Magic Beans
Things are moving fast nowadays, even though I have been working a lot from home lately I needed to take a break, but a real break, like mentally. Things happen for a reason, right? Well, it happened that one of my best friends emailed me a link to promote a vegetarian farm/guest house he runs […]
Where does the Italian saying “Smoking Like a Turk” comes from?
One of the things I first noticed in Italy was that people smoked a lot. Although they have this phrase “Smoking like a Turk”. ¿Who smokes the most? Additionally, being a non smoker it’s sometimes a big problem because tobacco kills nearly 6 million people each year, from which 600,000 are the result of non-smokers […]
Doing The Right Things
Story short, I want to buy a scooter. The details? I must go through hell to do so. Truth is that unfortunately the more bureaucratic a country is, the more the people try to get around procedures to achieve what they need. These going-around is not necessarily illegal, but not the right thing either. In […]
Demonstrations in Istanbul for the Taksim Gezi Park
In May 2013 a wave of demonstrations sparkled in Istanbul, Turkey as a result of urban development plans for the Taksim Gezi Park. Demonstrations in Istanbul’s Taksim Gezi Park became violent as anger unfolded into a wider range of civil concerns freedom of the press, of expression, assembly, and the government’s encroachment on Turkey’s secularism. […]
Don’t Mess With Texas
Last weekend, while in Mexico for my summer “break”, I visited my best friend who got married a couple of months ago and lives in San Antonio, Tx. What was really curious was that I felt like an alien in a context that was a normal and ordinary thing since for many years I went […]
Indian Week: Met in Bangalore, reunited in Rome
This week is randomly particular (and fun) because my best friend in Bangalore visited me in Rome and we were around together with his girlfriend and my ex-roommate from India who now works here as well. On Thursday I have another friend from Paris, who I met in Bangalore as well, coming to spend some […]
Hot as México, Spicy as India: Difference between hot & spicy
It is no coincidence that the words “hot” and “spicy” are phonetically different, and this is because they also happen to have different meanings. Hot vs Spicy Especially in India for obvious reasons is a recurrent conversation and people normally ask me if I’m used to Indian food because it is spicy as Mexican. Spicy […]
First Impressions of Thailand
Thailand was the first time I went out of India in almost eight months. It’s good to know I’m actually alive… here are a few things I have noticed so far in order of appearance: 1. Exchange rates The spread (but/sell difference) between USD and other strong currencies is proportionally low in respect to Thailand’s […]