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gotatext · 4 years

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hllo ! i’m nora ( she / her, 24, gmt ) crawling back to this rp once more like the dirty sewer slug i am !! i just can’t get enough, baybeyyy ! u may remember me frm such roles as alma putnam, rory bergstrom, bridget matusiak or greta o’driscoll 2 name jst a few.... sure there were more over these long years, bt the show must go on.... this is mimi, she’s dogmatic, tenacious n single-minded 2 the point of recklessness, she doesn’t like handouts n she’s funding her degree through her onlyfans account n moaning abt shit on tiktok. we love 2 see it !! slam that like button n i’ll creep into ur DMs like the slippery worm i am OR u can discord me at that bitch carole baskin#8664. a humble pinterest.

『ALEXA DEMIE ❙ CIS-FEMALE 』 ⟿ looks like MIMI MARTÍNEZ is here for HER SOPHOMORE year as an ARCHITECTURE AND SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY student. SHE is 22 years old & known to be STRONG-WILLED, GOAL-ORIENTED, ARROGANT & EASILY BORED. They’re living in MORIS, so if you’re there, watch out for them. ⬳ nora. 24. gmt. she/her.

this is p embarassing but i actually originally wrote mimi for a discord rp based around love island asgjag dont laugh at me but it was so chaotic n someone deleted it w-out telling any of us so i lost her bio.... all her threads....e verythin.... it was mad. but anyway we startin from scratch w this intro so bare with

mimi is a really extra character so when trying to flesh her out i thot of the most extra thing i could do n made a colour coded mindmap with watercolour paints detailing her values, aesthetics and early life. shoot me

background: she grew up in a trailer home in boulder city, abt half an hour from vegas. her mom had worked in a vegas casino for most of her 20s but relocated to boulder city for a slower pace of life / lower crime rate when she started having kids. mimi has 2 older brothers n she’s the youngest. has that invulnerable younger sibling complex n basically thinks nothing can touch her. very confident in her own intelligence and her ability to get shit done

has mexican ancestry on her mom’s side. doesn’t know her dad. was raised with spanish catholic principals n found it all very stained glass windows and extra n that’s why she was kinda drawn to the decadence of vegas and all these massively high key aesthetics, like dia de les muertos was her fave thing growin up just bcos the pure feel of the festival and painting a sugar skull on her face n being able to party on the streets in a flower crown where everyone was kinda anonymous but together in this celebration

in boulder city her mom worked as a carer as there’s a lot of retirees there. mimi really resented the slow pace of life, longed for some fucking energy n life. she was a cheerleader in school but outside of school there wsn’t much to do except practise stunts and go on bike rides. occasionally they’d get dressed up and catch a bus to henderson, the next biggest city for them to get tht sweet night life

her teenage years consisted mostly of hanging around the renovated motel blocks used as housing projects n tanning by the pool. very florida project if you’ve seen that. she reminds me a lot of the mum in that. also she started working as an avon rep going door-to-door when she was 16 bcos she wanted to have her own income. like as young as 14 she’d decided she was smart enough to go to college but she didn’t have the money n her family didn’t really see it as a worthwhile thing, her mom was very like the mom from matilda “you chose books.... i chose looks!” which i think is where a lot of mimi’s more shallow / appearance-driven traits come from

wasn’t really ‘cool’ until high school. before that she was a bit of a lisa simpson type. won a spelling bee when she was 9. was in the mathletes squad in middle school. when she went from middle school to high school she started cheer and tried to reinvent herself basically. always been very concerned with social mobility and keen to socially climb, like when she enters a new situation she’ll find out who the alphas are and quickly try n befriend them

when she turned 18 she moved out and went to vegas despite her mom hating the idea bcos it was everything she’d tried to get her kids away from. she worked in the clubs there for several years as a shot girl, a table dancer, n eventually she started workin behind the bar in a strip club. in the club it ws really hard to resist becoming a dancer bcos of the sheer amount they made in tips. no one really pressured her into it she just eventually decided tht it was way more logical to do it while she was young n fit and had the stamina and ppl were willing to pay to see her body so she started taking pole fitness lessons. she also started working as a cam girl around this time

working in vegas strip clubs is basically whats paid for uni. like she didn’t go at 18 like most of her friends did bcos she didn’t have the money and she didn’t want to feel indebted to a college like she had to compete for her place and not put a toe out of line bcos she was on a scholarship. she was determined to pay her own way and it took 4 years of working really hard and saving n even tho she was working in vegas she basically never went out bcos every penny she had needed to go on uni n thts how we get to radcliffe baybeeyy

part 2 - interior / values / personality

values: the aesthetic !! literally loves the aesthetic so much. everything she owns is super embellished, she’s a pop socket gal, her dell laptop is covered in glitzy stickers, she always has acrylics n probs makes nail art videos on tiktok. really tuned into tiny details like painting a little hello kitty above her eye which translates into her degree when she’s doing small-scale mockups of town plans n stuff... she jst puts so much detail into them. ppl often get surprised when she tells them she does architecture but it makes so much sense bcos she grew up in a trailer park n was always thinking about ways the space could be more efficiently used, like she loves re-conceptualising neighbourhoods, definitely spent hours on sims as a kid. she also grew up near hoover dam n so loads of school trips they just took them there n she was like.... this is tight but it could be cooler.... where’s the passion....

massively into photography, has such a neat instagram feed like everything just compliments the tones in the next post like mMMM. idk if any of u know any architecture students but this is literally the one constant i can find…. like they all have super good instagrams feeds. is that bitch that will take 40 fake candids of u in a row at different angles to get u the perfect profile picture cos she understands the importance of marketing urself and having an online #brand

has wire rimmed glasses that she doesn’t need to see BUT they r like a magnifying glass for when she’s working with really small materials to do a mock up of an urban plan, and also just sometimes wears them for the aesthetic bc she’s such a pinterest bitch

assassination nation is such a big mood. literally the aesthetics of that and lily colson’s whole brand of feminism and nudity not being inherently sexual but at the same time wanting to profit off that bcos why the fuck shouldnt she use a corrupt system to her advantage is incredibly mimi

literally a human personification of a bratz doll both in attitude and fashion sense

somehow simultaneously gansey in the raven cycle AND elle woods in legally blonde? the two genders

values cont bc i started rambling: her independence and freedom. being the best at any given task she sets her mind to accomplish because she is unable to accept failure. social mobility. sexual liberation. interested in the psychology of sub-cultures and how ppl form groups and interact w each other and cult identities which is why she minors in anthropology. pro-choice. pro-weed legalisation. pro-sex worker rights. very activist.

aesthetics tht remind me of her: von dutch. a strappy cami top that says ‘please do not do coke in the bathroom’. low-waisted jeans that show off her belly button piercing. acrylic nails tapping against a heavily embellished second-hand dell laptop. heart shaped sunglasses in every colour. translucent stripper heels with barbie doll heads and plastic spiders in the heel. spraying champagne you cant afford all over the walls. narcotics in a heart shaped locket. an amazon wishlist full of lingerie linked on your tinder profile. sex tapes recorded on VCR. a religious devotion to waxing clinics. necking shots like you were born to do it.

she’s an enfj type which makes her pretty charismatic and confidence, like she has a fierce kind of energy to her, but she’s also super unwilling to accept criticism, dogmatic and can only really see her own way of thinking, quite ruthless when it comes 2 other ppls emotions despite having a poor control of her own and being prone to turbulence / throwin a bitch fit in the craft lab. easily bored. competitive. self-assured to the point of arrogance. forceful. adaptable. usually more rational than emotional but occasionally loses the ability to make rational decisions when blinded by a need for perfectionism.

very goal-oriented. money motivates her. money and clothes. she wants to look bomb while earning big bucks. when she gets her mind set on a project it literally consumes her she will forget to eat and sleep? i don’t know her. like when a final design project is due for architecture she’ll be up all night doing adderall and speed to keep her awake working on the placement of a single tree for ages cos its gotta be perfect

loves chaos. will spill your secrets and pretend it was an accident. will always be that gif of kim kardashian sipping her tea while drama unfolds around her. lives for the drama like that gifset of bratz when she comes running and gets her phone out to record a fight.

im makin her sound like a really bad person but hopefully she’ll be somewhat likeable she can be very charismatic and endearing and she’s naturally quite funny. also now she’s finally in college and doesn’t have to worry so much about money she actually allows herself to party n bcos she denied herself of it for so long she kinda makes up for it by going p wild like will be the girl climbing on to stage to crowd surf at gigs or doing a summersault off the bar and being escorted out by bouncers, thats the energy were looking at, pure dionysian hedonistic impulse

really gd at talking her way out of shit like parking fines. so good at being an ‘im baby’ girl and often dumbs herself down to figures of authority to appear less like a threatening ball-breaker and more like a confused fiat 500 girl who didn’t know red meant stop she thought it meant slow down

listens almost exclusively to female artists. has fergalicious on repeat when she does squats infront of the mirror n just the biggest fergie stan. also lana del rey’s whole vibe is massive mimi energy

ok ya thats all i have for now..... hopefully this is somewhat coherent and not just garbage.

#radintro #plot w me bitches #im fun n love quarantine sadness

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toshkakoshka · 4 years

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20 questions tag game tagged by @42wallaby-way-sydney (tnk ma)

Name: Wade

Nickname: Weed, Waad, Wód, Wade-y, Baby (I have no idea if this counts but I did in fact list this as something I could be called in my other blog. It’s a Baby Driver ref I promise)

Height: 5′6” idk what that is in cm lmao

Language: English and Tagalog, some Russian and Danish and partly Spanish too, Afrikaans I know but am fluent the least in. Rus, Dan and Spanish are mostly minimal but I know a lot more of Russian enough so I count it as a third language.

Nationality: Filipino

Favorite Season: Wet season. Yes that’s what we call it we literally have T w o seasons 😔

Favorite Flower(s): Roses, chrysanthemums, cherry blossoms, orchids

Favorite Scent: Lavender

Favorite Color(s): Purple, pink, yellow, blue and jade green.

Favorite Animal: Foxes, wolves, dogs, cats, lynxes, sharks

Favorite Fictional Character: John Egbert and Jotaro Kujo/Tenmei Kakyoin

Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate: Tea and hot chocolate, but fuck if I had milk in that coffee I’d down it too.

Average Hours of Sleep: If my body were healthier, it’s normally around 8-13 hours, but at the moment I’m currently within 5-7 hours because I’m a shithead and I really sleep at the wrong times. My body’s been conditioned from school days to sleep Like That so the only solution is to either eat before going to bed or workout.

Dogs or Cats: Both. Even if I’ve always had dogs it’s mostly because my mom doesn’t like cats, I had a kitten that was probably abandoned for a short time but she was so sweet and I regret leaving her alone because we had to go out for awhile. I came back and she left and I am still salty that I didn’t get to see her again. I also have two other kittens in my grandma’s house, this one I named Loki but couldn’t name her siblings because my dog attacked one and the other died already. The other is actually the maid’s (Filipino culture context needed), but I named her Thor and she’s a super sweet kitten that ate with Loki’s mom and she basically welcomed her in. Loki loves getting attention but she’s scratched me because I overstimulated her on accident hNG

How many blankets: One. I prefer mostly one, although pillows I would like to be dumped on me.

Dream Trip: ah fuck. I have so much places, so far it’s Bangkok, Melbourne, Japan (again), Seoul, New York, Florida (mostly for research purposes), Moscow, Nepal, North India (somewhere by the border there but I’m not sure what the areas are), Bali, Qatar, Morocco, Johannesburg, Naples, Oslo, Copenhagen, Montenegro. I probably have a lot more but that’s all from the top of my head lmao.

Blog established: fuckin. 2013? Somewhere along those lines or 2014, possibly. I actually used my main account (since as every mutual knows that this is a sideblog, I talked about this story a while ago but if anybody wants to know they can ask lmao)

Followers: 541. wow I love all of you except the bots. to anybody who sees this how are you?

Random Fact: I write and come up with shit way too fast. Back in my old fandom I came up with like ~30 aus but most of them weren’t written as fics because I didn’t know how or couldn’t really, I wrote one but realized I didn’t do it for me so I quit that one. I developed a lot, though, they were all really fun to write about and some of them were unusual. I already have like 1 Long Fic, ~6 aus for Jojo + an oc part (the unlisted ones are simply concepts and jokes), which I have to credit my friend Joan who I forced her back into relapse since I started watching, because a good majority of them are also made with her and they’re fun as fuck especially when we do stupid shit. I also have a lot of OC universes, so far my whole life since I started writing in grade 6 started at around 10 but ended up continually developing 7, some of the oldest OCs I still have and love are Aiday, Hailey and Chris, all three which have probably my fave concepts in the world especially from Hailey and Chris’s universe.

And I tag: @alexredgrave @iamnotyoshi @hishoushishou @not-so-randomblog @coccinellinae @raccoonskoodilypoopdungeon @davidmasons @lesbibenshapiro @skyblurry and anyone who wants to do it! you don’t have to do it if you don’t wanna, hehe

#wordle #fun fact maintaining the main account’s notificayoons means i can find my mutual’s names faster #its such a stupid method but i promise i have a story ro ir

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neo-shitty · 4 years

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extra elongated tag game!

tagged by: @waithyuck hi, thank you for tagging me. i hope you’re safe :))

tagging: @94core, @legendnct, @juliennestudies (hi, it’s althea. you might want to do this?), @jaesmintea (can we be friends dkjsf idk how to make friends here) and whoever wants to play this game. it’s pretty lengthy tho.

O N E

tell me the first song that made you stan your current fave group and why did your faves attract you so much?

for seventeen, it was clap. the synchronization, even when they made a mistake, was really impressive to me. i started binge-watching their dance videos and i just remember being at awe at how a lot of people (considering they’re 13) could be in sync like that.

for nct, it was kick it. i used to say i didn’t like the song, but it won’t get out of my head. i’m not sure what keeps me attracted to them as a group. i just am. also, haechan is the love of my life. i’ve never loved an idol the way i loved him.

for ateez, it was wonderland. good lord, i just love that song. the mv, the vibe it gives off, the aesthetics during that era. makes me want to start a revolution.

T W O

rule: answer the ten questions given by the previous person and write 10 of your own for the next person!

1. what is your favorite memory from your childhood?

i didn’t have a dull childhood or something. i just don’t have specific memory that i could consider my favorite. but if there was anything i was fond of, as a kid, it was being innocent and not worrying too much about anything. i miss that and i wish i could go back.

2. if you could travel anywhere in the world with just a snap of your fingers, where would you go and why?

the museum where van gogh’s starry night is stored. i want to visit it in the middle of the night when there’s no one else there. i just want to stare at it and appreciate it.

