More than a drink Just as British people religiously enjoy their 5 o’clock tea, some countries in the southern hemisphere share a very popular drink: “el mate.” This tea-like infusion (also known as chimarrão in Brazil) is made with yerba mate and is enjoyed by children and adults at any time of day. What’s more, it has been an integral part of the culture in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and southern Brazil for many years now. So, let’s learn a little more about this important drink. Origin of “el mate” and yerba mate Yerba mate was already being consumed long before the “new world” was discovered. Actually, it was the Guaraní people who inhabited parts of South America who introduced the plant to the European settlers. The settlers began to cultivate it and to make it well-known throughout the rest of the southern regions. Although the yerba mate cropping tradition almost disappeared when the Jesuits were expelled from the region, native people took over and transformed it into commercial harvesting. “El mate” is also related to the image of “el gaucho”, a popular cowboy-like figure from Argentina, Uruguay and the southern part of Brazil. El gaucho is commonly depicted as a horseman dressed in leather boots or espadrilles, a long-sleeved cotton shirt and baggy pants (bombacha), carrying a bola (best known as boleadora) or a long gaucho knife (facón). How to prepare “el mate” First of all, to start “el mate” we need the following things: Yerba mate –that is, the processed ground leaves of the yerba mate plant.A mate –that is, the receptacle where we’ll put the yerba mate....
May the Popular Places in Germany Be Popular Everyone knows Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Cologne or Düsseldorf. Everyone also knows Bavaria, the Black Forest National Park or Neuschwanstein Castle. And certainly, there is a reason why everyone knows these popular places in Germany: they are beautiful, there are many (German) things to do and they overflow with tourists. But Germany has so much more to offer than these big cities and Bavaria. German Cities and Architecture If you really like cities, go to the west of Germany to a region called “Ruhrpott” in North Rhine-Westphalia. In this region there are a couple of big cities close together and well-connected by public transport. It may not be the most colorful place to be in Germany, but definitely worth visiting. In addition, cities like Cologne, Düsseldorf and Bonn are located there. Another city worth mentioning is Cochem. It is a nice colorful city built directly next to the Mosel River. Take a stroll along the promenade, for instance, observed by the Reichsburg Cochem, the Medieval toll castle, rebuilt in fairy tale style in the 1870s. The castle dates back to the 12th century. Meanwhile, modern looking house façades pair up next to half-timbering houses and the stone constructions of the Enderttor, the largest of Cochem’s three Medieval city gates. Cochem, however, is not the only city that offers rivers and castles. You will find them in many other places as well. Half-Timbering Houses If you are interested in architecture, you’ll like the historic old German towns, filled with many buildings in Fachwerk ‘half-timbering’. The UNESCO World Heritage City Quedlinburg, for instance, offers...
Global Websites for International Audiences If you have a website, it surely is one of your priorities to make it to the top of search engine results. To achieve this, having an excellent SEO strategy is essential. How about expanding your website to international audiences? Do you have to adopt a similar strategy or does it have to be different? Have a look at this article to create global websites! The Importance of Search Engines SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a straightforward concept consisting in making sure a website comes up at the top of search engine results for terms and sentences relevant to the website’s content. In other words, SEO allows users to find the best websites on the web depending on the keywords used in the said search engine. If you have a good SEO strategy, you are most likely to have a successful website! But what if you wish to expand your website to foreign language markets? Your Target Search Engine in a Foreign Country First, you have to ask yourself, can your website be in the target country’s language? You also must not forget to consider the culture of that country, their consumers and most importantly what search engines they use. Yes, Google is not the only search engine. Let’s take China for instance. The main search engine in China is Baidu. In Japan, it is Yahoo. Another example, in Russia Google.ru is not the main search engine. It is Yandex, for the good reason that the latter is built around the Cyrillic Alphabet. So of course, if you have, let’s say, a Chinese website,...
Can I study online for free? MOOCs are online classes that anyone can take on the internet. Before the internet, students could take classes remotely, meaning they did not attend the class in person. This was called “distance education”. The first ever distance education class was advertised in 1728 in The Boston Gazette. The ad read: a new method of learning – lessons mailed weekly. The professor was Caleb Phillips and he taught “Short Hand” which, indeed, was a method of abbreviated writing. Since then, people have not stopped finding innovative and convenient ways to learn. Although this started with limited participation mailed lessons, we now have ended up with Massive Open Online Courses. MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are the latest trend in distance education and learning. What are “MOOCs”? MOOCs are online classes available to people everywhere through open access on the internet. In addition, participation is unlimited so any number of people can take the same class. They can be on almost any topic. MOOCs often provide interactive education modules. Some MOOCs are worth academic credits, but most are not. Some may offer a certificate upon completion, like for instance, computer literacy. What MOOCs can I take? MOOC options are almost unlimited. Nowadays, there are so many online classes that it might be difficult to decide what to take. Options vary from the basics of digital photography, or arts and crafts like carpentry, however, you will find more complex topics like psychology, medicine or even physics and chemistry. Where do I find MOOCs of interest? There are many websites that offer them. Here is a list...
Free Online Language Courses Are you interested in learning a new language? Learning languages has never been easier: Free Online Language Courses are here to help you make your dream come true. When thinking about learning a new language, we usually make up a list of excuses not to. One of them is “I don’t have the time to go to a language school”. There is also “I do not have enough money to pay for it”. This may have been true years and years ago, but not now. Thanks to technology and the Internet, all languages are at our fingertips! We are now able to study languages for free, online, at our own speed, and as many as we want. Yes, it’s true! There are many free online language courses that you can look up before deciding on one. Here we made a list of the four most popular free online language courses. Read this information about the most popular and Free Online Language Courses: Website Pros Cons Languages Prices Duolingo Duolingo itself is free. Lessons go deep. Speaking, writing, listening and reading exercises are equally balanced in each lesson and each language. Good for long-term and committed learners. Mobile app and website offer the same. You can join clubs related to the language you are learning. Duolingo Plus, a more complete version of Duolingo, is paid. Fast conversational skills are not developed, so it is not good for tourists trying to pick the language up before traveling. There is no chat option to interact with native speakers. Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Irish,...
Useful tips on how to apply if you want to immigrate to Canada. Do you want to immigrate to Canada this year? There are several things to consider when immigrating to a new country. From booking plane tickets to arriving at your new “home”, there’s nothing more important than having legal status when you immigrate. It will give you benefits similar, or very close, to the ones held by citizens. How do I know what to do? To immigrate to Canada, first, you need to decide on a Province and check on the language they speak there. There are two official languages in Canada: French and English. If you speak either, or both of them, your immigration process will be easier. You will need to take a test to prove your language skills when applying for an immigrant visa. For more information on how to immigrate to Canada check the official website of the Canadian government. Are you relocating for work or moving to Canada on your own? If you want to immigrate to Canada for work, employers usually guide workers and/or help them with the relocation process. Companies who relocate workers to branches in other countries are more familiar with the immigration process. If this is your case, contact the corresponding department in your company. If you are immigrating on your own, then you should start by checking if you’re eligible to immigrate to Canada. What kind of visa does the Canadian government offer? To immigrate to Canda, you need to check on visas first. The Canadian government offers several types. The one you need depends on which...
