June 2009 Archives

This morning when I sat down to brainstorm for a new Five for Friday post, only one thing came to mind: Where in the world is Lauren P.? My dear friend recently "set sail" on a semester long voyage, and today as I let my mind wander, my thoughts drifted to Lauren and her adventure. A series of images: Lauren finagling some feisty camel on the deserts of Egypt, Lauren tilted ever so slightly to one side, posing for a photo in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and Lauren belly dancing and exclaiming over the spicy foods of Casablanca, Morocco.

Lauren, someone who couldn't choose just ONE place to study abroad, decided to embark on an academic journey by boat around the Mediterranean. This summer she will study along side a couple hundred other students on a fully equipped cruise ship as she travels port to port. An adventure she will surely remember!

And so with goofy tourist hats and big ships on my mind, I realized, why wouldn't my blog topic travel across the Atlantic? Here on the MWW blog, we talk about global travel and international learning a lot. Living and learning for a semester abroad can change your world view. Your perspectives become global, your experiences international and quite possibly your language proficiency advanced. Study abroad programs are much more accessible and inexpensive than some may think, and now with the anticipated passage of the Simon Act international academic programs will hopefully be offered to many more students.

"There is no American food...The fact that we don't have a cuisine is a measure of our democracy and of our ethnic heterogeneity."
        --Sidney Mintz

What is food?  Food is more than just a way to nourish the body; it is a way to experience the world.  According to anthropologist Sidney Mintz, there is no American cuisine.  In nearly any town, it is easy to find Italian or Chinese cuisine, and even fast food restaurants like Taco Bell are reminiscent of a certain Tex-Mex style of cooking.  In larger cities, the world of food grows to incorporate Indian, Ethiopian, Peruvian, Greek and even Malaysian, dishes.  By walking just a few blocks, one can literally travel the world through the meals that one eats.

In her "Ethnic Cuisine: United States", food writer Nancy Freeman discusses the history of food in the United States from the integration of Northern European dishes with the Native corn and squash to the addition of bologna and lo mein to American diets.  Every group that came to settle in the United States brought with it a unique style of food, making the American kitchen arguably the largest pot luck in the world.  Although some of these ethnic dishes--for example, Cantonese Chinese foods brought over by the first immigrants from China mixed with other regional styles from Hunan or Szechwan-- have, over time, varied from the original, one can taste the culture of Rome at an Italian restaurant one night and travel to India the next.  While the best way to experience a new culture is to travel there, one can learn a lot by spending an evening eating and learning about why the people of those countries eat as they do. 

To travel around the world in your own kitchen, check out these great (and simple!) recipes and explore the country while you're at it:

Italy: Spaghetti Sauce
Italian food varies greatly between cities and regions, but can often be characterized into several staples.  To prepare dishes, fat is used to determine the flavor.  In the poorer South, olive oil is used, although in Rome pork fat is more common.  Throughout Italy, meat is a luxury in cooking, so when it is added, it is usually in small slices.  Italy is famous for its bread and for its pasta, both staples in the Italian diet. 
   
China: Moo Goo Gai Pan
While in the large country of China cuisine varies by region, three features remain the same: aesthetic, aroma and taste.  For centuries, one of the main principles of Chinese cuisine is its pleasing and harmonious appearance in addition to the different spices added to enhance the smell.  As for taste, the regions vary, but it can often be said that the South is sweet; the North, more salty; the East, hot; and the West as sour.
 
Thailand:  Pad Thai
Having a traditionally waterborne lifestyle, Thai cuisine often consists of aquatic animals, plants and herbs.  Although traditional Thai food was stewed, baked or grilled, the Chinese introduced frying methods in the 16th century.  Thailand has also been influenced by Europe, including the introduction of the chili pepper in the 17th century.  Varied by region, a Thai meal usually consists of soup, curry and a dip with fish and vegetables.  
 
Cameroon: Fried Plantains or Sweet Potatoes
Located in West Africa, Cameroon has a varied cuisine.  In this country, food is an art, and each of Cameroon's ten provinces takes pride in its own specialties.  In addition to native dishes, Cameroon has been introduced to many Western and European foods--like bread and tomatoes--through centuries of exploration and imperialism.

