Baking Trip to Mexico

We decided to venture down to the Latin American country of Mexico and experience for ourselves one of the classic desserts of the Hispanic country. We had such a blast baking the Mexican Wedding Cookies, and if you’re ever looking for an easy and delicious dessert to make, this is definitely one to consider. You can even add your own special touch, as we did, by adding extra ingredients, such as chocolate chips and coconut. Check out the video below that takes you step by step through the Mexican Wedding Cookie recipe, and try it out for yourself!

*side note: in the video we showed 1 stick of butter, please be advised 1 cup of butter = 2 sticks

Thank you, Kayla 🙂

 

How to make ACTUAL Ramen

As a college student I know the struggle of leaving your room to go out and eat disappointing meals at your dining halls, or being starving and not having enough meal swipes to feed your hungry desires. So to satisfy our cravings we result to cheap, easy, and fast food such as Ramen Noodles. The $1 6 pack you buy at The Dollar Store. The salty orange colored noodle abyss we call a meal. Well suffer no longer! Here is the delicious and traditional way to make ACTUAL Ramen! No more orange plastic wrapped noodles with silver packaged spices, enjoy a nice traditional Japanese Ramen meal.

Video by: Japanese Cooking 101

Author: Kayla Kochanowicz

Felipe Francato Shares Brazil’s Culture Difference

Every country values sports differently. For some, it’s a form of nationalism; for others, it’s a civilized game to produce mass entertainment. Brazilians for instance, according to Felipe Francato, engineer and soccer player at Philadelphia University, often refer to their country as “o País de Futebol” (“the country of football”). In America, “soccer is just another sport, whereas in Brazil, soccer is an opportunity to the young and poor to have a better future.” Football, or known to Americans as soccer, is the most popular sport in Brazil, and it quickly became a passion of Brazilians and an influence to their culture.

Specifically, the World Cup draws the people together. The whole country stops to watch it; schools cancel class, businesses close early, and people go to friends’ houses or bars to watch it together.” The Brazilian national football team has won the FIFA World Cup five times, and is the only team that has qualified for every World Cup competition.

Felipe also explained that the Sao Paulo’s Itaquerão stadium “brought soccer in Brazil to the next level with better fields and nicer facilities to watch.” Since this was built for the 2014 World Cup, the Brazilians living in its vicinity developed costs associated with living close to the stadium. The government, after protesting of the billion dollars spent on the stadium instead of housing for the poor, decided to build homes in the area for suffering residents.

Felipe continued to talk about his college experience with me, always retiring to the statement “it’s just so different.”  He began by saying “I could go on for days explaining the differences between Brazil and here; it’s everything between greeting people to living life every day.”  Coming to the United States and living at Philadelphia University was certainly a challenge for him because there are so many differences between the two countries.  In Brazilian culture, someone sees a person for the first time one a given day and it is expected to give 2 kisses on the cheeks. There is lots of touching and hugging, and you can find people like that in America, but the general public is not like that. Not many Brazilians have cars or more than one air conditioning system, or eat out; all of these things are still considered luxuries.  The thing I found most interesting is that in Brazil, “you need to have a high school diploma to sweep the streets” because they do not have trucks that do that like America. College degrees are a necessity for us to have a decent job.  Felipe said that being able to study in the United States is a “wonderful opportunity to make something out of my life by getting a great education.”

Written by Jaclyn Parry

International Recruiting

Student athletes from all over the world dream of getting an athletic scholarship to a college in America. Being recruited for athletics by an American college as an American can be a terribly long and confusing process; being recruited as an international student athlete is even more difficult. Several difficulties get in the way of international athletes and playing a sport at a collegiate level in America. International students, like any other students, take the required tests for applying, but must also obtain a student visa, translate their academic results, and send them to the selected colleges. Without the assistance of a person with experience in discovering available sports scholarships for international athletes, the process of recruiting with all the obstacles of the college recruiting process can seem impossible.

International student athletes must perform the same academically as any American prospective student, and create an academic resume based off of that in order to personally contact a college coach. A common misconception among prospective student athletes is that players with the most outstanding talent receive sports scholarships. This is not necessarily true because the way an athlete presents themselves on and off the field, and in the classroom is a very important factor in any coach’s decision. The way in which international student athletes sell themselves to coaches is much more valuable than only talent.

As collegiate level sports in America continue to increase in competitiveness, colleges look for international athletes. The United States plays college sports on a greater scale than any scholastic competition in the world; the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) controls the most scholastic athletic programs in the world. Many athletes from around the world now look to the U.S. for opportunities of success because of the increase in interest, but that also raises competition of recruitment.

