The Military B.R.A.T. Issue - Spring 2019

CELEBRATING CROSS-CULTURAL IDENTITY

WWW.CULTURSMAG.COM

WONDER WOMAN DIRECTOR

PATTY JENKINS & SCREENWRITER SAM SHERIDAN

CROSS-CULTURAL FAMILY THE SUPER DUO BEHIND TNT’S LIMITED SERIES I AM THE NIGHT

THE MILITARY B.R.A.T. ISSUE Display until May 30, 2019

WHAT IS AN

WHAT GROWING UP

DESTINATION

MEANT TO ME

ACROSS THE POND

ACCENT? MILITARY LONDON WHAT DOES IT MEAN ALL THE GOODNESS FOR IDENTITY 1

Summer 2018 | www.CultursMag.com

$11.95 US

Spring 2019

$12.95 CAN

We are a global, multicultural philanthropic brand that uses media, lifestyle products and experiences to foster human connection in geographically mobile and cross-cultural populations.

Created for immigrants and refugees, military B.R.A.T.s, Third Culture Kids, missionary kids, minoritized populations and those interested in their experiences, we empower communication at the intersection of social justice and cultural fluidity.

celebrating cross-cultural identity cultursmag.com

WHAT’S INSIDE?

MUST Know: Yvonne Eisenring

28

MUST Do: Intersectional Roller Derby

34 44

62

Destination: London Bound 4

88

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MUST Wear: Mona Lucero Designs

Food: Celebrating Austria

Technology: Virtual Reality www.CultursMag.com

68

MUST See: Re-envisioning Art

22

MUST Buy: House Babylon Bedding

MUST See: B.R.A.T. Art Institute

80

MUST Watch: I Am The Night

52

64

Auto: Paris Motor Show

38

BRATS Without Borders

57

MUST Buy: Magma London

14

Executive Strategist: 5 Tips for You

76

B.R.A.T. Tribute: Edna Motley

39

What is an Accent?

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SPRING 2019

01 FEATURES: 88 Destination: London– All the Goodness Across the Pond Celebrating Military B.R.A.T.s 36 The Art of Being a B.R.A.T. 38 B.R.A.T.s Without Borders 40 B.R.A.T. Art Project 42

What Growing up Military Meant to Me

76

Tribute to Edna Earlene Motley

80 Making Art for All of Us

02 AUTO REVIEW 64

Paris Motor Show: The Most Visited Auto Show in the World

03 CAREERS

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52

Between the Sheets

56

Peng Succulents

57

Magma London

58

O’Donnell Moonshine

64

Paris Motor Show

04 ENTERTAINMENT 62

Celebrating Austrian Food

64

Paris Motor Show

68

Virtual Reality

80

Making Art For All of Us

05

09 TRAVEL

COLUMNISTS

33

YuuJou — Friendshipbased Travel

14

Executive Strategist: 5 Tips for Your Best Life

88

Destination: London Bound

16

Global Storytelling for Global Development: Your Impetus for Change

44

Fashion: Mona Lucero Indie Designer Extraordinaire

64

Auto: Paris Motor Show: The Most Visited Auto Show in the World

10 PEOPLE 22

Re-envisioning Art: Cross-Cultural Style

Photographer Hayden M. Green

28

68

Mona Lucero Indie Designer Extraordinaire

Writer Yvonne Eisenring

Technology: Will Virtual Reality Unite or Divide Us?

44

Designer Mona Lucero

74

Health: Diet, Health & Locale

06

56

Entrepenuer Mariam Elshafie

76

Edna Earlene Motley

HEALTH

80

Filmmakers Patty Jenkins and Sam Sheridan

FASHION 22 44

74

Diet, Health & Locale

07 RELATIONSHIPS

11

28

The Value of Friends

PHILANTHROPY

60

Becoming through Crossing Boundaries

16

Your Impetus for Change

33

CONTEST: Join Culturs and YuuJou as six contest winners travel the world

08

IN EVERY ISSUE 8

Publisher’s Letter

10

Contributors

12

Culturally Fluid Definitions

21

The Must List

96

Behind the Scenes

ON THE COVER 80

Making Art for All of Us — Cross-Cultural Family, the super duo behind TNT’s “Limited Series I am The Night”

18

What is an Accent?

