Topics

Mar

Oh, Deer! Road Signs in Different Cultures

by Sheron Long on March 31, 2015

Deer crossing sign in Hertfordshire, England, shows a running deer with a huge set of antlers, illustrating how different cultures interpret the same animal on road signs. (Image © Simon Gurney)

In Hertfordshire, England, the deer on road signs have a certain regal look
with antlers fit for a bejeweled crown.
© Simon Gurney

Crossing the Road and Cultures, Too

Why does a chicken cross the road? Ponder that all you wish, but know for sure that a chicken and a host of other beasts are gonna cross the road.

Humans devised the idea of warning signs to help you avoid a bump in the road. Governments and international commissions created copious specs (862 pages in the US Manual alone) to make sure the humans got it right. Read more...

Sheron Long Comments

Cultural Diversity/Worldwide Sites

Mar

Mexico in March—Monarch Butterflies Take Wing

by Sheron Long on March 24, 2015

Students photographing monarch butterflies at their winter home in central Mexico, illustrating the impact that global citizens can have against the threats to the monarch butterfly. (Image © Carol Starr)

Documentary filmmakers meet a golden subject in the central highlands of Mexico.
© Carol Starr

Global Citizens Fly High, Too

Any day now, the eastern monarchs will leave their winter home in the Sierra Madre mountains of central Mexico and begin their epic journey across the US to Canada. Theirs is a know-no-boundaries flight pattern.

These pollinators are crucial to a continued food supply. Yet, like the honeybees, their numbers are dwindling: the 2014–15 estimate is about 56.5 million, a fraction of the 1 billion monarch butterflies that wintered in Mexico in 1996–97.

Who can help these fragile long-distance travelers? Global citizens, who work for monarch conservation with a know-no-boundaries fight pattern. Read more...

Sheron Long Comments

Cultural Symbols/Mexico/Nature Discovery

Mar

India—Cultural Encounters of the Colorful Kind

by Meredith Mullins on March 16, 2015

Flower seller, car-to-car, cultural encounters in Northern India that provide travel inspiration. (Image © Meredith Mullins)

Travel Inspiration from Northern India

I expected sensory overload . . . and India delivered.

Bright colors warmed by the sun
Labyrinthine bazaars, far more organized than first glance implies
Horn blasts and shrill shouts from streets crowded with cars, rickshaws, animals, cycles, and carts
Spices that pervade the body—smell, taste, and touch
Dust and wood-fire smoke permeating air and clothes
Mounds of golden flowers—in markets and on shrines to the gods
People living their lives in the open—in the streets, on rooftops, in alleys, in unwalled shops, or in just about any open space

Rooftop in Old Delhi, cultural encounters in Northern India that provide travel inspiration. (Image © Meredith Mullins)

What I did not expect was the depth of hospitality or the pride of place that I experienced from the people of India. Read more...

Meredith Mullins 14 Comments

Cultural Encounters/India/The World's Photography

World Views: