Diwali is the festival of lights. It is a five day festival where all the celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and friends. Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps, known as Dipas', filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. Dipa Deisplays are an amazing sight when all ofther lights are off.
Also know as Remembrance Day, Poppy Day is a memorial day observed in
Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the
members of the armed forces who have died in the line of duty. In honor of this day people will wear a red poppy flower. The red remembrance poppy flower has become a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day due to the poem "In Flanders Fields". These poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their brilliant red color an appropriate symbol for the blood spilled in the war.
I was recently in NJ for a family friends wedding. I was able to see first hand some of what reports talked about. On the way to the venue there were trees fallen on buildings and on the road, telephone poles and cables were broken and all over the place and the area had no power. In addition, the lines at gas stations were ridiculous. Police had to direct traffic at the gas station. To give you an idea of how bad it is, the day before one of the house members had to wait in line for over 6 hours to get gas and they were only allowed to purchase a certain amount. Some of the out of state guest that drove in for the wedding even brought gas to help if needed and boy was it needed.
Everyone was so worried that they would have to cancel the event since it all happened a few days before the wedding was to take place, but as they say the show must go on. Thanks to some careful thinking and or planning on the venues part, we were still able to have a great day. The venue organized back up generators that allowed for the wedding to go on without a glitch. You can tell they were destined to be together after surviving the storm and still being able to have such an amazing wedding with no problems.
If you have the opportunity to help out the people of New Jersey please do, every little bit helps.
The Island of Trinidad and Tobago, known for its great food, great Soca and its over the top Carnivals, can be found along the cost of Venezuela. Like Jamaica, T&T is also known for its beaches and Athletes. When there, one can't help but kick up ones feet and watch the sun set while listening to some Machel Montano, Destra, Alison Hind or Kes the Band and indulging in some Doubles or Roti.
If you've never been to a carnival before I suggest you try to catch one. In the US they have many different versions of carnival from state to state. For example, DC Carnival on Georgia Ave (now in Baltimore) and Miami Carnival. Both events, like in T&Ts, last for about 2 weeks. That's 2 weeks jam packed with parties leading to a road march. The best events to go to are the live concerts, the J'ouvertt (paint) party, and of course the road march.
On Sunday October 7th 2012, it was visual confirmed what everyone already knew. That we the West Indies are the BEST. West Indies' team members celebrate winning the ICC Twenty20 Cricket
World Cup final match defeating Sri Lanka by 36 runs.
The ICC World T20 trophy victory is the fourth major international title
for West Indies. Clive Lloyd's all-conquering team won the inaugural
Cricket World Cup in 1975 and repeated in 1979. Brian Lara's team won
the ICC Champions Trophy in England in 2004. The West Indies is the only
team to win the 50-over World Cup, the Champions Trophy and the World
Twenty20.
Wa Gwan, is the greeting you'll get when you land on the beautify island of Jamaica. While you're here, there are so many things you can do to have a good time. First, when in Jamaica you need to take a walk on the wild side and become one with nature through one of the many tours available. From zip-lining at Lethe Estates to rafting down the Rio Grande river. When completed, cool down with some world class ice cream and pastries at Deven House (i highly recommend eating the rum flavor ice cream with a spice bun. Sooooooooo good).
Next up, the Beach. You cant go to JA and not visit a beach especially when you have so many to choose from. But if your looking for a beach that will provided you with some good fresh sea food, i suggest you make your way to Hellshire. After a long day of beach play and sun bathing, walk over to one of the food huts/shacks and choose from the catch of the day (fish, crab, shrimp, lobster etc) with your choice of sides (peas and rice, fries or the more famous option festival). The cooks will make it for you on the spot and bring it out to where ever you choose to sit (in the hut or on the beach). Then just sit back, relax and enjoy.
Today is our last day in Brasil. Before we depart lets get involved in some fun activities. When in Brasil, around every corner, you will more than likely see people playing a lot of sports, the main one being football (soccer). You may also catch people huddled together in a circle, some singing, some playing strange looking instruments and some doing dance like acrobatic moves in the circle. Don't be alarmed if someone were to hit the ground. They are not dancing. This is not a party. What your watching is Capoeira.
Capoeira is an Afro-Brasilian Martial Arts. Like many other martial arts, Caporiea was created as a means of self defense but over time evolve into a sport. When done properly and when not done properly, Capoeira moves can cause some serious bodily harm to an opponent. When taking part in a capoeira battle you are said to be "Playing" not "Fighting" and just like any other sport, there are rules that need to be followed when playing. (To learn more check out the video)
If anyone is interested in seeing a live Roda (circle in which you play capoeira), interested in learning Capoeira (first class is free) and live near DC, you can visit the Capoeira Spot on Georgia Ave.
Hi everyone, this week we're traveling to the exotic land of Brasil. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Brasil is located in South America. It is the fifth largest country in the world and is bordered by many other countries in South America including my home country of Guyana. I'm not going to get into the country's history since that is what the Wikipedia link to the right of the page is for. However, I will let you know that the language spoken there is Portuguese and like many countries in the Caribbean, Brasil was one of the countries used as a port for rest and for slave trade. It is because of this that the culture there is made up of a combination of different cultures from all around the world.
Ahhh Brasil. Many tourist who travel to the country will most likely go to Rio or Sao Paulo since those are the larger cities and some of the richer areas in the country. When you're not sipping on coconut milk or chilling at the nude beach, you might be visiting the casinos, enjoying some of the country's' fine cuisine or taking a guide through some of the safer trails. But if you want to live like a real Brasileiro, you should visit the areas around Manaus AKA the Amazon.