42

What Growing up Military Meant to Me

88

Destination: London

LIFESTYLE 14

Five Tips for Your Best Life

18

American English Not the Real English

21

The Must List

22

Re-envisioning Art

34

Intersectional Roller Derby

36 62

The Art of Being a B.R.A.T. CultursCelebrates!

Austrian Food

68

Will Virtual Reality Unite or Divide Us?

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PUBLISHER’S LETTER

I

“

hope your day gets better,” said the handsome young man as he made a point to walk by me, touching my knee as I sat numb, trepedacious about the upcoming flight. It was difficult to look him in the eye as he’d been trying to make contact for a while — to empathize and let me know he cared. A stranger in the airport, feeling my pain as I quietly sat in the almost incredulously low, standard-issue airport row chairs, tears slowly and selectively rolling down my cheeks; waves of despondence crashing against my brain, my chest, my heart. After 19 hours of travel and weather delays, I was to miss the celebration resulting from decades of striving: the Los Angeles Premiere of “I am the Night,” a limited series on TNT inspired by the life of Fauna Hodel.

Just then, I received a tag on Facebook — three years ago today two of my most cherished friends Hodel and Paulette Martinez Bethel met at a restaurant in Hawaii and become fast friends themselves. The two women, one black, one white, look as if they could have been sisters; but more than that (unbeknownst to any of us at the time) they had a similar foundational life experience and identity: one that drove them to strive for belonging — even if they did so in different ways.

The dimensionality and intersectionality of their lives created a bond whereby they discussed with each other things the rest of the world wouldn’t quite understand.

Hodel passed away last year after a valiant fight with cancer, but not before achieving the life-long dream of telling her incredible story to the world and working to spread a message of love — love beyond color. The result is “I am the Night,” and a collaboration with “Wonder Woman” Director Patty Jenkins and Screenwriter Sam Sheridan, starring Actor Chris Pine. I had

Left — (l to r) Fast friends: Paulette Martinez Bethel and Fauna Hodel.

Right — Patty, Doni and Sam on the set of “I am the Night” in Los Angeles.

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the honor of representing my friend as a consultant on the series, and took the role to heart because I know this win was hard-fought for a woman who deserved everything that comes with it. Thus the tears I spoke of above. Initially, I felt like I’d let my friend down, but the timely Facebook memory reminded me to choose joy — just as Hodel would have wanted.

Jenkins is a military B.R.A.T., which is the major focus for this issue. In Making Art for All of Us, pg 80, she and Sheridan show how family dimensionality and the power of a team can inspire greatness. The Military B.R.A.T. Art project, page 36, highlights the forgotten work of B.R.A.T.s curated from closed U.S. Department of Defense schools around the globe; while B.R.A.T.s share what memories are meaningful to them, page 42.

Thanks to Jenkins, I also had the great opportunity to visit the set of “Wonder Woman II” while filming in London, which is our destination of choice this issue. TCK Xiaoya Cheng tells us why you should fall in love with it, page 88; and our Must List gives some unique gift ideas straight from the Queen’s stomping grounds, page 52.

I hope you enjoy this issue, dedicated to Hodel — as she and I had always discussed her face gracing the magazine’s cover when it went into print. I’m 100 percent sure she’d be proud that the Sheridan-Jenkins clan with its hidden diversity is here in her stead.

Choose Joy,

Doni (Dawn-ee) Publisher

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GURU

Volume II, Issue IV

PUBLISHER & FOUNDER

Doni (Dawn-ee) Fort Collins, Colo.

EDITORIAL SENIOR EDITOR

EDITOR

FASHION EDITOR

MUSIC EDITOR

Tammy Matthews

Jill Jones

Sonja Motley

Tommy McMillion

Boulder, Colo.

Loveland, Colo.

Denver

Aurora, Colo.

AUTHENTICITY GODDESS, RADIO HOST

Robin Alexis Mount Shasta, Calif.

COLUMNISTS

INTERNATIONAL LIAISONS

Antonia Naje Allsopp

Fran Wilson

Andrea Bazoin

Fort Collins, Colo.

Fort Collins, Colo.

Fort Collins, Colo.

