The World Archives - Page 10 of 11

Let’s “Czech” Out Crazy Czech Holidays

December 10, 2015 by ehesson@pvs.org 4 Comments

Vánoční trhy byly zahájeny 27. listopadu večer na Staroměstském náměstí v Praze.---The traditional Christmas market at Old Town Square in Prague, Czech Republic was started by lighting up a Christmas tree on Nov. 27, 2010. (CTK Photo/Michal Kamaryt)

It’s the holidays. We’re familiar with St. Nick, angels atop the Christmas tree, dreidels, coal, houses aglow with lights, luminaries. But, do you know what happens in the Czech Republic during the holidays? Special Correspondent Anna Kleckerova tells us.

–by Anna Kleckerova

Devils also come to hospitals to make patients happy. In this picture is my friend Bara who is recovering from heart surgery.

The Czech Republic is a beautiful country with a wild history and culture. Parts of this are the crazy holidays and habits. First, I would like to speak about the “Devil Holiday,” which happens on the fifth of December. This holiday is very frightening for little kids because if they weren’t kind that year, they will be punished by scary devils. They come every year, around winter time, together with Mikuláš who carries a book of sins, a staff, a mitre (looks like the Pope’s hat), and wears a cross on his clothes. There is also an angel who eases the tense situation and makes it more enjoyable by bringing candy for children. The kids who weren’t kind and didn’t listen to their parents that year get potatoes and coal. In some cases they are kidnapped by the devils. The kind children that obey their parents have to sing a song or recite a poem. This allows them to be rewarded by the angel and Mikuláš.

Another weird Czech holiday occurs during Christmas. Czech people celebrate Christmas on the evening of December 24th. Entire families get together and have a fancy dinner with traditional Czech fish and potato salad. There are strange myths that surround this holiday. It is said that people who don’t eat the whole Christmas day will see a golden pig in the evening. It is said that if you float a small boat carrying a burning candle, and your candle is the last to extinguish in a flotilla of burning boat candles, you will live the longest. The biggest difference between the Czech Republic and America’s Christmas is that we don’t have Santa Claus. We have baby Jesus who comes every year to homes through the window to give presents to all of the children.

The last and craziest holiday is celebrated on Easter. Boys who live in villages go around to houses and hit girls on their butts with a whip made of willow wickerwork. In Czech, this whip is called Pomlázka. Every girl and woman, no matter her age, has to go through this. If she does not, then she will never find a husband and will die soon. Boys get painted eggs, chocolate, and candies from girls. Men get painted eggs and shots of alcohol. I did not have a chance to “enjoy” this tradition much growing up. I live in the capital city where this tradition isn’t as widespread. Most of my family lives in smaller towns or villages which gave me the opportunity to experience this yearly torture four times.

–Edited Chloe Sweeney

The World According to Henry: A Guide to Book Burning

December 9, 2015 by ehesson@pvs.org 4 Comments

–by Henry Huang

Suppose someday you and your friends end up in a situation like the one in the movie The Day After Tomorrow where you’re trapped in a library while a blizzard rages outside. In order to survive, you have to burn books to keep warm. Now the question, which books would you burn?
Remember, you are trapped in a library–an institution intended to store knowledge. You can’t burn books that will influence the survival and advancement of human beings. So, forget the calculus books, agricultural pieces, and books of essential scientific discovery. They are so important that it is not worth burning them to save individual life.
So what should you burn?
I suggest your first category for burning be . . . Celebrity Biography. Don’t get me wrong; some biographies are good. However, some biographies like Kim Kardashian’s Selfish, which contains nothing but her selfies, should be burned. Mostly, a biography exists because it can inspire people. However, Celebrity Biographies often offer very little under the cover. Do we really need selfies of Kim Kardashian? Remember, in our hypothetical situation, we are in a severe winter snowstorm, and we need to warm ourselves to fend off freezing. Those Celebrity Biographies are usually heavy (in weight), usually more than three hundred pages. Just one burning copy could keep us warm for hours.
Next, burn anything about the zodiac. unnamed I know many people believe in the zodiac and fortune telling. However, think about it seriously. We are now in a huge huge crisis that involves the existence of human beings in a snowstorm. At this moment, all kinds of zodiac and fortune-telling things would not work anymore. The only thing that we need to focus on, at this moment, is survival. If you’re about to freeze to death, do you really need your fortune told?
These are two kinds of books that I would like to burn in this scenario. What is your choice of books for burning in a life-threatening snowstorm?

Henry floated a survey on “What Book What You Burn” on Facebook. Here are some of the replies . . . .

