OneBrownGirl.com® - Celebrating culture, diversity, humanity & travel.

Happy Republic Day in India!

2012-01-26T15:01:00.000-08:00

Today is Republic Day in India, a day that - in short - celebrates India's Constitution. Today marks the 63rd such celebration. Republic Day is a national holiday replete with a grand parade and celebrations throughout India. For photos, please click here. In the meantime, check out the video I found on Facebook: Finnair surprised its India-bound passengers with a Bollywood dance to celebrate Republic Day. LOL Now how fun is that?!!??

The One Brown Girl Challenge

2012-01-09T09:07:00.000-08:00

Live in the Moment.

I'm in the British Virgin Islands right now. On a sailboat. With my husband. It's really nice out here.

Yesterday, my husband accidentally left the lid loose on the dry pack so that when we got in the dinghy to go to dinner, water got inside and the dry pack became a wet pack. Water also got inside of my camera and it is now fried. Fried like chicken. In fact, I actually heard it sizzle. #kaput

But guess what? I don't care.

When I spoke at Blogalicious Weekend '11, I challenged travel & lifestyle bloggers to live in the moment. To unplug just a wee bit while on vacation...and yes, even on a press trip. You can't meet people, get stories or have magic moments if you are glued to your iPhone, your BlackBerry, or even your camera, right? Right.

So I'm about to take my own advice and use my memory in lieu of my camera for the rest of my time away. I'm not saying I won't sign on to my computer when all is quiet and the day is done, but now I won't feel compelled to have a photo of every. single. moment. in time. I'll just have to use words to describe my experiences. Imagine that. #whatwritersdo

Time for me to scoot. There's a big sea out there with my name on it. In the meantime, consider un-plugging for a little while and living in the moment. If you try to, I will too. ;-)

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T15:15:00.000-08:00

The 2012 Mayan calendar predicts that
2012 will be the start of a new age: The Golden Age
...and that sounds good to me!

So *Cheers* everyone! Happy New Year!

Here's to the start of something golden and new...

...from one Brown Girl to all of you. =D

When "T" Doesn't Stand for Tracey

2011-11-21T01:24:00.000-08:00

It's Time.
Time for this Brown Girl to take a little Time Out.
Time to re-strategize, re-focus, re-energize, etc.
Time to write that children's book.
Time to dive head first in to The Passport Party Project and OBG Adventure Camps 2012 Hawaii adventure.
Time to focus on Shop OneBrownGirl a little more.
Time to find more guests bloggers for Foodie Fridays.
Time to pick up more outside freelance work.
Time to give myself a break from the responsibilities of frequent blogging on OneBrownGirl.com® and instead do some micro-blogging for awhile on my Tumblr, Foodspotting, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter pages.
Time to figure out how to use Google+ and determine whether or not I want to be bothered with Triberr.

But here's what I promise:
Every time an article or post I write gets published on another site, I'll announce it.
Every time some type of milestone occurs, I'll announce it.
Whether on my micro-blogging sites or in the comments section of this post, I'll letcha know.
In the meantime, if you haven't spent a lot of time on this blog, feel free to surf around a bit and leave your comments. I'd love to hear from you. =)
See ya soon.

République de Maurice

2011-11-18T05:25:00.000-08:00

Le Morne Brabant, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Okay. This is kinda neat. Well for me anyway.

A day or so ago, I had just finished shopping (or so I thought) in one of the wholesale sections of Paris when I turned slightly to my left and got slapped in the face with a super cute jacket on a mannequin in the window of a non-descript storefront. Naturally I walked across the street as the jacket called my name. "Come in," said a friendly man who was sitting between a few boxes while chatting on the telephone. "Quel est le prix?," I asked pointing to the jacket. He quoted me...("Good price," I thought) and walked in.

Flag of Mauritius

I'm still not sure how we got off of the topic of the jacket and ended up talking about food, Los Angeles, Atlanta (where he lived for 9 years), the economy, and his 2 hour commute to work every day, but Maurice was quite the departure from the often surly predominantly Chinese merchants I encounter while shopping (no matter what part of the world I'm in, BTW). Ultimately, Maurice told me he was from Mauritius, an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about 900 kilometres (560 mi) east of Madagascar. [Love you Wiki; muah!]

What might (or might not) interest you is Maurice doesn't consider himself Black or African. He referred to both my husband and I in the same context as he did himself and referred to Black people as those from Mali, Ethiopia, etc.; i.e., new immigrants to France. Our skin color was the same, I might add. #interesting

Having just returned from World Travel Market London, it just so happens that I was re-introduced to Mauritius just a week or so ago and now again with Maurice. And it is for this reason that I'd like to share with you 10 interesting facts about Mauritius (from three sources noted below). Just because.

Mauritius is officially known as the Republic of Mauritius also known as République de Maurice.
The main languages spoken in Mauritius are Mauritian Creole, French and English. Mauritian society includes people from many different ethnic groups. The republic's residents are the descendants of people from India (Indo-Mauritian), continental Africa (Mauritian Creole people usually known as 'Creoles' in Mauritian Creole), France (Franco-Mauritian) and China (Sino-Mauritian), among other places.
The country's populace is composed of several ethnicities, including Indian, African, Chinese and French with a population of 1.2 million. The first European explorers found no indigenous people living on the island.
Le Morne Brabant (the main photo above) is a peninsula at the extreme south-western tip of Mauritius is a UNESCO World Heritage Site; in the 19th century, runaway slaves used Le Morne Brabant as a hideaway.
Every Mauritian is brought up with the Sega dance. With its rhythmic, lively music and colourful Creole lyrics, the Sega is regarded nationally as a dance that expresses freedom and ' joie de vivre'. Despite this ‘feel-good’ vibe, it is interesting to note that the dance actually originated from slaves brought from Africa.

Dodo Bird [extinct]
Wiki

The island of Mauritius is renowned for having been the only known home of the now extinct dodo bird.
The first recorded visit on the island was by Arab sailors in the Middle Ages; the Portugese arrived in 1511 but weren't really interested in laying claim; the Dutch named it Mauritius in 1598 and all attempts at settlement basically failed and they abandoned the island in 1710; the French took control in 1715; the British took over in 1810; Mauritius became independent in 1968; and became a republic in 1992. It is politically stable.
Tourism in Mauritius tends to be high end tourism, with a focus on coastal resorts and diving. It is a world class diving destination.
The monetary unit is the Mauritian Rupee (Rs.) which is divided into 100 cents (cs).
The cuisine of Mauritius is a blend of Indian, African, Chinese and European influences. It is common for a combination of cuisines to form part of the same meal. Sugarcare was first introduced by the Dutch and the production of rum is widespread on the island.

I have to go back to see Maurice next week (to pick up those jackets), so I imagine we'll have lots more to talk about now that I'm up on some of the basics of his homeland. And of course, now I want to go to Mauritius. Of course.

À bientôt...

Sources: 1. Discover Mauritius 2. Wiki 3. Mauritius Tourism Office

Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité

2011-11-12T10:50:00.000-08:00

Place de la Bastille / Paris
Photo by OneBrownGirl

My 9th floor apartment here in Paris is in Le Marais and about a 60 second walk to the Place de la Bastille, an important part of French history. In fact, on July 14, 1789 the Bastille (built as a fortress in the mid-late 1300s and later used as a state prison in 1417) was stormed during the French Revolution and most of it destroyed by November of the same year. In 1793 a large Revolutionary fountain featuring a statue of Isis was built on the former site of the fortress, which became known as the Place de la Bastille. And that's a super short story about a very complex and interesting French history.

Bastille circa 1790 / East View
Wiki

As I sit here typing, I can turn to my left and see Isis just outside of my windows and tonight, I could hear a ruckus coming from the same direction and I knew it was at the Bastille. You see, Place de la Bastille is a very popular spot in France for protests of every kind. And after an hour of hearing the chanting and roaring of the crowd, I decided to go out and take a look for myself.

The back story: Former president of the Ivory Coast Laurent Gbagbo refused to step down from power early this year so that the newly elected president Alassane Ouattara could step in. On April 11, 2011, the Ivory Coast’s ex-President Gbagbo [was] ‘arrested in Abidjan’ by French forces leading Ouattara troups, but after much bloodshed. The French have a military base in the Ivory Coast, a country that is a former French colonial possession. Now. Here's what I gleaned from running outside to see what the protest was all about:

The Ivorian Popular Front (Front populaire ivoirien in French), a political party founded in 1982 by then-history professor Laurent Gbagbo (and a party expelled from Socialist International because of the Ivory Coast conflict) is mad at France (which of course includes President Sarkozy and the French army, gendarmes, etc. and also explains why some of the women I saw were shouting at the police). According to the sign pictured "Right now the French Army and L'ONUCI are the police in the streets of Abidjan and the people are being mistreated. Wattera [sic] is disengaged." I guess we know what side the protestors are on.

I took a dozen or so photos (some of which are posted here) and then came back in to the apartment to report back. Although the gendarmes were out en masse and I didn't feel threatened in any way, I imagine some people did...particularly since the group gathered was 100% African and this neighborhood is not. (Just keeping it real.) What about you? If you saw a protest while you were on a trip, would you run toward it or run away?

Liberté, égalité, fraternité is French for Liberty, Equality & Brotherhood and is the national motto of France with origins in the French Revolution. I thought it was appropriate somehow.

Ce Matin

2011-11-09T22:53:00.000-08:00

The view this morning.
Paris 2011 / Photo by OneBrownGirl

My back was to the window and then I turned around. This photo was taken moments before sunrise. Lovely.

Just a Thought

2011-11-08T01:53:00.000-08:00

A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle. ~Erin Majors

Just A Drop

2011-11-07T09:03:00.000-08:00

I am in the U.K. at World Travel Market London, the leading global event for the travel industry. Being here feels like I'm on top of the world...literally.

World travel excitement aside, I am always pleased to learn about any humanitarian effort that saves lives. This one in particular is associated with the Caribbean Village area at WTM London represented by Antigua & Barbuda, Dominican Republic, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago and the Caribbean Tourism Organisation where you are able to donate £1 (less than US$2) in exchange for a glass of rum punch (of course you don't have to drink it). It's called Just A Drop, a venture to help countries have access to clean life-saving water and it's a travel industry charity that's doing good.

Here are four facts I took away from a video presentation being shown on the other side of the Just a Drop exhibit pictured above:

884 million people don't have access to clean safe water.
2.6 billion people don't have access to adequate sanitation.
A child dies every 20 seconds because of polluted water.
Polluted water is the biggest killer of children under the age of 5.

Horrible stats. Great initiative. And they have a special place in my heart because like me, they have not forgotten about Haiti. In fact, they've put aside £165,000 of funding from travel-related companies to help. You can read more about that here.

As you know, OneBrownGirl.com® celebrates humanitarian efforts and to that end, I am celebrating Just a Drop. If you'd like to find out how you can help, please click here. You won't get a rum punch, but you will have made a difference. Thanks for listening. =)

What's in a Name?

2011-10-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

Hello. My name is Tracey Friley. I've been called Terry and Stacey repeatedly; have made a mental note each time someone misspelled my name without the "e" (if I had a dollar...); and was called Freaky Friley as a kid when Mary Rodgers' children's novel Freaky Friday hit bookshelves in 1972. That was fun. #not One of my friends calls me Froccoli (as in Broccoli), a few call me Friley, and my online compadres call me One Brown Girl. I'm sure I've been called other names that I don't know about, but definitely not to my face. #giggling

So when I heard about the 285 Indian girls who went through a name change ceremony recently, I was curious. You see, girls named "Nakusa" or "Nakushi" were living with names that mean unwanted in Hindi. Unwanted. You definitely don't need to pull out the dictionary for the meaning of that word, now do you? Is that not the. absolute. worst. name you could ever think of? And while treating someone as if he or she is unwanted is just as bad as being branded as such, let's all Thank Dharma for Satara district health officer Dr. Bhagwan Pawar who came up with the idea to give these girls a chance to blossom. Somehow Freaky Friley doesn't seem so bad at all.

Name Changing Ceremony {Source: AP / Chaya Babu}

Click here to read Name Changers: 285 Indian girls no longer unwanted in its entirety.

The One Brown Girl Challenge

2011-10-24T11:09:00.000-07:00

Trust me when I tell you that it has not been lost on me that three women from culturally diverse backgrounds recently won the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, one of five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel. [Wiki] *Screaming (internally) GO BROWN GIRLS GO!* #whatanhonor

The Nobel Peace Prize 2011 was awarded jointly to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman "for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work". [Emphasis added; Source NobelPrize.org.] What a legacy they will leave.

President of Liberia & 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Peace Activist & 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Leymah Roberta Gwobee

Journalist, Politican, Human Rights Activist & 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Winner
توكل كرمان ‎ Tawakkul Karmān

Inspired by their work and the recognition of their work, I'd like to challenge you (and myself naturally) to consider what kind of legacy you want to leave. To consider what mark you want to make on the world (whether grand, medium grand or a little grand) and then to get to work once you figure it all out. I challenge you to open your mind and heart to every little thing that ~~might~~ will inspire you to aim high and make a dent. I promise to do the same.

I don't think any of these women aspired to win a Nobel Peace Prize or sought out any type of recognition (except for their respective causes) and I don't think we should either. I simply think they poured their hearts into what they believe in no matter the cost. And I believe that we should all do the same.

What will be your legacy?

Eye of Horus

2011-10-01T19:08:00.000-07:00

Eye of Horus

Ummm. Super model Naomi Campbell got a house for her birthday. And not just ANY old house either. Her billionaire boyfriend bought her a 25-bedroom house on a private island in Turkey designed by Spanish Architect Luis de Garrido that is supposed to depict the Eye of Horus, an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection, royal power and good health. The eye is personified in the goddess Wadjet...one of the earliest of Egyptian deities. Horus was the ancient Egyptian sky god who was usually depicted as a falcon. His right eye was associated with the sun Ra. [Source] Nice gift.

Photo: Luis de Garrido

Evidently, the house is eco-friendly...which is entirely up my alley. Did I mention that the island where Naomi's Horus house is located is known as Cleopatra Island? Local legend has it that Mark Antony imported the sand especially for Cleopatra herself, who would not set foot on any land that wasn’t Egyptian. [Source] Well, excuse me.

Udjat
According to Egyptartsite.com,
the sound eye of Horus
symbolizing healing and protection.

In case you hadn't noticed, the way the photos above show off Naomi's new digs are a depiction of the mirror image, or left eye [of Horus], [which]...represent[s] the moon and the god Djehuti (Thoth) [Source] and not the sun Ra.
No matter. Since I'm in to anything with cultural significance (including 25-bedroom homes), I have a question to ask you: If you could have a house designed with an ancient symbol as the theme, which ancient symbol would you choose?

On the Roadside

2011-09-30T15:58:00.000-07:00

Roadside on the island of Antigua / August 2011

This was supposed to be one of my Foodie Friday posts. I remember getting this bright idea precisely when I snapped this photo on an Antiguan roadside that I was going to write about what this woman was making. I was on my way to a helicopter ride and my super friendly taxi driver was telling me all kinds of interesting things about Antiguan traditions and I was taking feverish notes. He slowed down, shouted something in patois, and then I asked for permission to snap the photo. But now I can't find my notes and I have searched high and low for them. I'm so frustrated I could cry, but I love this photo so much that I refuse to let it just sit.

If my memory was better, I would be able to get all of this information off of the tip of my tongue, but I think I have too much stuff going on in my head so I. can't. remember. anything. Not my taxi drivers name, the name of the traditional dish My Roadside Lady was making, or the name of a similar dish in South America that the helicopter representative told me about that his mother used to make. Of course, I can't remember Helicopter Guy's name either.

So instead of letting this photo get moldy, I thought I would share it anyway. It reminds me of so many West Indian women I've seen in my travels and in my life...both in paintings and on many a Caribbean roadside. There is a radiant smile underneath that stoic look and it makes me smile knowing so.
Now let me go look one more time for those doggone notes...

Spotlight on One Brown Girl

2011-09-26T08:24:00.000-07:00

"It is the people who must save the environment. It is the people who must make their leaders change. So we must stand up for what we believe in."

-Wangari Maathai

1 April 1940 – 25 September 2011

2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner, environmental champion and women's rights activist Wangari Maathai passed away today. She was the founder of The Green Belt Movement, "a non-profit grassroots non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Kenya...whose mission is to mobilize community consciousness- using tree planting as an entry point- for self-determination, equity, improved livelihoods and security, and environmental conservation." As an advocate of environmental stewardship, I am saddened by her loss but encouraged by her strength, her determination and her work. If you didn't know who she was, it's never too late to learn...and grow. Her legacy lives on.

Trailer from the documentaryTaking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai

OneBrownGirl.com®'s 30 Day Challenge

2011-09-23T10:55:00.000-07:00

Photo credit: Tim Alexander

My friend Shelley is holding a 30 day photo challenge on one of her blogs and I think it is The. Absolute. Coolest. I also happen to think Shelley is The. Absolute. Coolest., but that's another story entirely. #AustinPassportParty

Inspired by Shelley's immeasurable cool points and further inspired by my need to have a good time at every opportunity, I have decided to create OneBrownGirl.com®'s very first 30 Day Photo Challenge...Brown Girl style.

Starting October 1, 2011 and ending on October 31, 2011, I will post a photo on my Facebook page (I'll tweet it too) based on the prompt in this post (which I will add to every day) and I want you to join me. The photo topics will be based on culture, travel, the environment, humanity, diversity and family. *Clapping enthusiastically* I am so excited!

Are you in? If so, create an album on your Facebook page called The OBG 30 Day Photo Challenge and start by posting a photo of yourself that is over 10 years old (along with a description). Mine is above...and it's way over 10 years old. Then tag me.
If you aren't on Facebook (or you want to play in two places), then tweet the photo to @OneBrownGirl along with the hashtag #OBGChallenge and the words "Warming up for The OBG 30 Day Photo Challenge" and a link back to this post. You won't have to post anything again until October 1, but always with #OBGChallenge. If you play every day and have the designated 32 photos in your album or on the #OBGChallenge hashtag by November 1, I'll bring you back a little something from Paris.

Sounds fun to me. How about you? Leave "I'm playing" in the comments section below if you're down for Brown. LOL. I like saying that.

Disclaimer: This is not a Facebook or Twitter contest. In fact, it's not even a contest. It's just fun.

PHOTO CHALLENGE TASKS:
Photos can be your own or something you find on the Internet.

(Do not post ahead of the time. You can post within 48 hours of each date.
If you don't start by October 3, you can still play along, but you'll have to catch us next time
in order to get a gift from Paris. #oohlala.)

October 1: (Cultural Tradition) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo that represents a cultural tradition that you and/or your family have participated in with a short explanation about what the tradition means to you.
October 2: (Diversity) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo that represents diversity that needs absolutely no description. Title it Diversity. If tweeting, include #diversity.
October 3: (Travel) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo from your last vacation describing one stand out occurrence from the trip.
October 4: (Humanity) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo from a human rights campaign that feeds &/or clothes children with a 3-sentence description of a few facts about the campaign and/or country.
October 5: (Environment) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo of one of your favorite outdoor environment. Do not say where it is. Let people guess. (You can answer after 5 people ask or confirm when someone gets it right.)
October 6: (Culture/Diversity) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo or YouTube.com video of a foreign language film that you would like to see or have seen.
October 7: (Travel) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo of you holding your passport. If you don't have a passport, post a photo of a passport and make a personal promise to get one within the next 6 months.
October 8: (Culture) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo of a woman/women wearing a sari/s.
October 9: (Culture/Dance) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo of a tango or flamenco.
October 10: (Humanity) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo of a Brown Girl humanitarian that you respect (living or passed) with 1 sentence > "I respect the work of _____ because ______."
October 11: (Diversity) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo of the logo of a company known for its diverse hiring or workplace practices and explain in a sentence or two what those practices are.
October 12: (Environment) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo of children playing outdoors.
October 13: (Culture) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo of an African woman/women in traditional African attire.
October 14: (Travel) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo of a destination that is on your bucket list.
October 15: (Humanity) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo of a famous Brown Girl (celebrity or otherwise) that is part of a humanitarian effort with a description of the cause in 4 sentences or less.
October 16: (Culture) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo of an ancient symbol that has some personal significance along with its meaning.
October 17: (Environment) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo of one of the three sources of alternative energy.
October 18: (Diversity/Family) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo of a mixed raced family with a note that says "Love Knows No Color."
October 19: (Culture) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo of Native American women in traditional clothing being certain to name the tribe with which they are affiliated and the part of the US they are known to have lived.
October 20: (Travel) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet an old photo of a mode of transportation that we still use today.
October 21: (Humanity) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo of an endangered animal describing the animal and why it is endangered in 4 sentences or less.
October 22: (Environment) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo of something that represents the recycle effort.
October 23: (Family) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo of the First Family of the United States of America.
October 24: (Culture) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo of someone wearing something from a culture that is not their own.
October 25: (Diversity) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo of the cover of a children's book that encourages or is about diversity.
October 26: (Environment) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo of a cause of air pollution with a potential solution for this particular cause.
October 27: (Travel) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo that represents advocacy for youth travel.
October 28: (Humanity) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo of a Brown Girl Nobel Prize lauerate (and not one of the four listed on OneBrownGirl.com within the last several days/weeks).
October 29: (Culture) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo of a woman with a henna tattoo making note of which part of the world she hails from.
October 30: (Diversity) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo of what you think might be a culturally appropriate Halloween costume.
October 31: (Travel) Using the guidelines above, post or tweet a photo of something that represents Paris.

My Green Bracelet

2011-09-11T11:21:00.000-07:00

Photo Source: DiamondEmpowermentFund.org

I wore My Green Bracelet yesterday. I snatched it off of my jewelry table just as I was running out of the front door to catch a flight and stacked it with some of my other bracelets. Not just because I was trying to be fashionable and get that "pop of color" to go with the swirlies in my skirt and not just because I think it's cool that there is a rough diamond floating around in the charm, but because I love that bracelet. I love what it represents.

"The 'Green Bracelet' is the symbol of the Diamond Empowerment Fund. The rough diamond and malachite Green Bracelet was created by Simmons Jewelry Co. to help support educational initiatives that develop and empower people in African nations where diamonds are a natural resource.

For Simmons Jewelry Company, Green provides inspiration and reminds everyone of Africa’s most important natural resource, the human being." See what I mean?

But I'm going to keep it 100 (I love saying that): I hadn't worn My Green Bracelet in awhile, so when I was peeking around in a retail store yesterday and the young lady that works there asked me about My Green Bracelet, I couldn't quite remember the details of its meaning. Someone gave that to me as a gift, she said. Does it mean something? "Indeed it does," I responded with a smile. "Google Russell Simmons + diamonds for the details. But what I can tell you for sure is that it means life."

To learn more about the Diamond Empowerment Fund and My The Green Bracelet, please click here. To donate, click here. And for even more info, check out the video below. Enjoy your day. Enjoy your life. And don't forget others. =)

Oh. Did I mention the onyx bracelet? And the sapphires (my birthstone) & diamond bracelet? Come onnnnnn, Russell. You're killing me over here. =)

The One Brown Girl Challenge

2011-09-05T09:35:00.000-07:00

Ross Alley in San Francisco's Chinatown / Home to Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory / Flickr

Become a Tourist in Your Own Town

On a recent trip to Toronto, a young lady struck up a conversation with me while we were both waiting in line to get through Customs. (Note to self: Follow-up on your Global Entry application.) After learning that I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, she asked "Isn't that where the oldest fortune cookie company in the US is?" Um. Uh. "I think so," I vaguely recollected. Why don't I know this? I thought later. I've lived in Northern California for over 12 years. I don't even know my own town. Hmpfh.

Venice Beach, CA / August 2011
Taken by OneBrownGirl

The truth is that as much as I don't think I do, sometimes I take California for granted. California: The place where so many people dream to visit. I have spent most of my life in Los Angeles and grew up a mile east of Beverly Hills and within 10 minutes of some of the most popular beaches in the US. It was My Normal to work, eat & play in Beverly Hills and on Melrose; to hang out at Venice Beach, Santa Monica & Malibu; to run down/up to Palm Springs, Mexico, San Diego, Santa Barbara & Vegas for the weekend; to stroll with friends in Westwood Village (when it was cool); to eat lunch at Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles; to work with and hang out with celebrities in Hollywood (who are just people, BTW). Just normal.

So in the past few years, I've made a commitment to start looking around. To go beyond My Normal. I noticed the Sutro Bath ruins and walked through them for the first time when I dined (for the umpteenth time) at the Cliff House in San Francisco recently. I shop at the Asian markets for fruit and fish and try new things. I'm even going to try to get to The Getty when I'm in LA next week. I've committed to becoming a tourist in my own town.

View of the Sutro Bath ruins from the Cliff House
San Francisco / August 2011 / Taken by One Brown Girl

So I propose the same challenge to you that I have taken on myself...and that is for you to become a tourist in your own town. To actually tune in to your surroundings and find out what's interesting and what you might have been missing or what you've been saying you were going to do but never got around to doing it. As much as I like to travel, I realize that there is so so much culture right here in our own back yards. It's just up to us to find it.

So look: If anyone ever asks you about fortune cookies in San Francisco, tell them "Oh yes. Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory is in San Francisco's Chinatown and has produced thousands of Chinese Fortune Cookies every day since 1962. You can even take a tour of this tiny little factory." Even if you don't live here, it's kinda cool to know.

Where do you live? How can you become a tourist in your own town?

Wadadli

2011-08-31T10:03:00.000-07:00

A view of Antigua by helicopter taken by One Brown Girl / Caribbean Helicopters / August 2011

It's a beer, the name of a dish, a catamaran, a music festival and a reggae band. It's also what folks call Antigua, an island in the Caribbean bordered by both the Caribbean Sea and Atlanic Ocean and an independent sovereign nation within the British Commonwealth. It's Wadadli, prounounced Wuh-Dawd-Lee. Cool, hunh? (It is interesting to note that Antigua was called Wa-lad-li and not Wa-dad-li by the Amerindians before Christopher Columbus named the island Antigua after Santa María de la Antigua at Seville (St. Mary the Ancient) in 1493. Ultimately, Waladli morphed into Wadadli over time.) Moving on...

Wadadli Beer from Antigua Brewery

Wadadli for Lunch / Sea Grape Restaurant, Galley Bay Resort & Spa, Antigua

I spent the day sailing with Wadadli Cats & it was just perfect. / Antigua

If you hang out with me on my Facebook page or read my Twitter feed, then you probably know that I just got back from a trip to Wadadli courtesy of Elite Island Resorts. You also know that I am now officially turned completely out and that between Elite's three quietly luxurious Antigua properties (which I'm going to write full reviews on at BlackAtlas.com), Galley Bay Resort & Spa got its hooks in me. So much so that I'm going back. Soon. No. Like really really soon. See Antigua Sailing Week.

Award-winning Executive Chef
Andrew "Stan" Baxter
Sea Grape Restaurant
Galley Bay Resort & Spa

There are three al fresco restaurants at Galley Bay: Sea Grape Restaurant, Gauguin Restaurant and Ismay's Restaurant & Bar (which is named after a long time employee), all of which boast some fine fine cuisine from some fine fine award winning chefs. Heather, a delightful member of the wait staff at Sea Grape told us all to Eat Up! "The food has no calories," she said. "It's the tropical sun that shrinks your clothes." What a hoot.

I did have some delightful dinner conversation with Property Manager Cedric Henry and Executive Chef Andrew "Stan" Baxter while dining at Sea Grape Restaurant one evening. Andrew is a Brit that has lived on Antigua for 12 years with his family and spoke candidly about how he ultimately came to be the Executive Chef in Antigua. Cool guy.

Left to right: Galley Bay Resort & Spa General Manager Paolo Rovoletto,
restaurant namesake Ismay (with 48 years of service)
and Property Manager Cedric Henry.

My favorite seat at Gauguin Restaurant / Galley Bay Resort & Spa / Antigua

I was also privileged to dine at Elite's St. James's Club Antigua at both Rainbow Garden and Coco Beach Restaurant & Bar for lunch although we ran out of time and I didn't get to The Docksider, where on Thursday nights guests can enjoy a live steel band and limbo contests. *Holding my back* For dinner, I dined with General Manager & Vice President Vernon Jeffers at Piccolo Mondo, the resort's fine dining restaurant. Lovely evening, lovely & interesting dinner conversation about life in the hospitality industry, and a lovely and tasty meal. I might have mentioned that I'll be going back. LOL

At The Verandah Resort & Spa, another Elite property, I was fortunate enough to meet Executive Chef Rajah Pillay at a weekly Manager's Reception for resort guests. Chef oversees the three restaurants on the property: Seabreeze, The Buccaneer and Nicole's, where I dined with Elite's Senior Vice President of Operations Alex De Brito for dinner and had some delightful dinner conversation about his family and about Paris, where he was raised and where I love. Again, a fantastic meal. Really. *Kissing my fingers*

It was quite a treat to have such fine dining experiences at all of Elite's all-inclusive properties; I felt spoiled. And the truth is that I somehow thought that all-inclusive might mean cafeteria-style food. Um. That wasn't even the case. They aren't called Elite for nothing. #luxury

Left to Right: Property Tour Hostess Myriam Brown, Yours Truly,
SVP Alex De Brito & Executive Chef Pillay
The Verandah Resort & Spa / Antigua

Which leads me to the reason for this post, besides the cool info about Wadadli...

Besides using my Foodspotting account to post my food photos, I thought I'd place the photos here. I know it's not Foodie Friday, but I'm excited to share, so here's my homage to my fine dining Antiguan food experience...courtesy of Elite Island Resorts. As the Antiguans say: Thank you for your ears or Thanks for listening. Enjoy. Well...you know what I mean. ;-)

Hungry?

Disclaimer: I was invited on a press trip by Cheryl Andrews Marketing on behalf of Elite Island Resorts. Of course, these opinions are my own...because if you know anything about me at all, you know that I'm speaking from my heart. Oh. And my stomach.

International Activist Bloggers & Bravery

2011-08-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

Are you brave?

Ever since I met Simone Leid and Reem Abbas at BlogHer '11, I've been thinking about what the word bravery really means. And while it was certainly one of the first spelling words I learned in grammar school, I felt compelled to look it up.

brave [breyv]

Possessing or exhibiting courage or courageous endurance.

Synonyms: bold, intrepid, caring, dauntless, heroic.

Brave, courageous, valiant, fearless, gallant refer to confident bearing in the face of difficulties or dangers. Brave is the most comprehensive: it is especially used of that confident fortitude or daring that actively faces and endures anything threatening.

***

Yep. That's what I thought. Simone Leid and Reem Abbas are brave.

About Simone

When I first met Simone, she was sitting at a table in a Change Agents seminar where I took up a chair. I could tell that she was a bit of an introvert (she admitted it later; plus, I have a bit of it myself) but I introduced myself and she responded with a polite hello. We spoke briefly at the break; just enough to learn that this was her first BlogHer event and that she had come all the way from Trinidad and Tobago. I'm a Bajan Yankee, I told her. She politely smiled. I didn't see Simone again until the next morning. She was sitting at a table by herself at breakfast. I do that, I thought. Sit alone I mean. I stopped by and said Good Morning as I made my way to the breakfast buffet. I saw her a few more times in passing during the conference. And then I went to the International Activism session where Simone was on the panel. As one of BlogHer's International Activism Scholarship recipients, she was speaking candidly about her blog - Women Speak - and about how women are typically afraid to speak out about discrimination. Simone is offering them a place to do so. "The WomenSpeak Project encourages women in Trinidad and Tobago and throughout the Caribbean Region to tell their stories of discrimination - in the home, in the workplace and in the public domain." [Source] There can often be repercussions for speaking out and I think Simone and the women she convinces to tell their stories (even anonymously) are brave.

Reem Abbas (pictured right) and I at BlogHer '11

About Reem
Reem Abbas has a smile that you can see a mile away. I must have seen her a dozen times before I saw her on the International Activism panel as she bounced around the conference and asked questions in sessions. She made me smile everytime I saw her. As the 2nd of 4 International Activist Scholarship recipients, Reem is a freelance journalist from Sudan that writes for an English daily newspaper in Khartoum and blogs at I Have No Tribe, I'm Sudanese. If you know anything about Sudan (and not just what George Clooney has to say), then you know that Reem epitomizes bravery as a young Sudanese woman that candidly shares her feelings about Sudan and its government. In fact, I was so concerned about her safety that I was was hesistant to tweet anything she said in the session. But I did it anyway. If she can be brave, then so can I.

OneBrownGirl Aug 6, 11:20am via Twitter for BlackBerry®

"Having a blog is the best cross-cultural experience for me." via Sudanese activist blogger @ReemAbbas #BH11intlactivist #BlogHer11

2 retweets

BlogHer's other two International Activist Scholarship recipients that were unable to attend were Fungai Neni from Zimbabwe and Yoani Sanchez (of Generation Y) from Cuba. Even with the push by Latinos in Social Media (LATISM) to get Yoani to BlogHer, the Cuban government would not relent. They consider her a criminal for blogging about her point of view. #sigh

Brave is a pretty easy word to throw around, but not an easy word to live up to. These ladies live up to the word and I'm proud to have met at least two of them. Gives me something to aspire to...

Giving Girls a World View

2011-08-03T08:09:00.000-07:00

The Passport Party Project - a philanthropic initiative founded by Tracey Friley of both OneBrownGirl.com® and OBG Adventure Camps - will gift 100 girls with their very first passports within the next 18 months in an effort to help give girls a world view. (For info about Friley's very first first Passport Party, please see the One Brown Girl Challenge.)

One travel blogger in Ohio wants to not only throw a Passport Party in her region, but she also wants to send 10 girls on their first trip abroad and has applied for a Pepsi Refresh grant to do so.

If you know the value of a passportand want to help give girls a world view,please vote daily. It means a lot.Voting ends August 31, 2011

Top 10 votes get funded.

***

The Passport Party Project can be found on Facebook.

(And there's a blog too!) Special thanks to travel blogger Michela Baxter

of My Battered Suitcase for her continued action & support.

To donate, please contact Tracey@OneBrownGirl.com.

The Business of Diversity

2011-07-24T10:57:00.000-07:00

Woman from Toronto Caribana 2010 / iStockphoto

I'm leaving for Toronto on Tuesday night and I'm super excited! It will be my first time in Toronto and my first Caribana. (Practicing my Kat de Luna whine up.) Much like an excited child, I have checked my camera battery more than twice (photo opps galore!), have fallen asleep with visions of brightly colored costumes and contagious soca music in my head, and have annoyed my husband with questions about our hotel reservation at the Fairmont Royal York (which is in the center of it all). This is going to be fun! Yessirree.

But as much fun as I know I'm going to have in Toronto, I am looking forward to getting home, settling down for a few days, ditching My Fella, and then catching a flight to San Diego for BlogHer '11, North America's premiere blogging event for women. Not because I anticipate brightly colored costumes and contagious soca music (although you never know), but because I, along with three other rock 'em sock 'em bloggers, will speak on a panel about the business of diversity called When Diversity is Simply Good Business. About why some brands aren't giving diverse niche bloggers the same opportunities as general market bloggers. About how there is a cross-cultural marketing bandwagon that a lot of PR folks and brands might want to get on. About how by 2050, minorities (silly word) will make up the majority of the population. About how I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. Yessiree.

There's going to be some real talk going on at BlogHer '11 and I'm leaving the sometimes-quiet-ultra-PC-Brown-Girl back at the ponderosa. Besides, what's the point of being asked to speak if we aren't going to get down to the nitty gritty of the matter?

I have a lot to learn and a lot to say....so, hey, I'm ready to let my locs down and make some music of my own. Maybe it'll even resonate somewhere. *Shrug*

Anything in particular you think I should bring up? Let's do this.

Travel Syndrome, et al.

2011-07-20T11:32:00.000-07:00

My name is Tracey and I have Wandermania.

It's an affliction that I describe as a deeply-seeded maniacal need to travel. Those with Wandermania know it as it can be relatively analagous to substance addiction. After the first trip, you want more. When you can't travel, you feel jumpy, irritable and sometimes even sad. When you return from a trip, you're immediately ready for another. Although you won't steal to buy a plane ticket, you will spend all of your money (discretionary and otherwise) just to travel...even if it's only for a few days. Sound familiar?

Although I admit to being a little tongue-in-cheek with my description, I do think there is some psychological component attached to people who are addicted to travel, so I pulled out my husband's DSM-IV to see what I could find. (The DSM-IV is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; the "Bible" for mental health professionals so-to-speak.) But instead of finding what I was looking for, I got sidetracked and found something else rather intriguing that is applicable more to culture and psychology than it is to travel and psychology. In any event, I thought you might find this as interesting as I do. Check this out:

Tucked away in the back of the DSM-IV, there is a Glossary of Culture-Bound Syndromes. In short, there are psychological syndromes specific to certain cultures. "Culture-bound syndromes are generally limited to specific societies or culture areas and are localized, folk, diagnostic categories that frame coherent meanings for certain repetitive, patterned, and troubling sets of experiences and observations." There are 25 syndromes spelled out in the DSM-IV and while I want to make it clear that I am not a mental health professional of any kind, I found the information fascinating and thought it would be uniquely appropriate to share. Here are a few:

ataque de nervios An idiom of distress principally reported among Latinos from the Caribbean, but recognized among many Latin American and Latin Mediterranean groups. Commonly reported symptoms include uncontrollable shouting, attacks of crying, trembling, heat in the chest rising into the head, and verbal of physical aggression. A general feature is a sense of being out of control...[and] frequently occurs as a direct result of a stressful event relating to the family (e.g., news of the death of a close realtive, separation or divorce from a spouse, [etc.]). People may experience amnesia for what occurred during the ataque de nervios, but they otherwise return rapidly to their usual level of functioning.
boufée delirante A syndrome observed in West Africa and Haiti. This French term refers to a sudden outburtst of agitated and aggressive behavior, marked confusion, and psychomotor excitement. It may sometimes be accompanied by visual and auditory hallucinations of paranoid ideation.
falling out or blacking out These episodes occur primarily in southern United States and Caribbean groups. They are characterized by sudden collapse, which sometimes occurs without warning but sometimes is preceded by feelings of dizziness or "swimming" in the head. The individual's eyes are usually open but the person claims an inability to see. The person usually hears and understands what is occurring around him or her but feels powerless to move.
ghost sickness A preoccupation with death and the deceased (sometimes associated with witchcraft) frequently observed among members of many American Indian tribes. Various symptoms can be attributed to ghost sickness, including bad dreams, weakness, feelings of danger, loss of appetite, fainting, dizziness, fear, anxiety, hallucinations, loss of consciousness, confusion, feelings of futility and sense of suffocation.
mal de ojo A concept widely found in Mediterranean cultures and elsewhere in the world. Mal de ojo is a spanish phrase translated into English as "evil eye." Children are especially at risk. Symptoms include fitful sleep, crying without apparent cause, diarrhea, vomiting, and fever in a child or infant. Sometimes adults (especially females) have the condition.
pibloktoq An abrupt dissociative episode accompanied by extreme excitement of up to 30 minutes duration and frequently followed by convulsive seizures and coma lasting up to 12 hours. This is observed primarily in arctic and subarctic Eskimo communities, although regional varations in name exist. The individual may be withdrawn or mildly irritable for a period of hours or days before the attack and will typically report complete amnesia for the attack. During the attack, the individual may tear of his or her clothing, break furniture, shout obscenities, eat feces, flee from protective shelters, or perform other irrational or dangerous acts.
zar A general term applied in Ethiopia, Somalia, Egypt, Sudan, Iran, and other North African and Middle Eastern societies to the experience of spirits possessing an individual. Persons possessed by a spirit may experience dissociative episodes that may include shouting, laughing, hitting the head against a wall, singing, or weeping. Individuals may show apathy and withdrawal, refusing to eat or carry out daily tasks, or may develop a long-term relationship with the possessing spirit. Such behavior is not considered pathological locally.

There are more of these descriptors of behavior, of course (e.g., susto among US Latinos and people in Mexico, Central and South America; shin-byung, a Korean folk-label; sangue dormido, among Portugese Cape Verde Islanders and immigrants from there to the US; koro among south and east Asians, etc.) - all equally fascinating. You could write an entire dissertation on just one of these syndromes, I bet. (Confession: Sometimes I want to go back to school for a PhD in Cultural Anthropology. Sometimes.) #nerdsunite

In sum, I got sidetracked and never found anything in the DSM-IV that summed up my addiction to travel. When I finally got around to asking my husband (the expert) if people who travel are accurately described as some type of syndrome somewhere within the complex pages of his work Bible, he smiled (okay, he laughed) and told me no. Evidently, Wandermania (also known as travel addiction) is merely a personality trait; an interest and passion in learning new things and seeing new places. Hmpfh. I think I like my description better. Now, about my obssession with mermaids...

Kona, Hawaii (June 2010) Photo taken by OneBrownGirl

Life in a Day

2011-07-16T15:01:00.000-07:00

Funny how one little trip to Vancouver last month has changed so many little things in my life. Traveling to Vancouver for TBEX not only inspired me to throw myself into The Passport Party Project at full throttle, but I met some inspiring and supportive travel writers/bloggers as well. I feel different somehow.

I found the Life in a Day video clip above while surfing around on Jen Pollack Bianco's Huffington Post Travel bio, which led me to Tablet Talk (and ultimately to Tablet Hotels) where this video is posted. (Although Jen and I met at TBEX, our most recent conversation was re-ignited on Facebook when I posted a mad-tweet about a guy throwing around inaccurate passport stats via Huffington Post. Grrrr.)

Like a number of other travel junkies with philanthropy in their hearts, Jen believes in The Passport Party Project; so we're making plans to connect face-to-face. I thought I'd be nosey and get to know her before I got to know her and being nosey (many call it research) resulted in finding out about this extremely cool YouTube documentary that I'm looking forward to viewing when it premieres July 29.

On July 24, 2010, thousands of people around the world uploaded videos of their lives to YouTube to take part in Life in a Day, a historic cinematic experiment to create a documentary film about a single day on earth.

Now, it's time to watch their story unfold on the big screen.

Directed by Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald, Life in a Day wowed audiences at the Sundance, Berlin and SXSW film festivals and during its YouTube world premiere in January. This summer, you'll be able to watch the movie in a theater near you.

What a unique way to celebrate diversity around the world. Just brilliant.

So Here's The Thing

2011-07-14T14:11:00.000-07:00

I'm home sick today. I feel lousy too. You can only sleep so many hours, so I figured I would blog. Besides, it's been too long since I posted about something other than food. Plus, I have something to say; short, sweet and to the point.

My blogging buddy Chantilly posed a question on her Multicultural Familia™ Facebook page less than an hour ago that got my panties in a bunch. "Can Latinos claim mixed race?" she asked. And then she suggested that followers read two articles about the subject.

The truth is, I didn't read the articles. As quickly as my fingers would type, I simply responded with "People can claim anything they want, can't they?"

Of course they can.

So here's the thing: The fact that there might be some debate out in the Blogosphere about how I or anyone else chooses to self-identify is laughable as far as I'm concerned. If you self-identify a certain way and someone doesn't agree, why debate about it? Keep it moving and do your thing, right?

Sometimes I think people create more angst for themselves by arguing with people who will never ever see their point of view. So why bother? At the end of the day, what difference does it make about what someone else thinks about how I celebrate my own culture? Answer: None.

I never write about this kind of stuff because it irks me. Reminds me of being bullied because I didn't fit some people's view of how I should be talking, acting, etc. Gag me. I'm an independent thinker and don't really care about what someone else might think about the way I get down. I think some people just like to think they're the authority on how others should feel and think about themselves and want to dissect other people's preferences. What kind of nonsense is that?

I'm outta here. I need a nap.

Note:

With reference to the link to my Oprah's Angel Network bullying story above, I am not going to write a book about Namecalling. If you will pardon the pun, it's not my calling.
Click here for my first contribution to Multicultural Familia™. I'm not one to discuss and dissect issues of race; instead I prefer to celebrate culture. But I will be throwing around my two cents every blue moon. Probably when I don't feel well again. Grrrrrrr.

It's Foodie Friday! An Ethnic Exploration of Maori Food

2011-07-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend is the Blogging While Brown conference in Los Angeles; and it makes sense that I should be there, don't you think? After all, I blog. Oh. And I'm Brown. Not to mention the fact that LA is my home. *Clicking my heels three times* There's no place like home.

On Saturday, food bloggers Bren Herrera and Chrystal Baker will head up a breakout session at BWB called Food Blogging 101: Key Ingredients to Establishing a Solid and Respected Food Blog. And while I am not a food blogger, there is an obvious tie between culture and food, so I'm anxious to attend. In the meantime, I'd like to share with you an Ethnic Exploration of Maori food from The Duo Dishes, a blog by BWB panelist Chrystal Baker and her blog partner Amir. Enjoy!

Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia,
a member of the Kotahitanga movement
in the 1890s, who argued that women
should have equal voting rights
in the Māori Parliament.
Source: Wiki

Blog excerpt from The Duo Dishes: The Maori people arrived in New Zealand from Polynesia centuries ago–some say around 800 AD. With them, they brought a colorful culture of language, arts, music, religion and food. Europeans first touched down on New Zealand soil around the 17th century, and as the story usually goes, all was OK between both groups until land disputes brought on warfare, death and other unfortunate happenings drastically reduced the Maori population. In the late 1890′s, it is reported that the population dipped down to about 42,000 people. It took many, many years for the group’s numbers to increase again, but now estimates place the numbers around 600,000 in New Zealand. The mesh of Maori and European New Zealand cultures is evident across the country through performance arts, religion, sports and language. Even though a very small percentage of the country speaks the Maori language, there are many Maori words used in every day speech.

Maori boil-up. Photo: The Duo Dishes

In terms of kai (the Maori word for food), the Maori people have an intense and spiritual connection to the land and everything that it produces. The original tribes were hunter-gatherers who also grew root vegetables to create meals that were boiled over a fire or heated in underground ‘ovens’. One very basic dish is known as a boil-up. It is a very traditional root vegetable, greens and meat soup cooked in water until the meat and vegetables are very tender. It is usually served with a dumpling or doughboy that float along in the broth and provide a starchy consistency to liquid. We decided to make both of these along with paua fritters. Paua is the Maori word for abalone.

Read more and get the recipe for The Duo Dishes' Maori boil-up and paua fritters here.

It's Foodie Friday! Purple Sweet Potato

2011-07-01T01:23:00.000-07:00

Until last week, I don't think I had ever seen a purple sweet potato. In fact, I know I hadn't. My, how things change.

My husband and I were on the island of Kauai last week and one day at around 3:30pm were looking for a place to eat. As seems to be the norm, we couldn't find a spot that was open since in my experience dining anytime between 3pm and 5pm is always a tough time to find a meal because many restaurants have either closed after lunch and/or are gearing up for dinner service. After checking out a few places, we were lucky enough to end up at Oasis on the Beach, an upscale poolside restaurant/bar that showcases the best Hawaiian agriculture through eclectic methods of preparation and rests within the Waipouli Beach Resort. All of the food at Oasis is served tapas style and 90% of its ingredients are from local sources...including the Okinawan purple sweet potato chips and purple sweet potato puree.

Okinawan purple sweet potato chips...eaten by One Brown Girl.
Oasis on the Beach / Kauai, HI / June 2011

Seared tuna with Okinawan purple sweet potato puree & bok choi...
eaten by One Brown Girl @ Oasis on the Beach / Kauai, HI / June 2011

Of course, what I didn't know until I got home and researched it, is that Okinawan purple sweet potatos are native to the Japanese island, Okinawa and are also known as Hawaiian purple sweet potatos. According to HawaiiPride.com, Christopher Columbus took sweet potatoes from Central America and the West Indies to Spain and Spanish explorers took them to the Phillippines. Then Portugese explorers took them to China and China introduced them to Japan over 300 years ago. It is believed that the Purple Sweet Potato was brought to Hawaii a couple of centuries ago when many Japanese were immigrating to the islands while it is a fact that today, China is the largest grower of all sweet potatoes, providing about 80% of the world's supply. [Source] That's a lot of traveling for a sweet potato, dontchathink?

Sweet potato flaky pastry, typical in Japan. Source: Wiki

You might also be interested to know that purple sweet potatos are not only tasty (although the chips weren't that sweet but the puree was), but fat-free, low in calories, high in fiber, great for diabetics and people who are carbohydrate sensitive, and loaded with antioxidants. A one cup serving of Hawaiian Purple Sweet Potatoes has only 140 calories, yet is packed with 4 grams of dietary fiber. [Source] And for you traditional sweet potato pie eaters, I even found a recipe for purple sweet potato pie (pictured above left). Is that novel or what? Almost as novel as purple carrots...which is next on my list of Things to Try.

See http://purplecarrots.net/

I admit that I'm a pretty picky eater, but I'm happy to say that I discovered a new food that I actually like...and the fact that it's good for me is the gravy on top. No, wait. I don't want gravy on my purple sweet potatos. Now that just wouldn't do. Blech.

The Sandwich Islands

2011-06-28T11:29:00.000-07:00

I know this might sound like a crazy thing to say, but I'm going to say it anyway: Explorers make me sick. (Is that mean?)

Not all of them and not all of the time (I'm not that crazy), but definitely some of them and definitely some of the time. I'm talking specifically about the explorers that sailed ships across the seas in search of the New World and then planted their flags on the populated mainlands and islands of indigenous folks and named the newly discovered lands after their brethren or whomever.

The Tahitian Princess Poedua,
daughter of Orio, Chief of Raiatea
Portrait painted in 1777
on Captain Cook's Last Voyage
by John Webber,
National Maritime Museum, London

Like Italian explorer Christopher Columbus (yep, I said it) who - after landing on an island in the Bahamas - named it San Salvador when the natives called it Guanahani. And like British explorer Captain James Cook who in the 1770s named the Hawaiian Islands after one of his supporters John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich and called Hawaii The Sandwich Islands. Really? How about communicating with the people that were already there and find out what they call their island home. You know...show some respect, some manners. How about that?

Please don't get me wrong. I'd like to think of myself as an explorer of sorts. Not the sail-across-the-seas-in-search-of-New-Worlds type, but I dunno...a mini-explorer...of culture and travel and such. I also don't want to sound ungrateful about world history, world discoveries and the world's explorers, but I don't have to agree with how everything went down, do I? Nope.

Look, the truth is that I just got back from the island of Kauai and found myself getting emotionally immersed in Hawaiian culture (as usual) during my week-long stay. You see, there is a cultural appreciation component to the travel camp program I run and I also have a personal passion for learning about and sharing what I learn about indigenous cultures wherever I go. So after watching the Lua'u Kalamaku performance at historic Kilohana Plantation last week, the wheels inside my head started spinning.

Scene from Luau Kalamaku
Photo: OneBrownGirl.com®

The performance story at the luau was about a Tahitian father's journey to the new land of Hawai'i (pre-European period) and how his daughter Orama must stay behind until the land brings its first harvest. Using only the stars and ocean currents as their guides, the men journey by canoe towards uncharted waters through Polynesia lifted by the Spirit of the Sea, Ka Uhane o Ke Kai. And yes, I was enthralled.

Scene from Luau Kalamaku / Photo: OneBrownGirl.com®

Photo: OneBrownGirl.com®

Because I am a sucker for folklore and the mystery of history (not to mention that I think I'm Polynesian sometimes), I couldn't help but wonder how different the Hawaiian Islands might have been had they been left to evolve without European or American involvement. Ultimately, my thoughts circle back to how rare it is for time not to have had an impact on the mixing of cultures; how explorers are curious by nature and might have actually loved immersing themselves in other cultures and foreign lands as much as I do; and that the act of exploration is important, and eye-opening and quite necessary.

So maybe some explorers* don't make me so sick after all. Without them, my life...all of our lives...would be remarkably different (and yes, I realize that is an understatement). But The Sandwich Islands? I still can't get with that.

Thoughts?

* For the record, any explorers that injured, killed and/or displaced the indigenous do indeed make me sick. All of them.

Be Back Soon

2011-06-20T11:37:00.000-07:00

The One Brown Girl Challenge

2011-06-06T09:06:00.000-07:00

I love a party.

I did my fair share of club hopping and partying while growing up and working in the entertainment business in LA, so the truth is that most of the time I prefer throwing a party more than going to one. In order to get me excited about getting all gussied up and leaving the comfort of my home, you have to be throwing a real mean shindig. And I mean a really mean one. That, or just offer me a chance to travel and I'm there....lickety split. Yes sirree.

So yesterday I threw a party, but not just any old party. It was a Passport Party for a group of tw/eens sponsored by OBG Adventure Camps, with one passport sponsored by April Thompson of Absolute Travel Addict (who is on her way to Japan as I type), and with transportation generously provided by General Motors*...and I didn't even have to get all gussied up.

Bella (age 12) was voted Best Passport Photo
by her peers in a blind vote.
OBGAC Passport Party / June 4, 2011

The purpose of the Passport Party was to sponsor the first passports of several girls in the San Francisco Bay Area. The goal is to help give them a world view through travel and to help them consider their place in the world by giving them the tools they might need to wander the globe and learn about different cultures. I feel good about being of service in this way, particularly since only 30% of Americans have a passport. You can only imagine what percentage of that 30% are children...and Brown children at that.

Jessica, age 15.
~OBGAC Passport Party / June 4, 2011

The OBG Challenge is a pretty simple one: If you don't have a passport, get one. If you already have one, help get one for someone else. If you don't know who to help, OBG Adventure Camps would be happy to accept your $105 donation (made payable to the US Department of State) on behalf of another tw/een. The bottom line is that the more prepared we all are for any international travel that might pop up, the bigger our chances are of gaining a world view. And I certainly don't need to tell any of you the benefits of having a broad view of the world. To begin the passport application process, please click here.

Of course the plan is to empower more and more girls by throwing more and more Passport Parties...but moving around the nation takes sponsors and is a work in progress. But the truth is, this kind of party is enough to get me to leave the comfort of my own home and get all gussied up.

*Disclaimer: During the 2011 Hispanicize Conference, I was able to connect with a GM rep who ultimately agreed to help me serve tw/eens by donating a 2011 Chevrolet Traverse for my party...without asking for anything in return. Naturally, any corporation that helps me serve girls is my BFF for life. It didn't hurt that they loaned me a top of the line SUV either. Besides the fact that it seats seven, performed well in a downpour of rain, and looks good (!), the rear view camera in the rear view mirror gave me goose bumps. GM, you are The Business! And as usual everyone, I am typing my opinions and feelings from way down deep.

The Bee-yoot-ee-ful Sari

2011-06-02T10:24:00.000-07:00

There is a poll question on the left-hand side bar of my blog that asks how you feel about seeing someone wear clothing from a culture that is not their own. I wrote a short blog post about the same subject some time ago while on a visit to Chicago. Naturally, I'm one Brown Girl that thinks it's a compliment. In fact, if I were at home, I would go deep into my closet and pull out my two silk saris, take photos and share them with you here. Bee-yoot-ee-ful.

I bought my saris over 15 years ago and vaguely remember the instructions I received from the lovely East Indian woman at her store in Berkeley, California as she taught me (more than once) how to wrap, pleat and drape the lovely yards of liquid fabric. (Among my other safe addictions like travel, celebrating culture, collecting Brown mermaids, etc., I am also addicted to textiles and fabric.) And while I haven't worn my saris in awhile, I freely admit that I do hang out in my closet and stare at them from time to time pretending I remember how to wrap myself appropriately. In the event there comes a time for me to wear either of my lovely girls again, I'm pleased to report that there are tutorials on the Web:

TherezFleetwood.com

My husband wore a man's sari at our wedding similar to the one pictured here (but nicer). It was the perfect compliment to my linen wedding dress which was modeled after this Therez Fleetwood original pictured left. (Unfortunately, Ms. Fleetwood's gorgeous wedding dress was not in my budget and I was afraid the weight of the fabric wouldn't work for my Caribbean destination wedding.) Isn't it beautiful? #sigh Okay, back to saris...

Saris are worn in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malayasia, Burma, Pakistan, etc. There are different types of saris, different spellings of saree, different styles and ways to wear saris, and different sari fabrications depending upon the region. The most popular saris seen in mainstream media are typically two pieces: a choli (which is the top) and the sari, which can be up to 8 feet long, but which is typically 6 yards long by 1 yard wide of glorious fabric. For a bit of eye candy, please see the beautiful slideshow below.

Tamil Girl wearing a upper body tunic over a sari.
circa 1912 / Source: Wiki

There are some blogging rules somewhere that say all blog posts must have a definitive point of view and some type of deep meaning. Well, I have rebellious tendencies (LOL) and there is no real deep meaning to this post and my point of view is pretty obvious. (Besides, rules are sometimes meant to be broken. Oooooo.) The bottom line is that I simply wanted to show off some traditional cultural fabrics and clothing that I find gloriously beautiful and then share. I hope the blogging police don't come for me.

Bònn fèt dè mè!

2011-05-29T11:23:00.000-07:00

Guess what? I just found out from Heart of Haiti that today is Mothers Day in Haiti. How cool is that? Bònn fèt dè mè!

According to HaitianTreasures.com, Mothers’ Day is celebrated in Haiti on the last Sunday of May. On that day, Haitians honor their mothers by wearing a red flower if the mothers are alive and a white or purple one if they are deceased.

As an ambassador for Heart of Haiti, I encourage you to consider not only the joy of the day, but the pain that today will likely bring for those in Haiti that might have lost a mother to the devastating earthquake or the unfortunate results of poverty. As you know, loss and pain know no boundaries.

So kindly take a moment to add Haiti to your prayers as you move through this Memorial Day Weekend, and always remember that Fairwinds Trading and Macy's are jointly empowering Haitian artisans through fair trade...a program that any mother would love.

It's Foodie Friday! Borbecu

2011-05-27T11:24:00.000-07:00

So it's Friday and the start of Memorial Day Weekend. And even though when I look to my right out of my office window at the gloomy yet amazing Northern California sky, one thing I know for sure is that no gloom is going to keep millions of Americans from the grill this weekend getting their smoky *cough, cough* barbeque on while they enjoy family and friends. Of course, my hope is that everyone remembers to commemorate the United States' fallen soldiers whether they are at the grill or at the beach, because paying homage is what this weekend is all about.

When I sat down to write this Foodie Friday post, the question on my mind was "Where did barbeque originate?" Before I even placed my fingers on the computer keyboard to do a Google search, I answered my own question with "Probably a lot further back than anyone can account for." After all, it makes sense to me that before there were stoves, there were open fires, right? And every culture from every part of the world at one time or another had to have cooked their food and grilled their meat or fish on an open flame, right? Right.

Chippewa women cooking over open fire.
Photograph Collection, 1910 / Visual Resources Database
Minnesota Historical Society
Location No. E97.32 r3 Negative No. 79816 / Source

I find it a pleasant irony that my Web search ultimately pointed me to voyager William Dampier's New Voyage Round the World since I've just given birth to Wandermania and voyages around the world fuel stories about different cultures and get me all tingly inside. (There are no accidents.) In Dampier's travel memoir which began in 1679, he writes: And lay there all night, upon our Borbecu's, or frames of Sticks, raised about 3 foot from the Ground. I was struck by the spelling of the word borbecu and its etymology, so instead of a boring trip down The History of Barbecue Lane, I will instead bore you with a few etymological facts while I whet your appetite with some barbecue photos/video in between. *Snicker*

An Argentinian asado on an open pit...for...a large crowd of guests.
Photo Source: Wiki

Fact No 1: Most etymologists believe that barbecue derives ultimately from the word barabicu found in the language of both the Timucua of Florida and the Taíno people of the Caribbean, which then entered European languages in the form barbacoa. The word translates as "sacred fire pit." [Source: Wiki]

A barbecue at a street fair in New York City's East Village
known as "Ternera a la Llanera" from the Colombian marshlands
Photo Source: Wiki

Fact No 2: There is ample evidence that both the word and cooking technique migrated out of the Caribbean and into other languages and cultures, with the word (barbacoa) moving from Caribbean dialects into Spanish, then Portuguese, French, and English. The Oxford English Dictionary cites the first recorded use of the word in the English language in 1697 by the British buccaneer William Dampier. [Source: Wiki]

Striped bass on the barbecue...yummmmm.

Fact No. 3: In British usage, barbecuing refers to a fast cooking process directly over high heat, while grilling refers to cooking under a source of direct, high heat—known in the U.S. and Canada as broiling. In US English usage, however, grilling refers to a fast process over high heat, while barbecuing refers to a slow process using indirect heat and/or hot smoke. [Source: Wiki]

Fact No. 4: The word barbecue has attracted several inaccurate origins from folk etymology. An often-repeated claim is that the word is derived from the French language. The story goes that French visitors to the Caribbean saw a pig being cooked whole and described the method as barbe à queue, meaning "from beard to tail". The French word for barbecue is also barbecue, and the "beard to tail" explanation is regarded as false by most language experts. The only merit is that it relies on the similar sound of the words, a feature common in folk-etymology explanations. Another claim states that the word BBQ came from the time when roadhouses and beer joints with pool tables advertised "Bar, Beer and Cues". According to this tale, the phrase was shortened over time to BBCue, then BBQ. [Source: Wiki]

I believe I have just sufficiently proved that I am a bit of a nerd (LOL) and have no problem admitting that I find the origin of words interesting. What I find more interesting, however, is that I have just made myself hungry, so I'm going to try to talk my husband into a little borbecu this weekend. But first, I'm going to spend a silent moment thinking about the men and women that have fought and died for me, for you and for our families. Remembrance first, borbecu later.

Enjoy your weekend!

The Birth of Wandermania™

2011-05-23T09:42:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make.

When I go to the airport, I always count how many Brown people I see.

Brown as in Latino, Native American, Polynesian, East Indian, African-American, Asian, Filipino, multiracial, etc.

You see, I have this ongoing dialogue with myself, my family and my friends about how few people that actually look like me – when you start comparing – travel. I’m not suggesting that the number is zero; I’m just suggesting that the numbers aren't balanced. I’m sure there are some stats that back me up somewhere.

In spite of my little airport game, it has occured to me that if corporations like American Airlines are launching national advertising campaigns aimed at Latinos and creating a Web portal aimed at African-Americans like BlackAtlas.com, it is likely because American Airlines wants to tap into the existing market of Latinos and African-Americans that already travel which, based on the current US demographic trends, are most certainly on the rise (not to mention that travel likely begets travel). We all know that this shift in demographics is changing as quickly as I sit here and type and any brand or major corporation worth its salt knows that too.

But there is one stat that I can confirm. Only 30% of Americans own a passport. That’s right, 30%. Since that’s the case, I wonder what percentage of that 30% look like me or you or anyone from a multicultural background? And let’s not talk about how many children don’t have passports either; that’s got to be another stat entirely. As a travel camp owner and annual Paris concierge, my aim is to give girls of all ages a world view. And because I agree with my husband’s declaration that, “The first thing I would grab if the house was on fire is my passport,” I have just started a program that provides young girls with their very first passports. (Special thanks to April Thompson of Absolute Travel Addict and a fellow Women on Their Way Local Nation contest winner for sponsoring a girl too and a big shout out to General Motors for providing the transportation! Woot!) My hope is that gifting a young girl with a passport will encourage the rest of her family to do the same, whether there is an overseas trip planned or not. As is the rule in life, it’s about being ready when opportunity knocks.

And now for my other confession and the main reason I’m writing this post: This past week marked the gentle push and subsequent birth of Wandermania™, an online community that explores every shade of travel. Like anyone facing a new beginning, I’m a little scared. But my inspiration for creating and giving birth to an online space for travelers, wannabe travelers, travel writers and travel bloggers of every shade isn't scary at all and comes from many sources.

My first source of inspiration comes from the observations I've made as a Travelista. One is that I have boarded many a commuter flight only to be the only Brown Girl aboard and another is that I have even had folks - after seeing my group of traveling Brown Girls – ask me if the girls in my travel camp were at-risk. Yeah, I know. (In that regard, look for “What Makes You Ask?” - original content I wrote for Multicultural Familia™, an online community that will debut on May 30.)

My second source of inspiration for birthing Wandermania™ comes from the low passport statistics described above and my belief that in spite of what I don't necessarily see at the airport, I know that people of every shade do indeed travel. My third source of inspiration comes from a personal need to be of service, to make people happy, and to give away prizes (fun!). (BTW, Wandermania™ is giving away a Flip Video camera on its Facebook page in June and one roundtrip airline ticket on Southwest Airlines at some point this fall.) And finally, my last source of inspiration stems from my personal point of view about how important it is that travel storytelling – and storytelling in general - accurately reflects the multicultural world we live in, particularly since it is natural for readers and listeners of stories to want to relate, connect and engage not just to the location a travel writer might be describing, but to the travel writers themselves. As Chimamanda Adichie warns in her brilliant TED presentation, "...[I]f we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding."

If, for example, Latinos and African-Americans aren’t necessarily traveling en masse, then does that mean that there aren’t that many culturally and ethnically diverse travel storytellers writing en masse either? I wonder.

Wandermania™ is on a quest to find travel writers and bloggers of every shade and so far, my one-week journey has turned up at least 50. But there are more; way more I bet. My goal is to find as many travel writers and bloggers as I can that represent every shade of the multicultural rainbow to showcase their work and ultimately connect them with travel brands. (Plans for Wandermania™'s first travel blogging conference will take place in 2013.) And yes, there is enough of the travel brand pie to go around.

As a blogger whose mission is to celebrate culture and write an occasional travel story, and in light of the natural connection between culture and travel, it only makes sense that I would take this path of inclusion and diversity and create a space meant to showcase a diverse group. A small example of the diverse group of travel writers and travel bloggers that Wandermania™ has already introduced on its 3-day old Facebook page and Twitter stream include Nithya, who lives out of a suitcase and is moving to São Paolo Brazil; Lola, a well-known veteran travelista & photographer; Ana, who has traveled to five continents; Sherry, who is planning a solo round the world journey; Evita, who is working on her own tv project and has her own theme song; Greg, a writer, photographer and life-long traveler; Juno, a travel blogger who designs the world; and Carol, a freelance travel and food writer based in New York.

But Wandermania™ is just getting this party started, so hold on to your plane tickets folks, because in addition to the Facebook and Twitter introductions, the new logo and the impending blog, there is definitely more to come. Wandermania™ will be a lot of things, but it will most assuredly be a place where folks can relate and feel free to connect and discuss the unique experiences they might encounter while traveling - whether local, nation- or worldwide.

For now, I'm just plugging away and giving myself permission to be a little anxious since it'll be a few shakes before Wandermania™ has its own blog space in the Blogosphere. Embarking on a new endeavor naturally has some level of anxiety attached to it along with a fair dose of fear. But walking past fear is what's up. I have had some great entrepreneurial experiences in my life and they always start out the same way…with me scared to death but ready to deal with the challenges ahead. Have you ever watched The Amazing Race? With every challenge the teams face, they ultimately make their way through the maze of nasty tasting food, unfamiliar languages, and sometimes even mind-boggling road blocks only to come out A-OK with someone ultimately capturing the prize. Wandermania™, an important and necessary platform, is my amazing prize. Now if I could only win a million dollars.

Note: If you follow or know of any travel writers or bloggers from any genre (i.e., adventure, luxury, family travel, etc.) that might find Wandermania™ of interest, please feel free to send them to Wandermania™'s current homes on both Twitter and/or Facebook (for now) where they will be received with open arms. Keep in mind that there is a natural connection between food, culture, photography and travel, so don’t forget about the foodies, photographers and the culture junkies too. Wandermania™ is open to travel bloggers and travel writers of every shade.

The One Brown Girl Challenge

2011-05-19T11:19:00.000-07:00

Remember Gratitude

Last year, after Melting Pot Moms sponsored one of my campers to an OBG Adventure Camps travel camp, I had the sponsored camper video tape her appreciation. She was shy about it, but it had to be done. This year, I wasn't able to physically go to my Spring travel camp, so I instructed my staff to have the camper that was sponsored by a mini-Facebook fundraiser I put together write out her thank you note so that I could then post it on my Facebook Wall. When I think back on it, I feel like I should have taken the time to individually send each donor Ruby's thank you note, but I took a technology short cut. (Still wondering if that was the right thing to do.)

Honeyprint stationery

Yesterday, I sent out two handwritten thank you notes (using my custom Honeyprint stationery and my own OBG stationery) to two different friends who showed a kindness to me. It was an automatic response to a thoughtful situation because that's how I was brought up; to be grateful and to show it. After all, I know how it makes me feel (awesome!) to get a handwritten note in the mail and hey...it's nice to be nice.

Recently, I sent out a bunch of gifts and to date I have received one thank you (via text), and that came from an adult. The rest of the gifts were sent to adolescents and unlike my mother who simply broke out the stationery and handed me a pen when I received a gift as a child, I have not received a thank you note, a thank you text, or a thank you FB Wall Post saying, well...thank you.

Since I tend to be analytical, I thought this would be a great challenge to put out there. For me, for you, for parents and for anyone who has been shown a kindness. It's not about hurt feelings or some such other drama, because I know that my gifts were well-received. But it's about taking that extra step and showing a little gratitude. It's about not fostering a sense of entitlement. It's about remembering our forgotten manners. Am I wrong?

Disclaimer: Several months ago, I got a suprise package in the mail and it was the personalized Honeyprint stationery you see in the photo above. It was so cute that I didn't open it until yesterday.

Connecting to the Divine

2011-05-17T09:40:00.000-07:00

I'm no Wade Davis (also known as a brilliant ethnographer), but like many of you, I love to travel and learn about cultural traditions, including those related to religion and spirituality. No matter what my personal beliefs are, I am always fascinated by the way different cultures connect to the Divine.

I own a little boutique that is across the street from a marijuana dispensary (it's the Bay Area, what can I say?) and sometimes I see people walk out of the dispensary with big tall plants covered in brown paper. I often wonder what a person does with a 5 foot marijuana tree, but I guess I can figure it out. I know that there are those who use marijuana for medicinal purposes and others use it for recreation, but we also know that historically, there are a number of cultures that use marijuana, mushrooms and/or opiates for religious purposes too; again to connect to the Divine.

Ayahuasca cooked in Ecuador
Source: Wiki

In fact, one of my friends went to the Rain Forest in Ecuador and on his sojourn with a shaman drank ayahuasca as some sort of ritual. Ayahuasca is a brew concocted from vines and plants and is used in spiritual ceremonies in Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru and Brazil. I don't kow about you, but I’m WAY too scary to do something like that. “Many indigenous and shamanistic religions of the Americas, Asia and other continents use entheogens to make contact with the divine as part of their religious rituals. Most commonly, these are used in shamanistic practice involving healing rituals.” [Wiki] Check out the video below to see an ayahuasca (aka daime) ritual in Brazil from the National Geographic Channel. You can also check out the Wade Davis link above to learn more about ayahuasca (at the 11:45 mark).

Cannabis sativa from
Vienna Dioscurides, 512 AD
[Wiki]

I don't know if I have ever met anyone that uses daime to connect, but I have met many a Rastafarian that uses cannabis for religious/spiritual purposes. My understanding is that it is meant to bring them closer to God. “Rastafari see cannabis as a sacramental and deeply beneficial plant that is the Tree of Life mentioned in the Bible. Bob Marley, amongst many others, have quoted Revelation: 22:2, ‘... the herb is the healing of the nations.’” [Wiki] Ancient Africans, Ancient Chinese, Ancient Central Asians, Ancient and Modern Indians, and many modern religions (including the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church) also used/use marijuana. “Cannabis is widely used in India by Hindu gurus and Middle Eastern sufis” not to mention the numerous cultures all over the world that use various hallucinogenic mushrooms, cacti and various Nightshades (Solanaceae) like Datura, Brugmansia and Belladonna.” [Wiki]

I have always had an open mind about religious and spiritual choices and I am truly fascinated by the ways of the indigenous although taking something that is going to make me hallucinate (even though it is meant to get closer to the Divine) just isn't in my repertoire. I'm just not that girl. (I even threw away a bunch of coca tea bags that someone once gave me that came from Peru.) But hey, writer Kira Salak says that the ancient ayahuasca helped her combat her lifelong bout with depression. You can read her [kinda scary] story here.

What are you willing to do (or not do) to connect to the Divine? Do tell.

Note: This post is a learning opportunity. OBG does not condone drug use of any kind...ever.

It's Foodie Friday! Iguana Stew or Lizard Soup?

2011-05-13T11:25:00.000-07:00

Have you ever watched two people eat the same thing from the same plate of food only to end up with two completely different opinions about the dish? Or heard two people talk about the same exact topic only with two completely different points of view? Of course you have, right? Well, today is no different. *Smirk* Today, you’re going to hear from two Brown Girls – one named Tracey (hey, that’s me!); the other named Tracy (great name) – as each one tells you about her love affair and/or distaste for iguanas, a type of (endangered) lizard common to South and Central America as well as the Caribbean. And then after that, you can decide for yourself how you feel about eating iguana stew, iguana eggs or lizard soup...

Tracey's Story

First I sensed it. Then I felt it. Then I saw it. And then I screamed.

Some goober boy walked up behind me at day camp and in a stroke of genius placed a three foot iguana on the back of my neck. I lost it. *Shiver* Of course, the little bozo was trying to be funny. Hardy har har. He failed.

I must have been around 10 or 11. I was in Massachusetts visiting my grandmother for the summer. I was at day camp one day standing around talking to a bunch of kids and playing with a rabbit (or some other furry animal) and Mr.-Ha-Ha-Aren’t-I-Funny? got his Thrill of the Day…at my expense. I was already squeamish about reptiles and scaly things anyway. So having a mini dragon placed on the back of my neck took me over the edge. I haven’t been the same since.

About 10 years ago, I faced my ridiculous fear and took a day sail to Iguana Island in the Turks & Caicos Islands. There were iguanas eh-ver-ee-where. On the walkway, on the beach, in the bushes, on the tree trunks. *Shiver* But guess what? I swam from the boat to the shore, took some deep breaths and (while clinging to my fella) actually walked amongst reptiles. Good googly moogly; that was brave. Now when I see them, I don’t run. I’m inquisitive by nature, so I check them out while they check me out. *Wondering if they think I’m ugly too?* And then we go our separate ways. And I’m cool with that.

Tracy's Story

I think it was sometime around my 7th birthday that I remember my grandmother purchasing an iguana from a street vendor in Guyana. I was ecstatic because I just knew the iguana was my new pet. I played with him for three days and on the fourth day when I returned home from school, I couldn't find him. I walked along my street calling out to family, friends and neighbors thinking maybe my pet iguana crawled into their yard. Everyone assured me, they had not seen him. Then our maid came in from the marketplace and I ran up to her in a panic desperately hoping she knew the whereabouts of my new pet. This lady said, "I cooked it."

Huh?

I could not wrap my 7-year-old mind around it. I was confused, scared, livid and I wanted answers. Then she continued, "Your grandmother asked me to make curry iguana for your birthday party." "What the…??!!!" I replied. (Of course [at 7 years old] I left out all profanities because I did not want to end up in the pot with my old friend.] From that day up until I turned 13 -- I kept all of my pets away from my grandmother.

This little story remained a secret when I returned [from Guyana to the United States] fearing that my childhood friends here would not accept me. Well, it was a secret until now.

[So you can imagine why] I belted out a hearty laugh when I came across [Uncommon Caribbean’s recipe for iguana stew]!

********

Just to bring this whole post home, I found a few things I want to share: First, a recipe for Nigerian lizard stew (with photos even!). Second and third, a video of Andrew Zimmerman sucking the insides out of iguana eggs (screaming!) in Nicaragua along with a video of Anthony Bourdain eating iguana for the second time (“The last time I had [iguana] I wanted to gargle with bleach and throw myself off the mountain,” he says). And last, an online article about the exploitation of iguanas in Central America. #whew

I guess this would be the perfect opportunity to talk about how iguana or lizard as a meal is unique to certain cultures or how I just got back from Barbados where there is an iguana sanctuary at the Barbados Wildlife Reserve, but I’m not. I just can’t ~~talk about~~ handle it. Shoot, you know if I don’t want to be around an iguana that I’m definitely not going to eat one. And as a pet? *Snort* I don’t think so.

Anyone out there ever had an iguana as a pet? How about iguana stew?!??!? Would you try it? If so, bon appétit! (Ewwww.)

Living in a Cultural Stew

2011-05-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

When I left Los Angeles to move to the San Francisco Bay Area over ten years ago, I was ready for a change. I knew I couldn't leave California, because for me, it doesn't get much better than the Golden State - *flashing a peace sign* - so I packed it up and moved North. I moved on up the coast.

The first few years I was here, I complained a lot. So much in fact that I got tired of hearing the SoCal-is- better-than-NorCal words coming out of my own mouth. "It's true that there is no place like home," I finally acknowledged when I had enough of my own whining. "But you need to at least give it a chance." And so I did.

Partial view of Lake Merritt
[Source: Wiki]

My friend Kiratiana is here visiting the Bay Area this week and we spent the day together yesterday. During a lovely and relaxed lunch on Oakland's Lake Merritt and in between convos about Paris, tech start-ups and social media, Kira asked me what I love about the Bay so much. The East Bay to be exact. And so I told her.

I love that unlike Los Angeles the weather changes seasonally and the frequent rain makes the landscape lush. I love that I now own at least 40 jackets and coats and have learned how to layer my clothes so that I stay warm. I love that Oakland, (yes, the town you hear about with such bad crime stats), has its own unique charm, grand-yet-small neighborhoods and stunning craftsman, Edwardian and Victorian architecture. I love that San Francisco is less than 15 minutes away just across the bridge, and that Napa, Monterey and the Redwoods are all in my Northern California backyard. And even though I'm always tempted to move back to Southern California and plant my hiney on an Adirondack chair at a house on the beach, Northern California has found a way to capture my heart. But the thing that makes me stay isn't the weather or the architecture. The thing that makes me stay is that I'm living in a Cultural Stew.

Just look around, I told Kira. When you go into a restaurant, a Starbucks or a shopping center, you might see an East Indian woman having tea with her Japanese girlfriend; or a table full of friends of different colors of the rainbow sharing a meal; or an inter-racial couple with their blended children. And no one is staring at them, either. It's just the norm. Do you get that? I asked her. Diversity is the norm. (Interesting Cultural Fact: The 2010 Census indicates that 4.9% of California's 37,253,956 population is two or more races, up 12.9%+ from the 2000 Census. [Source] Just imagine the numbers if everyone actually filled out their census docs!)

If I have done my job as a brand ambassador for OneBrownGirl.com®, then you know that I buy in to the fact that in spite of the cultural differences us humans all bring to the table, we all share far more similarities; that Brown is beautiful (no matter the shade of your skin), Brown girls rock and yes, it is definitely okay to celebrate yourself; and that even though it seems natural for cultural groups to band together to celebrate their heritage, I buy in to the sharing and togetherness model. And that's what Oakland is all about. #oneloveandallthat

And while I'm not going to pretend that Oakland's crime stats are something to brag about, there is way more to this Cultural Stew than crime. In fact, Oakland is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the country and the second most diverse city in Alameda County. #score According to the 2010 United States Census, Oakland is 25.9% White, 27.3% African-American, 0.3% Native American, 16.7% Asian, 0.5% Pacific Islander, 0.3% some other race, and 3.6% were of two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos (of any race) make up 25.4% of the total population. #wepa [Source] Oh, and don't let me forget: Oakland Mayor Jean Quan is the first Asian American woman mayor of a major US city. Love, love, love. #culturalstew

http://hellalove.com

Talking to Kira yesterday got me thinking: To be able to celebrate your cultural heritage alongside people from a different cultural background who show genuine interest and acceptance and without any criticism or hate is quite unique and not to be taken lightly. I have always loved being unique. And I will always love Oakland.

Confessions of One Brown Girl

2011-05-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

This morning, I filled up my tea cup with spring water and absentmindedly walked over to where my microwave used to be to heat it up: 1.5 minutes on high and then I would drop in a teaspoon of honey. Boom. Finished. Sip, sip, sigh. This is one morning ritual I can perform in my sleep (and I have too). But my instant heater-upper isn't on the kitchen counter anymore. Ohhhh yeah, I remembered: I got rid of my microwave. How inconvenient.

I really don't want to bore you with why I don't have a microwave anymore, although I will confess that it's mostly rebellion, partly fear, and minutely out of respect for master chefs that look down their noses at cooks who use them. That being said, it got me thinking. (Yep, there I go thinking again.) There are many cultures in the world that continue to prepare their food without the use of a microwave oven or even a modern stove top for that matter.

Some are from third world countries and cook using primitive open fire methods because they don't have access to modern conveniences; while some are like the Vanuatu and the Tortillera (pictured below) that simply choose to maintain cultural traditions. In either case, my heartfelt hope is that there is no harm to the health and well being of the cooks (mainly women) who cook on open fires, much like I hope microwaves aren't harming our health either.

Residents of Vanuatu making fire (2005) [Source]

Tortillera en Guatemala [Source]

Did you know that "each year, an estimated 1.9 million people die from the most basic of food safety problems -- the negative side effects of...traditional [open fire and primitive] cooking methods."? Wow. I guess it makes sense that breathing in smoke from coal on a daily basis would be hazardous to a person's health, right? Not to mention the environmental hazards. And let's not forget about getting burned. Check out this report I found about this very serious issue (at least scan it). You might be as surprised as I was. There is even a Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves! Double wow. #greatwork

When I sat down to write this post, I thought I was going to be writing about all of the different cultures (e.g., East Indian, Vietnamese, Mexican, Thai, Senegalese, the list goes on) that still cook over an open fire and how sticking with the basics isn't always a bad thing. About how the development of pottery allowed for fireproof cooking and how Medieval kitchens used cauldrons. About "Bamboo tubes sealed at the end with clay providing a usable [cooking] container in Asia, while the inhabitants of the Tehuacan Valley began carving large stone bowls that were permanently set into a hearth as early as 7000 BC." About how before pottery, food was roasted and/or cooked using large leaves or the shells of turtles or large mollusks, which provided a source for waterproof cooking vessels. [Source] About how some cultures cook an entire meal in one pot.

About how heating my spring water in a tea kettle on a stove top takes the same 1.5 minutes that it took my dearly departed microwave to heat up my water, and how I can re-heat my food in a toaster oven. Yep, that's what I sat down to type.

Instead, I'm here to confess that I'm glad I gave up my microwave and it isn't inconvenient after all. I'm here to confess that I never even considered the safety and environmental risks of poorly constructed open fire cooking methods and its effects on millions of cooks around the world. And as my gramma used to say (and yours too, I bet): You learn something new every day.

Gone Camping ~ Island Style

2011-04-20T10:24:00.000-07:00

A view from St. John in the US Virgin Islands
Photo credit: Allyson Bailey, Senior lifeguard & staff member
OBG Adventure Camps

While I'm not pitching any tents or cooking my meals over an open fire (been there, done that), I have indeed gone camping, except I've gone camping Island Style. [Insert palm tree swaying in a tropical breeze here. *Grin*]

Living in a beachfront cottage, swimming with the dolphins in the British Virgin Islands, sailing the day away, inhaling the vibe of St. John's tropical beaches, and taking daily nature walks will all be a part of my 10 night travel & learning adventure as I travel with 8 tw/een girls and 2 staff members to the United States Virgin Islands for CampCaribe 2011.

I'll be back before you know it to give you the details, but first I'm going to spend 5 nights decompressing after camp at the Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort on St. Thomas. I will definitely need it.

In the meantime, if you'd like to see some snapshots while I'm gone, check me out on Facebook and/or Twitter starting April 22! See ya soon...

Paying Homage

2011-04-18T13:27:00.000-07:00

Now THIS is Blackface.
Photo source: Wiki

I'm so sick of folks turning artistic cultural homages into that same old tired "Blackface" argument. Grrrrr.

This time, it's about Beyoncé's homage to the beauty of African ancestry in the super fabulous! L'Officiel Paris video below. Talk about making something out of nothing! Sheesh. Click here to read about the backlash.

Remember when Tyra's America's Next Top Model was under fire for a similar type of homage? I don't know about you, but I'm over it. If someone doesn't know the difference between yester year's Blackface and a celebration of culture, then phooey on them. #getalife Work it Bey!

It's Foodie Friday! Humanity with Food

2011-04-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

If you are remotely close to being as sensitive as I am about service to others, you should get out your Kleenex box before you view the video below. (At a minimum, you'll end up with a lump in your throat.)

People all over the world are doing good works - some with youth, some with seniors, some with the poor, and...here today...some with food. Service connects us all.

Enjoy the video. Enjoy your Friday. I hope you are inspired. =)

Tibiwangzi

2011-04-13T16:24:00.000-07:00

I remember learning and practicing my penmanship in school like it was yesterday. In fact, those ruled lines were the inspiration for the lines on OBG®'s Brainy Brown Girl empowerment tee. So you can probably imagine how surprised I was when when I heard a discussion on a talk radio show regarding the buzz about whether or not penmanship and/or cursive handwriting should continue to be taught in schools. Really? In fact, the word is that some schools don't even teach it at all anymore! According to the Huffington Post, ABC News reports that 41 states have adopted the Common Core State Standards for English, which omits cursive handwriting from required curriculum. Why is it bothering me so much to hear this?

A section of the Papyrus of Ani
showing cursive hieroglyphs.
Courtesy of Wiki.

As a self-proclaimed Culturalista, I can't help but think about what it might mean from a cultural perspective for this generation of kids not to learn penmanship - not to mention the studies that indicate handwriting makes kids smarter. Will my generation of handwriters ultimately become as extinct as the writers of Egyptian hierogylphics a gazillion years ago? Does our overuse of technology (*guilty*) make handwritten letters and notes a lost art? Hmmm.

Example of semi-cursive style
Chinese calligraphy
Wiki

And if you thought that the issue of losing our handwriting skills is just an American thing, you are mistaken. In China, where handwriting is considered an art, the term "Tibiwangzi" is the word that was adopted to describe forgetting how to write using Chinese characters and is also referred to as character amnesia. Literally, Tibiwangzi means "take pen, forget character." Evidently and not surprisingly, "[the] lack of handwriting is seen as a detriment to Chinese culture by many (over 71% believed that this shift will weaken the identity of the Chinese people and civilization)." [Source]

I admit that I use my laptop, my iPad, and my Blackberry to communicate. But I always hand write thank you notes and I take notes by hand when I'm learning. For me, writing something down plants the information neatly in my brain for later use. I don't think I will ever stop writing.

There was discussion about this issue on my Facebook page, and I have posted the Facebook comments in the comments section of this post, but I'm curious: Will anthropologists have trouble deciphering my teenage love letters and the notes of adoration I used to receive from my beloved grandmother? Will we ultimately need a new Rosetta Stone to interpret today's cursive handwriting? #canyouimagine?

The Box from Everywhere

2011-04-12T16:48:00.000-07:00

A box came today. The mailman just dropped it off. I wasn't expecting it. Oh how I love surprises.

The return address said it was from Everywhere, a team of social media strategists that help their clients navigate social media. I know about Everywhere because they are the team that helps facilitate the Heart of Haiti campaign. And if you know anything about me at all, you know that I am a proud Ambassador for Heart of Haiti and have been since they launched at Macy's. I'm the Brown Girl that will never ever forget about Haiti. Never. (A link to all of my posts dedicated to Haiti can be found here.)

I'm writing this post because my eyes started to tear up when I opened the box and read the note that accompanied it. "Thank you for all of your support.... It means so much...that you dedicated your time, posts, tweets & heart to this project. We would not have seen the amazing response...without your voice." Wah.

Of course, they weren't sad tears mind you; they were simply tears of happiness. You see, an artisan in Haiti handcrafted the "Birds in a Breadfruit Tree" that is made from hand cut and hammered recyled steel that you see pictured in the photo below. I can see that there are other handcrafted items in the box too, but I'm a little too choked up to dig any deeper at the moment, so I thought I'd write.

If you want to give someone a gift that has meaning, then I am here to tell you first-hand that a handcrafted item that promotes trade (and not aid) that has been touched and stroked and created by a Haitian artisan through a program dedicated to helping Haitians sustain themselves simply cannot. be. beat. You can trust me on this.

Now let me go get some tissue so I can get through the rest of this box.

Disclosure: I am an Ambassador for the Heart of Haiti and I received items from the Heart of Haiti collection. I was not asked to write about what I received and the opinions expressed in this blog post are mine...from way down deep.

The One Brown Girl Challenge

2011-04-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

Today was supposed to be Passport Day in the USA, an initiative led by the State Department that invited the general public to go to a participating U.S. Passport Office and - without an appointment and on a Saturday - process all of the paperwork necessary to get a passport. With only 30 percent of the U.S. population in possession of a passport (60% of Canadians and 75% of those in the UK have passports), I was extremely pleased to learn about this government initiative from fellow traveler and Facebook friend Angela Petitt as I firmly believe that absolutely everyone should be prepared for travel by having this important document. [Source] Unfortunately, the government has cancelled Passport Day due to a pending government shutdown. #shutdownultimatelyaverted

As the owner and Executive Director of an innovative travel camp (the only travel & learning adventure program of its kind in the nation), my aim is to give girls a world view through travel and to encourage social and environmental engagement through camp. And while a passport is not officially required for destinations like the United States Virgin Islands and/or Hawaii (two OBG Adventure Camps destinations), passports are required as a form of identification for all OBGAC excursions that require air travel. I am proud to say that most of the Adventurers that participate in OBGAC adventures are typically getting passports for the very first time! #proud

Now for The Challenge: In the interest of encouraging travel or at the very least being ready for a travel opportunity that might unexpectedly come your way, I would like to challenge you to either obtain your very first passport or renew your current passport should it be expired - within the next 60 days. And if all of your ducks are in a row and you're all hooked up, I would like to challenge you to donate your time and the required processing fees to obtain a passport for your child(ren) or a child in your life that you know does not have a passport.

Because I couldn't possibly challenge you without challenging myself, I have committed to personally sponsoring the passports (including photos) of 6 girls within the next 6 months. After all, a passport makes world travel accessible; travel encourages cultural competency; and - in the words of Wiki - developing cultural competence results in an ability to understand, communicate with, and effectively interact with people across cultures. Need I say more?

It's Foodie Friday! No Grits in England

2011-04-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

Forgive me, but I don't like grits. I don't like the way they look or the way they taste, and the consistency gives me the willies. But I also don't like oatmeal, cream of wheat or any other types of hot cereal. It could be because I didn't grow up eating them as my family is not from the South. Or it could just be because I'm a picky eater. Either way, no grits shall pass between these Brown Girl lips. Nu uh. No way. No how.

Dori

My blogger friend Dori, however, loves grits. An American expatriate from Georgia who lives in the English countryside with her husband and shares her life adventures on her blog From a Yellow House in England, Dori and I had a pretty fun(ny) Facebook chat one day when she started complaining about her inability to find grits in England. I asked Dori to share her story here on OBG®'s Foodie Friday because (a) it's sometimes easy to forget that all foods aren't available in all parts of the world, and (b) I know there are many of you out there that love grits just as much as Dori does (like my blonde haired, blue-eyed friend Erin from Kentucky). #ohthosesoutherngirls

From Dori: On March 27, 2011, I celebrated five years of living with my husband here in England in our little yellow house. It was a fun milestone to mark and to think of all that I’ve experienced and it has been wonderful. I did, however, wake up on that milestone of a Sunday morning with a certain taste on my mind: The taste of grits! Grits, grits, and more grits!

For most of my life growing up in Georgia, my diet always included grits along with accompaniments like bacon, sausage, cheese, or salmon cakes. On special occasions, there might even be a small piece of steak and gravy to enjoy them with. (And of course there had to be a tap of butter to round it all out, with no sugar in sight.) My mom was an excellent cook, so those Sunday morning breakfasts were my favourite meals of the whole week. These are truly some of my best food memories by far.

Since I’m a Southern girl, that love of grits is firmly ingrained into my DNA, so when I hopped across the pond to England, I did my best not to forget my beloved grits. I mailed some over to England, but alas, I eventually ran out. So whenever I take a trip back to the US, I always mail grits to myself although it has been quite awhile since I’ve done so.

Creamy polenta

Since I currently have no grits in my cupboards, I took to the Internet to find out about the available alternatives since I can’t get grits here in England. There is plenty of porridge here, but that’s more like oatmeal. Through my research, I’ve found that some people suggest polenta (ground cornmeal) as a substitute, so I plan to give it a try. I get brave sometimes with my concoctions and have become very good at substituting English foods for my American recipes. I'm proud to say that my recipes usually turn out pretty good although I do confess there have been some nightmare results.

Here’s hoping that my polenta-esque grits concoction works out once I get around to making it and I'll be sure to keep you all updated. If it doesn't work out, I will definitely be making a phone call home to ask one of my sisters to send over some tasty Southern grits to my yellow house in England.

Thoughtful Thursday

2011-04-07T07:01:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking a lot about language lately; actually, the loss of language.

A week or so ago, I saw the thought-provoking TED video below and today I am here at Hispanicize, where I have had the honor of meeting a number of bi-lingual and multi-lingual Latina/os. A lover of language, I often think about all of the languages that have died out and how many cultures struggle to preserve their heritage through language. And while they could use some improving, my French language skills aren't so horrible; having grown up in Southern California, my Spanish comprehension skills - while limited - aren't so bad either. So while I believe that the globalization of English has its pros and cons, the idea of losing all languages and replacing them all with one universal language seems boring and one-dimensional to me. Who wants to be boring and one-dimensional?

If you have a few minutes, take 10 minutes to check out this TED video and consider speaker Patricia Ryan's point of view as she asks: Is the world's focus on English preventing the spread of great ideas in other languages? I'd be curious to know what you think.

It's Foodie Friday! Lentils Not Just for Lent

2011-04-01T10:13:00.000-07:00

Aunt Astrid's Lentil Stew
Photo taken prior to ~~dining~~
inhaling by OneBrownGirl®
in France (2010)

Oooo, I love lentils! And if you played Match the Dish on Foodie Friday last year, then you know I think my Aunt Astrid makes a mean lentil stew. #hungrynow

Andrea Juarez, a contributor to OneBrownGirl.com®, is a hobbyist food anthropologist and an award-winning writer who writes about different cultural uses of ingredients on her food blog Fork Fingers Chopsticks. Today, Andrea shares her thoughts (and three lentil recipes from three different cultures!) on OBG ®'s Foodie Friday! Check out what Andrea has to share about lentils not being just for Lent...

From Andrea: When I was growing up, my family ate plenty of beans but still relegated lentils (lentejas) to times of depravity – Lent. I still remember being served bowls of chalky, brown lentejas – cooked without any sort of pizzazz. (I hope my momma never reads this post.)

I first started embracing lentils as an adult, however, taking cue from ayurvedic and Indian cookery. Dal (also spelled “dahl” or “daal”) lured me in – the hearty, spicy soup bursting with flavor. I’ve been eating lentils year-round ever since.

Massor dal

The truth is, lentils have gotten the shaft for far too long. Historically, the disc-shaped legumes were considered peasant food by aristocrats and generally this prejudice spread to the general population. Some cultures, however, were wiser and valued the humble lentil with all its nutritional benefits. A good vegetarian source of iron, selenium, manganese, zinc and folate, lentils paired with grains, nuts, seeds, eggs or dairy provide a complete protein.

This legume is one of the oldest food sources in the world and a long-treasured staple in the Middle East and India. Lentils come in at least 50 cultivated varieties, some split and others whole. They also come in various sizes and an array of colors including yellow, red, green, brown and black.

I am excited to share with you three tasty lentil recipes that will make you a lentil lover just like me - and not just during Lent!

Photo courtesy of Forkfingers Chopsticks

Indian Lentil Stew

This 15 minute Indian dal recipe uses canned or pre-cooked lentils

to make an easy, tasty meal.

Ensalada de Lentejas y Platanos

(Lentil & Plantain Salad)

My modern re-make of the Mexican/Latin-American
lentil and plantain combo using wild rice
to make a one-bowl meal.

Ethiopian-inspired Red Lentil Soup

This is a souped-up tomato soup made hearty with red lentils

and flavorful with ginger, cumin and chile.

Enjoy!

Judging Books by Covers...Or Not

2011-03-29T13:56:00.000-07:00

Can you guess where this smiling Brown Girl is from
or what languages she speaks by looking at her?

As culturally adept as I think I am, I will admit that I was surprised the first time I heard a Japanese woman speaking French while I was in Paris over 15 years ago. After the first 10 seconds of surprise, however, I smiled to myself and thought “Duh. Why wouldn’t she?”

Marie Louise

Likewise, my father-in-law - a big 6'5" burly deep-voiced African-American man from Virginia/DC – spoke French with a delightful accent that surprised everyone he met (including many French). His wife, a blue-eyed Belgian beauty from France, spoke English with a thick French accent that often had a Southern twang to it having relocated to the United States in her early 30s. How I loved listening to her speak. #ImissyouMarieLouise! Their son, born in France, came to the US speaking very little English and had, of course, a delightful French accent. He was teased mercilessly for it as a child and now sounds as American as any American I have ever met.

Since I think I have dated just about every ethnicity under the cultural rainbow (pre-husband, of course) and after having an African-American boyfriend bust out his Thai language skills at a Thai restaurant one night shocking the wait staff and earning us a free meal, I find that I am rarely surprised anymore. I have always said that you can’t tell very much about a person simply by looking at him/her, but on some levels, I think it’s normal for human beings to make these type of inaccurate judgments. Exposure to different cultures and travel does help some people amend these inaccuracies, but only for those with an open mind.

Keiko Fujimori

A few days ago, I was chatting with a Facebook friend who hails from Peru. She was pleasantly surprised to learn that I knew about Keiko Fujimori, a candidate in the current (and very close) race for President of Peru. A Japanese Peruvian, Keiko is (of course) fluent in Spanish, Japanese AND English. You can see and hear Keiko here.

I think it would be fair to say that there are many people who never considered that there might be Peruvians (or Latin Americans) of Asian descent let alone the fact that a person of Asian descent might speak languages other than just, for example, Japanese or English. “Japanese Peruvians comprise the second largest ethnic Japanese population in Latin America after Brazil….” [Wiki] Evidently, Peru established diplomatic relations with Japan as far back as 1873 and Japanese immigration began in 1899.

Fabiana Chiu

And then there are the Chinese Peruvians, who make up approximately 5% of the population in Peru. Most Chinese Peruvians (also known as tusán) - many of whom came to Peru as contract laborers in the 19th century - are multi-lingual as well. “In addition to Spanish or Quechua, many of them speak one or more Chinese dialects that may include Cantonese, Hakka, Mandarin, and Minnan. Since the first Chinese immigrants came from Macau, some of them also speak Portuguese.” [Wiki] #verycool Please also check out the story of Fabiana Chiu, a Peruvian of Chinese descent, on PBS.org by clicking here.

As a culture lover and multi-lingual wannabe, I enjoy pointing out cultural facts that many of us may or may not be aware of. After asking around for the past few days, I find that many people didn’t ever consider that there might be Latin Americans of Asian descent (yes, really), let alone the fact that an Asian person’s first language might be Spanish or French or Arabic or...whatever. After all, being Asian and speaking Spanish are not mutually exclusive. #canIgetanamen?

If you have ever looked at someone and then heard him/her speak, only to become surprised by the language or accent you hear (or don't hear for that matter), then you are not alone. I know I have. Just not anymore. #saynotojudgingbooks

Mah-velous Monday!

2011-03-28T09:37:00.000-07:00

“It is always the simple that produces the marvelous.” -Amelia Barr

It's Foodie Friday! Polynesian Kava

2011-03-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

Serving Kava at Kanaka Kava on The Big Island of Hawai'i
Taken by One Brown Girl® (2009)

Have you ever had kava? An elixir made from the kava root, it has been used by Polynesians for ages for medicinal, religious, political, cultural and social purposes. [Wiki]

On a trip to The Big Island of Hawai'i a few years ago, curiosity got the better of me and I went to a Kava bar with my husband. I kept seeing signs around the island that touted kava as a stress and anxiety reliever and I figured, hey, that sounds interesting. Of course, my husband had to be my guinea pig and drink it because (a) I'm not drinking anything that looks like dirty dishwater, and (b) because I'm not drinking anything that looks like dirty dishwater. (Plus, it isn't sweet.) #nottryingtobemean

Kava plant aka Piper methysticum

After one cup (you should have seen me staring at him while he drank), he said his lips and tongue got a teeny tiny bit numb and tingly and then he felt like he had just had a glass of wine. Okay...I thought as I looked at all of the people throwing back cup after cup of kava...at least he didn't start hallucinating or anything. #whew

Although rare, you might be interested to learn that there have been some arrests in the United States for driving under the influence of kava. (Click here and scroll down to the middle of the page for the details.) I'm not hating on the ~~dishwater~~ kava users/drinkers, but come on, don't drink 16 cups and then get in a car. #loser

Have you ever tried kava? #whyamIthirstyallofasudden?

Thoughtful Thursday

2011-03-24T11:57:00.000-07:00

It's rare for me to re-post anything, but as you know, some things are worth repeating. This is one of them.

What a Wonderfully Whacky Wednesday!

2011-03-23T09:16:00.000-07:00

Tuesday's Treasure

2011-03-22T13:47:00.000-07:00

Street sign on the island of Martinique, French West Indies

January 2011

Taken by OneBrownGirl®

Spring Has Sprung!

2011-03-19T13:16:00.000-07:00

The first day of Spring is tomorrow and besides my allergies, there is much going on. #achoo!

First, the Moon will be at its fullest tonight; bigger and brighter than ever. This super perigee moon is going to rise in the east at sunset in all of its full Moon glory and I don't know about you, but I will definitely be ready with my camera! "The last full Moon so big and close to Earth occurred in March of 1993," says Geoff Chester of the US Naval Observatory in Washington DC. "I'd say it's worth a look."

#ishouldhavehadafullmoonparty

And as if that weren't exciting enough (well, it is to me *insert Nerdy Brown Girl grin here*), my Facebook friend and Brainy Brown Girl Dr. Danielle N. Lee of Urban Science Adventures just posted that she's in St. Louis for a US celebration of Holi, a spring religious festival for Hindus celebrated at the end of the winter season on the last full moon day of the lunar month Phalguna (that would be today). [Wiki] Holi is also known as the Festival of Colors.

Danielle will be in the midst of the revelry as people throw colored powder and colored water at each other, a ritual that has gone on since at least since the 7th century. The spring season, during which the weather changes, is believed to cause viral fever and cold. The playful throwing of natural coloured powders has a medicinal significance: the colours are traditionally made of Neem, Kumkum, Haldi, Bilva, and other medicinal herbs prescribed by Āyurvedic doctors. A special drink called thandai is prepared (commonly made of almonds, pistachios, rose petals, etc.), sometimes containing bhang (Cannabis indica). Oooo-chee-wah-wah. Sounds like a Spring party to me!

#greenandpinkandorangewithenvy

Thandai
Click here for a recipe for this cool & refreshing traditional Indian drink.

Women preparing the Holika Dahan bonfire
at Thapathali, Kathmandu. Nepal.

Usually, bonfires are lit the day before Holi in memory of the miraculous escape that young Prahlad accomplished when Demoness Holika, sister of Hiranyakashipu, carried him into the fire. Holika was burnt but Prahlad, a staunch devotee of god Vishnu, escaped without any injuries due to his unshakable devotion. [Yep, Wiki again] And even if you don't understand the intricacies of Hindu religion, you can most likely understand the idea of celebrating unshakable devotion, yes? I know I do.

#raisingmyhand

And just when you thought the rare full Moon and the Hindu Spring Fling was enough to keep the party going, there is a Persian party going on too (!) ... and it's called Nowrūz...or more simply...Persian New Year. I learned about Nowrūz from one of my store customers who came in yesterday to "buy something new for the New Year." Of course, I started asking questions ("What New Year?") and found myself all up in her business as she talked about Persian culture and customs (new clothes, fire jumping, food, etc.).

Both my customer and Wiki say that Nowrūz marks the first day of spring and the beginning of the year in the Iranian calendar and dates back to the 2nd century AD. Spring cleaning, or Khouneh Tekouni (literally means 'shaking the house') or 'complete cleaning of the house' is commonly performed before Nowruz. Persians (Iranians, Afghans and Tajiks) and other Indo-Iranian groups (Kurds, Azarbaijanis and Balochs) start preparing for the Nowruz with a major spring-cleaning of their houses, the purchase of new clothes to wear for the new year and the purchase of flowers (in particular the hyacinth and the tulip are popular and conspicuous). On the New Year's Day, families dress in their new clothes and start the twelve-day celebrations by visiting the elders of their family, then the rest of their family and finally their friends. On the thirteenth day families leave their homes and picnic outdoors. [Wiki]

Haft Sîn is a major traditional table setting of Nowruz.
Today, the haft sin table includes seven specific items starting with
the letter 'S' or Sīn (س) in the Persian alphabet.
1. sabzeh - wheat, barley or lentil sprouts growing in a dish
symbolizing rebirth
2. samanu - a sweet pudding made from wheat germ
symbolizing affluence
3. senjed - the dried fruit of the oleaster tree
symbolizing love
4. sīr - garlic
symbolizing medicine
5. sīb - apples
symbolizing beauty and health
6. somaq - sumac berries
symbolizing (the color of) sunrise
7. serkeh - vinegar
symbolizing age and patience

Kurds in Istanbul celebrate Nowruz.

Oh. And then there's the cool thing with the fire. Looks like fire is not only used to celebrate Holi, but is also the symbol of Nowrūz. #noticingthesimilarities betweencultures In Kurdistan, jumping over the fire (known as Chuwarshama Kulla) happens on New Year's Eve.

Likewise, Chahārshanbe-Sūri - which means feast in Persian - is an ancient Iranian festival ... [a]lso called the Festival of Fire ... and is a prelude to Nowrūz. The words Chahar Shanbeh mean Wednesday and Suri means red. [Wiki rocks] #nowthat'shot

It's a rainy dreary day as I sit here and type this blog post that is full of color and life (and fire!); and I feel excited about the rare Moon and the start of Spring. Holi Masti and Happy Persian New Year everyone! What do you do to celebrate the start of Spring?

The Mysterious Rapa Nui Moai

2011-03-16T09:24:00.000-07:00

What do you know about Easter Island? A few days ago, I was listening to an update about the path of the epic Japan tsunami when I heard President Obama say that the waves from this life-changing natural disaster might be headed for - among other places - Easter Island, a mysterious Polynesian island in the SE Pacific Ocean at the southeastern most point of the Polynesian triangle. Of course, and as always, I just had to learn more.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Rapa Nui - which was named Easter Island by Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen on Easter Sunday in 1722 - is the Pacific's largest body of archaeological sites located in Rapa Nui National Park. It is the most remote inhabited island in the world. I would love to visit one day. #somanyplacestogo

The cultural significance of this ancient Polynesian island which is a special territory of Chile (yes, Chile!) is fascinating; mostly because of the mysteries surrounding the roots and demise of the indigenous Rapa Nui people, but also in part because Chilean culture and Rapa Nui culture are sure to have mixed over the last century due to annexation that goes as far back as 1888. (Rapa Nui is referred to by the Chileans as Isla de Pascua, by the way.) But all cross-cultural mixing aside, check out what UNESCO has to say about the controversial and mysterious Rapa Nui and their beloved moai:

Rapa Nui...bears witness to a unique cultural phenomenon. A society of Polynesian origin that settled there c. A.D. 300 established a powerful, imaginative and original tradition of monumental sculpture and architecture, free from any external influence. From the 10th to the 16th century this society built shrines and erected enormous stone figures known as moai, which created an unrivalled cultural landscape that continues to fascinate people throughout the world.

Photo of Moai, Easter Island
Source: Wiki / Public Domain

....[T]he moai, which are believed to represent sacred ancestors who watch over the villages and ceremonial areas...range in height from 2 m to 20 m and are for the most part carved from the scoria [volcanic rock], using simple picks (toli) made from hard basalt and then lowered down the slopes into previously dug holes.

A number of moai are still in an uncompleted condition in the quarries, providing valuable information about the method of manufacture. Some have large cylindrical pieces of red stone known as pukao, extracted from the small volcano Punapao, as headdresses: these are believed to denote special ritual status. There is a clear stylistic evolution in the form and size of the moai, from the earlier small, round-headed and round-eyed figures to the best-known large, elongated figures with carefully carved fingers, nostrils, long ears, and other features.

Fascinating stuff ... these ancient statues carved by ancient Polynesians out of volcanic rock.
#iwannagoandsee

Of course, we all hope that Rapa Nui / Easter Island / Isla de Pascua and its population of approximately 3,000-5,000 (the majority of which are Rapanui) survive the aftermath of the Japan earthquake (and the violent and ongoing disputes between the Rapa Nui and the Chilean government - see below) and that the moai and Rapa Nui's unique history and cultural artifacts are preserved and not wiped out. Now, that would be a shame.

About the relationship between the Chilean government and the Rapa Nui: On December 3, 2010, "armed Chilean soldiers opened fire....on unarmed Rapa Nui civilians using automatic rifles, tear gas and shotguns as the Chilean government move[d] in to remove the indigenous owners off their land." Evidently, the Rapa Nui would like the land given back to the indigenous peoples and Chile isn't having it. For more info about this dispute, click here and here.)

Ultimately Humanity is One

2011-03-12T09:01:00.000-08:00

Many people in Japan are suffering right now...and it breaks my heart.

The ripple effect of the earthquake, the tsunami and the physical and emotional pain is far-reaching as well. From Japan to Hawaii to Guam to the coast of California to Central America to places we don't even know about yet, this natural disaster and its ongoing aftermath has reminded us yet again that pain and suffering know nothing about cultural background, ethnicity or religion.

The President of the United States said it best: "...[W]hen you see what's happening in Japan, you are reminded that, for all our differences in culture or language or religion, that ultimately humanity is one. And when we face these kinds of natural disasters, whether it's in New Zealand or Haiti or Japan, then you think about your own family, and you think, how would you feel if you lost a loved one, or if your entire life savings were gone because of the devastation?” [Emphasis added. Source]

My heart aches as I have not forgotten about the earthquake (and its aftermath) in Haiti nor have I forgotten about Argentina, New Zealand, Japan or the U.S. (not to mention world hunger, world water shortages, or world poverty). But here's what I know for sure: The heart breaks. The heart mends. The heart breaks again. And then it mends again. The heart can be big and giving. But it can also shut down in order to protect itself. What a big job our hearts have. Sometimes I wonder how the heart manages with all of the love and heartache us mortals go through during our lifetimes. But then I remember that above all else, the heart is resilient.

Please join me as I pray for the resiliency of our friends worldwide. And please remember to have a ~~little~~ big heart.

WOW: Mas

2011-03-05T23:17:00.000-08:00

I was looking back on a bunch of old blog posts and realized I hadn't posted a WOW (Word of the Week) or a POW (Phrase of the Week) in a long time. And since I have some exciting news to share (well, to me anyway), I figured hey, there's no time like the present. Besides, "Wow!" is exactly what I said when I read Mark DeLeon's email today. Let me explain...

Just yesterday, I booked a room in Toronto, Canada (never been; have you? so excited!) using some of the 200,000 Wyndham Rewards points I won in the Women on Their Way by Wyndham Worldwide Local Nation Contest. Guess what that means? It means I'm going to the 44th annual Caribana Toronto Festival! Wahoooooo!

In case you didn't know, Caribana is the largest Caribbean cultural festival in North America drawing over 1,000,000 people. That's a lot of folks. Based on Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago, I was inspired to check it all out after learning that there's a Wyndham property located directly on the parade route (Howard Johnson's on Lakeshore). #waytogowyndham

And since I like to dig (as in research), I also got the skinny on some of the details about Caribana which, as you might imagine, has tons activities during its three week festival run. My digging turned up sooo much exciting information! I even found the Official Guide for 2010. But as I surfed and clicked and clicked and surfed, I also ended up clicking on Mas bands. Wait. Mas what? What the heck's a Mas? Well here's how Bill Casselman defines it:

Trinidad & Tobago Carnival

Mas is [the] Caribbean short form of masquerade. In its widest sense, mas can refer to the carnival or festival itself, then to the procession or parade, and finally, in its most focused meaning, to one of the bands themselves. A mas band is a group of people who work together to create intricate costumes, floats, and road dances. Some years at Caribana™ more than thirty-five separate mas groups take part in the parade.

Ooooooh. So I have been seeing mas and didn't know it. Now that I know what it is, I want to be a part of it all. *Grin*

Mas Toronto 2010
courtesy of M. DeLeon

So I sent out an email to some Mas bands, and band leader Mark DeLeon of Mas Toronto responded right away! Mas Toronto has been in Caribana for 23 consecutive years! Their theme in 2010 was "Out of Many...One Toronto" and different countries were represented (Greece, Egypt, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Phillippines, India, etc.) in beautiful carnival costumes. Right up my Brown Girl alley. And you wanna know what? Mark says I can be in Mas Toronto! "We at Mas Toronto will be honoured to have you play mas with us." #igettoplaymas

I'm going to be in Caribana! (I haven't been in a parade since *thinking* I was 9 years old in the Marina del Rey Holiday Boat Parade singing Michael Jackson Christmas songs wearing my cute little elf outfit. And I was excited about that too!) I'll tell you more when I know more...but isn't this great?!?

Mas Toronto 2010
Representing Mexico!

In the meantime, Mark says that Mas Toronto is "in the process of putting together another spectacular presentation. We have a great theme and fantastic costume designs. We plan to reveal the costumes to the public at our band launch which takes place on May 13. After the band launch the costumes will be loaded on to our website - MasToronto.com. The website is currently under construction to allow us to work on the 2011 materials. It should be up and running again in the next 3 weeks."

You know what? This is gonna be Fun! Have you ever been to a big Carnival?

Aloha Friday

2011-03-04T10:18:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it's okay to get a little distracted. Like today. But it's Friday, so *shrug*.

Welcome hula at
Honolulu International Airport
2009 by One Brown Girl

I know my attention should be on other things, but I just wrote a blog post about Hawaiian Brown Girl Royalty a few days ago and yesterday I went ahead and booked a stay at Koloa Landing Poipu Beach Wyndham Grand Resort on the island of Kauai using some of the points I won in the Women on Their Way Local Nation Contest so that I can scout out a location for OBG Adventure Camps' Camp Hawai'i debuting in the Summer of 2012. As is often the case with me, I am reminiscing about my last trip to The Big Island and thinking about how much more I will undoubtedly learn about Native Hawaiian culture when I get to Kauai in June. #it'smarchalready!

In the meantime, here's a fabulous (love it!) video from National Geographic showcasing and explaining the Native Hawaiian tradition of hula. Absolutely lovely.

Enjoy your Friday. Aloha!

Brown Girl Travelistas

2011-03-01T15:37:00.000-08:00

Okay. It must be travel contest season or something.

Or it could just be that I never noticed so many travel-related contests because I never entered one before. But now that I have, it's interesting to actually watch how different hospitality brands use social networking strategy (including using bloggers) to get their brand messages out to the public. #winwin

On February 14, 2011, I was lucky enough to win a spot as a travel blogger and a Sounding Board Member for Women on Their Way by Wyndham Worldwide's Local Nation (wahooo!) after doing some heavy-duty online campaigning during the month of January. Even though I was on vacation and got a late start, I owe the votes and positive online energy to all of the OBG® advocates out there along with my beloved Facebook tribe. Although the ultimate win was up to the judges, we had a good time online. My thank you is here. #grateful

On the flip side, after weeks and weeks (and weeks) of campaigning, Brown Girl travelista Lola Akinmade-Åkerström of Sweden just missed the final Top 5 (by only 3 votes!) in Quark Expedition's Blog Your Way to the North Pole Contest. Boy oh boy, was that close (and stressful)! Click here to read Lola's very gracious thank you note to her supporters. She's a class act. #stillcan'tbelieveit

Next thing you know, I'm watching The Digital Latina - Puerto Rican Brown Girl Raquel Negron - get enough votes to push her to the Top Ten of Marriott's Adventures in Paradise Contest. Marriott wanted seasoned bloggers to enter the contest, and the winning Beach Blogger gets to experience the ultimate in Paradise and share their adventures online. Raquel - who will be guest posting on OBG® real soon - tells me that second round of voting for her contest begins on March 10! She's definitely got my vote! #youcandoit

Now I've just learned (from my blogger buddy Jewel Figueras of Jewel's Fab Life) that today is the last day to vote for her friend Carolyn Zegeer (Zghayar) - a TV host, attorney and travelista - in Paradise Hunter TV's 52-Weeks of Paid Vacation Contest. Yep. She's vying for a year of travel and a year of travel hosting...all paid. She's got my vote too (oh, and 25,000+ others as well)! The winner will be announced tomorrow! I'm sure that after weeks and weeks (and weeks) of campaigning, that Carolyn is ready to learn her fate. I certainly know that feeling. Her contest entry goes a little something like this: "My name is Carolyn Z and I was born to be a paradise hunter. Growing up with Lebanese and Puerto Rican parents, I quickly developed an appreciation for other cultures and customs. I recall that when I was two years old, I was learning English at the same time as my mother. As I got older, I began to wonder what would inspire someone to permanently move to a new cultural environment, without knowing the language, as my mother had done. That inspiration compelled me to move abroad at a young age. Rome was the first stop on my hunt for paradise and my experience was transformational." Read more here. #wishingherwell

I really do love seeing my fellow travelistas and culturalistas put their hats in the ring for travel contests. You certainly can't win if you don't give it a try! Shoot, whoever thought Brown Girls don't travel simply isn't looking close enough. #watchoutnow