Chumba Limo Aisha Jama

Donnyale Ambrosine

Donna Musil

Dr. Rhonda Coleman

CONTRIBUTORS

Fort Collins, Colo.

Denver

Koya Cheng

Babin Dada

London, UK

Lucknow, India

Yvonne Eisenring

Boulder, Colo.

Hayden Greene

Julia Hubbel

Brooklyn, New York

EUROPEAN LIASION

Crystal McDonald

New York City

United Kingdom

Claudia Koerbler

Tammy Matthews

Switzerland

Denver

Michele Davenport

Denver

Washington D.C.

YOGA DIRECTOR

Angelia McGowan

Terry Mairley

Denver

Littleton, Colo.

Sonja Motley Denver

ART ART DIRECTOR

COLLATERAL DESIGN

PHOTOGRAPHY

MAKEUP

Liz Bilotta

Tineal Puaoi

Sedrique Olison

Denver

South Pacific

Gerald Ambrosine Hayden Greene Brien Hallowell Peng Angelia D. McGowan

GRAPHIC DESIGN INTERN

WEB DESIGN

Shreenal Patel

Max Ratkai

Fort Collins, Colo.

Denver

SALES

MODELS

Aida Sow Joyce Green STYLISTS

Sonja Motley Mona Lucero

SUPPORTERS

VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES

MARKETPLACE DIRECTOR

ADVISORY BOARD

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Jill Goldberg

Bob Bordernero

East Coast, United States

Brooke Martellaro Gregory Moore Donna Musil Ruth VanReken Antoinette Williams

• Department of Journalism and Media Communication Colorado State University • Visit London • Turner • TNT

West Coast, United States

Connect with Culturs on social: @CultursMag

SUBSCRIPTIONS: www.subscribe.Cultursmag.com ADVERTISING INQUIRIES, Contact: advertise@culturs.org MEDIA INQUIRIES, Contact: press@culturs.org CULTURSTM magazine, Volume 2, Issue 4. Copyright Culturs Global Philanthropic Lifestyle Network. All rights reserved. Published quarterly; Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, by Simply Alive, LLC, 1800 Wazee Street, Suite 300, Denver, CO, 80525. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Culturs magazine, 1800 Wazee Street, Suite 300, Denver, CO, 80525. Reproduction in whole or part without express written consent is strictly prohibited.

Simply Alive LLC does not assume responsibility for the advertisements, nor any representation made therein, nor the quality or deliverability of the products themselves. No responsibility is assumed for unsolicited submissions, manuscripts, photographs, and other material submitted. Culturs makes every effort to provide accurate information in advertising and editorial content, however, does not make any claim as to the accuracy of information provided by advertisers or editorial contributors and accepts no responsibility or liability for inaccurate information.

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CONTRIBUTORS

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•••

•••

RHONDA M. COLEMAN, DAOM, is a multilingual, code-switching, culturally Honduran woman of Black African descent.

She is the founder and director of The Healing Garden, a center for holistic health education grounded in African ancestral healing practice. Coleman is a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist and a teacher of the Afro-Brazilian martial-art of Capoeira.

She lives in Aurora, Colo., USA with her husband and three children.

••• ANDREA BAZOIN (say “Bah-Zwah”) is a higher education professional turned entrepreneur. She is the founder of everHuman, LLC (www.everhuman.io), a company that provides tech support that is actually supportive through coaching, project assistance, and workshops delivered with both expertise and empathy. Her family ties span across the United States and beyond — including Chile, Argentina, Australia, and France. She currently lives in Fort Collins, Colo., USA with her French husband and their culturally-fluid son.

•••

YVONNE EISENRING is a Swiss writer, filmmaker and philosophy student. After working as a snowboard instructor, she became a journalist and was on television for seven years. In 2015, she gave up her career as a TV reporter and anchorwoman and started to write books and theatre plays. Together with her Sister, she started the project called Yuujou (A Japanese word for friendship). Eisenring lives in Zurich, Paris and New York.

•••

•••

XIAOYA CHENG believes her personal multicultural experiences may help her to understand the global culture and provide a more comprehensive understanding of global culture to readers. She aims to put more eyes on TCK development since the TCK population is increasing rapidly and has a significant impact to society. Culturs Magazine is the perfect avenue to do this as it integrates Cheng’s study of media and film as well as the system of publications as a whole.