Many of the respondents believe that the first choice of books for burning should be the Twilight series. The reasons were mostly concentrated on the fact that Twilight is a poorly written book. According to one respondent, “Twilight promotes abusive relationships and is just bad literature in general.” The second most popular choice involves encyclopedias and dictionaries. The reasons are, “They have the most paper, so they have the most fuel”; “They are very big and fairly replaceable.” Surprisingly, the third most popular choice for burning for warmth and survival is the Bible. The reasons include more are available “in the future” and “the Bible is thick and burnable.” And, one of Henry’s personal favorite responses is “Burn Mein Kampf.”

Double Eleven

November 13, 2015 by ehesson@pvs.org Leave a Comment

You may know Jim as our Funny Camp Director. He also serves as our Chinese Correspondent. He wants to bring to your attention the Chinese holiday Single Men’s Day, aka Double 11. –Editor Chloe Sweeney

–by Jim Wang

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In China, November 11th is Single Men’s Day. It was derived from Valentine’s Day in the 1990’s. However, people didn’t acknowledge this day until it became a part of the worldwide marketing campaign called Double 11. In China, this campaign transformed November 11th into a huge commercial holiday. November 11th morphed into a Black Friday.
The sales on November 11th in China are equivalent with Black Friday in America. Alibaba (a Chinese e-commerce company similar to Amazon) sold products worth 1.2 billion dollars in only three minutes this year. The total amount of sales increased to 15 billion dollars in 24 hours. The sales on Double 11 are three times greater than those on Black Friday. An interesting fact is 70% of the transactions were completed on mobile devices.
There were over six million kinds of products placed on sale on November 11th last year. This year, consumers can purchase sale items from over forty thousand merchants and thirty thousand brands.
Distributing all these products purchased on line is a huge task for any company. According to Alibaba, their cooperative partners will make 1.7 million deliveries, use forty thousand delivery cars, and five thousand warehouses to deal with the massive number of purchases.

Double 11 has become such an event, “President” Frank Underwood (aka Kevin Spacey) speaks to it in the video below.
Have fun shopping!!!

Bewildering Beads: Handcrafts by Lettie

November 11, 2015 by ehesson@pvs.org 2 Comments

Ashley Zhou, our resident art expert, is taking a look at some of the incredible handcrafts created by Lettie Sun. Lettie, a senior here at Palm Valley, uses beads and fishing wire to create adorable figurines and other products.–Editor Chloe Sweeney

–by Ashley Zhou

Handcraft popularity has risen rapidly in recent years. These days more and more artists are making exquisite handmade crafts and selling them.

Lettie Sun is currently making her own beautiful crafts, and, remarkably, she is creating her own business. From translucent beads sent from China, Lettie makes keychains, ornaments, accessories, pencil boxes, decorative lights, phone-chains, tissue boxes, and artificial flowers. Lettie does all this while studying for several AP classes and applying to colleges. Making a single beaded craft requires several hours of intense concentration, but she believes the effort is worth the smile on her customers’ faces. Lettie’s ideas are inspired by Chinese handcrafts and also similar crafts found on sites like Etsy (which she uses to help estimate the value of her products). Etsy is a popular website for all handcraft lovers and artists around the world. The site provides a stage for people to share their interests and sell their unique products. Lettie’s products are available today at Lulu’s in Old Town La Quinta.

Please contact Lettie Sun if you are interested in purchasing any of her creations. The holidays are coming. They make wonderful gifts and decoration.

Life of an International Student

November 5, 2015 by ehesson@pvs.org Leave a Comment

Anna Kleckerova is an international student from the Czech Republic. Her first year in America was her junior year, and she is currently planning on spending her college life here in the states.–Editor, Trey Lucatero

–by Anna Kleckerova
How does all of this start? What leads students to decide to leave home, uproot themselves, and move to the other side of the planet? It can start many different ways. Pressure from parents, a desire for adventure or the need for learning a new language are all true reasons. Once you decide on this huge step and your parents pay for it, your life will turn about 180 degrees. You will come to a totally different country full of strange people who stare at you because you are the weird one. Americans are more open. They can scare those who aren’t used to the American openness. In Europe, people don’t ask “How are you doing?!” on the sidewalk. In a new country, you will not understand the language, habits, or the system at all. You will be bored by new rules just as you were bored by the old ones in your country. You might love the change or hate it the rest of your life. Conditions will not always be perfect.