Mexico: Chicken Chimichangas
Early Mexican's didn't have closed stoves or ovens like the Germans, so they cooked their food over open fires with cast iron pots and pans.  As a result, most Mexican food is steamed, fried or grilled.  Chimichangas are an example of the frying method, and the chicken filling would have been boiled in a pit. 

Lebanon: Falafel and Grape Leaves
A country on the Mediterranean Sea, Lebanese cuisine shares many characteristics with other Mediterranean counties.  In Lebanon, the average meal consists of lots of vegetables, a little meat and a variety of spices.  Like in Italy, the largest Lebanese meal in served during the middle of the day and consists of several courses, lasting for hours.  Although alcohol is illegal in many Arab countries, the Lebanese meal, like those in Mediterranean Europe, is often served with locally grown wine.

Bon Appétit, Buen provecho, Velbekomme!  Enjoy and happy traveling!

Melissa for My Wonderful World

Images Courtesy:
Majco Blogspot
Afrochat
Boarder Town Blues Blogspot
Yell.com

As I wrote previously, the markets in France inspired me to change my buying habits. My interest in the topic spilled over into my history and geography classes as we discussed how modern transportation has transformed the ways Americans purchase food.

Like many of my students, I crave fresh and local fruits and vegetables. While we would like grapes, plums and cantaloupe in the dead of winter, in order to get there they must be flown in from South America. This practice is not environmentally friendly, nor does it support the efforts of the many small-scale farmers and business owners in the San Francisco Bay Area environs (or in your neck of the woods) who toil every day to bring us some of the most amazing products in the world.

In his recent ArcNews column, "Get Involved with Geo-Education Reform," National Geographic Vice President for Education Danny Edelson stressed the need for those of us employed in professions that utilize geographic knowledge and skills to get the word out to friends, family, and others in our networks about what we DO and WHY it's important.

His call to action is duly noted. While I do my fair share of geo-evangelizing in informal contexts (WARNING should you ever run into me at a party!), I also wax geographical on a professional basis through this blog--of course. I shared some insights on blogging about geography, and blogging as a means of impassioned communication, generally, for an online blog writing course run by guest blogger Kerry Jones. Check it out to learn where [on Earth!] the MWW blog team gets inspiration for the enlightening articles we post each week, what I love and loathe most about blogging, and for more *exclusive* insider tips...

Sarah Jane for My Wonderful World

In his inaugural column in the spring edition of ESRI's ArcNews publication, vice president for National Geographic Education Danny Edelson called on GIS professionals to lead the charge in an ambitious campaign for geographic education reform, specifying the goal of achieving 80% geo-literacy among 18-year-olds in the U.S. by 2020.

In the second, summer installment of  "Geo Learning," Edelson provides further details on what he means by "geo-literacy" and offers suggestions for how GIS practitioners and other geographic experts can get involved, ranging from personal to political to educational to financial (recall: 4 is a much more important number than 3 in geography!)

Check out Danny's column to learn how you can start turning your geo-know-how into geo-action--NOW!

The June 12 democratic elections in Iran should have yielded a President to serve under Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but this was not quite the case.

Eighty-five percent of Iran's forty-six million voters cast ballots in favor of one of four candidates.  Although election results in this country, four times the size of France, usually take at least twenty-four hours to process, after only four hours, Iran's Guardian Council declared current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad victorious in a landslide triumph over opponent Mir Hossein Mousavi, having secured approximately 63% of the votes according to the BBC. 

Shortly after the results were made public, supporters of Mousavi challenged their validity, pointing out that Mousavi had polled poorly in his home province of East Azerbaijan and other places were he was expected to win by a large margin.  The following day, demonstrators took to the streets of Tehran in the largest protest since 1999.  On June 14, the Ayatollah asked the Guardian Council to investigate allegations of vote-rigging and the demonstrations continued, becoming increasingly heated and violent.   As of June 22, Mousavi's party has alleged 646 irregularities, including votes in more than fifty cities exceeding the actual number of voters and other irregularities in 170 voting districts, including Tehran where the majority of the educated urban people (80-90% of voters) were in favor of Mousavi.