3. describe your personality in three (3) words.

unbowed. unbent. unbroken. haha, kidding. impulsive, unpredictable, and...confusing i guess?

4. what is your favorite thing that you have ever read? (anything you’ve ever read counts! fanfiction, poems, novels etc.) why?

i don’t really have a favorite :(

5. are you the studying type of person or the type to just ‘wing it’ when you have a big test coming up?

i’m not really the type who studies regularly but i don’t walk into the exam room without reading at all. i read and study a few days before the exam, try to get as much information as possible.

6. between bold colors and pastel colors, which do you prefer?

i’d rather go with pastels in the day and bold neons at night.

7. do you live life in the moment or do you plan every action you take?

a bit of both depending on the situation. i’m the type who plans ahead on things that i really want to happen but i have my fair share of spontaneous, impulsive decisions that lead up to really fun experiences. but when it comes to life in general? i’m just taking in every day as it comes.

8. what is your favorite holiday and why? (all holidays count! across all religions and cultures 😄)

christmas. the weather is cool and everyone’s a bit kind during that time of the year. and it leads up to new year.

9. would you rather stay up to stargaze in the middle of the night or wake up early to watch the sunrise?

i can’t see stars even with glasses on because my eyes suck. so i guess, i’d rather watch the sunrise because that obnoxious ball of bright yellow light is so hard to miss. plus i like how the surroundings change colors as the night changes into day.

10. what is your favorite eye color on another person?

blue on a brunette? i know it’s rare but it’s such a beautiful mix.

my ten questions for you:

what’s your favorite season and why?

are you a cat person or a dog person?

what’s your current favorite song and why can’t you stop listening to it?

if you had the ability to do either of the following, would you rather change something in the past or see into the future?

what’s your favorite movie?

what did miss rona ruin for you this 2020?

what’s your favorite album? (you can name one for each genre you like or you can just name one, it’s up to you.)

if you could talk to your past self (person who lived your past life), what would you tell them?

do you have a go-to person? who is it?

if you could tell your younger self something, what would you say?

T H R E E

rule: bold the statements that apply to you, italicize your aspirations.

AIR ༉⋆͙̈

i have small hands / i love the night sky / i watch animals and birds when i pass them by / i drink herbal tea / i wake to see the dawn / the smell of dust is comforting / i’m valued for being wise / i prefer books to music / i meditate / i find joy in learning new truths from the world around me

FIRE ༉⋆

i don’t have straight hair / i like to wear ripped jeans and overalls / i play an organized sport / i love dogs / i am not afraid of adventure / i love to talk to strangers / i always try new foods / i enjoy road trips / summer is my favorite season / my radio is always playing

WATER ༉⋆͙̈

i wear bracelets on my wrists / i love the bustle of the city / i have more than one set of piercings / i read poetry / i love the sound of a thunderstorm / i want to travel the world / i sleep past midday most days / i love simply lit dinners and fluorescent signs / i rewatch kids shows out of nostalgia / i see emotions in colors not words

EARTH ༉⋆͙̈

i wear glasses or contacts / i enjoy doing the laundry / i am a vegetarian or vegan / i have an excellent sense of time / my humor is very cheerful / i am a valued advisor to my friends / i believe in true love / i love this chill of mountain air / i’m always listening to music / i am highly trusted by the people in my life

AETHER ༉⋆͙̈

i go without makeup in my daily life / i make my own artwork / i keep on track of my tasks and time / i always know true north / i see beauty in everything / i can always smell flowers / i smile at everyone i pass by / i always fear history repeating itself / i have recovered from a mental disorder / i can love unconditionally

F O U R

the ultimate tag: answer whichever ones you want to because there are a lot.

PERSONAL

name: althea

nickname: thea

birthday: april 27

zodiac: taurus

nationality: filipino

languages: filipino, english, learning korean

gender: female

sexuality: straight

height: 5’2”

BLOG STUFF

inspiration for muse: music

meaning behind my url: supposedly neocity but that was taken so :D

blog established: 2016/2015? but i only became active this 2020

followers: 35 :D hi <3

FAVORITES

favorite animal/s: cats :(

favorite book/s: warcross by marie lu

favorite color/s: black and skin-tone shades

favorite fictional characters: i don’t really have favorites, sorry

favorite flower: sunflowers

favorite scent: vanilla

favorite season: summer and fall or the tropical equivalents of these anw

RANDOM

average hours of sleep: 7-8

cats or dogs: cats

coffee, tea or hot chocolate: iced tea / hot chocolate

current time: 12:50 pm

dream trip: europe trip

dream job: i actually want to be a 5-star michelin

hobbies: writing, listening to music

hogwarts house: slythering

last movie watched: the darkest minds

last song listened to: sweet creature - harry styles

no. of blankets you sleep with: 1

random fact(s): i’m in both college and high school atm (august 5, 2020) because i haven’t graduated yet and my college a.y already started

F I V E

10 songs i can’t stop listening to:

just go - ikon

easy - stray kids

breathe - james arthur

lotto - exo

god’s menu - stray kids

inception - ateez

killing me - ikon

la la lost you - niki

dontmakemefallinlove - cuco

safe inside - james arthur

#toffee.txt #tumblr game #this was fun #but tiring #thank you for tagging me tho :D

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waithyuck · 4 years

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extra elongated tag game

tagged by @gohyuck my love

tagging: @kwantified @honeyyu @jensungf @renjunwrites @neo-shitty @suingjaehyun

O N E

tell me the first song that made you stan your current fave group and why did your faves attract you so much?

okay so my ult group is nct and I can’t remember what song exactly but i remember not being a stan and LOVING back 2 u so much that I had to look into nct

for bts is was serendipity and blood sweat & tears

ateez was pirate king bc we stanned since debut 😔✊

T W O

rule: answer the ten questions and write your own!

favorite item of clothing?

I own a lot of hoodies but my fav is my dark gray we go up hoodie and it’s big n comfy....yeah

if you had to smell like one scent for the rest of your life what would it be?

I think I would want to smell like vanilla or lavender

favorite painter? why?

frida kahlo bc she embraced everything about herself and did wonderful self portraits

what’s your favorite horror movie (and if you don’t like horror, why not?)?

I don’t like jumpscares so most horror is not to my taste....however give a psychological horror and I’ll go off ab how much I love it (like idk if it’s considered horror but ‘a cure for wellness’ anyone???)

iphone or android?

iPhone dude

favorite tiktok trend (and if you don’t like tiktok, you can talk about how much influencers suck)?

i only go on tiktok for the kpop content I don’t know trends,,,,also can be talk about how most influencers on that app manipulate literal children into giving them money?? for doing absolutely nothing??

if you could wake up with any new ability what would it be?

the ability to read others emotions and make them happy no matter what (call me a corny ass bitch but it’s true)

favorite superhero/supervillain/antihero?

people consider her a ‘villain’ so I’m saying maleficent (from the movie maleficent) bc ??? she fell in love with a man and he fuckin just,,,,did her so dirty and left her broken-hearted and cut off her wings like ??? hell I’d be mad too I’d curse the little ass baby he had with another woman just as fast as she did. also how about that character development??? she cursed aurora but always looked out for her and eventually came to love her?? and that’s the kiss that broke the spell and woke aurora up?? call that motherly love we stan

if you could only dress in one color for the rest of your life which color would it be?

realistically black is prob the way I would go but gray is also a valid option

who’s your ult and give me five reasons why.

oof y’all already know it’s my boy lee donghyuck

1. his vocals??? the vocals alone are enough reason to stan

2. his dancing??? he is so incredibly talented and I love watching him move

3. his hardwork and dedication to his career, like he loves what he does so much and I love seeing him shine (but also like, pls let him sit the fuck down for a sec)

4. his aura and personality !!!!! is just so loveable !!! he brightens the room with his mood-making personality and I’m just in love with him god

5. okay okay now I’ll touch on the fact that he’s so fucking handsome??? a visual king ???? look at that face, look at those legs, JUST LOOK AT HIS BODY PROPORTIONS. PERFECT.

my questions:

what is your favorite memory from your childhood?

If you could travel anywhere in the world with just a snap of your fingers, where would you go and why?

describe your personality in three (3) words.

what is your favorite thing that you have ever read? (anything you’ve ever read counts! fanfiction, poems, novels etc.) why?

are you the studying type of person or the type to just ‘wing it’ when you have a big test coming up?

between bold colors and pastel colors, which do you prefer?

do you live life in the moment or do you plan every action you take?

what is your favorite holiday and why? (all holidays count! across all religions and cultures ��)

would you rather stay up to stargaze in the middle of the night or wake up early to watch the sunrise?

what is your favorite eye color on another person?

T H R E E

rule: bold the statements that apply to you, italicize your aspirations, then tag nine people.

AIR ༉⋆͙̈

FIRE ༉⋆

WATER ༉⋆͙̈

EARTH ༉⋆͙̈

AETHER ༉⋆͙̈

F O U R

the ultimate tag: answer whichever ones you want to because there are a lot and then tag a few blogs you’d like to get to know better!

PERSONAL

name: samantha

nickname: sam

birthday: march 9

zodiac: pisces sun

nationality: american

languages: english, currently learning korean

gender: female

sexuality: pansexual :)

height: 5’2” (157 cm)

BLOG STUFF

inspiration for muse: music, tv, movies

meaning behind my url: hyuck is doin too much he’s gotta just give me a break and wAIT A SEC = waithyuck

blog established: 2020 but I’ve been on tumblr since 2015

followers: 791

FAVORITES

favorite animals: pigs, cats, dogs, snakes

favorite books: lord of the flies, the great gatsby, hamlet even tho it wasn’t technically a book

favorite color: yellow, orange, pink

favorite fictional characters: gilbert blythe, prince zuko from atla idk who else

favorite flower: sunflowers, carnations, roses

favorite scent: vanilla, citrus, lavender

favorite season: spring or fall

RANDOM

average hours of sleep: like 4-5

cats or dogs: both

coffee, tea or hot chocolate: hot chocolate

current time: 2:23 p.m.

dream trip: seoul, rome, greece in general, london, dublin

dream job: teaching english as a second language, linguist, translator

hobbies: writing, drawing, singing

hogwarts house: hufflepuff

last movie watched: burlesque lmao

last song listened to: kick it - nct 127

no. of blankets you sleep with: 1

random fact(s): my fingers are double jointed lmaO idk

F I V E

10 things i can’t stop listening to

slow down - chase atlantic

watermelon sugar - harry styles

to die for - sam smith

we go up - nct dream

blue side - j-hope

god’s menu - stray kids

inception - ateez

love me right - rendezvous at two

renegade - aaryan shah

HER - chase atlantic

#tagged #tag game #raya🧡#mutuals #gohyuck #thanks for the tag !

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alatismeni-theitsa · 5 years

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Weird question - when a story comes from a certain culture, should all characters be portrayed by actors from that culture, even if the character isn't? Like I know the Little Mermaid is a Danish story. So the prince and the human characters should be Danish. But the mermaid isn't a Danish girl, she lives underwater and not in any human country. So does it matter for her to be Danish (since obviously we can't get a real mermaid from mermaid-culture...)?

I am certainly in no position to say what should be done.. But I can tell you what would feel more right for me. I will approach this as I would approach the possible Hercules live action. Also, this answer is not hostile, I will just present some stuff in a relaxed fashion and I will rumble a lot because that’s what I usually do :P

For starters, I would like the characters to be an accurate representation of demographics in this culture/country in that time. If you can get actors from the specific culture it would be even better because actors will talk about how it is to be Greek or Danish and how this mythos/tale matters to their country. The Little Mermaid in Dannmark is like Aphrodite is for Cyprus. The character is like a daughter of the people or a mascot, it’s everywhere. So it would be good for Americans and the rest of the world to dive into that culture.

As a Danish girl wrote: “TLM was created by Hans Christian Andersen in 1836, since 1836 The Little Mermaid is a figure and character that the Danes hold dear to their heart, she is like a daughter to us. If you ever take a trip to Denmark, you will see TLM regurgitated e v e r y w h e r e over there. You will find TLM merchandise on key chains, T-shirts, tea towels, picture frames, socks etc and you will see Little Mermaid being played as a live production theatre in Odense (H.C.Andersens birth place) by local school children every year and not to mention, Odense has a few H.C.Andersen museums and merchandise shops that is just filled with Hans Christian Andersen stuff, that includes little mermaid stuff being sold, it-is-everywhere. So, in saying that, to us Danes, The Little Mermaid is an identity to us, and because it is something we identify with, it has become a part of our culture since 1836. We are very proud of our roots, including being the birth place of 'The Little Mermaid' story (and Lego).”

So it makes sense that the Little Mermaid would look like the average Dane. If I am not mistaken, H.C. Andersen based TLM on the Undine which is a local myth. But for her phenotype, typical mermaids from sub-saharan African folklore would look Black right? Typical mermaids of Nordic nations would look Nordic for the same reason.

Literally speaking, her father is Triton, the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, so the mermaid would at least be part Greek. And, as you know, the overwhelming majority of Greeks are white and Poseidon and Athena were pictured everywhere as Caucasian white. Now, gods don’t have an ID or social security number but they always belong to a people. Imagine Armenian, Chinese and other folklore. Don’t those old deities belong to those lands? Don’t they look like the average people, their main worshipers?

But it’s not so much the facts behind it as the origin of the tale and its location. Imagine the folklore of Uganda, Africa. How do you picture the heroes of those tales? White? I don’t think so. There are surely white people there but the average person there is Black and that is the people who most likely created the local tales. I know my share of Greek folktales and I don’t know anyone who ever imagined those characters not looking like Greeks :P

In today’s times, are there Black Danes living in Denmark? https://www.quora.com/Are-there-black-people-in-Denmark

Now, statistically speaking, “In total, there are 5,781,190 people living in Denmark, according to the latest figures from Statistics Denmark (DST) from the first quarter of 2018. [...] 343,805 are immigrants from non-Western countries”. With the most common non-Western nationality in the current population figures being Syrian (35,441) and Turkish (32,924). https://www.thelocal.dk/20180411/heres-where-denmarks-foreign-residents-live-and-where-they-come-from

The Danish girl continues: “I was very pleased with the 1989 Disney TLM version, because they used original concept illustrations from a Danish illustrator named Kay Nielsen for the early stages of production, and if you watch the added features on Disney TLM DVD (or the upload on YouTube) where they talk about how they made TLM and the development of the story and characters, you hear the directors and illustrators reference their material from Hans Christian Andersen over and over again.”

