that Americans don't do more of it is a bad thin  More »

Indulgence in New Orleans: A Guide to 7 Classic Desserts

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In New Orleans, you should leave room for dessert.  More »

Ignorance or Bravery? A “Moral Holiday” in Indonesia

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In coming to Indonesia, I had been looking for that thrill of raw experience that only traveling can give you. But here was a sensation I hadn’t qui  More »

A Video in Honor of Mexican Independence Day

  1 Comments

Sing along to "Mexico Lindo y Querido" in honor of Mexican independence day.   More »

Singing Karaoke in Japan

Popular  25 Comments

On a 17 year stint of bachelorhood, between wives number two and three I found myself doing a lot of bar-hopping...  More »

A Traveler’s Guide to Culture in Nepal

  3 Comments

Mix the lentils with your rice; throw the meat on top; mush those juicy flavors together!   More »

11 Weird Japanese Foods

Popular  31 Comments

These are the slimiest, hairiest, chewiest and smelliest foods commonly eaten in Japanese households.   More »

Weird Laws from Around the World

Popular  7 Comments

Just when is it legal to wear hot pink pants?   More »

The Minority Perspective

Popular  22 Comments

I returned to America with a strong belief in the importance of respect and understanding within the global community. We must all be responsible, com  More »

Expressions that Define Cultures

Popular  34 Comments

Think of these expressions as ways to get inside of a particular worldview, and to show the locals that you've got an awareness of their cultural valu  More »

Civilization

Popular  13 Comments

One step ahead to the civilization...  More »

World’s Wackiest WiFi Hotspots

Popular  19 Comments

WiFi shows up in the strangest places....  More »

8 Fascinating Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Thailand

Popular  21 Comments

Welcome to Year 2552.  More »

8 Tips For Successful Foreign Adoption

  6 Comments

Given time and oodles of love, adopting a foreign child will be the most rewarding journey you can imagine.   More »

TravelFish Wants YOU To Get Offline

Popular  28 Comments

Switch off your laptop, walk across the room and introduce yourself to another traveler.  More »

10 Thai Customs To Know Before Visiting Thailand

Popular  6 Comments

Know when to Wai in the Kingdom of Thailand.  More »

5 Asian Food Blogs To Read Before Traveling To Asia

Popular  18 Comments

Consider food blogs as travel guides that give you another angle through which to experience culture. And prepare to get hungry.  More »

Taj Mahal Video

Popular  2 Comments

Do you know the dark love story of the Taj Mahal?  More »

10 Indian Customs To Know Before Visiting India

Popular  38 Comments

Please don’t expect snake charmers and wise men to meet you at every street corner.  More »

How To Order Sushi Like A Ninja

Popular  29 Comments

NO chopsticks, NO wasabi, NO soy sauce.  More »

Why Would Anyone Ever Want To Leave America?!?

Popular  63 Comments

I’d love this country if it weren’t populated with total idiots…   More »

The Corrupting Influence Of The City!

Popular  14 Comments

The further you get from the cities, the more viciously backwards with respect to medicine, hygiene and hospitality the people get.  More »

5 Common American Gestures That Might Insult The Locals

Popular  12 Comments

Do you know what the thumbs-up sign means in Iran? Hint - the answer rhymes with "cup snores".  More »

10 Korean Customs To Know Before You Visit Korea

Popular  33 Comments

Visiting Korea? Make sure you know about the culture before you arrive.  More »

The Best And Worst Toilets In The World

Popular  13 Comments

Turner Wright searches high and low for superlative crappery.  More »

Travel’s Most Mysterious Gift

  1 Comments

Tom Bissell shares travel's most mysterious gift.  More »

7 Reasons To Take A Cooking Class

Popular  11 Comments

Cooking classes are great ways to learn about local food and make new friends.  More »

6 Products That Would Never Sell in the U.S.

Popular  22 Comments

Real Products that could never enjoy success in the U.S. market.  More »

Escaping the Expat Trap: How To Live Like a Local When You’re Abroad

Popular  12 Comments

Following these simple rules will make your experience abroad 10x richer.   More »

5 Lessons Learned After Studying Abroad

Popular  14 Comments

Everyone has preconceptions about studying in a foreign country. . .Learn how to get past them.   More »

Teaching English In Japan Is Awesome and Sometimes Hilarious

Popular  171 Comments

You never know what your students are going to write.  More »

10 Customs You Should Know Before Studying Abroad or Traveling in Israel

Popular  26 Comments

From partying in Tel Aviv to walking through the world's most conservative communities. . .   More »

10 Japanese Customs You Must Know Before a Trip to Japan

Popular  251 Comments

The following Culture Crash Course will help you ease right into Japan.  More »

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