Category: Countries and People

  • 2015: Chinese New Year of the Sheep

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    By Peng Kate Gao If I have to name one day of an entire year that I wish dearly to be with my family-on-the-other-side-of-the-planet, it’s the Chinese New Year. Also called Spring Festival, it is the most cherished and celebrated holiday in China, as families reunite to ring out the old year and celebrate the…

  • Roses are Red, Violets are Blue

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    By Aileen Marshall Valentine’s Day, also known as Saint Valentine’s Day, is celebrated on February 14. It is the day that couples customarily show their love for one another. People give their loved ones cards, flowers (usually roses), candy (usually chocolate), or a romantic dinner. If you are well off, you may get or receive…

  • The Pursuit of Vocation

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    By Peng Kate Gao Work is love made visible. −Kahlil Gibran Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, in his brilliantly written book The Happiness Hypothesis, summarized three ways that people generally view their work: a job, a career, or a calling. A job is what people do to earn money and to support their families. A career is…

  • A One Day Jaunt: Whirlwind D.C. Trip on the Cheap

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    By Susan Russo A one-day trip to Washington D.C.? Are you crazy? No, I am just ultra-cheap. You won’t get to everything on your must-see list, but you can manage a lot with some planning. Maps of DC’s most popular tourist spots in what is called the “Federal District” are easily available on the Web.…

  • An Extraordinary Early American in Europe

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    By Susan Russo Ira Aldridge was born in New York in 1807 to free black parents: Daniel, a clerk and preacher, and Luranah Aldridge. Ira was schooled at home until 1820, when at the age of 13, he was enrolled in the African Free School Number Two. In the 1820s in New York City William…

  • Puerto Rico in March – Summer at the tip of Winter

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    By Natalia Ketaren Puerto Rico, “the rich port,” is an unincorporated territory of the United States. To us travellers from the US, that means that the currency is in dollars, our cell phones work and we need only a valid US license to travel there. San Juan is the capital. It is one of the…

  • Scientists Decide: No interesting stories in Science

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    By John Borghi On March 16, 1926, Robert H. Goddard launched the first ever liquid-fueled rocket in Auburn, Massachusetts. Though this test did little to silence the mocking editorials and harsh criticisms that had followed Goddard since his 1920 proposal that liquid-fueled rockets would eventually reach beyond Earth’s atmosphere, it was a major breakthrough in…

  • Happy Halloween!

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    By Aileen Marshall Halloween is coming up at the end of this month on October 31st. It has become a very big holiday in this country, for children as well as adults, and it is growing in other countries. How did Halloween get started? The holiday we know today is actually a combination of a…

  • New York State of Mind

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    This Month Natural Selections interviews Carly Gelfond, Assistant Director of Development. Country of origin: United States. 1. How long have you been living in the New York area? I’ve been living here for seven years, since I graduated from college in central New York State. I’m originally from New Jersey. 2. Where do you live?…

  • An American in Athens

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    By Christina Pyrgaki Since the news of the financial crisis in Europe reached the us, whenever I meet someone for the first time, I have to emotionally prepare for the inevitable discussion that usually follows my answer to the question “Where is your accent from?” You see, I am Greek, and since it so happened…