So when Disney created the movie it payed homage to the culture in a way.

"The Little Mermaid - The story behind the story" where Disney interviewed a Danish person to talk about Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid and how Andersen helped create Disney’s 1989 TLM version. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiR3GvXuXd0&t=156s

More references made by the writers and directors of Disney's TLM 1989 towards Denmark and Hans Christian Andersen's connection and inspiration to Disney's 1989 TLM. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdMMg6OSn1Q&t=594

From here: https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Denmark we get this: The production staff mentioned that they used Southern Mediterranean European nations for the inspiration of The Little Mermaid, and flamingos are seen in the lagoon in the film, which are plentiful in Southern European countries. However, Eric also mentioned a kingdom of Flowerhaven when talking to Grimsby about a failed political marriage that was implied to have occurred recently, with the name being indicative of Northern European countries such as Scandinavia, and the TV series and Return to the Sea both featured near-polar areas with Atlantica being implied to be located near Greenland. In addition, Hans Christian Andersen, aside from writing The Little Mermaid in real life, had also been seen at Eric's Kingdom's docks telling the children about his encounter with Ariel in the ending of Metal Fish, thus strongly implying that its location was actually in Denmark, not the Mediterranean.

And yes, there are palm bitches in Denmark. Denmark does have lovely clear water, white sand and palm tree beaches, much like the Caribbean. Video from the Palm Beach in Frederikshavn, Denmark. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXb0AKF602k

To be clear, I would also say the exact same things about the TV adaptation of an African tale. Say you want to depict a Nigerian tale. Well, at least have your protagonists look like Nigerians. But at the same time, Black Americans or Africans from Angola don’t have the same culture as the Nigerians. At least have Nigerians involved or Nigerian places and culture so we can feel the tale as it was told. And, I promise you, no one would complain for having a cast full of Black actors. Because it makes sense.

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To sum up, it would just be... a nice chance for Americans and the rest of the world to be introduced to that culture. Danes are a small cultural (not oppressed) minority in the US and people don’t really know a lot about them. Tbh not even the rest of Europe knows too much about them. It’s a tale that clearly matters to a lot to the people of the culture and by introducing Denmark to people you help them learn about it’s modern society and folklore.

#tlm #the little mermaid #disney #live action #answered #anonymous

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deathbyvalentine · 4 years

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Prompts

Corpus Christie, 1980

The club was crowded and slick with movement. Clouds of smoke hovered above the punters, the floor sticky with spilled drinks. The music was the perfect volume - so loud you could feel it through your feet. Coloured lights bathed every one, making even the most sinful drunks look half divine. Boys kissed boys, not in the dark. Girls held hands and slow danced. People who looked like neither, or both, or something else entirely laughed. Pills were passed tongue to tongue and numbers hand to hand. It was the end of the world and people were dancing. A plague had hit them, the young, the beautiful but they would not stop living.

Up on the second level, the private booths were occupied by the royal courts. In one, the Haus of Evagelista, queens of the ballroom. Next, the celebrities, hiding in plain sight. In another, a gorgeous leather daddy and his pets, reclining in the heat. And of course, the Veiled Court. In their usual spot, smoking their usual cigarettes, whispering between each other as though they were less of an individual and more of a hydra.

There were the usual silly rumours they were vampires. Old queens claimed to have seen them at parks in the sixties, or in photos of regiments even earlier. Some of the younger men claimed that they had been ill and one night with them had cured them. Some younger men said nothing at all, due to being entirely missing since one night with them. Their fates rested on something only the Court could see, evidently.

One thing was for sure - they were never in the jail cells or courtrooms that were second homes for so many of the customers here. And they were never caught looking rough, except for the big one, who seemed to look rough as a matter of course. They were untouchable. By the law, by the world, by time.

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Stupid shit from my teens (CW, self-harm, suicidal urges.)

She held the shard of glass so tightly in her hand she could see a thin line of blood appear between her fingers. The other girl didn’t dare move, not even when her knees began to complain of the stones beneath them. Even her breath seemed jarring and sudden and she had to remind herself not to hold it. If Dee slit her wrists here, how long would it take her to get help? If she screamed, would the bar that owned this courtyard hear her? And were the great grey doors that were supposed to keep passers by out shut once more?

Her eyes kept being drawn back to the shattered glass on the floor. One of those fluorescent tubes, smashed. Dee was sat on a pile of wooden pallets. Outside of the courtyard, it was early evening. The golden sun would be drenching everything. It would be warm and bright. Here, they were entirely in shadows, enclosed by stern grey buildings. The shadows were cold but Lottie wasn’t sure if the goosebumps were entirely the product of the chill.

Slowly, she raised her hand to pry the glass from Dee’s hand. For a moment, she resisted. Then she relents, letting her best friend take the sharp object. This was how they worked after all. Lottie had pulled Dee out of roads, shoved fingers down her throat, talked her off more ledges than she could count. Dee was wild and Lottie saved her.

Lottie wondered what would happen if she swallowed the bottle of pills she had in her bag. Would Dee save her? Probably not. Some people weren’t meant to be saints. Some people weren’t meant to be saved. They had to save themselves or not at all. Lottie dragged Dee to her feet, slinging an arm around her neck and pulling her back in the direction of the street. Just another day.

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Becoming the egregore

A thousand thousand points of light in darkness, each a complete human life. Mattias could feel them spread far and wide. It was like having a compass in his head, only it didn’t point north. It pointed the the territories of the Coast, to the citizens of each one. He could close his eyes and walk to Feroz without once opening them.

This did not happen slowly. It happened all at once. He woke up and there was something curled around his own spirit, like a second spine. Beliefs he always had were strengthened, his distaste towards other cultural customs strengthened. A quick insight from one of his more magically inclined sisters told him what he knew to be true. He was his nation, his nation was him.

He sat in his parador, legs crossed, cupping his cool tea in a fine china mug. From this position in Kahraman, you could see for miles around, the mountain lending to an incredible view. The bulk of his senses pulled him to the valleys and regions below. But not all. He could feel a family of his in Asvea, one single lonely dot at the border of the Iron Confederacy. And all the time, lights flickering out and new ones flickering into existence.

It was as natural as his sense of taste, or smell. It took no adjusting at all. As natural as breathing. But also a little painful. Just a little. Grief was going to have to become second nature to him. Luckily, he was Freeborn. He would balance it with joy, as he always did.

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The smell of rain

Peter sat on his branch, chin cupped in his palm, scowling out at the weather. The more he scowled, the more it rained, and so they were trapped in this miserable circle together. He had been in a foul mood ever since Tickles had broken his favourite slingshot. Tickles was carving a new one, but it was slow work and Peter wasn’t particularly patient. The other boys played listlessly, one eye watchfully on their leader. Some of their best romps were had during days when the outdoors turned against them. Peter would set an imaginary scene and they would live in there for days. But, on the other hand, some of their bloodiest arguments had also occurred. There were still scorchmarks on the ceiling from the last time and certainly nobody wanted a repeat of that.

Outside the Never Tree, the rain dripped off leaves. It formed new rivers and streamed down the mountains. Between stones, pools formed, birds and animals alike tipping their heads down to drink. It was not yet dark but still, no light seemed to touch anything, save the dark autumnal grey. It felt oddly peaceful. The pirates were below decks at sea. The boys were playing indoors. The tribes were inside their tents and caves, telling stories around warming fires. Neverland was beautiful like this too, no matter how much Peter wanted to deny it. Tonight he would go to sleep and sleep would clear his mind, the laundry of the previous day thrown out into the well of forgetfulness. The sun would rise and dry out the island, making it fit for adventures again. But for now, it rested.

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One of the séances, maybe? The Colin one?

The bang registered before the splatter did. It was deafeningly loud, echoing throughout the enclosed room. She jolted as if she had been the one struck and as she did so, the blood hit her skin. Phillp was on the ground, a bullet through his skull and quite dead. For a moment, everything was still. Marjie thought, as though from a great distance away, that it was odd that this had shocked her. She had seen dead men before after all. She had seen men with missing limbs, with their insides on their outsides, with barely any men left at all.

But then, she had never seen the blow that caused the maiming. She had never been privy to the great act of violence that took a man’s life. Her training took over, making her lurch to her feet, shrugging off her cardigan to help stem the bleeding. Not that it mattered. Of course it didn’t matter. She knew a hopeless case when she saw one, but she refused to think of Phillip in such terms. He was the most alive of any of them, a vital, bright man. He could not be so pale and unmoving forever.

Not-Colin had fled the room, pursued by someone. That seemed unimportant somehow. So Colin was a demon or a void creature. She had known that for several hours now she just had the damn proof. The cleverer ones could think about the repercussions and meaning of that. For now all she could think of was the chore of getting Phillip’s body to the Waiting Room. Praying that he passed on to where he should be. A good, Christian belief to have. And yet hoping, selfishly, he would come back to her.

Was this love? The absolute shock of loss, of not knowing how she could go forward without him by her side. She could not imagine her life without him there. Like missing a step on a flight in the dark, like thinking there was a light switch where there wasn’t. She went to clutch his elbow and clutched only air.

Her and Andrew sat on the stairs and held vigil, the unspoken between them, as potent as electricity. The grief could have drowned a world. They would sit vigil, together, Diana joining them. Until they heard, one way or another.

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Lance preparing for the mission

Why did it have to be spores? He grimaced as he continued scrubbing out his rebreather. They got everywhere. He’d have to replace the entire mechanism afterwards. Or just cut out the middleman and toss the entire thing away and get a new one. The only thing worse than spores for the filter was rock-dust. Finally satisfied, he lay it on his desk to dry out. He internally ticked off the chore and surveyed his room.

Boots polished? Check. Rites performed? Check. Flight suit in the wash cycle? Check.

He hated trying to figure out what he had forgotten. There would inevitably be a moment, probably when some fungi lion was chasing him through a mushroom jungle when he’d realise this would have all went a lot smoother if he’d just thought to pack, I don’t know, his magical cat calming spray. Every damn time.

He tossed a notebook in his daysack, followed by a pack of cards and a comb for good measure. Always over prepare. Especially when you’re working with more than your own team. You never know what someone might throw at you. Sometimes literally. He put more bandages than was strictly needed inside his toolbox. He wasn’t risking it after last time.

The mining mission had been rather disastrous if you were just looking at how many injuries he had came out with. It had taken quite a while for the new flesh to heal and integrate after they’d had to cut quite so much necrotic flesh away. His stomach looked rather like a patchwork doll’s. He was in no hurry to repeat that experience. The Gardener could do one.

He wrinkled his nose. Infections could be caused by spores. Maybe he’ll pack a spare rebreather just in case.

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TWR: friendship/ This World In Which I Find Myself

Ash frowned, looking at her shoddy work. She would have been a shitty wife in the eighteenth century. The stitches were shaky, uneven. But the important thing was the patch was on the jacket. A little wonky, a little ad-hoc, but there all the same. She pulled on the jacket, tossing her grey hair out the way so she could see the effect. A small smile appeared, picturing the three of them side by side, all of them with the same patch.

Alice and Bella were a different type of friend. They didn’t want her to be better or braver. They saw her as she was. Exactly as she was. Terrible impulses, demon connections and all. Team Dickhead were all so noble, so good. She wasn’t either of those things. Did she even want to be those things? The world she was in was not those things.

She wasn’t sure if she ever believed the world was a gentle place. Her memories were fuzzy in the before of her life. Everything sharpened in the wake of after. There were some truths she had internalised, certainly.

For as long as she remembered, monsters were not killed by knights in shining armour, brave heroes or charming gun slingers. They were killed by people one bad day away from becoming one of the things they killed. Broken people, in one way or another.

Good people died was another such truth. They didn’t die for any reason or any plan. They died because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time or someone didn’t like them or because they were a fraction slower than their friends. She would lose more than she saved, and even on a good day, those she saved would not be the same people they once wear.

Bad things existed. More than you could take care of, more than you could kill, more than you could know about. You turned over one rock to see filthy things squirm underneath and there were still a hundred others waiting to find the light of the sun. It was relentless. Nevernending. Thankless.

The most profound truth was perhaps this; you did it anyway. Despite all the death and blood and injuries and screaming hopelessness, if you could help, you did. You couldn’t just walk away once the calling happened. It was the glimmer of light in it all. People helped. Clumsily, but they did.

Which is more than could be said for this God she kept hearing about.

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T67 writing

She flomped back on the bed, checking the small watch on her wrist. Six hours this time around. Not bad. The chemicals fizzed in her blood, making the soft haze come over her. Was it just her or did it actually feel better after being sober for a bit? It felt like switching off, like returning to something soft and comforting. Every muscle untensed and she raised an arm to wave a hand in front of her face, giggling at the trails it left in the air.

It was like there was two of her. One that was clever and could rule this place. One that she actually liked, one that was soft and beautiful and easy to love. She didn’t know if she could have both, but she certainly wanted to try. Sober when making business decisions, when training, when deciding how to move within the tenements. High when she was with Syn, when she was with clients, when she was off duty. She was saving money this way too, all towards getting the gear needed to dreamweave. She had no idea if she would be good at it or not, but for once she was silencing the little voice in her head telling her she was too stupid to even try. If she failed, she could do other things. Cerise did after all. And Cerise was basically to be emulated in all things.

She was glamorous and beautiful and people listened to her. She had a girlfriend who hung on her every word and a business that was just hers. She smelled divine and wore silk and laughed like music. Astrid wanted to be her. A little hero worship did nobody any harm. It was nice to have something to believe in after so many years of believing in oblivion.

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One of your characters baking something.

The flour danced in the air, almost looking pretty in the golden evening sun. This type of light made everything look beautiful, including perhaps, her. Either way, she was resisting turning on the kitchen light until night had well and truly fallen to make the most of it all. Amelia believed fully in enjoying little pleasures wherever you could. Whether it was autumn’s beauty or a new pair of socks or even the jam tarts she was baking for no real reason at all.

She loved how they looked. Golden pastry framing strawberry jam she had sieved so much it almost resembled stained glass. She resisted the urge to touch only because she knew that they were still hot enough she would burn her fingertips. Prior experience had taught her the hard lesson of patience. She folded up her oven gloves and gazed at the steam curling from them.

This was her life. It was small but it was not unimportant. She baked because she could, getting dough under her fingernails and making her entire house smell like magic. This was the reward for being alive and it was a good one. She didn’t regret it. She bit into a tart, the jam burning her tongue just a little. Sometimes, she liked ignoring the lessons she had learned.

#prose #prompts #fic

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myfandomrambles · 5 years

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Iroh & Zuko: A study in change and healing.

