The 'er' Files

Sudanese Lost Boy Finds Home in Minnesota

2009-11-06T05:00:00.002-06:00

Lately, I've been on a young adult literature kick.

Years ago, when I taught 8th grade, I used to read a lot of YA books, but since leaving the classroom behind, I'd kind of forgotten about the genre. But not anymore. I'm back into young adult and children's literature with a vengeance.

A friend, a former teacher herself, recommended I read Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate.

I'm so happy I did. It's a gentle, touching novel about a young Sudanese boy who immigrates to America.

He arrives alone. His father and brother were killed in his country's brutal civil war and his mother is missing, unaccounted for. He is placed in Minnesota to live with an aunt and a cousin already here.

The story is told all in poems. The language is precise and poignant and sparse. It's just lovely. Lovely, lovely, lovely.

I can't recommend this book enough. If you've got a young person in your life -- say middle school -- and you want to expose them to thoughtful prose and other cultures, this book is a winner.

Great Travel Writing Always Surprises

2009-11-04T15:49:00.003-06:00

I'm always in the mood for a great travel read, and of course I have my favorite travel writers -- Rolf Potts and Bill Bryson are at the top of my list.

And I love it when really good travel pieces show up in places I don't expect. For example, I recently read a great travel essay in Golf Magazine.

Now, I'm not much of a golfer. In fact, I'm not a golfer by any stretch of the imagination. But I picked up the piece, called Adios Fidel Hello Tiger, because it featured a rather large photo of Che Guevara golfing.

I was alerted to the piece by a follower of my other blog, Che Spotting, which showcases pictures of Che from all over the globe submitted by travelers. It's a sort of Where's Waldo web site, except the travelers are looking for Che not Waldo.

Anyway, the Golf Magazine article was a very well written piece about the state of golf in Cuba. Currently, there are only two golf courses in the country. Foreign investors, however, would love to up that number.

But of course (as the author even said in the story) no article about Cuba can discuss the future without discussing the past, and so first he chronicles the history of the island's golf courses.

There actually used to be a whole bunch, and the PGA even held tournaments there, but then Fidel played a round against Che, lost and got so mad he bulldozed all the courses except one.

Anyway...if you're interested in golf, Cuba or travel writing and have got some time to check out the essay, I recommend it.

Inclusive Junk Mail Part 10

2009-11-02T12:10:00.002-06:00

It's been a few months since we've gotten any Korean mail in our box.

Never fear, though, the junk mail gods have not forgotten about us.

Just last week, we got more inclusive junk mail.

If you're new to the story of the Korean/Chinese/Vietnamese mail that keeps showing up in our mail box, you can read more about it here.

Day of the Dead Picture Book

2009-10-30T05:00:00.000-06:00

Halloween and Mexico's Day of the Dead are not the same thing. First of all, today is Halloween, but tomorrow -- November 1 -- is Day of the Dead.

Secondly, while Halloween seems to be all about scaring yourself silly and hoarding candy, the Day of the Dead is about peacefully welcoming back the departed souls of your loved ones and spending time remembering your good times together even though you're now separated by death.

This picture book, Calavera Abecedario: A Day of the Dead Alphabet Book, by Jeanette Winter, can help teach those differences.

It's an alphabet book with a cultural twist: Each letter of the alphabet depicts a skeleton all dolled-up for a Mexican Day of the Dead celebration.

The words associated with each letter are in Spanish, but the illustrations and glossary at the end make it easy to understand what all the words mean.

The happy skeletons offer a perfect opportunity to discuss the differences between Halloween and Day of the Dead and illustrate that even though skeletons are part of the Mexican holiday, they are about celebration and not fear.

And the pictures also show that both holidays are about sweet things to eat.

While the alphabet format suggests a younger audience, the book’s cultural element means it could be used with older students, too.

Two for One is Like One for Free

2009-10-29T05:00:00.002-06:00

Two for One is One for Free or Almost One for Free?

Save a Village in Malawi

2009-10-26T05:00:00.002-06:00

Do you eat Cheerios? Or any of the other gazillion products put out by General Mills?