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MICHELE DAVENPORT is an executive strategist who designs and facilitates programs in coaching, communication and leadership effectiveness for individuals and organizations committed to optimizing potential and growth. As Principal and Founder of Mosaic Coaching Solutions, Davenport employs the Co-Active model to inspire clients to engage more deeply and intentionally in every aspect life. Her approach includes a proven three-phased process of heightening self-awareness, developing a strategy and implementing accountability systems to achieve transformative and sustainable change.

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BABIN DINDA My grandparents named me Swarbhanu Dinda (still my legal name) however, my parents call me Babin and it’s my preferred name. I was born in Kolkata, India and at a very tender age of six moved out due to my father’s immobile nature of work. I had the privilege of living in two very diverse countries before moving back to Lucknow, India where I completed my schooling. Following the family heritage, I am currently attending college in the U.S. reading International Studies.

HAYDEN GREENE is a UK-born Brooklyn photographer, who hails from Trinidad and Tobago. The Adult Third Culture Kid is a prize winning, fine art photographer with an eye for the ironic and for color. He has been a working professional since 2008 and strives to capture the unnoticed beauty that we walk by every day. His work includes beautiful landscapes and cityscapes, expressive portraiture, and dynamic concert and event photography. In 2010 he created Greene Light Photography to bring an artistic eye to commercial photography. Greene is head of Greene Light Photography and co-owner of Barataria Gallery in Brooklyn, New York.

••• CLAUDIA KÖRBLER is an international development specialist and host of a YouTube Channel and Facebook Page called Global Storytelling for Global Development.

Its goal is to use storytelling as a tool to create and foster social impact globally. The TEDx speaker and Forbes expert contributor talks about measures to eradicate extreme poverty, driving social impact forward and discusses her experience working in international development for the United Nations, Embassy of Austria and becoming an intrapreneur in organizations like the World Bank Group. Her passion for finding global solutions to emerging problems and creating social impact speaks through her engagements. She is an Austrian-born global citizen and trained Simultaneous Interpreter who speaks five languages including German, English, and Spanish.

•••

••• ••• ANGELIA D. MCGOWAN is a writer who had her first culture shock moving from her native Texas to Colo., USA, at age 10 and experienced snow, then again when visiting a college friend’s Puerto Rican family in Brooklyn, NYC, USA, and eventually traveling to her first trip out of the U.S. to Haiti for a mission and lastly, on a business trip to South Africa. No matter where the travel, she recalls similarities far outweighed differences among people. Through her consulting service, Canady’s Corner, she is often tucked comfortably behind-the-scenes guiding clients through communications needs, including serving as a ghost writer and editor for memoirs. When not working with clients, you may find her (racing from here to there in the latest model of this or that auto manufacturer) spinning tales for Creative Auto Reviews (CARs).

•••

DONNA MUSIL is an American documentary filmmaker, writer and activist exploring the subculture of U.S. military brats. She wrote and directed the awardwinning 2006 documentary “Brats: Our Journey Home,” a film about growing up the child of a military family and the effect it has on that child’s adult life. She is also the founder of Brats Without Borders, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing awareness, celebration and support for military brats and other third culture children.

•••

A native Chicagoan, Senior Editor TAMMY MATTHEWS worked in major-market print media for nearly 15 years. Most notably as an editor for the Chicago Sun-Times. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia’s School of Journalism and master’s degree from Colorado State University’s Department of Journalism and Media Communication. Now a doctoral student at the University of Colorado Boulder in the College of Media, Communication and Information, Matthews unites her passions — sport, media, language and gender — in her primary research, which focuses on historical and contemporary representations of transgender athletes in domestic and international sport media. Her additional interests are education, global and domestic culture, new media, interpersonal relationships, travel, art, technology and business. Last year, Matthews sailed with and worked for Semester at Sea (SAS).

Military Brat, TCK SONJA MOTLEY brings decades of fashion industry experience to CULTURS — from fashion illustrator, to major department store layout artist, booker and runway trainer for a modeling agency and agent of illustrators and fashion photographers.