Uncle Iron and Zuko’s relationship is one I find truly interesting. It shows an interesting look into how people can change, how people can help others, the nature of wisdom and addresses healthy relationships that can survive toxicity.

So first change, this is obviously Zuko’s main character arch change and redemption, that’s been talked about ad nauseam, but Iroh also changed beforehand. We can infer he had a period of time that changed him the same way Zuko did over the course of the show.

Iroh isn’t a magically better person, but one of the main reasons he can be a good force in Zuko’s life is his past change. Iroh always had a tendency towards knowledge and mastered the more spiritual part of Firebending. He also seemed to be more comfortable playing Pai Sho and tea than being a leader. I think his quest for knowledge and lack of political ambition allowed for the death of his son to be a moment that pushed him to end his military campaign and not challenges Ozai’s power grab. We also know somewhere around this time he joined the Order of The White Lotus connecting him to a force trying to bring back balance. Had he not dealt with the reckoning of the destruction of his own family and past, as well as work through tragedy he would not have been able to as effectively help Zuko. He understood the pain and trauma but he had learned acceptance. He was of course not perfect but having known the hate and found the peace he wasn’t leading Zuko blind. This means that not only can Ioh mentor him from a place of age, be fatherly after having lost his own child, but more than most people also have an inherent connection to the struggle being had.

Iroh’s important role within the show is as a sage and mentor to primarily Zuko but others as well. Iroh is calm, accepting, generally level headed and steadfast in his beliefs allowing him to be a guidepost and foil to Zuko’s own erraticism. He loves Zuko deeply and wants nothing more than for him to be able to heal and choose his own path but does challenge him as time goes on knowing if Zuko just lives in pain he can never move forward.

He gives education about the cultures, people and bending of the people they see. He tries to give Zuko the power to work through his own issues. This act is crucial even though Iroh knows Zuko can be a danger to himself and others he doesn’t try and totally strip his autonomy or leave him unable to defend himself. I think this is evident with Zhao in the first book and then the Zuko alone arc in book two. Allowing Zuko to fight for himself when possible, and fail when he has to allows learning and gives real power. This is reinforced when multiple times he tells Zuko that in the end he has to choose what he wants, chose his own destiny and honour. If he wanted Zuko to make good choices reinforcing the life of little choice they came from would have done more damage.

Iroh doesn’t leave him without backup ever either. He’s always there for Zuko either physically having his back in battle, talking to him or even trying to help their crew understand where Zuko is coming from. No one has really had his back since his mother left, and it’s debatable how much she was even capable of doing. Trying to help him understand he isn’t alone is so powerful. Someone just being there for you is one of the most healing things a person can have. And I think more than any of the actual lessons just giving unconditional love was one of the strongest legacies you can leave.

Iroh also modelled what he wanted Zuko to learn. Rather it is Firebending being able to take it with your head held up, letting down walls, enjoying the small things, or brewing the best tea. Iroh lived his ideas making it do as I say and as I do in almost all circumstances. This irked Zuko of course as it was periodically embarrassing for him but I think it was why everyone who met him respected him or at least liked him. Even when Iroh was a man of layers and did have a few secrets he wasn’t duplicitous. Being a model of what you want increases trust and can help it easier to actually learn new ways of being.

Iroh is an example of Wisdom and not just knowledge. I think this difference does matter. Iroh was, of course, a master Firebender knew much of history and culture and was at least a decent military man from the way others spoke of him, but his understanding of the intangible is what makes him powerful. He always knew to watch and learn, he invented multiple bending techniques because he let down the arrogance and took in other ideas. Being a member of the White Lotus he knew and respected the connection of all four elements. He was often a third party within the first book, during the siege of the north we see him chose not to fight really for or against the Fire Nation. He acts to protect the spirits, to keep the balance. He is not averse to using violence (even against his brother or niece) but has a respect for the life of all peoples. This kind of understanding and wisdom is more powerful than any spewing of facts. Because this plays into the level of acceptance he has, makes him a formidable foe and gives him an ability to convey complex ideas.

Trying to find your centre and accepting who you are is an act of connection to the world and yourself. He can help many people Toph, Aang and a street beggar can all listen and understand where he comes from. He can help Zuko through his metamorphosis moment because he understands the connection of identity, health and spirituality. When you can bring a whole connection to someone it will always be stronger then listing facts or platitudes.

Zuko and Iroh have a relationship that is a blur of found family and blood ties. He is Zuko's biological uncle but they don’t seem to have been exceedingly close when Zuko was very young but after Iroh returned from war become closer. In the world of ancestors, destiny and bloodlines their relationship matters, but their connection was born from love, time, care, compassion, struggling, loss, fighting, and forgiveness. Neither the story or Iroh force Zuko to forgive Ozai or Azula. Iroh recognizes that his brother was abusive and horrible to his children, and recognizes that Aula can’t be left in power. Zuko chooses how he confronts both of these people, disavowing his father, and facing his sister with Katara. Their relationship comes out of this history of abuse and toxicity but is forged forward because of how much they have grown to care for each other in their own right and how much they grow. Iroh is Zuko’s real father in any important way and Zuko is as much his son as Lu Ten ever was.

Real World Techniques:

Through writing a mentor to someone who is clearly dealing with mental illness (C-PTSD, BPD) real-world psychological and coping strategies end up being employed in a strong connection.

-Radical acceptance. I skill taught in the framework of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT). Iroh has learned to accept his past, and the loss he has shown. Iroh works hard to drag Zuko out of obsessive behaviour by trying to get him to accept that past happens, you can not fix that. Iroh himself embodies this behaviour. He doesn’t force non-action though, the acceptance makes you better able to manage future stress and build better lives.

-Meditation A common skill suggested across mental health and general health practice. He tries to instruct Zuko in this ability as one that is key to being able to properly Firebend and to reach in and use innate human power. This concept also connects people to the spirit world built into the mythology of the world.

-taking responsibility w/out victim blaming. Iroh knows Zuko’s backstory built him into this damaged person, but Iroh doesn’t allow him to hurt others through this. Iroh works to teach him to respect his crew, let down boundaries of pride and learn a new way of working in life. But there is never a time Iroh blames Zuko for the abuse he faced. Ozai’s treatment was never Zuko’s fault. They create an ability to simultaneously own your shit but not stew in self-hate

-We also see the structure we often see in productive de-radicalization programs. Zuko is exposed to the people he was taught to hate, facing the humanity and real-world effects of hate usually begin to break through narratives. Iroh lets him into his own point of view that connects all life, he learns the practice of living within balance instead of the belief system jammed into his brain, doesn’t let Zuko uses his past as reason for his behaviour, and acts and expects Zuko to let the humanity of The Earth Kingdom colour his view. The dissidence from his childhood beliefs and the new ones he can’t integrate into his life. This is crucial to his being able to learn the history of the fire nation, even describing the earth kingdom people favourably before his complete transformation.

Learning to use empathy across whole peoples is powerful to deprogram people, he is expected to verbally and through actions show contrition. Zuko is eventually able to connect to this over his indoctrination. The ability to come with humility and not expect the other side to forgive you. Often framed as seeking forgiveness from the people he does not deserve it from. This behaviour can work in reality and seeing played on screen is part of why this arc resonates across the media.

-Iroh helps Zuko find and construct meaning. The loss of a belief system Zuko experiences through his trauma leaves him in horrible confusion. Iroh helps him connect to his past giving a new lens to view the world from. He can’t do so from the position he held before having that structure built for him.

-I mentioned previously Iroh providing Zuko with a degree of control. Long term child abuse often creates either extreme self-reliance or sometimes learned helplessness. Offering both the ability to protect and control his life combined with having his back can combat both of these. Along with the deeply obsessive thought patterns around the avatar.

I truly belive their relationship is hugley important. Two characters who fit simple archetypes at the start are allowed to bloom into deeply strong and complex real feeling characters. Iroh is shown to be powerful, respected, incredibly kind and wise. We can all learn from him, and be shown a powerful love. Zuko’s own arch ahs been seen as groundbreaking for years but without Zuko we wouldn’t have had a person to guide and reflect this. Adding layers to the world and understanding ourslves.

[Requested by nbj on AO3]

#fandom:#atla #avatar the last airbender #topic:#relationships #trauma and media #abuse and media #character:#zuko #uncle iroh #azula #fire lord ozai #ship:#iron & zuko #type:#txt #my post

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ohnohetaliasues · 6 years

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Haven OC

(Kat)

I reviewed this OC a very long time ago when this blog was newer. I decided, since it's been a while, and my gif folder has filled in a bit, it would be fun to review again.

Link to original review: http://ohnohetaliasues.tumblr.com/post/125717671213/this-oc-is-an-ecanon-interfering-mary-sue-you

Let's go.

Does she remind anyone else of Belarus (and England), or is it just me?

HAVEN

Haven (Human name: Sophie Nyan [ソフィーニャン]), Who declared herself a country even though she possesses no land

Like Ladonia who only exists online? Or Niko Niko? I guess she can be a micronation, but it just says she's a country.

Haven (避難所)

Character Info Name : Haven

Japanese Name: 避難所 (Hinansho)

Human Name: Sophie Nya

Uh.

'Nya' means 'meow' in Japanese. That's not a good choice for her last name.

I'll bet anyone that Sophie is probably the creator's name.

Age: 21

How does this correspond with her history?

America is only 19 because he's a fairly young nation.

Appearance

She is usually seen in her trademark maid outfit, this consists of a Royal blue Dress, Light blue Blouse (Sometimes she wears an Apron oTie. She also likes to wear Black Gothic dresses when not being formal.

This just reminds me of Belarus.

Also why black gothic dresses?

Her natural appearance consists of Lightly tanned skin, Long Blonde hair that reaches down around her waist, Green eyes and slightly thick eyebrows.

She has an ahoge much like America’s also.

Please tell me what that represents. Curls or ahoges usually represent something. America's represents Nantucket. Austria's represents Mariazell. The Italian brother's curls probably represent Rome and Venice. These things represent things that are important. This also applies to OCs.

Brief Story

Haven grew up as a normal English child in the middle ages, treated poorly by her father, she decided to move out into the crowded streets of London when she reached 16.

She would die on her own. The middle ages in England were full of famine and disease.

She soon decided that she wanted freedom, so that she could do whatever she wanted to do. Plucking up her courage she approached the head of country pleading for her to builld her own nation, Laughed at by many highly rated people, she was very nearly turned down.

Um. I would probably ask if she was on something.

You cannot just build a nation. It costs money. A freaking lot of money, I'd imagine.

If it hadn’t of been England sitting in the sthame room as her at the time, she would never of been allowed to build her own country.

I literally just explained why this is bad. Also, if England's boss didn't agree, why would England? He can't contradict his boss. His boss tells him what to do.

Following this, England decided to take her in under her wing, He taught her the basics of how to become a strong country just like he was and introduced her to many of his colonies at the time.

Oh, how convenient.

Around the time of the revolutionairy

Revolutionary**

war, Haven insisted to fight by her dear Friends side, Who insisted he would not let a lady help him as it was too dangerous. After losing to America, America found out that he had a blood relation to Haven and claimed that he should be the legal guardian from now on

You said she was 21. America is 19. To be someone’s legal guardian, you have to be older than them

deeming any efforts against him useless. England had to agree to this deal and handed Haven over to America, This broke young Haven’s heart.

Labelling America as her ‘Big Brother’,

BUT AMERICA IS YOUNGER THAN HER????

The two got along well, Apart from when Haven refused to eat America’s hamburgers or when Haven cooked as she had apparently inherited England’s bad cooking. America raised her well but never let her stay in contact with England as he thought he was a bad influence, she has nothing against her big brother as she loves him dearly.

Haven then went to World Academy W at the same time as other nations were starting to join, this is where she met England for the first time in a long time, She had completely forgotten what he looked like but remebered what they did together whilst England on the other Hand remebered who Haven was clearly.

Countries don't just forget each other.

England eventually reminded Haven of who he was and the two eventually became inseperable.

This is a picture of Haven and England.

It's spelled inseparable**

This is going in a downward spiral.

Haven is still seen to this day with England and is often seen either attempting to help clean his house, which England put’s a stop too as she was invited to his house as a friend and not hired to clean, or drinking tea with him and his friends whom Haven can see.

Oh good, she can se magical creatures, too.

When she’s on her own, she can often be seen planning what her counntry will look like, designing her flag or just lazing around

It takes more than that to be a nation.

Also, her flag apparently looks like this:

I could only find that tiny version, unfortunately.

Relationships

England

Raising her from when she declared herself a country, Haven cherishes England as one of her closest Friends and is often teased by other countries upon how much she loves England. She would do anything for him.

Wow.

Why am I not surprised?

Also, did I mention that the creator ships her OC with England?

...Yeah.

America

Blood brother to Haven and is good friends with her also. Raised her after the Revolutionairy war. Often seen bickering with eachother over oneanother’s cooking

She can’t be his blood sister because she started out as a normal British teenager. There’s no way they could be related.

Canada

Also a blood brother, A close friend to Haven and is quite suprised that she can actually see him.

THE CANADA WHO JOKE IS OLD. CUT IT OUT.

Romano

Although he denies it, he’s one of Haven’s Close friends. He is sometimes seen with Haven and Canada when she decides she wants to go out somewhere (Cinema or shopping)

Of course she's all buddy-buddy with everyone.

Germany

Haven get’s along well with Germany but lost contact with him during the World Wars, After them they met up again and became friends.

France

France approaches Haven like any toher nation, although he tends to flirt with her a lot. Haven doesn’t mind France but can be creeped out by him sometimes

I'm just going to leave this here casually.

If someone told him to stop flirting with them, he would listen. The picture above proves it. I personally think that if someone dated France, that he would treat whoever he was with like a friggin queen, and love her like one too. So leave France alone, and let him run free

Italy

Haven sometimes sits outside with Italy and paints with him as she enjoys painting a lot.

Why is she literally friends with everyone?

Japan

Haven visits Japan regularly, When visiting they often draw or read manga or watch anime whilst eating something cultural.

I'm so tired of all the OCs liking anime and manga that aren't related to Japan. It's getting old.

Sealand

Haven babysits Sealand often when no other countries will take him, Sealand gets along ok with Haven, mainly because they are both micronations. Haven usually gives tips to Sealand to help him be recognised.

#notacountry

Haven is good friends with Wy and the two can often be seen together joking about something (Usually about how they’re recognised and Sealand isn’t)

If this isn't hypocrisy, I don't know what is.

Seborga

As they are both micronations, they get along well. Haven is not at all phased by Seborga, even when he’s lying upside down on a tree with ketchup on his head.

