Oct

Crossing Cultures Over an Artichoke

by Janine Boylan on October 22, 2012

Artichoke, illustrating a food known by some only when crossing cultures

Artichoke in a farmer’s market
© Janine Boylan

Food for Thought: What’s in a Name?

I saw this artichoke today at a local farm stand, and it provided some food for thought on crossing cultures.

I grew up eating artichokes. In fact, they have always been one of my favorite foods. Now I am fortunate to live near acres of artichoke fields. And I have learned that artichokes are delicious served marinated, barbecued, and, of course, deep fried. But my favorite is still simply steamed.

So when my friend and her husband came to visit from Australia, I had to cook artichokes. I thought of it as a bit of a cultural encounter.

I prepared the thistle flowers: pulling off the small, tough outermost leaves, trimming the top and stem, and then pruning each remaining pointed leaf just below its needle-sharp barb.

My friend and her husband both cautiously watched the progress as we all speculated how early people determined that these things were edible!

After the artichokes finished steaming in a giant pot, I pulled them out with tongs and placed one on each of their plates.

Unsure how to even begin to eat it, my friend watched me for clues. I talked her through carefully peeling a steaming leaf and scraping off the tender end. She hesitantly tried it and was pleasantly surprised by the taste.

She devoured the leaves until she had to pause for the thinner prickly purple leaves. I coached her through this phase of the artichoke.

And then I showed her how to carve off the odd thick fuzz to reveal the prize: the heart. She loved it all and wondered how she could get artichokes where she lived.

Her husband had been watching this process with raised eyebrows.

His artichoke sat untouched on his plate, and I found our why. His food for thought about this cultural encounter: “As a rule, I don’t eat anything with choke in its name.”

Oh, I see.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Janine Boylan Comments

Crossing Cultures/Language & Culture

Oct

The Awe Inspiring “Aha Moment” Defined

by Sheron Long on October 1, 2012

Awe inspiring cartoon about having an aha moment

Watch out! Someone’s having an aha moment!
© xkcd.com

Mathematically, Aha Moments Happen Daily

If I follow the numbers above, it sounds like everyone can learn something new everyday. That’s awe inspiring!

Hey, I’m over 30 and, like the girl in the cartoon, didn’t know about the “diet Coke and mentos thing.” I tried a quick experiment, and it all erupted into an aha moment for me.

Then I found out that not everyone knows what an “aha moment” is. Really? At least, it wasn’t in the dictionary until last August.

Is “Oh, I See Moment” a Synonym?

The concept of the “aha moment” has been around, well, probably forever and in English language usage since 1939. At least, that’s the date assigned to the phrase in August 2012 when Merriam-Webster added it to its dictionary and defined it as “a moment of sudden realization, inspiration, insight, recognition, or comprehension.”

Now that Merriam-Webster has had its aha moment about “aha moment” and listed the phrase in its pages, we want to see OIC moment (short for “Oh, I see” moment) added as a synonym.

The term came into existence in 2012 with the start of our company. Like “aha moment,” OIC moment is a realization, but on a broader spectrum, from the practical to the epiphany.

The Full Range of OIC Moments

In my view, an OIC moment can be as everyday as the one in the cartoon above. Or, it can be a significant, eye-opening, awe inspiring experience like the one recounted by will.i.am, front man for The Black Eyed Peas, in a statement in Oprah Winfrey’s magazine O.

Here will.i.am tells how traveling across cultures to countries outside the USA helped him see America with new eyes and decide how to show the world what Americans are like.

How OIC Moments Inspire

Now will.i.am’s new song “Reach for the Stars” has traveled even farther than the famed musician. Transmitted from Mars through the speakers on Curiosity’s rover, the song not only has enjoyed an inter-galactic debut, but surely has become the number 1 song on Mars. Take a listen and see the lyrics:

If the video does not display, watch it here.

The song was purposely recorded with an orchestra to show human collaboration and to present a timeless sound that translates into different cultures.

I love how the lyrics make you question if even the sky is a limit. And I can imagine this song inspiring a long reach for the stars. That’s what will.i.am intended when he said,

“Today is about inspiring young people to lead a life without limits placed on their potential and to pursue collaboration between humanity and technology. . . .”

It is will.i.am’s kind of inspiration that leads to OIC moments or aha moments, whatever you want to call them.

And now that Merriam-Webster has weighed in with official recognition, we can give them their due. After all, here’s the defining characteristic of an OIC moment—when it hits you, your life is never quite the same again. Now something that powerful is awe inspiring.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Sheron Long Comments

Crossing Cultures/Language & Culture/Secrets to Life/The World's Music

Sep

Being Bilingual Builds Brain Power

by Sheron Long on September 24, 2012

“Rainy Day in Paris” © Sheron Long

If video does not display, watch it here.

French? You Can Learn It!

Chatting in a French café makes for a good day even in the rain. Chatting in a French café in French is worth even more—knowing the language, just some or being bilingual, deepens how you experience the life and culture.

Benefits of Being Bilingual

A brain lifting weights to signify the brain power of being bilingual (Image courtesy of Thinkstock)

Flex your brain with a second language and build bilingual brain power

Connecting across cultures is one benefit of being bilingual, but there are many more.

Across the last decade, numerous research studies, beginning with those from York University and Northwestern University, have shown that people who speak more than one language have an increased ability to concentrate, to multi-task, and to set priorities. They may also be building strong defenses against dementia.

So . . . if you’re someone who would love to build bilingual brain power, get started—it may be easier than you think!

The Power of Cognates

Take French, for example, which has many words in common with English. Such words are called cognates, and you can use them to learn a second language.

Try it! Here’s a paragraph from France-Amérique about Julia Child (1912–2004) who had many careers but found her love of cooking in Rouen, France. As you read about Julia Child, see how many French words look familiar to you:

Julia Child a eu plusieurs vies : rédactrice, volontaire pour la croix-rouge, agent secret… Mariée à Paul Child, un représentant des affaires étrangères américaines, elle part pour Paris à l’âge de 37 ans. Pour la petite histoire, c’est au cours d’une promenade à Rouen qu’elle a sa révélation culinaire, en goûtant une sole meunière accompagnée de vin. Ce repas sera comme « une ouverture de son âme et de son esprit » pour elle.

Does this list of cognates help?

volontaire / volunteer

agent secret / secret agent

mariée / married

représentant / representative

affaires étrangères américaines / American foreign (stranger) affairs

âge / age

histoire / history, story

au cours d’une promenade / in the course of a promenade

révélation / revelation

sole meunière accompagnée de vin / sole meunière accompanied by wine

esprit / spirit

Oh I know, there are still gaps to fill in, but in an “Oh, I see” moment, did you realize that you already know about 25% of the French in this article? That’s a pretty good start! Maybe it’s time for a ticket to Paris.

Comment on this post below.

Brain image courtesy of Thinkstock

Sheron Long 1 Comment

Becoming Bilingual/Crossing Cultures/France/Language & Culture

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