Archive for the ‘Life in the World’ Category
Madrid versus Lisbon
Madrid and Lisbon. Since the capitals of Spain and Portugal are so close geographically and share a Latin European heritage, one would assume they have nearly identical cultures. In some respects this is true – if you’re doing business in either place, for instance, you’d better be adept at building relationships and be patient with time [...]
The benefits of a walkable city
Do you enjoy living someplace that is walkable? It’s important if you like to walk to restaurants and shops, if you harbor a desire to walk to work, or even if you just enjoy walking for fitness. The act of walking may also be helpful in much bigger ways. Paul Krugman has a column in today’s New [...]
Do cities have personality traits?
We often talk about the cultures of different regions of the world. We talk less often about the cultures of different regions of one country, though they certainly exist. But what about the psychological characteristics of geographical regions? Is it actually possible that people in New England, for example, have not only different traditions and foods than [...]
Romancing the food in Southeast Asia
Julie O’Hara recently went to Southeast Asia with her husband, where she fell in love with the foods of Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore. Along the way, she tried to learn as much as she could about the meals, although she knew she’d never be able to exactly recreate the dishes at home. She reported on [...]
Teaching romance in Singapore
Yes, teaching romance. The Singaporean government, you see, is concerned about a low birth rate. Singapore has a rate of just 1.24 per woman of child-bearing age, while 2.5 is considered a normal rate just to maintain a population. Aggravating the situation, in the view of the government, is that the rate among highly educated women is [...]
Obama and the world
I’ve long believed that, if Barack Obama were to win this year’s presidential election, the most important outcome would be a sea change in America’s relations with and image in the rest of the world. I just came across two articles that look at how some foreign leaders see the prospect of an Obama presidency and, although [...]
Even law research can now be outsourced
It sometimes seems as if there is no end to the type of work that can be outsourced these days. Businesses have been outsourcing labor for years, and individuals have figured out how to outsource personal tasks, nursing home care and even pregnancies. Now comes word of the latest work that is being outsourced – legal research. [...]
The dumbing down of America?
Nicholas Kristof had a thought-provoking column in the Sunday NY Times about the dumbing down of America and what this says not only about U.S. culture, but also about the potential future of our competitiveness in the global arena. An excerpt… Americans are as likely to believe in flying saucers as in evolution. Depending on how the questions [...]
Earth-eating black hole in Switzerland?
I had to link to this article, which I found fascinating if for no other reason than that it shows how physicists seem to exist on a different plane of existence than I do. I love reading about modern physics, but I truly can’t comprehend how any of this works. What about you? First of all, no, you’re not about to get [...]
New democracy born in Himalayas
This past week saw a unique event in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, as residents trekked to the polls for the first time in the country’s history at the behest of the king, who voluntarily decided to give up royal power in order to move his country towards a democratic future. The Washington Post has [...]
American baseball in Japan
Baseball season begins today, with a season-opening game in Tokyo between the Boston Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics. For American fans of these teams, the season begins at the ungodly hour of somewhere between 3 a.m. (West coast) and 6 a.m. (East coast). Still, it’s always an exciting day for fans, and the Japanese twist [...]
Expat artists transforming Buenos Aires
There has been no shortage of press coverage in the past year or two extolling the virtues of Argentina, and specifically of Buenos Aires, which many have labeled as the hip destination of choice for current expats. The New York Times also just published a story along those lines and explored the city’s unique cultural and artistic mix. [...]
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Bob Riel is a writer and a traveler. Go here to read more about Bob, his work and the Travels in the Riel World blog.
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Two Laps Around the World
My travel memoir - Two Laps Around the World: Tales and Insights from a Life Sabbatical - is about two round-the-world journeys with my wife.
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