Despite the Ayatollah's Friday June 19 address banning protests, street violence has continued, and the Revolutionary Guards have been called in to use "revolutionary" force to break up demonstrations.  The weekend's violence has stopped many Iranians from joining in for fear of injury or death.  While foreign media has been banned from Iran in attempt to stop Western media from "exaggerating the situation," Iranian radio has estimated the number of deaths to be at 19 and the number of arrests at 457. 

After over a week of protests in favor of both Mousavi and the Ayatollah- supported Ahmadinejad, the results of the election are no longer about who won or lost. Although the Guardian Council is looking into the discrepancies and a re-vote is a distinct possibility, Iran's balance of power between religion and politics has been upset.  The problem with the election results goes to the heart of the system. 

In addition to the demonstrations in support of both Ahmadinejad and Mousvai in Iran, Iranian ex-Patriots around the world have joined in the chorus.  On June 16, Iranian-Americans demonstrated in Washington, D.C., walking from the Iranian diplomatic offices to the Russian embassy in protest of the supposed election fraud and Russia's acknowledgement of Ahmadinejad as president.  In Stockholm, Sweden, as many as 800 Iranians gathered in the main square, and in the Hague, Netherlands, approximately three hundred people joined together in support of the Iranians protesting in Tehran.  In addition to these events, there have also been demonstrations in Toronto, London, Berlin, Paris and even Kuala Lampur.  Despite the revisiting of the results by the Guardian Council, the protests will most likely not stop soon, as Mousavi urges his supporters to continue defiance. 

To learn more about Iran post-Revolution, watch the National Geographic Channel's Iran and the West, which--incidentally--airs tonight, Monday, June 22, at 9pm.  This ninety minute program addresses three decades of mistrust between the United States and Iran, beginning with the Carter Administration's approach to the 1979 hostage crisis up through contemporary events.  This program will portray the clash of civilizations at hand and endeavor to answer important questions: Can Islam coexist with the modern world? How will Iran relate to the Obama Administration?  Surely, this is not a program to be missed. 

Melissa for My Wonderful World

Sources:
IranTracker: Unrest in Iran: Incident Statistics and Maps for Protests, Arrests, and Deaths (June 21)
Fivethirtyeight.com: Iranian Election Results by Province (June 15)
BBC: Police break up new Tehran rally (June 22)
BBC: West 'seeks Iran disintegration' (June 22)
BBC: Suspicions behind Iran poll doubts (June 20)
BBC: Who's who in Iran (June 19)
NYTimes: Admid Crackdown, Iran Admits Voting Errors (June 22 )
Yahoo News: More protests in Europe against Iranian election
(June 18)
CNN/US: Iranian-Americans protest in D.C. (June 18)
NowPublic.com: Iran Elections protests around the world and in cyberspace (June 16)
Boston Globe: Iran's Disputed Election (June 15)
National Geographic Channel

Striking actress Angelina Jolie and silky-voiced NBC anchor Ann Curry visited National Geographic yesterday to participate in World Refugee Day events, as reported by NatGeo News Watch's David Braun.

Joining a number of NG employees watching the proceedings via close-circuit television in our cafeteria, I was humbled by the genuine sentiments and stalwart calls to action offered by the two women. The real show-stealer, however, was Rose Mapendo, the 2009 recipient of the Humanitarian of the Year award. Through tears punctuated with an endearing wit, the Tutsi survivor of violence in the Rwanda/Congo African region shared details of her harrowing journey from refugee to international advocate.

Rose Mapendo accepts the Humanitarian of the Year award from UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterrez.

 As she told her story of flight from oppressive forces, captivity, and eventual salvation through international assistance, I reflected on the many geographic aspects associated with refugee crises. Here are five:

1)    Circumstances producing refugees
The circumstances forcing citizens into refugee status frequently have geographic underpinnings. Civil war and government-sponsored brutality often emerge out of conflicts over natural resources (physical geography) and ethnic tensions (cultural geography). In Africa especially, these circumstances are largely the result of post-colonial power dynamics.

