Topics

Sep

Beep Baseball: A Totally Different Ball Game

by Janine Boylan on September 23, 2013

Aqil Sajjad of the Boston Renegades, showing how beep baseball builds self-esteem (Photo © Bill Le)

Aqil Sajjad of the Boston Renegades
Photo © Bill Le

Building Self-Esteem On and Off the Field

The metal bat pings as it squarely contacts the baseball. Within a split second, the batter is sprinting, arms pumping. He intently charges over and past the base while the fielders scramble for the ball and nearly collide in their haste.

In less than six seconds, the play is over.

Oh, did I mention that the batter and fielders can’t see? Read more...

Janine Boylan Comments

Secrets to Life

Sep

10 Words to Borrow from Different Cultures

by Janine Boylan on September 16, 2013

Two men standing on opposite cliffs with overlapping speech balloons sharing borrowed words from different cultures. (Image © Thinkstock)

Pardon me. Can I borrow that word?

Better Than Translation

Language makes us who we are. It’s how we share opinions, feelings, directions, knowledge. The complex spoken language that we have is uniquely human.

UC San Diego Professor Jeff Elman told NPR, “The Earth would not be the way it is if humankind didn’t have the ability to communicate, to organize itself, to pass knowledge down from generation to generation.”

It’s also the way we pass ideas into different cultures.

In fact, sometimes a word in one language is so perfect, people speaking another language have that “Oh, I see” moment and incorporate the word, as is, into their language. Read more...

Janine Boylan 4 Comments

Crossing Cultures/Language & Culture/Worldwide Sites

Sep

Daily Cultural Encounters at Conflict Kitchen

by Janine Boylan on September 9, 2013

A cultural encounter with Venezuela at Conflict Kitchen. (Image © Conflict Kitchen)

Sharing a Meal with Our “Enemies”

What do you really know about the people in Cuba? Iran? Afghanistan? Venezuela? North Korea?

Jon Rubin and Dawn Weleski expect that you will be a lot more informed after lunch at their restaurant.

Conflict Kitchen, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is dedicated to encouraging cultural encounters and promoting dialog about countries with which the United States is in conflict. Read more...

Janine Boylan 2 Comments

Cultural Encounters/Making a Difference

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