• Finland has an Education System the US Should Envy and And Learn From
• Choco Pies of the North Koreans a Taste of the Other Side
• European and Asian Languages Traced Back to Single Mother Tongue
• In Search of the African Middle Class
• Singapore uses 'Modern Fairytales' to Warn Women of Declining Fertility
• New Ways to Change Attitudes in Rural Communities
• 12 Things you Never Knew about the Dutch Royal Family
• Paraguayan Landfill Orchestra Makes Sweet Music From Rubbish
• North Koreans Tune in for a Glimpse of the Outside World
• India Acts to Save Asiatic Lion By Moving it
• How Fairtrade Bananas are Failing Migrant Workers
• Brittany Villages Blazing a Trail in Energy Self-Sufficiency
• Us Beer Makes its Mark in Germany
• Ghana Mobile Firms offer Free Insurance to Keep Customers Hanging On
• GM Salmon's Global HQ - 1,500M High in the Panamanian Rainforest
• Pacific Islands Look for Model to Combat Changes Due to Global Warming
• Amazon V The Amazon: Internet Retailer in Domain Name Battle

Home to 48 million people, South Korea takes great pride in its traditions and history. A great example is its delightful food culture that, despite having influenced by other cultures over time, has remained unique among the world’s cuisines.

By Julie Park

San Diegans no longer have to travel 100 miles North to Artesia in order to experience the richness of Indian cuisine and culture. Little India on Black Mountain Road encompasses the Indian spirit in every way. Located on Black Mountain Road, a block north of Miramar Road, Little India consists of a number of restaurants and stores that act as a haven for South Asians and anyone else who enjoys Indian food and culture.

By Lakshmi Appachar
Photos by Jayanth Mandayam & T. Johnston-O’Neill
2013 Article Update by Akshata Yerdoor

The Center for World Music is a unique nonprofit organization whose mission is to foster awareness and understanding of the world's diverse performing arts and cultures through public performances and teaching. Its primary purpose is to draw public attention to the diversity of the world’s performing arts traditions: Asian, African, European, Latin American, and American.

The local band Mariachi Juvenil de San Diego dazzled the audience at the 2012 Harmony and Motion International Music and Dance Festival. As we gear up for this year's festival, we thought we'd give you the lowdown on the tradition of Mariachi music. Just in time for this year's Cinco de Mayo celebrations!

Internationally popular, Taiko drumming is a relatively new performance tradition that employs traditional Japanese instruments in new and dramatic ways. Jazz drummer Daihachi Oguchi is credited with creating Kumi-daiko style of Taiko in 1951. The sound is exuberantly loud with complex rhythms and dramatic choreographed moves by performers which meld music with angular and precision movement (amplified in effect by black headbands), evoking a martial arts esthetic.

Step under the archway entrance to the "village" and you will be greeted by a meandering plaza paved with pastel painted flagstones surrounded by stuccoed cottages with red tile roofs. In the center of the plaza sits a gazebo and a varied collection of charming trees and plants add to the air of quaint serenity. One of the more spectacular studios hosts the paintings of an artist named Lucy Wang, who for the past twenty years has been creating stunningly beautiful paintings that combine tradition-rich techniques of Chinese brush painting with her own path-breaking and innovative techniques.

By Jackie Hwang

Spanish Village Photos by Nuelma Patio
Additional Images: Lucy Wang

Many travelers may be looking for personal relaxation on their trip. They may want to stay in pampering hotels, sightsee via day trips with local guides, and eat at nice restaurants to get a taste of the country they are in. WWOOF is not for them. But there are others who travel to get a better sense of the world, to learn new perspectives, and to experience what it is to live in another country. If you are this type of traveler, WWOOF may provide exactly what you are looking for.

By Jordan Tresham

We asked several San Diego nonprofits to write about their cross-cultural projects and efforts. Ken Barratt, the National Outreach Director for QBL (who is based here in San Diego), submitted the following report for our continuing Spotlight Series. In addition to describing the vital clean-water development work accomplished by the Quaker Bolivia Link, Barratt offers astute observations on why some development efforts succeed and why others fail.

The music of Brazil is fundamental to its culture. Any traveler to Brazil can easily find music on the streets and beaches, outside restaurants, and in bars and houses. In Rio de Janeiro, Brazilians grow up playing drums, dancing and/or singing. Brazilian music was born five centuries ago out of the melding of different cultures: Portuguese, African, and the indigenous Amerindian. The two most successful musical genres to come out of Brazil are Samba and Bossa Nova.

By Hazel Villasin and Julie Park