2)    International awareness and recognition
The extent to which state governments, international organizations, and members of the public are aware of humanitarian crises and the plight of refugees is contingent upon multiple factors; including governmental transparency, freedom of the press, victims' access to communications, geopolitics, etc. Increasingly, new technologies are providing deeper insights into conflicts occurring in remote areas of the world. Through Google Earth, for example, international audiences can view satellite images and photographs of events on the ground in places like Darfur.

 

Hi Everyone!

I'm Melissa, and I'll be spending my summer here as an education intern doing research for National Geographic Education's  policy initiative, as well as writing and researching for My Wonderful World.  For my first blog entry (ever!), I want to share a little about myself and why I'm so excited to be here.

I'm a Vermonter, from a state that, if included on the Roper Poll, many Americans probably wouldn't be able to find.  I grew up strangely aware of and obsessed with cultural geography.  A true Disney princess fan, I loved fairy tales and would constantly try to find their countries of origin on a map.  I was also introduced to culture through the French songs and phrases that my mother taught me, through Hebrew School and contact with my Israeli cousins, and by eating pierogis and kielbasa on Christmas with my father's family.  In second grade, I got my first "adult" atlas and would spend hours looking at it.

I think that knowledge of the world, cultivated through childhood interests in anything from sports to animals, is an amazing stepping stool toward true global awareness.  My obsession with fairy tales as a child fueled my love for travel, for food and for the world. I have been to Israel two different times (at ages seven and nineteen) and France as part of a school exchange.  During my junior year of high school, I lived in Randers, Denmark, where I attended a Danish high school and also visited Iceland and Sweden.  Deprived of reasonably priced ethnic restaurants in Burlington, VT, (where I go to school at the University of Vermont), I have recently begun trying to cook ethnic foods in my apartment.  My favorite meal?  Homemade falafel, humus and pita!

So in short, I am very excited to work on the policy initiative to advance K-12 geographic education, as well as other programs.  I hope that my work at NGS will help other children to have the same valuable experiences that I had as a child.

The Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act came one important step closer to being signed into law this week! The Simon Act seeks to provide support for a significant increase in study abroad opportunities for students and to promote diversity not only within the programs but among them as well. Specifically, the Simon Act aims to diversify the destinations for international education around the world as well as provide grants and aid to students from traditionally underrepresented groups to become engaged in these academic programs overseas.

As an overarching goal, the act seeks to "internationalize" U.S. colleges to create more globally informed students and citizens - a goal that goes hand in hand with our own campaign here at My Wonderful World. So far, the legislation has been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and has generated a wide base of support. The bill's journey has been buttressed by a strong grassroots movement and endorsed by over 35 higher education and educational exchange organizations.  The legislation is now awaiting full passage in the Senate to become a law. Check out the NAFSA blog for more information and to see how you can help ensure the bill gets passed in Senate, and join My Wonderful World in the cause to expand access to opportunities for international education!

 

Kirsten for My Wonderful World

 

Image coutesy "U.S. Capitol Roundup"

 

A few months back we wrote about Guantanamo Bay resettlement issues when President Barack Obama announced his plan to close the high-security prison by January 2010. We asked you, our readers, how a geographic perspective could help U.S. decision makers solve the problem of what to do with Guantánamo prisoners...and now it seems that a "geographic perspective" played a key role in the resettlement of a number of Uighur detainees currently being held at Guantánamo Bay.

The 17 prisoners are all members of the oppressed Uighur ethnic minority in western China and have been detained by the U.S. military for seven years. The Uighurs were captured after September 11th, but were determined not to be enemy combatants dangerous to the U.S. Finding a suitable destination to resettle the Uighurs proved difficult: the United States feared they would be tortured or executed at the hands of the Communist government if sent back to China.

However, last week, to the great relief of the Obama administration, the South Pacific island nation of Palau agreed to host the 17 Muslim Uighurs for temporary resettlement.

Geographically speaking .... Palau is an archipelago of eight main islands plus more than 250 islets located about 500 miles east of the Philippines in the Pacific Ocean. With a tiny population of about 20,000, it is best known as a tourism hot-spot.

Read the June 2009 Newsletter: "'Go Local' This Summer!"