That only happened once. I don't think that's something Seborga does on a day to day basis.

Ireland

Even though Ireland makes no appearence in the Anime or Manga, Haven has a good relationship with Ireland, mainly because some of her roots go back to Ireland.

Um, okay, but what roots? Please tell me.

Scotland

Even though Scotland makes no appearence in the Anime or Manga, Haven gets along with Scotland mainly for his weird sense of humour

Links (These links lead to videos/pictures that include Haven)

Youtube- [Link Removed]

DeviantART- [Link Removed]

The YouTube videos are basically just MMDs about their fan pairing of Haven and England. Deviant art is more art of this oc.

2P! Haven

That looks like female 2p! America.

Most Hetalia charcters have another side to them, or another colour. Haven is no exception as she also has another side to her. Her human name is Myriam Nyan (ミリアムニャン)

2P!Haven Chibi Appearence (Up ^)

Much like 1P Haven, 2p Haven keeps her long hair but makes it a lot more curly and is toned in a dark red. Her eyes are also a red colour but they’re much brighter in colour. She also wears a pair of pink sunglasses ubove her head for appearence. Her skin is much darker than 1p Haven’s. Clothes wise, she wears a short pale yellow dress with a pink tie. She also wears a black backpack, It’s contents is unknown. She also wears a black belt with a gold circular buckle.

This OC just comes off to me as unoriginal

Personality

Her personality is very different to Haven’s as it usually is with most 2p Characters. 2p Haven isn’t sunshine and rainbows like 1p Haven, She fight’s to get most of the things she wants. She is much more brutal than 1p Haven. Her only flaw is that she is easily frightened.

One flaw?

ONE?

NO.

SHE NEEDS TO HAVE MORE THAN ONE FLAW.

Her biggest fears are mostly of Insects and being attacked by another person unprepared. In her spare time she can often be seen with 2p England in the kitchen making cakes oor biscuits.,

This person seems to have an unhealthy obsession with England. There are other Hetalia characters, Creator-san.

Her relationships are much the same as 1p Haven

They'd be different. I'm sure of it.

Nyo!Haven

Nyo!Haven Like most countries, there is alsoo a genderbend version of Haven. His name is Ethan Nyan (イーサンニャン)

Like.. Like the meme? Nyan cat?

Appearence

Nyo!Haven looks very differnt to Haven.in many different ways, but keeps some features. —

You know, other than the gender swap.

His hair is a light brown colour whilst his eyes stay the same green colour, just a little bit brighter. He has abnormally large eyebrows which are smaller than England’s. He dresses very smartly as he was brought up mostly by Nyo!England up until he was taken charge over by Nyo!America. He mostly walks around in suits all the time. When he’s not wearing suits he likes to laze around in a white polo shirt and shorts, He picks this trait up from Nyo!America.

You just described England to me.

Please be more original.

Personality

Nyo!Haven is a very shy character, He mainly likes to stay inside as he doesn’t like to go near strangers but he is very loyal to those he knows. There is one contradiction to his personality though, He likes to sing, and when he’s singing he’ll sing in front of anyone. If he’s not inside though, He’ll go outside for a walk.

Yeah, and that contradiction is not a thing that should happen.

Shippings

Oh goodie.

Most used pairing. Haven is known as affectionate towards England and England to Haven. But the two seem very well together. The pairing was well known throughout certain websites.

No, not really. I googled Haven x England and all I found was things from the OC creator's youtube channel and Deviantart.

Haven/Germany

Germany does like Haven, Haven doesn’t know that though and just continues to be friends with him

...Germany was mentioned once, why is she pared with him?

Haven/Japan

Japan has some feelings towards Haven as they spend a lot of time together watching anime, Haven doesn’t mind Japan

That is not a deep relationship.

That's it, apparently. This OC is just as bad as I remember. You guys know how I feel about made up country OCs. They interfere with canon, and usually end up as sues. I'm out for now.

~Kat

#ohnohetaliasues #mod kat #aph hetalia oc #aph hetalia #hetalia OC #Haven OC #Haven Sue #aph haven #notp #mary sue #big mary sue #worst #canon interference #rip-off character #bland character #hetalia mary sues

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passportandplates · 7 years

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Disclosure: I was given a complimentary cooking class in exchange for this review, but as always, all opinions are my own.

Home to friendly camels, luxury campsites, and mouthwatering food, Jordan managed to surprise and delight me at every turn. When I vowed to make 2017 the Year of the Middle East, I never imagined how easily I would fall in love with every aspect of Jordanian culture. One of the many experiences that contributed to this borderline obsession was cooking with A Piece of Jordan.

Cooking with A Piece of Jordan:

Just before 8 pm on a Sunday evening, two of my fellow travelers (Josie and Callum) and I slowly make our way downstairs to the hotel lobby, simultaneously exhausted and excited. We’d spent the better part of the day exploring the ancient city of Petra, hiking the uneven trails to the Monastery and the High Place of Sacrifice. My watch informs me that we’d trekked over 31,000 steps – the equivalent of 13 miles – so my exhaustion is warranted. Yet my excitement overpowers my tiredness since I’m about to do one of my favorite activities while traveling – a cooking class. This isn’t just any cooking class, however. This one is taking place in a local’s home without the frills of stainless steel cookware and a professional chef. A Piece of Jordan is run by locals in support of locals and I’m eager to learn more about Jordanian culture through food…after all, isn’t that what traveling is all about?

In the lobby of our hotel, we’re greeted by Bev, a kind American-British woman who I later find out has been living in Jordan for just eight months. The three of us pile into the pick-up truck and Bev expertly navigates the streets, sharing stories about her recent transition to Jordan from the United Kingdom. She’s moved to Jordan to run a bed and breakfast and be close to her daughter Steph, owner and founder of A Piece of Jordan. Ah, so that explains the British accent.

We arrive at the family’s house where sisters Fedaa and Baraah live with their parents. In Jordan, hospitality rules all, and everyone insists that we sit down and have a cup of tea before heading to the kitchen. Fedaa makes us tea with sage, which I’d never had before. Like everything I’ve sampled in Jordan thus far, it is delicious.

Before long we head to the kitchen, eager to start cooking and eating. We’ll be learning how to make the Jordanian version of Kabsa, a spiced rice dish with chicken, vegetables, and tomato sauce. Kabsa is actually the national dish of Saudi Arabia, but the Jordanians claim a variation of the dish as well.

Like most Middle Eastern dishes, we start by chopping and sautéing garlic and onions. Josie is tasked with chopping while Fedaa thoroughly rinses the long-grain rice and chicken. At this point Baraah joins us, introducing herself and jumping in with prep. We learn that she is a physiotherapist and her sister is an engineering professor, but both of them are passionate about tourism in Jordan – hence, the cooking class. I am admittedly spending all my time taking photos rather than being of much assistance, but the others have it under control. Fedaa adds the chicken to the pot, then tasks Callum with peeling and shredding a bunch of carrots. Fedaa and Baraah’s mom comes in a few times to make sure that we’re being taught “correctly.” I have to laugh because this is the point where I really feel like I’m cooking at home!

Then comes time to add in the spices and boy, are there a lot of them! Cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves, salt, pepper, allspice, turmeric, fennel, and coriander are all generously added to the pot “to taste.” No measuring spoons in this kitchen!

The chicken is left to cook in its own sweet time and in a separate pan, we stir-fry green peppers, more onions, the shredded carrots, and peas. The aroma of the spices is hitting us full force and my stomach rumbles in anticipation. Luckily, there are only a few more steps left before we can grub. The veggies and rice are added to the pot of chicken along with tomato paste and a bunch of water. We take turns tasting and assessing the spice and salt levels and once we declare the dish to be perfect, we close the top of the pot once again and hungrily huddle around it in anticipation distract ourselves by prepping the salad, setting the table, and chatting. Bev shares the incredibly romantic story of how her daughter, Steph, came to marry her Jordanian husband. In a nutshell: love at first sight on a horse ride in Petra led to a whirlwind cross-continent romance. *SWOON.*

20 minutes later, the kabsa is ready. Fedaa manages to impressively flip the entire pot of rice onto a serving plate – magic, I tell you! – while Callum, Josie and I inhale the spicy aroma and try not to drool. Of course, nobody is allowed to eat until I take photos…how else am I supposed to visually capture the essence that is Jordanian food?

We dig in and the table is silent for a few minutes as everyone eagerly chows down, scooping yogurt and salad onto the kabsa as instructed by our hosts. That’s how the Jordanians eat kabsa, they inform us.

While the food is one of the best things about the experience, it is the conversation at the dinner table that remains in my mind to this day. We discuss a range of topics – everything from Chimamanda Adichie’s Ted Talk to politics to religion to Islamophobia. No topic is taboo or off-limits. We talk about how tourism in Jordan is down due to the “bad neighbors” and are reminded that Jordan is actually safe, despite it being lumped together with the rest of the Middle East (especially Syria) in the media. We’re asked about Islamophobia in the United States and in Australia (Callum and Josie are both Aussies) and laugh about stereotypes we hear about the Middle East and vice versa. While learning how to cook a new dish is always a fun activity, sitting with a hospitable family (not unlike my own), discussing random topics, and eating home cooked Jordanian cuisine – now that’s something I will treasure for a long time.

About A Piece of Jordan:

Steph started A Piece of Jordan in 2015 as a way for visitors to experience the hospitality of Jordanian culture. Many tourists come to Petra to see the ancient city, but few have the opportunity to interact with locals outside of a merchant-customer relationship. Steph is hoping to change the perception of Jordan and the Middle East as a whole. Rather than painting the entire region as an unstable hotbed of extremism, A Piece of Jordan invites you to experience the true Jordan – the stories and experiences of real people – so you can return home with a true cultural understanding.

Additional Thoughts:

Travel is more than ancient sites and breathtaking landscapes. Travel is about experiencing life as a local. It’s about eating the cuisine and learning about the culture and the clothing and the religion. If you’re lucky, it means interacting with locals on a deeper level by being open-minded and getting out of your comfort zone. If this is the kind of experience you seek while in Jordan, make time for A Piece of Jordan. I promise you won’t regret it.

Book a local experience (not just cooking classes) here!

A Piece of Jordan Petra, Jordan Phone: +962799902916 Email: [email protected]

Tell me: What’s the coolest local experience you’ve ever had? Share in the comments below!

Like this post? Pin it and save it for later!

Pin it for later!

Shattering Stereotypes Over Food With A Piece of Jordan Disclosure: I was given a complimentary cooking class in exchange for this review, but as always, all opinions are my own.

#cooking class #Jordan #Local Experiences #Petra

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aethelar · 7 years

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*whispers* where did you live in patagonia, what language did they speak, was cow's milk really common, was it hard to grow things yourself, what kind of wildlife is there, can you find wifi easily, how did you get there in the first place? *really wants to visit but has food allergies and is an awkward duck who also wants to know everything*

Ok actual serious informations times let’s go

Where in Patagonia

It depends how long you have; if you’re going for a shorter holiday, it’s probably best to stick to one or two areas mentioned below because travel between places is long and, particularly in winter, unreliable. If you’ve got more time, then this is what I’d recommend:

Start in Ushaia, Tierra del Fuego. There are regular flights from Buenos Aires and it’s the southernmost point that’s easy to get to; an excellent starting place. This is the fin del mundo, the end of the world; cruises to Antarctica leave from here, you’ll find some excellent cultural centres and museums, and some lovely walking in the surrounding areas and national park, penguins, flamingos, glaciers, everything. Thoroughly recommend a boat trip as well that takes you out into the Beagle Channel because a) BEAGLE CHANNEL and b) the guides are fabulous fountains of knowledge and very happy to answer the genuine mountain of questions you will have.

Next one is Puerto Natales which is the jumping off point for Torres del Paine national park - you may have to go via Punta Arenas to get here, but that’s no hardship at all because it’s a lovely town. The big thing here is walking in the national park; the famed W trek is a five day monster that in summer is packed but much emptier in winter - though do bear in mind that the lodges might not be open in winter and camping is only for the experienced. There are a variety of shorter sections you can do as day treks; for practicality, we did a series of these instead of the full five day one. You’ll get mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, bright green lakes, and empty horizons (though again, in summer it can be much busier)

And Perito Moreno Glacier is an absolute star of a place; it gorgeous, and one of the most peaceful places I’ve been, and has various walking trails around as well. You can take boat trips but honestly only do this if it’s crowded on the land, otherwise you won’t get the freedom to just stop and marvel for like four hours. You’ll want to stay in El Calafate which is around an hour or so drive away (there are loads of people offering shuttle buses so no worries) - this is glacier hotspot with Los Glaciares national park so definitely a good base for taking trips out to the mountains.

On the other hand, if you want to stay in the mountains rather than taking day trips to them, you want my favourite place in Patagonia: El Chalten. This is a small, remote town, very quiet, lots of places closed during winter and only open in high season, absolutely fabulous bakery down on the main road near the bus station. The only thing to do here is walk. (Or, well, variety of outdoor sports I guess but I’m a walker so walking is what I did.) Plenty of routes you can do from the town itself that make nice day treks, some of them challenging, some of them more accessible. This was the absolute place where you walked from the door of the hostel and only stopped walking when you reached the edge of the mountain / lake / glacier / world - take thermos, sit on your rock at the conquering peak of your day, and enjoy the view. In summer, the road north from here - Route 40, the Carretera Austral - is one of the most famous and beautiful roads in South America; in winter, alas, it’s closed.

And those would be my top four places in Patagonia. If you have the time, then honestly seriously consider pushing north until you hit Santiago (it’ll make the flights easier apart from anything else!) If you do, then keep eyes out for Bariloche (in the Lake District, absolutely stunning scenery and many chocolate shops, excellent walks and kayaking and even skiing if you get the season right), Chiloe (very spiritual, ancient forests, plafitos which are houses on stilts over the water, and watch the sun setting over muelle de las almas - the dock of souls - which is a bridge leading off the edge of the island to the horizon and one of the most special places I visited. Bring a torch for the way back. Don’t make my mistake and forget that it gets dark after sunset) and Pucon (adventure sports! Natural geothermal hotsprings! There’s a giant volcano and the only done thing is to climb it and then slide down on a tea tray there is a story here but this post is getting long so maybe another time) on the way to Santiago.

