Today, the once stark divide between East and West no longer exists – both hemispheres borrow each other’s foods, traditions, and philosophies. Yet the East’s core values, from embracing collectivism to downsizing one’s ego, are strikingly different from Western beliefs. Alexa Pellegrini reflects on how studying Eastern culture helped her anxiety, while Linh Dang discusses […]
You can’t talk about Italy without talking about the food. When I left the US last year to study abroad in Rome, I thought I knew Italian food. I had grown up in a town with a pretty high Italian-American population, and my mom’s favorite type of food is Italian, so we ate it pretty […]
The signs are all there. A chronic rasp in the back of my throat. Dry, bloodshot eyes. An inescapable tendency to space out. An all-too-familiar feeling, fatigue has become a staple of my existence. I can recall in high school many nights when my mother would complain about me being awake at 1:00 AM doing […]
In 2016, I spent five weeks of a sweltering summer in Havana. While there, Danilo Maldonado, a Cuban graffiti artist, shared his story with me. HAVANA – Despite having spent months in Cuban prison, Danilo Maldonado walks fearlessly through Havana on a scorching July afternoon. His height, well over six feet, gives the artist a […]
There are multiple ways by which a nation’s citizens can express a cause and make their voices heard by the government, but one of the most direct and powerful methods is dissent. It is of supreme importance to acknowledge that in all countries around the world, protests have ultimately led to social change, and at […]
I remember the advent of the hit “The Truman Show”. The movie stars Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank, a protagonist of an unexpected reality TV show about his life. Truman is the only real, genuine character in the cast. Everyone around him, his wife, dad, mom, neighbors, best friend, are paid actresses and actors. His […]
Those attuned to the Philadelphia art scene, and most likely anyone who was in Philadelphia between October 25th and January 8th, is well aware of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s “Paint the Revolution: Mexican Modernism” exhibition. City-wide advertisements for the exhibition, coupled with international attention in the art world have made for an art event […]
January 27 to 29, Philadelphia’s Chinatown celebrated a thousand-year old tradition, Chinese New Year. The exact origin of when the New Year festival began is uncertain, but some say that it originated as far back as 2300 B.C. under the rule of emperors Yao and Shun. Nonetheless, the day that the New Year is celebrated […]
Chinatown’s most picturesque structure, the Friendship Gate, has stood as a landmark in Philadelphia for over 30 years. For tourists and locals alike, the colorful and identifiable entrance marks the portal into Asian culture. Local shops that sell greenery, bakeries that have delicious egg tarts, restaurants that serve traditional Chinese cuisine and food markets that […]
Self-walking toys from Russia, wall decorations from Tibet and hand-woven clothing from Nepal. These were a few of the internationally-based goods available at this year’s Christmas Village market in Philadelphia. The annual event ran from Nov. 24 through Dec. 24 with a preview weekend on Nov. 19 to accommodate the market’s move to City Hall […]
