Posts Categorized: Uncategorized

In present-day Poland about sixty folkloristic regions are recognized, each with their own specific traditional costumes. In some areas, like Podhale, Kurpie, Opoczno and Sieradz, the tradition still lives and the costumes are still made and worn at holidays. Many other regions don't have a living tradition. The costumes are still made, but mostly for… Read more »

By Anne-Marie Dingemans One of the best known festivals in Spain, after the Fiestas de Abril in Seville and the Fiestas de San Fermin in Pamplona (running with the bulls), are the Fallas of Valencia. Fallas are gigantic creations of paper mache, wood and wax, and are build by neighborhood groups, taking months, often close… Read more »

I always thought of St. Patrick's Day as a traditional Irish celebration, so I was surprised when I learned that the first St. Patrick's Day Parade was held in New York in 1762. (I have to point out that Philadelphia's was second, in 1771.) What is perhaps even more surprising is where St. Patrick's celebrations… Read more »

By Sue Lavene The next time you go to Mexico, you might want to go see some of the many Mayan ruins found around the country. You can even plan your trip around this theme; there are lots of ruins. What has amazed me is that even though they seem the same, they are located… Read more »

By Elizabeth Gregory In today's world, it can be tough to stay ahead in your field. This is especially true in occupations that interact with LEP (limited English proficiency) clients, students, etc. Many educators are finding themselves in classrooms around the country where some of their students are non-native English speakers. In particular, for them… Read more »

By Beth Klemick During the closing ceremonies Winter Olympic ceremonies in Torino, Italy I learned through the commentary that confetti was originated/invented in Italy. This intrigued me and I decided to do a search to learn of more inventions. After further research here is a list of ordinary and not so ordinary Italian inventions we… Read more »

Tommorow is Fat Tuesday (or Shrove Tuesday, or the French Mardi Gras), which marks the last day before Lent on the Christian calendar. Carnival ends tomorrow, and all of the partying in New Orleans will end as well. The name Shrove Tuesday evolved from the practice of "shriving" (purification through confession). There are other names… Read more »

By Anne-Marie Dingemans The frequent visitors among you know that I live in Valencia, Spain. AmeriSpan offers 10 destinations in Spain, neatly spread out all over the country. For most people, Spain has the (fortunate) image of nice, pleasant Mediterranean weather year-round. Alas! This is not true for the entire year in the entire country,… Read more »

The Philadelphia Inquirer ran a story about Egypt in its Travel section yesterday, and it piqued my interest because we just finished covering the ancient Egyptians in my Art History class. Here's a little history from The World Factbook by the CIA: The regularity and richness of the annual Nile River flood, coupled with semi-isolation… Read more »

By Connie Marianacci When going to Germany we can ask ourselves, where should we go? There is definitely lots to see for the little time that we normally have, so we have to choose. In my personal list, the must-see locations are: – Berlin – Hamburg – Bamberg And even though you are probably saying,… Read more »