Category Archives: International

Taking Your Recommendations

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During my vacation, I finally got a chance to catch up on issues of O Magazine. In the May issue, I read a story about Catherine Price, a writer who went to Tokyo for four days, with absolutely no plans or a travel guide. During her trip, she gave up complete control by exploring the city and culture through recommendations of strangers. She experienced 29 different encounters from attending a tuna auction to witnessing a Goma ceremony at a temple.

Of course, I absolutely love this experiment because we always tend to only do the things we read in books and magazines or see on TV from the “experts.” We never trust the opinions of locals who really know the best-kept secrets.

For the rest of this month, I will execute my version of Catherine Price’s challenge by acting on recommendations from my Cultural Insider friends and will write about my experiences. The only catch is that your recommendations must work into my schedule (e.g. after work and on weekends) and be located within an hour of Washington, DC.

So friends, please help me enjoy the world locally by submitting cultural recommendations. Yes, I am a little nervous about the unknown, but my mind is open. Bring it on!

Happy Mother’s Day

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Happy Mother’s Day to my mom, Joan Bowen!

Thanks for being a great example of how to enjoy and appreciate other cultures. Throughout my life, I watched you hang out with your Liberian, Jewish, American Indian, Hispanic and African American girlfriends to name a few. I listened to your travel stories to countries such as China, Ireland, South Africa, Great Britain, Dominican Republic and Liberia. I appreciated your support of my cross-cultural programs in high school, a degree in international business and foreign travel. I am grateful that you welcome my diverse group of friends to your home for meals and holiday parties. I love how you like to try new things such as ethnic foods and cultural exhibits.

You are and have always been a great influence in my life. I am so lucky to have you as my mom.  I love you!

Around the World Embassy Tour

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My sister, niece and I had a great time at the 2010 Around the World Embassy Tour in DC. Embassies from Africa, Asia, Oceania, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas opened their doors to the public to share their art, music, food, history and traditions. Unfortunately, we could not see all 35 embassies in four hours; however, we enjoyed eight embassies for the day in this order:

Embassy of the Republic of Botswana – we sampled goat and a black eyed peas with corn dish, which we learned are typically served at weddings, funerals and other large gatherings. We watched video about local animals and admired a lot of beautiful artwork.

Embassy of the Republic of Namibia – we had an impromptu lecture from a staff member who talked about the history and agriculture of his country. We learned that the Germans originally colonized Namibia. The British and South Africans also occupied Namibia; however, they eventually gained independence in the early 90’s. Namibia’s terrain is arid with large dessert areas and has the largest canyon in Africa. They export various products such as diamonds, uranium, copper and fish, and their most popular animal is the cheetah. We also enjoyed the arts and crafts on display.

Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda – women and men in traditional attire dancing to Rwandan rhythms greeted us outside.  Inside we sampled tasty ice coffee and purchased jewelry made by Rwandan women who received fair trade wages for their work. And once again, we loved the art on display.

Embassy of Australia – we listened to a gentleman play folk music on an accordion type instrument; saw a display on their military; sampled Australian wines (minus my niece); ate lamb and cheddar cheese; gathered travel information; and saw snakes in aquariums—yikes!

Embassy of Trinidad and Tobago – now this was a party that made us want to go on vacation immediately. The calypso music was playing, and women were dressed in carnival costumes. There were young kids on stilts and a really long line to sample curry food. Here we enjoyed the celebration and the colorful paintings on the walls.

Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan – once again, another party. By now we were really hungry so we purchased platters of chicken kabobs with basmati rice, yogurt and vegetables. As we ate, we listed to a live band playing Afghani music and watched visitors purchase clothes and jewelry. The embassy itself was the most beautiful thing on display, as you will see in my video.

Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria – as soon as we walked in we started dancing to the African rhythms in a group circle. Unfortunately, we were running out of time so we quickly admired the jewelry and art.

Embassy of Ghana – our last stop for the day, we heard the tail end of drummers and looked at the artwork of sculptures, paintings and jewelry. I picked up their schedule and was bummed that I missed the food tasting, dancers and movie.

Each embassy did a fantastic job highlighting their country’s culture, people and tourism, and their staff was incredibly hospitable. We had such a great time that we are already planning our 2011 embassy tours. Below is a short video that highlights our day.

For those of you in the DC area, visit CulturalTourismDC.org to learn about other events this month, including the European Union Embassies’ Open House (May 8th) and the Meridian’s International Children’s Festival (May 15th).

Independent Film Festival

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This weekend I attended the Washington DC Independent Film Festival.  The 10-day festival celebrates independent films from around the world with various categories, including features, themed, animation, documentary and short.

In particular, I saw a themed session titled “Asian Pearls,” which included six short films that told stories around Japanese, Korean and Cambodian characters:

These films all range in topic and provide different aspects of a society’s culture; some are even subtitled. For example, Ajumma! Are You Krazy??? (comedy) tells the story of three “cougar” (middle-aged and single) Korean women who were obsessed with meeting their favorite 20 something actor filming in Hawaii. On the other hand, A Drop in the Bucket (documentary) features Cambodian villages that lack access to clean and safe drinking water. The film shows how donated water wells to these villages prevent illnesses and encourage sustainability.

The other films were quite interesting and unique. After the session, a few directors were on hand for a question and answer period. One director, of non-Asian decent, said that his Asian studies in college influenced his decision to make a film on a Korean American character.

I have never been to an independent film festival, which gave me access to films I may never have seen. Also, the cost to attend this one session was only $10, a real bargain!

Fusion Cuisine

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Yesterday, I met Luci, a JHU classmate, for happy hour at Zengo, a popular Latin-Asian restaurant. I was excited that Luci chose this place, as I am always interested in sampling fusion cuisines.

Fusion is typically a combination of foods from different cultures or regions in the world. In the United States, I’ve had this type of cuisine mainly on the west coast and in big cities like Chicago and New York. In reading about chefs that cook fusion, I’ve learned that they use ingredients found through international travel or local immigrants to make their favorite dishes more exotic and unique.

Last night I sampled the Thai chicken empanadas. Its Mexican ingredients were chile poblano, Oaxaca cheese and mango, and its Thai twist was a curry salsa. My taste buds thought they were in two different worlds; the flavor was absolutely amazing.

If you are interested in fusion cuisines, take a look at Zengo’s menu to see examples. When you are ready to try it for yourself, look for restaurants with menus that feature dishes made from two or more cultures. Lastly, if you are interested in cooking fusion dishes, try the cookbook New American Table by Marcus Samuelsson. This chef was born in Ethiopia, raised in Sweden and moved to the United States to make a culinary living.