Inside
GeoFeature: The Slow Food Movement
Geography in the News: National Geographic Bee Finals
Blog: Natalie Wojinski Goes Local in California


Plus:

I was treated to a fascinating feature on NPR's "On Point" last night. Maya Frost is the author of a just-released book called The New Global Student: Skip the SAT, Save Thousands on Tuition and Get a Truly International Education. Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, Frost and husband Tom sat down with host Tom Ashbrook to talk about how their four daughters achieved all three of these aims by pursuing primary, secondary, and tertiary studies abroad in places as diverse as Mexico, Argentina, Canada, and Germany.

The couple answered questions from incredulous listeners and shared tips for parents and families to "seg"--as Maya kept saying--from "old school to bold school." But don't take my word for it: Check out Maya's website for the "Top 10 Reasons" to read The New Global Student. You'll also find bios and blogs from a selection of some of the more than 20 students featured in the book.

I've excerpted reasons 6-10 below for today's Five for Friday (In my top 10: New Global Student has the same acronym as National Geographic Society. Coincidence? I think not).

#10  It's time for a change and I'm looking for inspiring stories and  practical tips to help me get fired up in order to make bolder (and more personal) life choices.
 

The "geography" of our food has changed. Traditionally, our food came from local outlets that required little energy for packaging or transportation. However, with the rise of cheap oil and with technological advances, the number of "food miles"--the distance that food travels from producer to consumer--has grown immensely. Shipments across vast distances, particularly by air and by large freight truck, are very energy intensive, and have created a U.S. food economy that uses as much energy as the entire economy of the United Kingdom! (Lester Brown's Plan B 3.0)

 The aforementioned is a major concern of "locavores." Locavores try to eat foods grown within a strict radius of where they live (e.g. 50, 100, or 150 miles) because they believe eating locally boosts local economies and protects the environment.

Buying fruits and veggies locally at a farmers market or the super market is a great start...but what's more local than your own backyard? Growing your own vegetables organically is making good environmental and economic sense these days. Cultivating a  garden ensures healthful produce that's both delicious and can save you from the sometimes high prices of organically grown food at the grocery store--food that has often traveled thousands of miles to get to the aisle.

The Obamas: Locavores!

The First Family has joined in the eat local trend! In early March, First Lady Michelle Obama began cultivating a "White House Kitchen Garden." Obama rolled up her sleeves and planted alongside Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and several elementary school children on the White House Lawn. Mrs. Obama's gardening efforts were the first since Eleanor Roosevelt installed a victory garden during World War II. Images of Michelle wielding a large shovel and working gloves splashed across several news articles and really got a gal wondering: Is that her secret to those flawless arms? Gardening: good for the environment, and your figure!

 

Natalie Wojinski teaches cultural geography and advises the journalism programs at Hercules High School in Hercules, CA. She has been an MWW Public Engagement Coordinator for two years, and coordinates the newsletter for the California Geographic Alliance. Prior to teaching, she worked as a broadcast journalist. This is the first in a series of three posts in which Natalie describes how a trip to France inspired a personal and professional interest in local economic geography.

The olives and strawberries made me do it. The sheer beauty of the vast arrangement of different types and flavors of cured olives in the market, and the baskets of strawberries garnished with delicate yellow blooms, took my breath away. Something clicked and I realized that I needed to have my own market close to home.

It was February 2007 when my husband and I took a group of 12 students to France. Until about a month before the trip, we were planning to travel to northern France. With economies the way they are, our travel company informed us in early January that we would have to change our trip to Paris and the South of France. A trip to a French market was not on the itinerary, but the chaperone from the school we traveled with suggested it. As she had been to France before, I agreed. By the time we reached Saint-Rémy-de-Provence on a cool and overcast morning, we were all ready to explore.

Disclaimer: OK, so this post is 2 weeks late as a result of my temporarily misplacing my thumbdrive and getting caught up with other work. Sincerest apologies! The good news is, it's still plenty relevant, because BioBlitz is a year-round initiative. And in fact, planning is already underway for the 2010 signature event in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Look for more BioBlitz news in upcoming months here on the blog!


This past weekend [er, May 15], I trekked out to Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (INDU) to take part in the 3rd annual BioBlitz, a 24 hour species inventory hosted by National Geographic and the National Park Service. While not quite as sunny as last year's event at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA or "SAMO"), it was no less rich of a scientific endeavor. At SAMO, I was primarily occupied with public outreach, manning an activities booth. This year, my focus was a citizen science collaborative mapping project. Along with a few other staffers, I led four groups of local students using National Geographic Education's new Fieldscope tool to track ecological succession along the dunes. But that was just one of the activities taking place at the park. Here are some highlights, in the spirit of "Five for Friday."

5 Favorite Blog Posts
For the past two years, National Geographic's Ford Cochran and Emily Landis have braved extreme temperatures and sleep deprivation to bring round-the-clock coverage of the Blitz. Here are my five favorite posts from this year's Blog:

Born of Nature and Industry
An intro to INDU.

Where the Wild Things Are
BioBlitz kickoff.

I Love Everything About this Event!
Students and teachers sound off about WHY they decided to participate in the BioBlitz.

Are You Recycling Tonight?
"Green-E," the Environmental Elvis, made a special appearance at INDU. He did not disappoint.

Fair Warning
Enough said.

5 Favorite INDU Memories

Jeremy Blackman was an intern with My Wonderful World during the summer of 2008. He is well remembered for his interests in food, art, and creative combinations of the two (ever heard of a Happy Meal pizza?) A native of Turlock, California, in the Central Valley near Modesto--he grew up on almond farm--Jeremy recently completed his undergraduate degree at UC Berkeley. I caught up with my old buddy "Jerms" to find out how life's treating him, and to glean whether or not his internship had a lasting impact on his post-grad plans. I'll let you be the judge.

Well hello all you My Wonderful Worlders,

I know, I know, it's been too long since you last heard from me. Honestly, I cannot believe that an entire year has nearly gone by since I began my summer internship at National Geographic and wrote my first blog post for the My Wonderful World campaign. I really don't know where all that time went. One day I went to sleep a happy-go-lucky guy, interning and living it up in our nation's capital (as happy-go-lucky as anyone subjected to unbearable swamp-like humidity could be!) and the next I awoke right back here in good old Berkeley, California, enjoying my last few days as a Cal undergraduate (amidst sunny, beautiful, not-humid-one-bit weather).


So what have I been up to these past months? Well, after departing from D.C. last August I made my way north to New York City, where I spent the rest of the year interning with a small art non-profit called The Laundromat Project. The organization works with artists in the Bedford-Stuyvessant neighborhood of Brooklyn to construct engaging art exhibits in local laundromats to engage community members in new ways. Anyone who tries to argue that geographic knowledge is not important in today's world obviously hasn't spent time working with projects and organizations such as these. In order to understand how art could be used as a tool to spark social change, it was essential that I spend a lot of time both researching Bed-Stuy's unique past and conversing with neighbors about how drastically the community's urban landscape is evolving as more and more people of diverse ethnic and financial backgrounds move in.

Yesterday, an Air France passenger plane traveling from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Paris, France disappeared in a remote part of the Atlantic Ocean in what will likely soon be confirmed as the deadliest airliner tragedy in a decade.

As you stay apace of the breaking news coverage over the next hours, here are a couple articles I've come across that highlight some of the more geographic aspects of the crash and recovery efforts.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has an excellently produced feature complete with video and multimedia interactives. Be sure to check out the Air France flight map and historical timeline of airplane crashes in the Atlantic.

The article also offers some insights into the meteorological factors that may have contributed to the plane's failing and the technological capabilities of modern aircraft to detect and monitor weather conditions.

Were thunderstorms to blame for the crash?
 
The area approximately 700 miles off the coast of Brazil where the plane disappeared is part of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) near the equator where maritime winds from the Northern and Southern hemispheres meet to produce thunder clouds and rainstorms; the ITCZ is also responsible for distinct wet and dry seasons in the region. The exact cause of the crash is still under debate: all planes and the pilots who fly them are well-equipped to deal with both thunder and lightning, and it is rare for significant complications to result from these forces alone.
 
Should planes be better equipped with more sophisticated radar technology?