International athletes should focus on four areas to maximize their college experience in America. The location is important to consider because the environment and culture varies tremendously from place to place in the United States. Some areas of the country are also more expensive, some less. The academic programs at each school are an absolute must for international athletes to know, as well as any student. If the athlete is returning back to their home country, he or she will have to choose a degree that will benefit them in the future when athletics does not. The athletic program of any school will be much different than it seems to be on the surface, so an athlete should take a good amount of time to get to know the players and coaches to determine if it’s a good fit for them as their new home. Along with this, athletic scholarships are great ways to make a school more affordable, but it often becomes a deciding factor for the cheapest school. It is important for an athlete to know how much they money they are receiving, but sometimes it’s better to pay a little more and have a better college experience in another country.

 

Written by Jaclyn Parry

Interview with J Alkhadhiri

I met J on the first day of school here at Philadelphia University. I was sitting alone at the opening pep rally and J decided to come up and sit next to me. Ever since then we chat weekly about the struggles of being in classes, staying up late to finish projects, and how life is going as a college student here at PhilaU.

J is from Jubail City Saudi Arabia, 6,604 miles away. He confided in me that this step to come here has changed his life. He said “Living alone I learned how to be more responsible with myself. In Saudi Arabia my mom cooked food for me and washed my clothes, here I have to do everything by myself”.

While on the topic of home cooking I asked J what his favorite meal was back home and he said Kabsaa. Kabsaa is a traditional entree comprised of rice and your choice of meat, J’s favorite is chicken. He proceeded to list his favorite ingredients to add, including: chicken, rice, onions, tomatoes, salt, and spices. Through some broken English and un-translatable Arabic cutlery terms I figured out that you mainly cook everything in this pot that J so kindly shared with me. You cook the onions until they brown then add the chopped chicken, spices, tomatoes, and other ingredients. He couldn’t remember how the rest of the cooking went since his mother typically did the cooking, but he tried his best.

I proceeded to ask J what he thinks the main differences are between Saudi Arabian food and American food. He said, “Oooh, its totally different. I think food in Saudi Arabia is more traditional, while food here is the fast kind of food”. This made me think, the only time my mother typically slaves hours for a meal is usually during the holidays. Besides that, she usually orders pizza or makes Kraft Mac n’ Cheese for dinner. So I can see where J is coming from with that one. J continued to say that “rice is the most popular in Saudi Arabia, while here its burgers”, haha I got a kick out of that one. I guess I never really gave much thought to how ubiquitous hamburgers are here but now that I think about it, every American style restaurant or bar always has burgers on the menu. I don’t know if its as common as rice is there but close enough. J mentioned how everything back home is put on rice while here the food is put on bread or meat. I think a better comparison to make to rice would be bread. You can get anything on bread here; meat, cheese, peanut butter, fruit, vegetables, really we actually do put everything on bread!

After discussing the differences between food there vs food here J say the biggest difference is that they don’t have his new favorite food, cheese steaks, back in Saudi Arabia, although his friends told him some restaurants are starting to make some in the big cities. J commented on that statement that”these days all the world is becoming one whole world” that our Earth is becoming so interconnected with other countries and how other countries are now embracing and incorporating other cultures into their own. The fact that as a world we are progressing as an open society is amazing to me. The fact that a young man from Saudi Arabia can fit in comfortably to his new life in the US and still cherish his  traditions from back home is what this foreign exchange program is all about. Bringing in new cultures and learning from them to expand our school and society into a more and open place to live and learn.

 

By Kayla Kochanowicz

How to Make French Crepes

Here is a simple and easy recipe for French Crepes. Crepes are a French national food that come from the Britanny region of France. They are a very thin pancake, typically made of wheat flour.

This recipe was found on recipe.com created by the user JennyC819 and illustrated by Kayla Kochanowicz. Enjoy!

Respecting Headdresses

There are many types of headdresses worn by Muslim women. Different types include the Hijab, Burka, or in general loose fitting clothing and a head scarf. Women of Muslim faith wear headscarves for many reasons.

Canadian Muslim, Naheed Mustafa says, “In the Western world, the hijab has come to symbolize either forced silence or radical, unconscionable militancy. Actually, it’s neither. It is simply a woman’s assertion that judgment of her physical person is to play no role whatsoever in social interaction. Wearing the hijab has given me the freedom from constant attention to my physical self. Because my appearance is not subjected to scrutiny, my beauty, or perhaps lack of it, has been removed from the realm of what can legitimately be discussed.”