She’s overseen sales for 14 clothing lines, fine jewelry and diamonds, served as visual merchandiser, fashion show organizer and personal shopper for high-end boutiques and select individual clients. Motley lends her knowledge of the body, clothing, adornments and image to clients spanning the globe. Currently the owner of Clutter Free Closets, Motley shared her expertise with Home and Garden Television (HGTV) and NBC 9News in Denver. To work with Motley, visit www.clutterfreeclosets.net

FRAN WILSON has worked in the book industry for 26 years. She started as an hourly student employee at Colorado State University. She now heads up CSU’s General Book Department. Her passions include connecting people with books, reading in English and Spanish, and learning about other cultures.

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Culturally Fluid Definitions

I

n the 21st century, assessing someone’s background from outward appearance isn’t enough as hidden, rather than visual, diversity means people increasingly bring more to the table than meets the eye. Whether through

travel, nationality, race or ethnicity, many straddle culture in myriad ways.

From Cultural Fluidity, to Third Culture Kid, Expat, Third Culture Adult, Cross-Cultural Kid and more, the language to describe our in-between community

Cross-Cultural Kid (CCK)

Third Culture Kids (TCKs)

A term coined by author Ruth Van Reken in 2002, is a person who is living, has lived, or meaningfully interacted with two or more cultural environments for a significant period of time during the first eighteen years of life. This includes minoritized individuals living within majority culture.

Coined by Sociologist Ruth Useem in the 1950s as a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents’ culture.

The first culture is considered an individual’s passport culture, while the second culture consists of the culture(s) in which the individual has lived.

The third culture is a result of the person’s life experience — this is the culture to which they most belong. The third culture often is where individuals feel community with others of similar experience.

Adult Cross-Cultural Kid (ACCK) An adult who grew up as a Cross-Cultural Kid.

Cultural Fluidity/Cultural Mobility

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is of utmost importance. Knowing the vocabulary creates understanding and deepens our sense of belonging and connections to others with similar experiences.

Here’s a quick overview so you can follow along any of our articles with ease:

Adult Third Culture Kid (ATCK) An adult who grew up as a TCK.

A term coined by Culturs founder Donnyale Ambrosine as hidden diversity created by people who don’t or didn’t grow up in a homogenous cultural environment. Culturally Fluid individuals may straddle nationalities, ethnicities, race or culture. The fluidity created allows understanding between or among their foundational areas of meaningful experience. It also may hinder sense of belonging to any one area.

Children who moved to various regions within the same country while growing up, often having to re-learn ways of being, especially as regional differences in dress, speech and action are heightened in formative years when it is important to be accepted.

Missionary Kids

Third Culture Adult (TCA)

Children of missionaries who travel to missions domestically or abroad.

Coined in 2002 by Psychotherapist Paulette Bethel to signify individuals who travel extensively and are immersed in, or live in global locations after the age of 18 (after identity has been solidified).

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Domestic TCK

Refugees

Traveler

Internationally nomadic group not characterized by a parent’s occupation. Displaced from their homeland forcibly or by choice, often having fled for varied reasons — violence, politics, religion, environment, etc. Refugees typically do not return to their origin country.

Those who travel expecting differences among intra-international or international culture, however, not immersed in these cultures for extended periods of time, or long enough to integrate local cultural norms as their own.

Immigrants People who, for varied reasons, immigrate to a country different than their homeland to stay permanently. Many return to their home countries to visit, though some do not.

International Business Kids Children whose parents work with multi-national corporations takes them to far-away lands. Often in professional fields surrounding oil, construction and pharmaceuticals.

Borderlanders Expatriate (Expat) As defined by Merriam Webster — to leave one’s native country to live elsewhere; which also sometimes means to renounce allegiance to one’s native country.

Military B.R.A.T. Children of military who move with parents to different places within or outside of their home country. They often experience other cultures within the confines of a military installation or compound that possesses traits of the home country.

Non-Military Foreign Service Children traveling with their parents to various countries in non-military government roles, diplomatic corps, civil service, foreign service, etc.

Described by author Ruth Van Reken in the book “Third Culture Kids,” a borderlander is a citizen of one country that lives close to another. Often the norms, customs and traits of each country’s culture seeps into the other — creating a cultural experience separate from either original culture, while allowing inhabitants keen knowledge and insight to their own culture, as well as the other.