If so, you might be interested in the company's Malawi mission. General Mills has set aside $500,000 to be donated amongst ten different villages in the African nation of Malawi through a program called Join My Village.

You can help determine how quickly money gets released. Go to the web site, create a log in name and then read about the various villages and projects going on there.

You take a quiz about Malawi and every time you answer a question, you "unlock" part of the $500,000 General Mills has set aside for its donation.

It's an interactive, feel-good way to learn more about a Malawi and get some resources heading into the country without ever having to break open your own account.

Novel about the Taj Mahal

2009-10-23T05:00:00.002-06:00

Every once in a while I come across an author who captivates my imagination, and I go on a splurge reading everything they've ever written.

This year, my author splurge was John Shors.

In June, I read his novel, Beside a Burning Sea, and interviewed him on my haiku web site.

In August I read his newly released novel, Dragon House, which takes place in Saigon.

Now, I've just finished reading his first novel, Beneath a Marble Sky. It was sooooooo good!

It is a historical novel, a love story, and an adventure tale all rolled up in one. It is the story of the building of the Taj Mahal.

I don't think I can stress how much I loved this book! I've never been to India, and before picking up this book, only knew the barest of bones about the Taj Mahal. And yes, I know that the book is a work of fiction, and that some of the details might not be correct, but I DON'T CARE. It was that good!

It has only fueled my desire to visit the Taj Mahal. Someday....

In the meantime, I'll have to get an India fix by reading my fellow GoNomad blogger, Mridula Dwivedi. She lives in India and posts about her travels in her home land (and sometimes beyond).

Organic Blue Agave Nectar

2009-10-21T05:00:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago, I worked on a story about fair trade sugar. In researching that story, I spoke with one of the founders of Wholesome Sweeteners, a company that imports and sells fair trade sweeteners in the U.S.

Wholesome Sweeteners sells nine different types of fair trade sugar, but it also markets fair trade honey from Mexico and fair trade blue agave nectar, also from Mexico.

The blue agave nectar is harvested from the blue agave plant, which is also used to make tequila.

The nectar is sweet, sweeter than sugar, so you use less of it, and it has a low Glycemic index, which means that it breaks down slowly in your body, which means you don't experience a "sugar high."

I'm now obsessed with blue agave nectar. I have a bottle that I've been trying out on everything -- in coffee, on grapefruit, etc.

I recommend it!

Carpe Diem -- YA Travel Novel

2009-10-16T05:00:00.001-06:00

A friend told me about a book called Carpe Diem. It's a young adult novel, she said, about traveling in Asia.

Since she's a reader whose opinion I respect, I decided to take her advice and seek out this book written by Autumn Cornwell.

In it, a sixteen year-old girl named Vassar gets kidnapped to Southeast Asia. Well, she's not really kidnapped. But to her, it feels like it.

Her artist grandmother insists that Vassar get out of the country and away from her high-expectation parents for a summer. The grandma fears Vassar is in danger of becoming an over-focused planner with no ability to adapt to life's changes.

And of course, if you've been there, then you know that there is no better way to break someone of their love of planning than to take them on a backpacking trip through Southeast Asia.

I actually really liked the book. It didn't matter to me at all that the main character was a 16 year old kid. I identified with her journey, the places she was seeing and the feelings she was experiencing.

If you know a middle school/high school girl looking for a book, I say hand her a copy of Carpe Diem. And even if you're an adult -- so what? It's still worth a read!

Neighborhood Block Parties

2009-10-14T05:00:00.001-06:00

The timing of this feels like a joke.

This month, a local magazine is featuring a story I wrote about neighborhood block parties, an activity that usually takes place (at least in this neck of the woods) when the weather outside is nice.

And yet, in the past week, just as the article was unveiled, it has snowed here -- TWICE!

Ah well. If you'd like to get a jump start on planning next year's block party, you can get ideas from my story: Neighborhood Block Party

Early October Snow

2009-10-13T05:00:00.000-06:00

My backyard on October 12, 2010, taken at 1 pm. I'm not ready for this.