Headdresses are a form of modesty for many women. It can be seen as a symbol of protection from men, who do not lower their gazes, or it can be seen as a way to show purity or commitment in a marriage or relationship. Many women wear them so that they themselves and others do not focus on just their looks but their personality and cognitive abilities. Muslim women want others to view them in a way that is not objectified by beauty but something deeper. The headdress is also used as a symbol of religion. The reason it is worn for religion is as a way to respect Allah, and a way to remind them of how to act respectfully for Allah. Many believe that to show their hair is against their faith, and the headdress is worn to adhere to the religion they chose to follow.

With the Muslim population dispersed over Western society, headdresses are also used as a symbol to represent the Islamic culture within the melting pot. By wearing the headdress such as the Burka, fellow Muslim people may recognize each other in a society that is greatly spread out.  If someone converted to the Islamic religion, for example, they would be hard to recognize among others, so the headdress is worn to symbolize a common quality for the Muslim community to identify.  Another advantage of instant recognition is the fact it is easier to form a possible romantic relationship with those from the same religion. The reason for wearing headdresses differs for many and varies from mundane to anomalous.

Wearing headdresses in Western Society is seen as a sign of oppression, today where self expression is highly treasured. Many who do not wear the Hijab, Burka, etc., see them as a sign of repression and not a choice. Some women are forced to wear head coverings. In many countries, such as Iraq, women are shunned or beaten for not wearing the Hijab or Burka. Many do not understand, however, that many women choose to wear a headdress. When confronting Muslim women, they should be respected for their choices and not shunned based on if they wear the headdresses or not. If someone is interested in different ways to wear a headdress, please refer to the video above for more information.

Written by Julia Pilch

http://www.al-islam.org/hijab-muslim-womens-dress-islamic-or-cultural-sayyid-muhammad-rizvi/why-hijab

17 Reasons Why Women Wear Headscarves

Music Building a Bridge Between Cultures

Music is a universal language. As long as history has been recorded, there has always been music. With music being all around the world, even in the most isolated, uncivilized tribes, it indicates that before humans dispersed across the globe music was already created and a major part of prehistoric societies.  Every culture, back to ancient societies, have had festivals and religious days honored through musical performances.  Music is influenced by almost every aspect of life, including social, economic, and technological aspects.

Music had a vast influence on past and present civilization. It also has a different meaning to everyone. Music can be a way of rebellion against society, like rock and roll in the sixties and seventies, or it can also be used as a way to create a voice for a minority.  An example of this is the creation, of Blues and Jazz previous to the Civil Rights Movement. Music can portray different meanings based on who it was created by, who it was influenced by, and why it was created.

Today with so many music genres it is hard to distinguish where the beat originated from, but it can always be traced back to one or more cultures. A large part of the confusion is the fact that today’s music has a variety of cultures intermingling in one genre that it is getting harder to separate. With the internet as a common place where everyone is welcome, it has become a major way to share music across cultures and continents, as well as to create new music. When listening to rap, many listen to the beat, but do no think of the deeper meaning behind the words. Many forms of rap music originated from African American cultures; a lot of rap rhythms and beats come from African spirituals.

Music has become an easy way to connect with different cultures. With current music artists becoming famous by sharing music through the internet, more people around the world can hear and connect with others listening to the same artist or band. Prior to technological advances, music could not bridge gaps between cultures as effectively, due to being nearly impossible to hear music from one continent to another. Now with social media and a new found love of travel, a normal person can hear music made all over the world. It is common for people of all cultures to listen to music even if it is spoken in an unfamiliar language just for the love of the feeling a certain song could give someone. When speaking to an international Philadelphia University student, he said that he mostly listened to American music even when he was still across the ocean in Europe, where many in his town did not speak English.  Even when the words were hard to understand, he was still able to find a connection through the beat and look up the meaning of the words online. Music is a common connection around the world, and is a way to bridge a gap between all cultures.

Written by Julia Pilch

http://www.onlinesociologydegree.net/resources/sociology-studies-music-as-a-culture/

https://www.com.washington.edu/commIR/vol2/editionThree/featureTichy.html

PhilaU Baseball Player Henry Jones

Henry Jones, Philadelphia University baseball player from Melvin, Australia, shares his experience of traveling to the U.S. and attending PhilaU!

 

By Jaclyn Parry

The Excitement at PhilaU

Accompanying uncertainty upon arrival in a new place are many emotions, but thankfully, PhilaU has a strong support system for students who have decided to venture from another part of the world to this campus to achieve their professional goals. There is apprehension, but more importantly, there is excitement and acceptance for the students who wish to come here as well as for those that are already here. Experiencing a new culture for both the native students as well as the international students is a wonderful learning experience, and the diversity at PhilaU helps create that accepting community toward which the world strives.

 

Post created by: Lauren Mellott