Multiracial People whose family consists of two or more races to which the individual identifies. With race often come cultural norms, slang language and attitudes that can greatly differ. Many multiracial children, though not all, have the unique opportunity to learn norms of all the cultures they comprise.

Multiethnic; Multicultural Diplomat Kids Children whose parents are members of the home country’s political framework while living on foreign soil.

People whose family consists of two or more cultures to which the individual identifies. Even when belonging to the same race, differences in culture may exist between ethnicities, tribes and other cultural contexts.

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EXECUTIVE STRATEGIST

By Michele Davenport

Five Tips for Your Best Life

A

s you ease into the new year and Q1 emerges, there are many opportunities to pivot — everything from how you approach work, exercise, relationships, health and living on purpose. What follows are a few simple tips for being intentional about getting to your best life!

Sit 5 Minutes Per Day Take a little time every day to just be with yourself. There’s no effort here except to slow everything down and just be you. Try staring out the window at a tree branch or lower, consider sitting and simply following your breath — don’t pressure yourself into thinking of it as meditation, just follow your breath.

What vs. Why?

Saffu

What’s possible when you openly communicate with others in a way that promotes creativity and innovation? Try shifting to ask questions starting with what instead of why. “What was your thinking when you sent that reply?” vs. “Why did you send that email reply?” can eliminate defensiveness and result in a more thoughtful, considered response.

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With anything and Get Really Curious Follow your curiosity, each and every time it strikes you. If you wonder about something, pause and ask yourself or those around you, what’s that about? What do you like about working here? What makes that piece of equipment generate that sound?

With anything and everything you wonder about, share your curiosity. It promotes engagement with others, it keeps your brain active and it’s a healthy way to stay connected. Be okay being vulnerable and exposing that you don’t know something.

everything you wonder about, share your curiosity. It promotes engagement with others, it keeps your brain active and it’s a healthy way to stay connected.

Allow Space This is simple, yet very powerful. If you resist the urge to manage, to x, or to judge the things that are uncomfortable or unfamiliar, a world full of possibility will be revealed. Whatever you resist will persist, so try this instead: turn your attention directly toward the thing(s) that you typically dismiss, ignore or gloss over. Then try the three preceding steps and see what happens — ask what vs. why, sit with yourself, and get curious. Get ready for a brand new experience!

Excellence vs. Perfection What kind of handicap do you think is being applied to your life when you work so hard to achieve perfection? Vince Lombardi once said, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” Give yourself a break, be kind and gentle with yourself and see what happens.

These five tips for your best life are meant to inspire you to broaden the lens and to be open to what happens next! www.CultursMag.com

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GLOBAL STORYTELLING FOR GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT

By Claudia Körbler

Your Impetus for Change How you can be behind the cultural wheel of change.

Danielle Tate, left, and Claudia Körbler preparing for an interview.

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2

018 was a year of change for many of us. I am sure you know how it feels when you get that itch on January one when a New Year begins and how it feels when you know there is something you want to do to change the world, something you feel compelled to do.

Living across and in-between cultures makes us often contemplate on how we can use our diverse skill sets and talents to implement social impact and change. In this column, I want to share a story with you on how to people from different cultural backgrounds started a show called Vehicles of Change (VOC). VOC is a show hosted by two self-described change makers from vastly different industries, interviewing other vehicles of change to understand the mindsets, situations, and motivations that help them change the world. Danielle Tate (the American) and, I — Claudia Koerbler (the Austrian) — were worried about the state of the world and realized that exactly this state of unconsciousness contemplation about international development, entrepreneurship and international affairs is a pivotal time to join forces and host a show that focuses on positivity and change. By listening to the journey of other game-changers you can find ways to negate anger and hopelessness around and find your unique cultural power to affect positive change.

It all started with fondue... well first an introduction, which led to a friendship and then the fondue. Danielle and I sat and chatted about what we considered the sad state of the world and we each applied the lenses of our professions and backgrounds. As an Austrian TCK who grew up on the border of two countries, in my professional career, I now have been active in global policy development for the United Nations and The World Bank Group. These experiences have led me to have a global perspective on the best ways to affect positive change. Tate is an American tech entrepreneur and author. Her experiences bootstrapping a startup and navigating entrepreneurship give me a micro-perspective on how individuals can build solutions to problems and create the changes they need.