Everything depends on what we make of it. You can look just at the bad things and stay annoyed, but you have also another option. That option is to fall in love with your new life. I’ve grown to love the optimistic view of Americans.
This new change will limit rights and privileges you previously enjoyed in your life. You can’t go anywhere by yourself. There’s no public transportation. You can’t drive a car. You have to learn a new currency. You will get a new family that does not always have to be nice to you, and your parents will be too far away from you to offer help. You will have to stand on your own and make your own decisions. Your mom won’t always be there to tell you to wear a jacket when it is cold outside. Your dad won’t be waiting for you after school wearing his strict look while he is peering at your grades. You will have new people who will take care of you. Your host parents should be there every day for you, but you still might think that they are not nice and you will never accept them as your real parents, but they are the only ones who can actually help you here somehow. 12138328_1038955329482501_7304170434932291271_o (1)
As an international student, I realized how much I love my own country and my family. When I left the Czech Republic, I was so excited to get into popular, huge America. But with time I have seen how Americans are proud of their country and I started being proud of mine too. I love the env matous ironment, the nature, the forests everywhere, the public transportation of the Czech Republic. But, some international students, really latch on to their new world. A friend of mine, Matouš Prokopec, was an international student in Canada, and he said: “I liked my host family more than my real one.” He absolutely fell in love with everything in that country as well as falling in love with his host family. This year, a wonderful person, Rosa Gillet, came to our school. She answered the question regarding what she likes about this program, with, “I like being in a new family because it allows me to get to know others’ life and culture.”

Being a part of something like this leaves a huge change in people’s personality. It can make them happy, effervescent, enthusiastic, passionate about their own country, but also sad, frustrated, disappointed and exhausted over missing home. I think that something like this makes the student powerful. Being an international student abroad makes you an adult, making life decisions on your own. International students deserve everyone’s admiration.

The World According to Henry: American-Chinese(?) Food????

October 30, 2015 by ehesson@pvs.org 2 Comments

–by Henry Huang

The Chinese have immigrated to the United States for many years. They brought with them their own food customs to the “land of the free and home of the brave.” Out of Chinese immigration to the United States formed a miracle—American-Chinese food.

Well, the reason I call it a “miracle” is that Chinese people insist that these American-Chinese dishes are really trashy and not indicative of authentic Chinese food. These American dishes don’t contain any traditional Chinese-food values.

Some of the foods, even the most famous ones, are not even from China! In this case, an example would be General Tso’s Chicken (otherwise known as Orange Chicken). I swear to buddha that there is nothing called General Tso’s Chicken (or Orange Chicken) in China. In fact, General Tso is a real person in Chinese History. The only reason that this dish exists is that a chef from China invented it in America. So why do we still not call it an authentic Chinese dish? He created it according to American people’s tastes and did not put any Chinese elements into this dish–elements such as Chinese spices, seasonings, and chicken with the bone in it. He had a restaurant on East 44th street in NYC. When Henry Kissinger was there, he loved the dish. Since Kissinger loved it so so so much, it became popular. However, General Tso’s Chicken has NOTHING to do with real Chinese food.

The next thing is ingredients. Unfortunately, some dishes are not using real Chinese materials. When Chinese arrived fresh off the boat over a century and a half ago, it was hard for them to find the right ingredients to make Chinese food. Chinese immigrants were then forced to seek new ingredients. Therefore, things as “weird” as beef and broccoli were invented. Again, broccoli is not something that Chinese cooks would put in their dishes since it didn’t exist in China until about the 1900s.

Now, we shall talk about flavors. This is the worst element in American-Chinese food. The problem is that American-Chinese food is just too sweet. “It’s too sweet, and it makes me thirsty–especially Orange Chicken,” said senior Hugh Hu. Well, we all know Americans love sweet food. That is why my mother hates American candies and desserts as they taste like pure sugar. However, I can’t accept that Americans put so much sugar in Chinese food. Nobody in China would have that obsession with sweet flavors. I can’t understand why Americans put sweet and chili sauce on their Spring Rolls. What is even worse is the sauce. No self-respecting Chinese man or woman would put any sauce as thick as American dressings in their Chinese dishes. In China, we want to keep the original flavor of the dishes, so we believe that the best flavors come from the food itself and that sauce only serves to enhance the food’s original tastes.

Well, the only thing I need to tell Americans is–Not everything that is stir fried in a wok is Chinese food. However, no matter how much I discredit American-Chinese food, I am still in love with Panda Express. However, not everyone agrees. While I was writing this blog, I found an American who detests Panda Express! Isn’t this rare? This person is Trey Lucatero: ” I don’t like Panda because it tastes old, dry, gross, and it’s not real Chinese.” Trey’s words express the true thoughts of many Chinese students in America.