Language

All of Chile and Argentina speak Latin American Spanish. It is an accented form - “ll” is pronounced like a hard sh or soft j sound unlike the standard y sound, for example - but I had no trouble understanding or being understood and I speak Castillian Spanish. Most hostels and the like will have people who speak English, and there will be English guided tours if you want one, but if you’re buying your own food in the shops or speaking to local people then you’ll find Spanish useful. Even just a few phrases! De donde son is a question everyone asks, so learn the answer - Soy de Inglaterra or Estados Unidos or whichever country you’re from. Buenos dias is said to everyone at all times; buen dia is good morning; Me encanta su pais means I love your country and Hay una cama libre por esta noche is how you ask a hostel if they have any beds free for the night. That should be enough to get you started. (I still haven’t worked out how to do accents on this computer so apologies for those lacking)

Milk, Growing things yourself, and other food

Milk is not a common feature. Tea is drunk blank, coffee with powdered cream, and you have yoghurt on your cereal. I didn’t notice I’m afraid if it was cow’s or not, but I would assume it was? I don’t know what the hot chocolates were made with but my money is on manna from heaven so that may or may not be cow. You won’t find milk hard to avoid if you need to though.

As far as growing things yourself goes, we honestly didn’t try this one. We were living out of backpacks in hostels, so we relied on local markets. That being said do be aware that meat is a lot more common than vegetables and in certain areas, fresh vegetables can be expensive and hard to come by. There’s usually a good array of tinned or frozen though! Taking a wild stab, I’d guess it’s not the simplest thing - most of the wild vegetation was hardy grasses or shrubs rather than trees or flowers, but this may change in summer. I have to say, seeing trees again as we went north was a huge relief - coniferous trees in Bariloche and deciduous trees (deciduous trees! ancient forests!) in Chiloe. Flowers didn’t properly come back until Bolivia; we arrived at four in the morning in Sucre and it was like the whole night smelt of flowers and I may, possibly, have cried.

The big local foods were barbecue (particularly lamb) or stew; lots of meat, much more than you’d be used to eating, but you need it for the warmth. Ushaia is also particularly famous for spider crabs and has a lot of fish. If you’re cooking for yourself big towns will have most things and small towns you just have to be creative. Root vegetables, steak, and potatoes are almost always available. Breakfast is usually cereal and yoghurt with fruit or bread and dulce de leche, but the bakeries have some fabulous things - pastafrola is a delicious jam tart, alfajor is a caramel biscuit sandwich, both are amazing. For chocolate, rama (logs) are where it’s at and turista chocolate shops sell them in huge quantities.

And drinks; hot chocolate is of course divine but the other thing everyone drinks (in Argentina at least, less so in Chile) is mate - this is a herbal tea (I think?), quite bitter and earthy but very nice, which is as much a part of society as it is a drink. But it’s genius, because it’s socially acceptable to take a thermos and a mate cup with you everywhere you go and just drink tea constantly. It’s also a social drink and often shared; the rules we learnt are as follows: when the cup is passed to you, drink a small bit, and pass on. Don’t hog the cup. Don’t use the spoon to stir or mess the leaves up. If you say thank you when you pass it back, that means you’ve had enough and won’t be included in the next round. You can ask what blend of mate people use, but don’t be offended if it’s a family secret.

Wildlife

The most commons things to see are guanacos (a wild cousin of the llama), condors (which are huge), penguins (king penguins year round, magellanic penguins in their breeding season September to February), flamingos, sea lions and sea birds. And land birds, actually, though I’m not so good at identifying them - definitely woodpeckers and something that looked like a crow. Foxes are harder to spot but still present; further out to sea are whales and dolphins.

For best chances of seeing wildlife, you may need to pick up day trips eg out to the penguin colonies or on a whale watching tour, but you’ll certainly see some things just by going out and exploring by yourself. One thing that was happily lacking was mosquitoes; absolutely no issues with biting insects at all. Again, summer may be different!

Wifi

The only place we had problems was in El Chalten, which very occasionally had power issues in the whole town. Don’t worry; all heating is gas based. Ain’t nothing turning that off. Otherwise wifi is readily available in hostels and even in some cafes and bus terminals; it might not be fast enough to stream HD movies, but we never had problems with the speed for normal usage.

How did you get there

We actually went as part of a larger trip spanning as much of South and Central America as we could fit in and travelled almost exclusively on buses. Honestly, this is absolutely fine as long as you can sleep on the road - buses in Chile and Argentina are high quality, they bring you hot sweet coffee in the morning, and apart from the weather things run on time and efficiently. Journeys can be long; overnight is standard, if you’re skipping out the in-between places you can find some longer journeys.

If you’re visiting only Patagonia then I’d recommend flying; Ushaia definitely has an airport, and I believe El Calafate does too. The land route up to Santiago follows the Andes and is gorgeous, well worth it, but the land route between Ushaia and Buenos Aires is less spectacular. If you want to include Buenos Aires you could either break up your flight to Ushaia by stopping here for a few days, or travel Ushaia to Santiago then cross the Andes to Mendoza and travel to Buenos Aires from there. These are the Argentinian plains; huge open spaces, lots of wine.

Et voila! Let me know if you have any other questions about things; Patagonia is an awesome place in every way and yes you should visit. Don’t let food allergies stop you. And pack jumpers that can layer and good walking shoes. And a decent knife! If you’re doing your own cooking, number one thing you’ll find useful is a sharp knife because hostel kitchens may or may not have good ones available. It makes such a difference. One of the ceramic ones with the cases is ideal because it won’t accidentally cut holes in your shirts while it’s packed.

#patagonia #chile #argentina #travel post #mimi answers #owlgirl1998

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monosko · 4 years

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Tea, ‘the second most commonly drunk beverage after water’ Ellis, is now being cultivated in more than 61 countries (2018), and consumed by not less than 54 nations (2016). There have been so many varieties of tea, prepared and consumed in so many different ways, all tuned in their respective ecological as well as sociological settings. Britain had no tea of its own, India had. Yet it was the British who grew a tea culture of its own since the time of King Charles II, more accommodative than the ceremonial tea of the Chinese and Japanese traditions, which later globally accepted as a standard.

Camellia Sinensis Categories Courtesy:@Leaves of Tea Ring

While the tea culture varies, the tea as such is one and the same everywhere – basically a wild shrub called camellia sinensis. The ancient wisdom of tea processing has been modernized in colonial India. The manufacturing process transforms the tea into six types – black, oolong, green, yellow, white, and pu-erh each having distinctive characteristics requiring special ways of preparing, serving and taking for enjoying the drink most satisfyingly. In the beginning tea was prepared with spices and herbs, and consumed as medicine. The remedial value apart, herbal tea is always a popular beverage in countryside because of its strong aroma and heady taste. Nonetheless, herbal tea is a misnomer as it is made of alternative combinations of herbs and spices, milk and butter, sugars and salts and optionally tea leaves. Gandhian ‘Tea Recipe’, for example, lists no tea at all. Sanyal The recent herbal teas sound like new versions of Gandhian tea now being marketed as Tulsi tea, Adrak tea, Malai tea, Rhododendron tea, and the like. The Kahwa tea, is however different being the soul-warming drink of the Kashmiris and a part of their culture. All these refreshment drinks of dissimilar taste and flavour meant for people of different mind-sets than those who enjoyed tea the way Tagore’s Gora did, or a Nazrul did in Favourite Café.

Poetic Tea. Lu Yu’s book, the Ch’a Ching, tea ceremony

The branded tea of the modern society is rooted in ancient culture. Kakuzō Okakura found a subtle charm in the taste of tea which makes it irresistible and capable of idealization. It has no arrogance of wine, the self-consciousness of coffee, nor the simpering innocence of cocoa. Okakura The first book on tea, Ch’a Ching, that the gifted poet and tea-expert, Lu Yü (733-804), penned with precise details on tea’s origins, cultivation, processing, and preparation. A thousand year later the British drew upon the classic when they started producing tea themselves. Koehler It is important to note that the British accepted the practical and spiritual aspects of tea making believing that the magic of making tea comes, when the leaves begin to develop their unique flavours and aromas, almost mystically transforming into something far richer.

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway 1881. Photocredit:Carsten Bockermann

As the process has been simplified from Lu Yu’s instructions formulated thirteen centuries ago, machines instead of hands do the rolling now. Fermented tea is essentially baked rather than pan-cooked—it sticks to ancient principles. In Darjeeling, tea makers remain ‘stridently, adamantly orthodox’ in their processing. Orthodox tea contains just a handful of steps to turn green leaves into finished Darjeeling black tea before the tea gets sorted, graded, and packed. Koehler From the beginning to end, tea, except low-grade commercial tea/ tea-bags, is dealt with human touch, even when the process is mechanized. Tea is not industrialized, but grabbed the full advantage of industrialization for worldwide distribution and marketing of finished products from the remote gardens whence the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway opened in 1881, cutting travel time and transport costs significantly. Darjeeling tea found its final footing within five years as reflected in 1885 statistics of sales reaching 9 million pounds. Bengal

Like most of the colonial things – bungalows, furniture, utensils, dresses or dishes, Indian teas are Indian by origin – pure or crossbred, which the Britishers shaped their way to lead a comfortable and decent life. As we know, Britain never grew tea until 2005, but grew a tea culture over two centuries ago that they enriched a great deal in colonial India, apparently with newly acquired intelligence of Chinese and Japanese tea traditions. The British tea culture follows the ancient norm that ‘tea drinking should be treated with reverence and be accompanied by beauty but also restraint’, moderation is the very essence of tea. Ukers It demands a tad of sophistication nurtured in modern societies. One needs to acquire a taste for the cup of tea that a British queen and a Chinese sage may savour spiritually rather than palatably. When today’s tea culture is overwhelmingly British in character, it is already popular in most of the tea loving nations, including United States. Sirkin Tea grew naturally in Indian soil, while tea culture grew in Indian mind through a long process of social interactions under influences of political and economic events. To my perception, the politics and economics had played a significant part in bringing in the ‘tea habit’, contrary to ‘tea culture’. Taking tea is discouraged by Swadeshi followers on the plea that tea is ‘injurious to heath’ and a ‘foreign’ drink. Gandhian political agenda against tea was directed to ‘tea habit’.

Gandhiji and other leaders during the Swadeshi Movement

Gandhi, once himself a tea lover, recommended his atypical ‘Tea Recipe’ for the mass that had no tea leaves in it to risk habit formation. Sanyal It seems to be his Swadeshi fervor that made a scientist like Acharya P.C. Ray to declare tea a poisonous drink ignoring factual findings. In response, the Tea Board did publish a statement of Dr. Meghnad Saha in favour of tea, to counter Swadeshi deterrent. There had been also a section of Brahmos and their sympathizers who boycotted tea in protest of British planters’ inflicting torture on the coolies found and reported first by Ramkumar Vidyaratna and Dwarkanath Ganguly, two volunteers of Sadharan Brahmosamaj Banerjee. The political aversion to tea was an issue reflected in Naukadubi of Rabindranath, Parinita of Saratchandra, and possibly many more contemporary stories. Interestingly, both the writers and most of their contemporaries and immediate successors happened to be tea devotees. So was Swami Vivekananda.Vivekananda The kind of tea they enjoyed was generally the British black tea, with milk/ sugar, or none just like the one Abdul Rahman served to Syed Mujtaba Ali in 1930’s Kabul (vide Deshe-Bideshe).

When people drink tea, they are expected to acquire certain manners and behave in a particular way, in terms of which a tea culture is defined. Tea etiquette, styles of tea-ware, ambience of tearooms – all contribute to a tea culture distinguished from all others. Close interactions between any two cultures enrich both. We have understood this better in this era of rapid globalization, which is also an era of collaborative entrepreneurship. The manufacturing of Chinese tea-pots in British fashions is a case in hand. The Chinese, so far we know, brewed tea directly in the cup instead of using a teapot, which they never had. The traditional Chinese teacups had a lid but no handles, presumably because they liked to feel the warmth of the tea while holding the cup. If it’s too hot to hold, it’s too hot to drink. Fixing handle, or ear, to a cup is an idea implemented by the British. The design of teapot we use today is basically European. The first teapots created in Europe were of a heavy cast with short, straight, replaceable spouts. “At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the East India Company recognized the growing demand for such items as teapots and began importation in larger numbers. The company commissioned china directly from Chinese artists and craftsmen, using patterns sent from England and geared to European tastes, stereotypes, and market values”. Designs fell into four main areas (1) mock-ups of Oriental designs, (2) designs adapted from European prints, (3) coat of arms for major European families,(4) and the innovative teapots -such as those with the now standard internal spout drain. The Company directors were especially concerned that teapots not drip and so stain the valuable linen that they also marketed. Anonymous]

Kyūsu back hand(le) teapot), Taishō era ca. 1921-1925

e and white ceramic tea-set of China

Uwade kyūsu top hand(le) teapot

Kyūsu – a common Japanese teapot, often with its handle on the pot’s side and spout crafted with an angle

Gaiwan or zhong is a Chinese lidded bowl without handle used for the infusion of tea leaves and the consumption of tea. Ming dynasty. It consists of a bowl, a lid, and a saucer. Courtesy: Sözdizimi Kullanıcı deneyimi

Not only teapots but the entire range of tea-ware was fashioned by the British, often with Indian motifs and materials, and increasingly by Indian artisans in spite of their being obliged to do work by hand, while the Europeans both accelerated and perfected by means of machinery. Williamson The tea-set, including cups and saucers, tea-spoons and tea-strainers, milk-jug and sugar-pot, teapot, tea cozies, tea-mats, sets the mood of a tea drinker before s/he takes tea. Tea-drinkers ‘take tea’ in a special way, which, I fear cannot be described aptly by any English verbs that we know. Surely, it is not that we ‘drink’ tea as we do drink milk or water, or even coffee. We do not sip tea like sherbet either, but do it by faint smacking of our lips inaudibly on the brim of the tea cup and relish slowly the enigmatic taste and aroma of the golden liquid afloat inside.Tea retains a strong association with nature. A good tearoom must be having a like ambience with windows to allow natural light, and flowers around.

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Newspaper Reading. Courtesy: @Sholoana Bangaliana

Flury’s 2008. Courtesy: Flury’s

Tearoom at Tea-Pot, Fort Kochi

Tearoom is quite different from a coffee shop, which often tend to be set up more like a bar, offering quick coffee drinks that can be drunk while standing or while seated on a bar stool or similar chair unsuited for long sitting.Goodwin Tearoom needs everything there should be styled to allow sitting for hours long as tea incites endless parleying – being an acknowledged stimulant for adda, or rap sessions without agenda. Tea and adda are inseparable components of tea culture.