Our backgrounds are quite diverse, like for many of you Culturs readers, but we both agreed that too many people are tuning up for a fight or tuning out completely when it comes to the problems of the world.

That’s when the “ah-ha moment” happened.

What if we filtered through our networks and interviewed people we considered vehicles of change across sectors, cultures, and countries? We could use our diverse lenses to ask questions that helped us really understand how change makers are created, how they operate and what others could learn from them. Then the second “ah-ha moment” happened.

What if we did more than interview the vehicles of change in our networks? What if we created a show?

We were both tired of the endless sadness and anger on regular television... so what if we made a show we would want to watch? A show that inspired, educated, and empowered viewers to become agents of change.

Our two tandem “ah ha moments” were the impetus for Vehicles of Change.

“im·pe·tus - the force that makes something happen or happen more quickly. In our case, the need to inspire, educate and empower vehicles of change to take action.”

It’s a good thing we had such a strong impetus for Vehicles of Change, because neither one of us had ever hosted a podcast, much less a show! There was so much force behind our idea, we didn’t stay mired in what we couldn’t do, we dove directly into what we could do. Within two weeks of our initial “ah has” we were shooting our New York City interviews, and a three weeks later we were doing the same thing in Washington, D.C. Talk about scrappy startup mentality.

We sweet-talked Claudia’s friend’s cousin to become our videographer, rented an AirBnB in Manhattan, and started emailing the vehicles of change that we knew in New York and D.C. Somehow truly amazing humans not only agreed to be interviewed by virtual strangers, but opened up to share the vulnerabilities and truths of their journeys. We credit the importance of our mission. Eighteen episodes later, we looked back and were completely blown away by the people we met, the stories we heard, the immense positive change that is currently happening and how much fun we had!

So there it is. The insane, yet true story of how an Austrian and an American walked into a bar, ordered fondue and then teamed up to change the world for the better. In this New Year with endless possibility we want to encourage you to take a leap of faith, be behind the wheel of change and think about what would happen if you and another person from a different culture would walk in to a bar and start a conversation around change… www.CultursMag.com

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American English-

Not

the Real An East Indian student reflects on his British-Danish-American influences.

English

“R

eally, you are from India, but you don’t have an Indian accent!” This statement has revisited me on different occasions in different settings.

The food we consume in our daily diet and the clothes we choose forecast our cultural practices and ethnicity. Likewise, the way we converse also can be a determining factor of our cultural background.

We, humans, have developed a psychological preset to categorize individuals based on linguistic pronunciation. We can easily determine a person’s origin by the way one speaks a common language, e.g., English and the way we spell ‘color,’ but what happens when we have mingling of two cultures over a period of time? As time advances, we see the embodiment of the exposed culture, which may be different from the origin of the individual.

I have had the opportunity of growing up with multiple cultures and interact with different identities.

From a very young age, I was exposed to a specific linguistic style. However, I was unaware of this entire dilemma until my eighth-grade Parent-Teachers

By Babin Dinda 18

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Meeting (PTM). At this monumental event (of my life) my mother was approached by my English teacher with an interesting complaint against me. I was accused of regular usage of “slangs.”

When asked to elaborate on this matter, my teacher stated that I had an “American Accent” and I should resort to British English as it is the correct form of the language. Studying in a British school and living in a country dominated by the British education system, this was a serious allegation.

Fast forwarding my life to Orientation for International Students at an American University, I was introduced to a group of graduate students with a similar origin to mine. As conversations rolled up, I was once again defending another interesting but a similar crime as previously. My accuser joked (with

a mocking tome), “It hasn’t even been over a day and you already have an ‘American Accent.’”

These events have led me to question my links to my origin. Does growing up in a Third Culture lifestyle distance us from our origins? When do we pick up a specific accent and is this consensual or by accident?

Linguistically we, Third Culture Kids, are a unique cluster. The accent we acquire is not only a contribution of the cultural setting of our juvenile but a homogeneous blend of multiple influences. However, I can certainly assure that these developments are by no means consensual. The acceptance and incorporation of a specific linguistic behavior is purely by accident.