–edited by Amber Zheng

European food vs. American food

October 29, 2015 by ehesson@pvs.org 3 Comments

European Correspondent Anna Kleckerova has compared American and European educational systems, culture, social moires. Now, she looks to FOOD! Anna comes to PVS from the Czech Republic.

–by Anna Kleckerova

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Which pizza is American? Which is European?

Like every article I post, I would like to start with Europe. Let’s start with Italy where we can taste delicious pizza. This pizza is not like American pizza, where it is one big, thick cloud full of pepperoni and cheese. But, if you are a gourmet like me, you will appreciate more than just these two ingredients, and Italy comes with wide-spread, thin pizza where you can add whatever you want to it. Also, pasta is very typical for this beautiful country. We can find all kinds of different pasta there, for example: spaghetti, bucatini, macaroni, penne, rigatoni and very popular in America, my lovely fettuccine. France loves to make meat in every possible way; it is the same with sea food and French wines. You will taste French wine just one time (the drinking age in France is 18), a image2-2 nd you will never want any other. It doesn’t matter if it is red, white or pink, all of them have spectacular taste. When we talk about gourmets, we must not forget Germany. It is well known for schnitzel (fried chicken breast), different kinds of sausages, and beer. Speaking of beer, the Czech Republic is a big distributor of this golden drink and not just that. Czech cuisine is known for Svíčková na smetaně served with dumplings, whipped cream and cranberries, roast pork with dumplings and sauerkraut, and roasted duck with potato dumplings and braised red cabbage. If you still don’t have enough good European food, you can go to Holland and try some of their cheeses, and in Switzerland your heart can be melted by delicious chocolate.

America, on the other hand, is a home to all kinds of meals from different countries. And, it is a country of fast foods. Mexican food is very popular in America. Everyone likes tacos, burritos and quesadillas. California is well know for the fast food joint called In-n-Out. People from the whole country are coming here to enjoy these fresh and tasty burgers. You can even hold the cheese on your cheeseburger, says senior Hugh Hu when ordering, “No cheese.” A lovely thing in American restaurants is that you can get free refills anywhere. In Europe, you have to buy every single drink again and again (the ice, too!), so if you are very thirsty, your lunch can be relatively expensive. Chinese cuisine also completes the American food menu –along with Italian, French, and German. You can find all these influences in America’s Panda Express, Subway, french fries, and hot dogs!

–edited by Trey Lucatero, big, big fan of In-N-Out

The moment I walk into that marvelous place and find a seat in the crowded sea of hungry customers, I begin to smell the dream-invoking scent of the freshly shipped burgers waiting to be devoured by me. I love the perfection of the meat, coupled with the amazing cheese and tasty sauce. It takes but mere seconds before the burger is completely engulfed by my unquenchable hunger for this delicious burger.

A Talk Show in China Ponders Ethics

October 28, 2015 by ehesson@pvs.org 2 Comments

–by Ashley Zhou

In China, there is a breakout show on the Internet: Qipa Talk. It is a show that debates hypothetical ethical and practical problems. Ashley was intrigued. Here is a sample of her favorite episode.

“There are two boats trapped in the ocean–Boat A containing you and 99 other people and Boat B containing only one person. There’s a button on Boat A, and if anyone presses it, this boat would be safe, but Boat B would explode. If no one presses the button, twenty minutes later, Boat A and 100 people would be buried at sea. Would you press the button to blow up Boat B and save the 100 people?” This is one of the many debate questions discussed in the Chinese talk show Qipa Talk. In this show, debaters on each team try to persuade 100 audience members to side with them within three rounds of debating.

The above is one of my favorite questions; the question is a paradox. Debaters have given very interesting and sharp points answering this topic. In the show regarding this question, in Round #1, the initial voting was 63 to 37, which means 63 people chose to press the button. The affirmative held several central arguments: they argued human history wouldn’t have been written without sacrifice of the minority. If no one takes an action to save the 100 people, those who took no action have to take the blame. And, nobody wants the blame. It’s very necessary for man to sacrifice.

The negative side responded in rebuttal: the value of life should not be counted depending on quantity. The minority doesn’t always have to compromise for the majority; Humans cannot be sacrificed. Nobody wants the responsibility of killing.

The best part in the show is when the two coaches on each side express their ideas and points. They usually jump out of the box of the topic itself and go on to better incorporations of it. They try to argue from the perspective of the whole human race. They want the audience to understand that beyond the debating skills they want to convey healthy outlooks and values of life.

In this case, in the final vote, 72 out of 100 people voted to NOT push the button–thereby refusing to sacrifice the one life to save the many. The debaters for the negative won over 35 voters. The voters decided the best action is to do nothing. Most accepted that they may die with the majority and chose not to kill to save themselves and others.

