How to Order Coffee like a Local Around the Globe
Shaping Cultural Experiences
Travel has been an integral part of my life since I was a young child. I grew up in a multicultural, bilingual home in the Netherlands with a Polish mother and a Dutch father. My
Update & BBC News Link
A brief update: One interview video will be uploaded tomorrow evening. I believe the BBC News One-Minute World News provides well-balanced reporting of news, hence why I wanted to share it. Top stories on May
From Nigeria to Boston
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VNkCazT_T4&feature=youtu.be
When you first meet Oluwagbeminiyi Osidipe, you encounter a very vibrant, friendly, and unique personality. Oluwagbeminiyi or Niyi – as she shortened her name for simplicity – was named by her mother, who had a “very personal experience” when she had her, Niyi explained. Niyi is a Yoruba Nigerian transplant who arrived in the U.S. in 2006. As one of the most densely populated (West) African countries, Nigeria derives its name from the river that spans its land. To the South, it borders the Gulf of Guinea to the Atlantic Ocean. Originally colonized by the British, Nigeria gained independence in 1960. Its main ethnic groups are the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, who speak English and their own respective languages, while major religions include Islam, Christianity and indigenous beliefs. Niyi shares her story, her views on politics, cultural differences she’s embraced with humor, and what we can learn from each other by expressing curiosity. Her message is simple: travel enriches us through its exposure to new cultures, and enables us to grow.
Mark Twain on Travel
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” (American author Mark Twain, Innocents Abroad).
Have you had the opportunity to travel (extensively, within your country, or even once abroad)? Can you relate to Twain’s sentiments? How does travel enrich us?
Pleasing The Taste Palate
Food has the wonderful quality of uniting us no matter where we are. There is nothing partisan or narrow-minded about food. It simply invites us to indulge, create recipes, and share with others. Two of my favorite Polish dishes (included in collage) are pierogies and barszcz czerwony – a beetroot soup – served on Christmas Eve in Poland. How does food bring us together? What are some of your favorite dishes and why? Can food trigger memories?
Stereotypes: Truth or Fiction?
DEFINING STEREOTYPES: “An idea or statement about all of the members of a group or all the instances of a situation.” (Merriam-Webster). Stereotypes enable bias and preconceived notions to perpetuate, but can also reveal valid
Annual Human Rights Report
“The world changed immeasurably over the course of 2011. Across the Middle East, North Africa, and far beyond, citizens stood up to demand respect for human dignity, more promising economic opportunities, greater political liberties, and
Euro Crisis & Emerging Stereotypes
Brief Crisis Breakdown Since the onset of the global financial crisis, or Great Recession, in 2007, the Eurozone has feared impending growing global debt levels, as well as sovereign debt within European countries themselves. In
Remembering Tiananmen
Today marks the 23rd anniversary of Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests in Beijing, China. Inflation, a lack of career prospects, the fall of Eastern European communism, and political corruption, are all said to have fueled anger
Coffee's Uniting Power
A cup of coffee can bridge cultural gaps. At least, that’s what Gizem Salgicil White, founder of Turkayfe.org, believes. Her organization aims to create awareness of Turkish culture, particularly within America. Gizem is a Turkish native,
Today’s Culture with Travel post is by Katy Crouch
Last summer, I headed to the very picturesque Sant’Agnello, just outside of Sorrento (Italy). After checking in, I was off to a restaurant that TripAdvisor told me was “very good.” I sat staring at a menu, not knowing what was good to order. What do the locals eat or drink?
The waiter came over to take my order, and the panic set in. Armed with my translation books, I frantically flicked through marked pages, hoping they would guide me. I managed to find the word for ‘please,’ at least.
I pointed at the page and mumbled, “oon-caffay-per-fay… …vor?” (un caffè per favore) in the best Italian I could muster. Somehow, the waiter appeared minutes later with my caffeine fix. But, I was kicking myself for not being better prepared. Much of the rest of my holiday followed suit – pointing at menus in hope.
Helping travelers order coffee across the globe
Upon my return, I shared my struggle with my colleagues who could all relate. It was then that the eureka moment came.
My colleagues and I teamed up with a group of interactive content geniuses and our client, FreshGround — who make commercial coffee machines — to make a tool to help us Brits get our coffee fix abroad.
The International Flavours of Coffee tool reveals how to order coffee in various languages from across the globe. It plays audio spoken by locals, and provides phonetic spellings to help with your pronunciation.
Being coffee fanatics, we added a whole bunch of fun facts about café culture from around the world into the tool too. Did you know, for example, that in the 236 episodes of sitcom Friends, they drank a total of 1,154 cups of coffee!
“Coffee plays such a big role in people’s lives – it brings people together to socialise, has been linked with productivity at work and can be a comfort when travelling to unknown places.” – Dan Lyon, MD of FreshGround.
The embarrassing struggle with languages
Research shows that my colleagues and I are not alone in our struggle to speak even the basics of another language. It has been revealed that almost half of Britons are embarrassed by not being able to speak the local language when holidaying abroad.
Shockingly, over half also admitted to resorting to pointing at menus to avoid mispronouncing non-English words when ordering in a restaurant. In all honesty, it is a relief that I am not the only one guilty of this!
Despite being known as a nation of tea drinkers, Britons drink approximately 55 million cups of coffee per day. Using our tool, Brits can order their coffee abroad with confidence and discover the perfect local accompaniments for their beverage – answering my original question: ‘what do the locals eat and drink?’
Is ordering in cafés and restaurants overseas something you have struggled with too? I would love to hear about your experiences in the comments below.
Katy Crouch is a content writer at award-winning digital agency, Selesti. She lives in an idyllic village on the Norfolk Broads and loves all things holiday and travel. From all-inclusive, sun-worshipping in far-flung countries to exploring the most remote parts of Canada. Katy is a self-confessed foodie and coffee lover. Nothing makes her happier than writing about food and drink.
Hi! I'm the founder of Culture With Travel and #CultureTrav. Please chat with us on social media and contribute in the comments! Follow @Nicolette_O