Wine Tours in Hungary

2009-10-12T05:00:00.001-06:00

Ask me where you should go for a really great glass of wine and Hungary probably wouldn't be the first country out of my mouth.

But maybe I should rethink that.

According to Jamison Bachrach, owner of Wandering Puffin, a travel provider specializing in Eastern Europe, Hungary is a wine-lovers paradise.

Check out his suggested nine-day food and wine travel itinerary for Hungary.

A View from St. Paul's Harriet Isalnd

2009-10-09T05:00:00.000-06:00

The entrance to St. Paul's Harriet Island Park.

The park isn't really an island, but a peninsula that sticks out into the Mississippi River.

I liked the view of the St. Paul Cathedral in the background. It's on the opposite bank of the river, and as you can see, atop a tall hill.

River Boat Grill & Views of St. Paul

2009-10-08T05:00:00.000-06:00

The Mississippi River cuts through the city of St. Paul. I'd never really spent much time around the river in St. Paul and so the other day a friend and I decided to check it out.

We stumbled upon the River Boat Grill, a restaurant on an old boat docked at Harriet Island.

Could there be a better way to enjoy views of the water and downtown St. Paul than to sit on a boat with something to drink? No. We found a table and ordered some lunch.

The boat's menu told the long story about the boat's beginnings and how it came to be a restaurant in St. Paul. Unfortunately, that story isn't posted anywhere on the restaurant's web site. And I didn't have too much time to absorb it at my table. The waitress set upon us pretty quick for our order before snapping the menus out of our hands.

Oh well. The sign on the receptionist stand had warned us. It said something along the lines of Beware the Bitter Waitress.

We didn't give it much more mind, other than to giggle a bit over it. The views of downtown St. Paul were just too pleasant and the people watching was equally appealing.

Visiting Alpacas in Minnesota

2009-10-05T13:37:00.002-06:00

It was an easy drive into the countryside to hang out with an alpaca herd for the day.

We set off toward the small town of Hutchinson and an alpaca ranch just beyond its reach called The Abbey Alpacas.

I've been around alpacas before. I'd encountered them while traveling in both Bolivia and Peru. And I'd seen plenty of llamas and alpacas at the Minnesota State Fair.

But I'd never been to an alpaca farm so I was curious to see the set up.

The owner, Ruth Kinkade, opened the doors to her alpaca barn and freely welcomed visitors. She talked to anyone who cared to listen about the animals, their temperaments (they spit if you touch their face), their wool, mating techniques for achieving better wool, and how much it costs to buy an alpaca (thousands -- 3, 7 or even 18!).

We got to pet a couple and sink our fingers into their fuzzy hair. They'd been shaved last spring so their current wool wasn't too long. Still, it was soft and squishy to the touch.

Apparently there's a lot of money to be made in the alpaca industry. The wool can pull in a pretty penny.

Plus there's lots to be made from selling the animals to others looking to start or expand their herds. Alpacas can no longer be imported into the United States. If you want to start a herd, you have to get them from within the country.

Go-Girl! Women Pee Standing Up!

2009-09-28T12:37:00.002-06:00

So here's something you just don't see everyday -- a silicone device that allows women to pee standing up.

It's called GoGirl and it happens to be produced, marketed and sold right here in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.

I just can't help but blog about the GoGirl. That's because I already blogged about the subject over a year ago. Back then my post was about a device called P-Mate. It also was a "female urinary device" that would allow women to pee standing up. It, too, was from right here in the Twin Cities.

This new device, the GoGirl, differs from the P-Mate in that it is made of silicone instead of cardboard. The GoGirl is reusable whereas the P-Mate was more of a one-time-use sort of thing.

Apparently the GoGirl is going great guns, selling all sorts of inventory. Well, good for them.

I, however, have a different question: What is it about the Twin Cities that has produced two companies selling basically the same product -- and a strange one at that?