–edited by Gaven Li

The World According to Henry: New York, New York

October 21, 2015 by ehesson@pvs.org 3 Comments

–by Henry Huang

Blog Correspondent Henry Huang spent last summer on the East Coast. He attended summer school at Yale studying Political Science. While on the East Coast, Henry travelled to New York City. Thus, “The World According to Henry” continues its journey . . . .

New York–how should I start?

Artists, singers, writers portray the city as the top of the world. Yet, New York, to some others, is an empty dream. New York, to me, is the most interesting place on this earth, a mixture of heaven and hell.

There are copious reasons that a person can hate New York. The stinky subway system isn’t well designed. Everyone knows that someone must have peed in the subway station. The subway service, to be polite, is anti-humanity. There was only one uniformed person in the entire subway station even in Times Square. The signs in the station tell you to go to Uptown or Downtown. Even a New Yorker could get lost in the subway or not know the existence of a line. If you make it out of the Times Square subway station, a crowd is waiting for you in Times Square. It is always crowded, always full of over-priced souvenir shops,making it impossible to meet a friend or acquaintance there. There were even people, more than you can imagine, doing yoga on Broadway. Another infamous about NYC, New Yorkers have a “reputation” for being rude and arrogant. In at least one instance, a waiter in a cafe was not friendly. In all other cities, customers are like gods, but in New York, sometimes it feels the opposite. And, And, New Yorkers drive like crazy people. If you try jay-walking in NYC, you’ll come in contact with a taxi bumper. Walking in Manhattan’s streets is the same as walking through a battlefield. Everyone is walking as if they are on the way to a fight.

However, New York is still a heaven to many people. The forest of skyscrapers is just a miracle rising through the horizon. At the top of the Empire State Building, the Steel Babylon looks exactly like a jewel in the sun. Sometimes, people criticize New York as an illiterate city. Yet, the ceiling of the Grand Central Terminal was designed based on the Zodiac, everyone in the subways is carrying a book, the New York Public Library houses the Gutenberg Bible and other precious books and documents. The museums in New York are some of the best in the world. The Metropolitan Art Museum holds the largest art collection from ancient Greek to Modern Art, from East to West, from paintings to weapons. What’s more, there are not many cities on earth that can provide such a large public space like Central Park. The vast greenery is a great place for all ages to bike, swim, play baseball, picnic, watch Shakespeare. The street food in New York, whether kebabs or hot dogs, is always a surprise waiting for you. However, I found the most surprising thing in New York is New Yorkers are actually quite friendly (with that one exception in the cafe on Times Square). From a lady waiting for her train in a subway station to a guy who sells kebabs next to MetArt, everyone was willing to give me directions. The quick drivers and the fast-walking people might be crazy, but all those are a symbol of the liveliness of the city! Only in New York could there be so much potential and possibility.

Photos by Henry Huang

–Edited by Chloe Sweeney

Hurricane Joaquin Slams South Carolina

October 16, 2015 by ehesson@pvs.org Leave a Comment

–by Chloe Sweeney

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For days, we watched the news from South Carolina as the state’s inhabitants attempted to bail out from Hurricane Joaquin. Many of us had friends and family scurrying for dry land. Blog Editor Trey Lucatero heard from his father, Greenville, South Carolina resident. Mr. Lucatero, who was safely away from the eye of the storm, said, “We received 6 inches of rain; elsewhere it was up to 27 inches.” Former PVS teacher, Mr. Kevin Smith, was leading a retreat of 8th graders through the Carolinas and just missed the downpour.

After weeks of intense rain in South Carolina, with some areas receiving over 20” of rain, the sun finally came out. The relief from the downpour was short-lived as 13 dams collapsed and forced many communities to evacuate. The National Guard and local law enforcement have conducted over 600 rescues. More than 300 people were confined to live in shelters. The destruction of significant infrastructure left several communities without clean water, and 400,000 people were forced to boil their water. Along with the failed dams, a thirteen-mile stretch of Interstate 95 was still closed. South Carolina
Floodwaters break through a walkway in Columbia, S.C., Monday, Oct. 5, 2015. After a week of steady rain, the showers tapered off Monday and an inundated South Carolina turned to surveying a road system shredded by historic flooding. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) Governor Nikki Haley just hours ago extended South Carolina’s “state of emergency declaration.” Gov. Haley said (AP) the National Guard is still repairing 74 roads across the state as well as repairing drinking water systems. There were 17 reported deaths due to this hurricane. The rain may have stopped in South Carolina, but the tragic repercussions are still pouring in.

–Edited by Amber Zheng