TeaTable @Purwaaii. – Friends Caffe. Courtesy: Kolkata on Wheel. – Adda. Courtesy: @Scoopwhoop. – India Coffee House, Albert Hall

The word ‘adda’, found in Sanskrit and Pali literature was used in various senses by ancient writers, like Bharata and Chanyakya. Das As it was broadly indicated, adda once meant a place of assemblage for a purpose, like the ‘Buddhist adda’ once found in old Dhurrumtollah Street. The modern usage of the word broadens its import. As Collins Word online suggests, ‘It is a form of intellectual exchange among members. They talk about almost everything in jovial mood’. In context of tearoom, adda simply means chatting or free discussions with no agenda, participated by regulars and casuals as often as they like. It is a process of exchanging minds on any subjects imaginable. It is a common privilege of the tea-room goers to take part in adda but not without submitting to the unspoken norms of tea-culture prevailing there. While the tea-room-adda is a global trend, its pattern of behavior differs widely depending on the given living standards and traditions.

Japanese takes no sugar in tea, and their teahouse never serves sugar determinedly, but obliges customers cordially if they want it for sweetening an English tea instead. The English, while taking tea, detests letting out audibly a ‘ssss’ sound of breath through the mouth past the tongue. Appreciation of sound depends on one’s culture. It needs a cultured refinement to appreciate a pianissimo in western or Hindustani classical music, when a bursting sound of fireworks needs no cultural refinement at all. Appreciation of a quality black tea can never be expected from uninitiated tea drinkers to whom an herbal tea is the best choice and an orthodox black tea insipid.

Agents of the Assam Tea Company of Prince Dwarkanath. Source: . @cambridgeDigitalLibrary

We learnt from history that India have had tea before the British smuggled the Chinese tea to India. Along with the tea plants they also brought in India the stolen Chinese know-how of tea gardening, which India never had occasion to know because of not having any tea gardens but forests of tea trees. The tea habit in India was grown initially by the British through massive propaganda launched by the governmental agencies and industries for economic gain. Their objectives were only to introduce tea to the people and promote sales. One has only to glimpse through the old newspaper ads and publicity posters to realize nothing was there to motivate a tea culture. Neither the study books tell about the tea etiquette, nor any leaders spoke anything contributing to the tea culture, yet the India historically speaking has imbibed a strong cultural affinity toward tea. And that culture, largely in British way, but certainly not exclusively British, as we have already exemplified in my last post ‘Ways of life in colonial Calcutta’. The scenario of Calcutta tea culture found in the hundred year old Favourite Cabin crowded by the firebrand intellectuals had little in common with Flury’s grand ambience except that they both served black tea in ceramic cups. It is unthinkable for the Favourite Cabin to keep Flury’s gentle silence with the presence of a buoyant Nazrul at tea table.

ANYTIME TEA TIME Courtesy: Tea-Pot, Fort Kochi

Their tea-table manners were also more like Indian. As the expert admits that whatever tea seeds you sowed in Darjeeling, it grows to a ‘Darjeeling tea’; similarly, the British tea culture grown in India turns into Indianize British tea culture, more Indian than British. European ladies and gentlemen have always some fixed times for socialization over warm cups of tea, while in Indian culture it is anytime a tea time

Here, in India, it is adda that takes the first position in defining tea culture. The old deshi tea-rooms in Calcutta never cared much for manners and etiquette unlike the British ones. The tea-rooms were being used in Calcutta as meeting spots for lively exchange of minds and hearts, sharing views and news with known, half-known folks or even strangers. The spirit was somewhat akin to the Oxford coffeehouses of 1650s, where ‘the mind-stimulating benefits of the beverage complemented the spirit of sober academic discussion and debate evident at the university there’.White After 1860s, tea took the place of coffee as the major beverage and served in the British coffee houses, including ‘Mr. Lloyd’s Coffee-house’ in London, favoured by ship owners, merchants, and marine insurers – the origin of the celebrated insurance firm, Lloyd’.

Interior of a London Coffee-house, 17th century. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Edward Lloyd’s coffee house in the late seventeenth century

These archaic coffeehouses were called ‘penny universities, because for a penny any man could obtain there a pot of tea, a copy of the newspaper, and engage in free conversation with wits. They served as a basic model for the English gentlemen’s private clubs popularized by English upper middle-class men and women in the late 19th century and early 20th century. By the close of the 18th century the popularity of coffeehouses had declined dramatically. Already by the 1750s consumption of tea, which many people found to be a sweeter, more palatable drink of choice, easy to make and cheaper, was beginning to rise. Cowan

The Club. Engraving by James Doyle

Literary and Political Clubs rose in popularity and the frivolities of coffee-drinking were lost in more serious discussion. Tea was also gaining in importance as Society’s beverage of choice. The East India Company at this time had a greater interest in the tea trade than the coffee trade. The Government’s policy was to foster trade with India and China and it offered encouragements to anything that would stimulate the demand for tea. Tea had become fashionable at Court and in the Tea Houses and was growing in popularity with the public. Boswell

India never had a coffee culture parallel to English one, its production and consumption being confined in some South Indian states, yet it seems that the bygone institution of British coffeehouse had surprising similarity with the tearoom culture developed in colonial Calcutta.

III

This century begins with a startling fresh digital memory of billions of terabytes to absorb the swiftly outdating modern-time and an alarmingly fast growing social dementia making the yesterdays already fuzzy in public mind. I fear, we have already forgotten many old acquisitions. The tea culture is one such thing. The millennium citizens become insentient to identify its fine distinctions. We pain to see tea is now being redefined in terms of the medicinal masala chai that was in vogue before the beginning of the tea cultivation – a long stride backward.

The real tea has lost its relevance in the 21st century society. A recent opinion survey of NDTV on Tea versus Coffee discloses the increasing popularity of coffee among Indians. It was ‘a moment of triumph for the coffee shops walked into a tea-drinking country’ offering a luxurious and genteel beverage as alternative.Channi-Tiwary Some historians of coffee-house culture, however, were skeptical of the innate politeness of coffee since there were also some coffee-houses like a Molly King’s Coffee-House, notorious haunts of London’s lowlife.White

As indicated before, coffee-culture in India has been geographically restricted and historically insignificant, contrary to the British experience. Coffee had the same place in London and Oxford of 17th and 18th centuries as the tea had in colonial India. Coffeehouses were then club-house like joints somewhat akin to Indian tearooms in spirit. The rejoinders of NDTV survey marked a reverse trend of opening up across the country tearooms like Chaayos, Taj Mahal Tea House, Bubble Tea Café, etc. These offer the comfort of a beverage many of us love, reinvented and served in a relaxed and casual café environment. Channi-Tiwary

April this year, Quora published an interesting response to their question ‘Why do the majority of Indians like tea rather than coffee?’ The responder claims it was not tea but coffee, black or espresso, what the majority of Indians prefer. It was also observed that some senior citizens still stick to tea out of habit, and currently many people take green tea because it is good for health. Quora The tea habit is a concept closely related to tea culture, which is still being maintained by the senior citizens, and most likely it will end with them, leaving an assortment of reinvented herbal chai for the newer generations broken away from nearly two thousand year tradition of Lu Yü to start a new one from zero.

Before Calcutta bids it a farewell, we may recite a requiem to the tea culture, remembering some good things it did to our society:

The early tearoom in Calcutta was a place to take tea, talk, read news, and collect worldly knowledge paying a thin dime just for the cup of tea; everything else were free. We may call those tearooms by the name of Penny University as the Londoners did for their Coffee shops operated in mid-18th Century as cheap learning centres. Among other things tearooms in Calcutta helped bringing about necessary attitudinal change to tolerate differences in socio-cultural values and political idiosyncrasies.

Tea has been popular among rich and poor. It had an egalitarian character that incited rich social mixing. Vernacular tearooms, or deshi tearooms, offered space for meeting with friends and strangers free from the social conventions of class and deference.

Tea has no arrogance of wine, the self-consciousness of coffee, neither the simpering innocence of cocoa. Okakura The cups that cheer but not inebriate.Cowper The tearoom has a ‘civilizing’ atmosphere, and a role in urbanizing the migrants from less advantaged locations. It was analogous to musafirkhana where travelers get first taste of the city life, or where students get oriented to new campus life.

Tea was instrumental in bringing family together. Even before the introduction of instant tea bag, making a cup of tea has always been a simple and quick process for anyone to perform. Taking tea comfortably at home prepared by the caring hands of fair ladies was a good reason for meeting family members and family friends more frequently.

Tea-making happens to be also a new occupation for a housewife. Women for the first time through tea parties, take leading position in social gatherings, administering tea-shops or running tea-stalls.

Tea in India and many other places, like Ireland, is served as a gracious offering to guests as welcoming gesture. Tea has been a symbol of bonhomie in tribal as well as in civilized society. To the writer of Religion of Man, Rabindranath Tagore, making tea personally for his guests was always a pleasure. Chanda.

Tagore with Count Okuma, PM Japan at tea in 1916

Every human institution decays, so does the tea culture. History records ups and downs, and often interprets every step in terms of their relationship with immediate past and latest trends. Likewise we may consider the followings as possible reasons why the tea culture goodbying Calcutta, the city that nurtured it.

It is the altering value systems of the city that destabilized the climatic condition necessary for the tea culture to sustain. To the millennium everything advertised in the name of ‘tea’, for example, gulabi tea, mallai tea, etc. are readily acceptable as tea. Except the manufacturing companies, not many are there who can smell the difference between a bagged black tea and orthodox leaf tea..

The litterateur and intelligentsia, like Nazrul Islams and Subhas Boses, ceased to be seen in deshi tearooms. The plebian city sticklers occupied the empty seats there for quick energizing sips. The newspaper in tearoom has lost importance. Current affairs and general knowledge are now readily and cheaply available in social media. The dwindling leisure time in modern life is almost entirely used up by mobile chatting, which is largely responsible for making the generation lonely and egocentric, apathetic to tearoom culture.

∞

REFERENCE

Anonymous. (2009). History of Tea, LGOL27 Portal. Last updated : 23-Feb-09. https://www.gol27.com/HistoryTeaChina.html

Banerjee, Dipankar. (2006). Brahmo Samaj and North-East India. Delhi: Anamika. https://books.google.co.in/books?id=GE2o4QQV7UgC&pg=PA35&lpg=PA35&dq=Ramkumar+Vidyaratna+and+Dwarkanath+Ganguly&source=bl&ots=6ominLanpJ&sig=ACfU3U2mTX2VU3Z25u5yr1of9Og3mh2bBQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiNgLjk7cbmAhV_zjgGHYewBpQQ6AEwA3oECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=Ramkumar%20Vidyaratna%20and%20Dwarkanath%20Ganguly&f=false

Bengal District Gazetteers: Darjeeling ; Ed.by Arthur Jules Dash. (1947). Calcutta: G.P.Press. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.150149

Boswell, James. (1791). The life & times of Doctor Samuel Johnson. Stories of London – portahttp://stories-of-london.org/samuel-johnson-5/

Chakraborty, Sumita. 2016. “শান্তিনিকেতনে চিন ও জাপান.” Parabas, 2016. https://www.parabaas.com/rabindranath/articles/pSumita_china-japan.html

Chanda, Rani (2007). Gurudev. Calcutta: Visvabharati. https://archive.org/details/Gurudeb-Rani-Chanda

Channi-Tiwary, Harnoor. (2018). Tea vs Coffee: Which is India’s Favourite Hot Beverage? In: NDTV Convergence, Updated: March 12, 2018 https://food.ndtv.com/opinions/tea-vs-coffee-which-is-indias-favourite-hot-beverage-1246860

Cowan, Brian. (2005). The Social Life of Coffee: The Emergence of the British Coffeehouse. Yale UP. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjq4JGVmsfmAhUpzjgGHb0hB-MQFjABegQIAhAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fbhsecglobal.files.wordpress.com%2F2014%2F03%2Fsocial-life-of-coffee.pdf&usg=AOvVaw2ynOBv82H95N20ip5E-Ikg

Das, Jnanendra Mohan. (1917). Bangla Bhasar Abhidhan ( বাঙ্গালা ভাষার অভিধান). Allahabad: Indian Press. https://archive.org/details/Bangla_Bhasar_Abhidhan_1917_by_Jnanendra_Mohan_Das

Ellis, Markman. (2014). Tea, the second most widely consumed drink, after water — a meme. Tea in Eighteenth-Century Britain April 21, 2014. https://qmhistoryoftea.wordpress.com/2014/04/21/tea-the-second-most-widely-consumed-drink-after-water-a-meme/

Goodwin, Lindsey (2017) Coffee Bar Definition. The Pruce Eats Portal. Updated 11/27/17 https://www.thespruceeats.com/coffee-bar-definition-765033

Koehler, Jeff. (2015). Darjeeling: a history of the world’s greatest tea. London: Bloomsbury. https://www.goodreads.com/user/new?remember=true

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Mandelslo, Johann Albrecht von. 1669. Voyages Celebres & Remarquables, Faits de Perse Aux Indes Orientales. London: John Starkey, and Thomas Basset. https://archive.org/details/voyagescelebresr00mand/page/n8.

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Sirkin, Austin. (2013). Hey, America—You’re Drinking Your Tea Wrong! In: WonderHowTo Portal. 01/10/2013. https://steampunk.wonderhowto.com/how-to/hey-america-youre-drinking-your-tea-wrong-0141235/

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TEA: ITS SOCIOCULTURAL DIMENSIONS IN COLONIAL INDIA

Tea, ‘the second most commonly drunk beverage after water’ Ellis, is now being cultivated in more than 61 countries (2018), and consumed by not less than 54 nations (2016).

TEA: ITS SOCIOCULTURAL DIMENSIONS IN COLONIAL INDIA Tea, ‘the second most commonly drunk beverage after water’ Ellis, is now being cultivated in more than 61 countries (2018), and consumed by not less than 54 nations (2016).

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Benjamin Franklin gestured dramatically toward the moldering gravestone of the Revolutionary War soldier. “And then,” he proclaimed, pausing for effect, “He killed ‘im dead!” Twelve adults and a handful of children stared at him wide-eyed as he finished the dramatic account of the Yankee soldier’s death. “Follow me, I will take you to Old North Church and the site of the Boston Massacre.” He whipped Paul Revere’s woodcutting of the Boston Massacre out of a pocket and displayed it with a flourish. A camera flashed. Benjamin Franklin posed for a second photo.

Obviously, our downtown Boston tour guide was not actually Benjamin Franklin. To be honest, he wasn’t even pretending to be—although I thought the tour company was missing out by not taking advantage of the fact that this man was the spitting image of the famous figure. Eleven-year-old me soaked in every aspect of the spooky graveyard tour, trying to pretend I was fending off the October chill with a deerskin coat rather than a windbreaker and imagining what life might have been like long before Boston became characterized by skyscrapers of chrome and glass. Even after a decade and a half, the memory of this adventure in Boston is clear in my mind.