Plantation Homes in St. Francisville, Louisiana

2009-09-14T13:41:00.001-06:00

GoNomad recently published a story I wrote about a touring plantation homes in Louisiana.

I stayed in a small town called St. Francisville. It was a quiet place dripping in Spanish moss and oozing in Southern charm.

John James Audubon, the famous bird watcher, spent a part of his life living in this neck of the woods. And befitting his legacy (maybe?), I encountered a turkey there!

If you're interested in the story, you can read it here:

St. Francisville, Louisiana: Plantation Homes, Spanish Moss and Southern Hospitality

If you'd like to read some of my blog entries from this trip, you can do that here:

Louisiana Blog Entires

Beauty Queens and Butter

2009-09-05T05:00:00.002-06:00

One of my favorite parts of the Minnesota State Fair is stopping into the dairy building to see the butter heads.

Every year, about a dozen young ladies compete for the title of Princess Kay of the Milky Way.

The Minnesota Dairy Association crowns a winner at the start of the fair and for the next year, she acts a representative of the state's dairy industry.

All of the candidates get their likeness carved out of a block of butter. The butter heads are life size and each girl gets to take hers home and keep it!

Hotdish on a Stick @ MN State Fair

2009-09-04T05:00:00.001-06:00

If you're from the Upper Midwest, you know what a hotdish is.

If you're not, then let me fill you in -- a hotdish is a casserole. Minnesotans love their hotdish. There's no better type of comfort food when the temperature hits negative numbers.

However, the hotdish on a stick at the Minnesota State Fair may be taking the hotdish love a bit too far.

This year, hubby and I decided to give it a go, and for all years yet to come, I think we will both pass on the hotdish on a stick.

Here's how it was made: meatball, tatter tot, meatball, tatter tot, meatball, tatter tot, meatball were stacked on a stick. Then the whole thing was dipped in a cornmeal batter. Then it was deep fried. And then it was served with a small side of cream of mushroom soup for dipping.

Anything On A Stick @ MN State Fair

2009-09-03T05:00:00.002-06:00

It's time for the Minnesota State Fair!

If you live in the Twin Cities, you just can't escape the state fair. It's held in St. Paul and for two weeks it messes with traffic all throughout town.

Plus, every TV and radio station in town ditches its regular digs to broadcast live from the fair.

Rumor has it the Minnesota State Fair is the second-largest in the country -- after Texas.

The best thing about the Minnesota State Fair (do I have to pick one?) is that nearly all the food is served on a stick.

There is the pork chop on a stick, which is always a fine choice.

And this year there was something new -- bacon on a stick. The bacon slice was super thick so that it could fit on a stick. It looked like a heart attack and so we passed, but plenty of others were trying it out.

The best part about the bacon on a stick booth was a sign that was tacked up on the side. It read:

"Bacon is sex in a skillet. It's the ultimate aphrodisiac for all living things -- except pigs, of course."

High School Students & Summer Study Abroad

2009-09-02T05:00:00.000-06:00

Last week I interviewed some high school kids from the Twin Cities who spent part of their summer doing a science experiment in Costa Rica.

They were there studying leaf-cutter ants. But they also got a hands-on experience when it came to encountering a developing nation. They spent 10 days in a rural environment where roads were dirt, phones were scarce and Internet was nonexistent. Yet they would all go back and do it all over again.

In preparing for the article, I spoke with their chaperon and program administrator, who also happens to be a guidance counselor at their school.

She said today's kids can't wait until they are juniors in college before they have a study abroad experience. Colleges and universities are looking for incoming students who are already able to think beyond their communities.

As to why parents of high school students should look into abroad experiences for their kids, the counselor said: "Globalization is happening everywhere and now these kids are a part of it."

If you'd like to read the final article, here it is:

Travels Abroad Expand Horizons

Dragon House -- Americans in Vietnam

2009-09-01T05:00:00.000-06:00

I go back and forth between whether I'm a fiction or a nonfiction reader. Currently, it seems, I'm all about the fiction. Maybe that's because it's summer and I'm looking to lose myself in a story.

This past month I read an advance copy of a book called Dragon House.

It's released this month (September) but I've had a copy for several weeks now. I got it from the author, John Shors, who I met via email back in June. I read another one of his novels, Beside a Burning Sea, which has a haiku-theme, and reviewed it for my haiku blog. Then I sent him an email requesting a haiku interview.

He agreed and you can read the result at Haiku By Two.

But the interviewed opened a line of communication and as it turns out, we're both travelers. He told me about his newest book, Dragon House, which is set in Vietnam, after finding out I had traveled there, too. Before you know it, he was sending me an advance copy.

I liked the book and was able to picture the Saigon setting so clearly. The basic plot is that two Americans go to Saigon to open a home for Vietnamese street children.

There are some twists, of course. What would a novel be without some complications along the way? And a love story, too, because everyone likes a little romance.

What I found most interesting about the book was the way in which the author was able to turn his travel experiences into a novel. At the end, in the acknowledgements, he talks about a street child he met on one of his travels who inspired one of the characters in the book.

I, too, have a pocket full of stories about street kids I've encountered in my global wanderings.

It all got me thinking about how writers mine their own experiences to craft other tales -- and about how I might do the same...

Anthony Bourdain in Cabo Polonio, Uruguay

2009-08-25T09:52:00.004-06:00

Anthony Bourdain is following in my footsteps!

Hubby and I have taken to watching the show, "No Reservations," on the Travel Channel. We have our DVR set to record them all -- new episodes, old episodes -- we have such a backlog!

The other night we sat down, scrolled through the choices and saw there was an episode in Uruguay. We pushed play and what do you know?!?!?! Anthony Bourdain went to Cabo Polonio and met Raul!

I too met Raul! I mentioned Raul in an article I wrote about Cabo Polonio. I'm glad to know he's still there doing his thing.

Watch the No Reservations Cabo Polonio segment here. It's kicks off right away in Cabo Polonio.

It's Still Me Wig Studio

2009-08-21T05:00:00.001-06:00

I met a fascinating woman the other week.

Her name is Jan Strassburg. She survived breast cancer and then went on to open a wig studio so that she can help other women who are suffering from hair loss regain some dignity during their own battle with disease.

Her wig studio is called It's Still Me -- words she heard herself say to her step-daughters the first time they saw her wearing a wig.

If you'd like to learn a little bit more about the wig business, you can check out my article here:

Nurturing Growth

Photo by Mark Tockman

Into the Beautiful North -- Great Mexico Read

2009-08-19T05:00:00.001-06:00

I lost myself in this book! I wanted to do nothing more than sit on my back deck with my eyes sheltered by a picnic umbrella and my feet basking in the summer sun while sipping iced tea and reading.

Not only was it a winning piece of fiction, it also took place in a region of Mexico I recently traveled to -- the swampy mangroves north of Puerto Vallarta.

I didn't know this when I picked up the book. I only knew that I had read one other book by the author, Luis Alberto Urrea.

A few years back I read his nonfiction book, The Devil's Highway, which blew my mind! I pushed it on everyone I knew for months. I still think of it and wonder at how fantastically it was written. It's about the trials of crossing from Mexico in the U.S., about the coyotes and the loans they give and the interest they charge. It was soooo interesting.

But anyway...back to the book I just finished -- Into the Beautiful North. This book is a work of fiction.

It starts in a dying Mexican village that is so tucked away in a mangrove swamp that even the Mexican government isn't exactly sure whether the town is in the state of Nayarit or the state of Sinaloa. The village is dying because all the men have left to seek work in El Norte.

One day, the young women of the town suddenly realize that there are no men left, which poses a very big problem as it means none of them have boyfriends. And what is life without a little romance? Nothing!

And so, they devise a plan. They also plan to go to El Norte, but they aren't going there to stay. They are going to find young, able-bodied men. They plan to recruit them and bring them back to their town.

Can they do it? You'll have to read the book to find out -- which isn't a bad thing at all as the book is -- did I already mention this? -- fantastic!