History Road Trips

Boston was the first stop on our family’s history tour of the East Coast, our annual family “field trip.” Instead of the summer vacations to the beach, we took autumn trips to historical or geological sites around the United States. One thing my sister and I loved about the trips is that they counted as school days. This was one of the many perks of being homeschooled, although it didn’t mean we got to skip out on finishing our math workbooks! Just because the trips were considered “school” didn’t mean they were boring. My mom, a teacher, and my dad, a geology aficionado, built up our expectations of the trip through a semester of historical fiction, vivid storytelling, period-accurate toys, movie nights, and projects both recreational and educational. By the time we arrived on the East Coast from Arizona, we felt like we were old friends with George Washington and Paul Revere. We were excited to see everything, and the opportunity to spend money we earned by memorizing geography facts certainly didn’t dampen our enthusiasm.

Statue of Paul Revere in Boston.

There are many benefits to taking an educational East Coast vacation. First, it’s fun! Both my sister and I were voracious readers, and my love of history mixed with her interest in photography set the stage for fun on our East Coast road trip. However, touring the history of the East Coast can be a blast even if you or your kids aren’t particularly enamored with books or dusty artifacts. Creepy graveyard tours will excite Ghostbusters wannabes, art lovers will revel in the many museums, foodies will find Heaven on Earth in fine New England eateries, movie buffs will enjoy the many film settings, and the mischievous among us will get a kick out of trying to make Plimoth Plantation actors break character. There’s so much to see and do!

Secondly, of course, a tour of the United States’ roots provides a rich educational opportunity. Experience this region’s history, government, art, geography, marine life, architecture, music and more in real life, and you’ll never see them the same way again. Take your kids on a trip like this, and they’ll have to try to fail social studies tests in the future. There’s just nothing like reading original documents or seeing historical sites in person.

Points of Interest on an East Coast History Tour

When touring the East Coast, why not start where the Revolutionary War began? Boston is not only the birthplace of the American Revolution, but it’s also a great northerly point to start at so you can work your way south. You can see pretty much all of Boston’s history if you take the Freedom Trail. Squint your eyes a bit, and you can almost block out the rush of traffic to imagine 18th Century crowds moving through the cobbled streets. The urban path leads past nearly twenty historic sites, including Boston Common, Granary Burying Ground, old North Church, and the USS Constitution. Don’t forget to see where the Boston Tea Party took place at Boston Harbor. If you want to enjoy some scientific excursions, the MIT Museum and Boston Aquarium are rather impressive. Of course, you can’t leave Massachusetts without a visit to the settlers and Natives at Plimoth Plantation.

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Heading south from Boston, you can stop in Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park in Connecticut on your way to New York City. Once in NYC, you’ll have to pick your favorite attractions! I recommend bypassing the Statue of Liberty to tour Ellis Island, although if you’re short on time, you can view both from a distance by taking the Statin Island Ferry across the harbor. If your heart is set on seeing a Broadway play while you’re in Manhattan, you can keep with your historic theme by getting tickets to Hamilton. Of course, you can’t miss the chance to get a glimpse of the Chrysler Building, the Flatiron Building, or the Brooklyn Bridge, but don’t forget to have some fun on the century-old Coney Island Cyclone roller coaster.

View of Ellis Island

Philadelphia, Delaware and D.C. Sites

Emerge from the lightning-speed pace of New York City life into the antique air of historic Philadelphia. Thanks to National Treasure, you might already be pretty familiar with the major attractions: The Liberty Bell, Washington Square, Old City Hall, and Independence Hall. Depending on your interests, you might also like Battleship New Jersey or Morris Arboretum.

Delaware, as the nation’s first state, certainly deserves a quick visit, which can be achieved with a visit to Fort Delaware. From there, head to Washington, D.C., where you’ll wish you had more time to explore, no matter how long you stay. Where do you even begin? Well, the National Mall is a good place to start. You can burn a lot of calories walking from the White House to the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the Capitol, and the various Smithsonian Museums. You might not have time for all the Smithsonian Museums, but you can pick your favorites. I was a fan of the Air and Space Museum and the National Portrait Gallery. After all that walking, you can try to spot senators while refueling at some of the fancier restaurants, like 1789, a popular institution named for the year the Constitution was adopted and offering an 18th-Century experience. If you can plan ahead, book a tour of the White House or your representative’s office. Finally, end your road trip with a jaunt down to George Washington’s estate, Mount Vernon in Virginia.

When you walk the streets of the historic East Coast, the past comes alive! Next time you open an American history book or watch a documentary, you’ll be able to say that you were there. From the centuries-old brick of Boston to the sprawling countryside of Virginia, there’s no better way to learn about the roots of American culture.

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East Coast History Road Trip Benjamin Franklin gestured dramatically toward the moldering gravestone of the Revolutionary War soldier. “And then,” he proclaimed, pausing for effect, “He killed ‘im dead!” Twelve adults and a handful of children stared at him wide-eyed as he finished the dramatic account of the Yankee soldier’s death.

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kgbinwanderland · 5 years

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It’s no secret that Seoul is one of my favorite cities in the world. Delicious food, fantastic shopping, interesting culture, and amazing people, it’s a dream vacation! Another thing that I love about Seoul is how family-friendly the city is. Most popular attractions have kids on their priority, with a curation of programs and activities designed for the young. Their subway system is so extensive and one of the best in the world, you can go from one place to another with no trouble at all. Taking the taxi is affordable too which makes traveling even more convenient and comfortable.

If you are in the planning stages of your trip to Seoul, you’ve come to the right place. Whether it’s your first, second or if you’ve visited several times in the past, you’ll never get bored while in the city. There are plenty of things to see and do within Seoul and its neighboring provinces. For first-time visitors, you need at least 4 full days to visit the city’s most popular landmarks and tourist attractions. But don’t worry, this 7-day itinerary can be easily customized to fit your interests and schedule. Depending on how much you want to see in a day, you can combine some activities into just one day but beware though, it will be very tiring so pack some extra energy! But I assure you, it’ll be loads of fun!

7-Days Itinerary for your First Visit in Seoul, South Korea

Day 1

Start your day early with a visit to Gwanghwamun Square. See the golden statue of King Sejong in the middle of the plaza. Just across Gwanghwamun Square is the Gyeongbok Palace, also known as Gyeongbokgung. Watch the Gatekeeper Military Training at 9:30 AM and Changing of the Royal Guard Ceremony at 10:00 AM, both held at the main gate of Gyeongbokgung. After this, you can join a 1.5 hr free walking tour of the palace with an English-speaking guide. Japanese and Chinese-speaking guides are also available at a different schedule. The walking tour starts at 11:00 AM at the Gyeongbokgung Palace Information Center. If you do not want to join the tour, you can just watch the Gwanghwamun Gate Guard on Duty Ceremony at 11:00 AM (or come back for the 1:00 PM schedule) and explore the palace grounds on your own.

After lunch, head over to the National Folk Museum of Korea. Spend about an hour inside the museum learning about the Korean culture and way of life.

From the National Folk Museum of Korea, it’s time to see the traditional houses of Bukchon Hanok Village. You’ll pass by Samcheong-dong, a street of artisan shops, small boutiques, tea shops and cafes, etc. Spend an hour exploring Bukchon Hanok Village and make sure to stop by the 8 scenic spots of the village for your Instagram-worthy photos.

Your last stop for the day is Insadong, a popular neighborhood in Seoul because of the many cafes, restaurants and shops selling traditional Korean goods.

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A post shared by Karen GB (@kgbinwanderland) on Sep 6, 2018 at 12:53am PDT

Day 2

Today is theme park day! There are several theme parks in Seoul but the most visited parks (and popular with tourists) are Lotte World Theme Park, which is right in the city and the other is Everland located in Gyeonggi-do, about an hour away from Seoul. If it is your first time in Seoul, I highly recommend visiting Everland instead of Lotte World. Although it is outside of Seoul, you can easily reach Everland by booking a roundtrip shuttle service from Seoul’s main tourist districts (like Myeongdong). Trust me, it’s super convenient! Most people usually recommend Lotte World Theme Park if you are traveling with young children, but I honestly find Everland to be more enjoyable than Lotte World, even with a toddler!

[irp posts=”3069″ name=”Seoul Family Travel: Everland Theme Park”]

Day 3

You should never leave Seoul without visiting one (or two) of their outdoor markets. One of which is the Namdaemun Market. No need to have breakfast before you leave your hotel, eat at the infamous Kalguksu Alley. Order the Kalguksu and Boribap set meal, it’s really good! While in the area, don’t forget to stop by the Namdaemun or the Great South Gate.

Next stop is Seoul’s most iconic landmark, the N Seoul Tower. Ride the cable car up the Namsan Mountain and spend an hour enjoying the views of the city from the top. Hello Kitty fans will be delighted to see and visit the Hello Kitty Island inside the tower.

Instead of taking the cable car down back to the city, ride the bus to Myeongdong.

You’re just in time to enjoy some street food in Myeongdong. Food stalls line up the streets of Myeongdong from afternoon until late at night. Shop ’til you drop for clothes, shoes, accessories and skin care products. You can also enjoy some delicious desserts and coffee at the many cafes in the area. Dinner choices are endless. Popular choices are Korean-style Fried Chicken or AYCE BBQ.

Oh, and don’t forget to stop by the Myeongdong Cathedral.

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Boribap (Barley Bibimbap) #bibimbap #seoul #southkorea #namdaemun #noodlealley #kalguksualley #streetfoodseoul #realtravel #igtravel #wanderlust #kgbinwanderland #traveldiary #foodie #foodography #foodandtravel #blogger

A post shared by Karen GB (@kgbinwanderland) on Sep 12, 2018 at 6:47pm PDT

Day 4

Today we go on a little day trip outside the city. One of the most popular day trips from Seoul is to Nami Island and Petite France. The most convenient way to visit these two must-sees is to book a tour package that would include the roundtrip shuttle service, entry tickets and a tour guide. I highly suggest that you book the tour instead of DIYing this part of the itinerary, it’s worth paying extra for the convenience.

Once your back in the city, you can go back to Myeongdong for even more street food and night shopping! Or do some night shopping at Dongdaemun.

Day 5

First stop of the day is the Naksan Park and the Seoul Fortress Wall. Enjoy a leisurely stroll in the park and take a picture of the stunning views of the city. Walk along the Seoul Fortress Wall until you reach Ihwa Mural Village, popular for its street art and wall murals, and also a prominent backdrop on several K-dramas.

If you haven’t been to Dongdaemun yet, now is the perfect time to explore the area at a more leisurely pace. Bargain-hunters will love Dongdaemun Traditional Market. A lot of the shops and malls here are open until the wee hours of the morning, that’s why it’s also perfect for some nocturnal shopping! Be sure to visit the Heunginjimun or Dongdaemun Gate. And just a few steps away, you’ll find yourself in Dongdaemun Seonggwak Park. Enjoy spectacular city views from the top of the park (especially at night). And anyone traveling with kids should stop by the Dongdaemun Toy Street to pick up a few pieces for your little ones.

Eat at one of the food stalls in Gwangjang Market. Make sure to try the Mung bean pancake (Bindaetteok), Blood sausage (Soondae) and Drug Rice Rolls (Mayak Gimbap). Don’t worry about the last one, it doesn’t actually contain any narcotics, but instead earned its name because it is highly addicting to eat!

Also in the area is the Dongdaemun Design Plaza or the DDP. Designed by the infamous, Zaha Hadid, the DDP is a modern architectural landmark on the heart of Seoul.

End the evening with a stroll along Cheonggyecheon Stream before heading back to your hotel.

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Ramyun by the river 🍜 #hanriver #ramyun #shinramyun #seoul #southkorea #travel #foodandtravelblog #igtravel #igseoul

A post shared by Karen GB (@kgbinwanderland) on Jun 15, 2018 at 9:58pm PDT

Day 6

If you have an extra day to spare, might as well visit the Lotte World Theme Park since it’s right in the city. It’s not big compared to Everland, but what’s great about it is that it has both an indoor and outdoor park. Plus it’s directly connected to a mall! Lotte World Theme Park is most suitable for families traveling with young children. You’ll be spending at least 5 to 6 hours inside the theme park so if you want to make the most of your time, try to visit as soon as they open so it won’t be as crowded and you’ll have more time to enjoy the rides. Also in the area is the COEX Aquarium.

Next stop is the Gangnam Area, one of the popular districts in Seoul. This district is well-known for shopping. Aside from the high-end luxury brands, there’s also an underground shopping complex in Gangnam Station for those on a budget.

For the young travelers, tonight is the night to put your dancing shoes on and enjoy the nightlife in Gangnam, as it has some of the best clubs in Seoul. But if you’re anything like me, head over to Seoul Station and shop for souvenirs, Korean snacks and products at Lotte Outlets. Stock up on your favorite cup noodles, face masks and fill your honey butter obsessions from this supermarket. It’s open until midnight so it’s perfect for some last-minute shopping.

Day 7

Start the day by visiting Changdeokgung (Changdeok Palace). This palace is less busy than the neighboring Gyeongbokgung, but it is actually worth visiting. Inside the palace is the Secret Garden, which you can only enter with a guide. Don’t miss this!

Next is Yeouido Hangang Park. Enjoy a mini picnic by ordering chicken and beer, and have it delivered to you at the park. If you prefer a quick bite, buy some instant ramen noodles at one of the convenience stores in the park. These convenience stores have a designated area for cooking noodles. After lunch and a little bit of sightseeing, take a cruise on the Hangang River.

After the cruise, head to Hongdae for some dinner and coffee. Hongdae is a hip and cool neighborhood, mostly because of its close proximity to Hongik University. Shopping tends to be slightly cheaper here since it mainly caters to the student population. At night, you can experience the hustle and bustle of street artists and performers.

Still need ideas for things to do in Seoul? Check out my 30+ Top Things to Do in Seoul South Korea!

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Lastly, to help you plan your trip to Seoul, I have listed here some Seoul Travel Essentials that you can book in advance for a better travel experience.

4G Wifi Rental (Airport Pick up) Seoul Hotels Seoul Hop-On Hop-Off City Sightseeing Bus Tour AREX Incheon Airport Express Train to Seoul Station (One Way) Discover Seoul Pass T-Money Card (Pre-loaded with KRW5,000) Korean Rail Pass

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Seoul in 7 Days: An Itinerary for First Time Visitors This blog post contains affiliate links. For more information, please read my Disclaimer. It's no secret that Seoul is one of my favorite cities in the world.

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