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From shows to watch and songs to hear, to artistry, shopping and things to explore, know and do, here’s a specially curated list of things we recommend as MUST experience items for the culturally fluid.

THE MUST LIST

MUST l SEE Photography by Hayden M. Greene

K-born Brooklyn photographer, Hayden M. Greene, hails from Trinidad and Tobago. He always had been a fan of surrealist art, and Belgian Surrealist René Magritte is one of his favorites. Greene became aware of Magritte when the artist’s piece, “Son of Man,” was featured in the movie, “The Thomas Crown Affair.”

“Son of Man” is oft considered Margritte’s most famous and compelling painting. The circa 1964 work portrays a man in a dark overcoat wearing a black bowler-style hat as he faces straight ahead whilst standing in front of a low wall with bright blue sea and cloud-filled sky behind. The man’s face is all but obscured by a large, hovering, green apple. In a 1965 radio appearance with interviewer Jean Neyens, Magritte described the essence of the painting in a way to which the Culturs audience can very much relate: “It hides the face partly well, so you have the apparent face, the apple, hiding the visible but hidden, the face of the person. It’s something that happens constantly. Everything we see hides another thing; we always want to see what is hidden by what we see. There is an interest in that which is hidden and which the visible does not show us. This interest can take the form of a quite intense feeling, a sort of conflict, one might say, between the visible that is hidden and the visible that is present.”

Perhaps that’s one of the reasons the series haunted Greene for decades — it reminds of his own hidden-yet present; visible, but invisible culture.

(Greene was born in the United Kingdom to Trinidadian parents, he moved to Brooklyn, New York, USA, at age three, then to Trinidad and Tobago at age nine; and returned to the U.S. at 18

to attend university.) This year, Greene decided to pay homage to Magritte with a project called “Magritte Reimagined.”

The “Magritte Reimagined” project recreates Margritte’s original work as photographs — presenting them with a modern eye. Greene also wanted to pay homage to the history of photography in the same way that Magritte focused on objects from the natural world.

As such, many of the reimagined images contain classic cameras and photographic equipment.

Green also worked to include subjects who are members of the nine historically Black Fraternities and Sororities of the National Panhellenic Council (NPHC).

This, for the photographer, broadened the scope of appreciation for the original work, exposing it to a wider audience and adding a multicultural flair to work of the Belgian surrealist.

“Magritte Reimagined” represents years of creative work from the award-winning photographer. Greene’s flair for the ironic and use of images to tell stories is born out of a love for spoken word.

See more of Greene’s work in person at Barataria Gallery in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York on 880 Atlantic Ave.

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Re-envisioning Art: Cross-Cultural Style GOLCONDA

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CECI N EST PAS

STRAPHANGER Chicago, Illinois THE DELIGHTS OF LANDSCAPES 24

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CK CLAIRVOYANT 2

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SEDUCER

FALSE MIRROR

MUST l SEE

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THE PLEASURE PRINICPLE OLD PAPER NOT TO BE REPRODUCED

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MUST l KNOW

The Value of Friends: Why I Quit My Career in TV Richard Hart

Eisenring in New York, 2018.

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By Yvonne Eisenring

Swiss bestselling-author and former anchorwoman Yvonne Eisenring wants to prove that the real network of people is more valuable and stronger than the virtual one.

Here’s her story:

W

hen I was a little girl, both of my parents only worked part-time as teachers because they both wanted to spend enough time with us kids.

Stay-at-home dads were unusual in the 90s. Very unusual. But my father didn’t care.

He was happy. Actually always. That he did not have to owe that simply to a sunny mind, I should learn only later.

Summer 2001. I was 14 years old. It was ten o’clock in the evening. My father said that I should finally switch off the computer. Five minutes later he was dead. Heart attack.

When my friends started studying after school, I immediately started working. After an internship I got a job at the biggest Swiss newspaper. One year later I became a TV reporter. I attended journalism school and used my free time to write articles. I got a column, later a second one. Today I’m amazed that I didn’t fold earlier. But at 23 I was convinced that I was on the right track. From the outside it looked like that. I won prizes, became newcomer of the year. I ignored that I wasn’t really happy. I didn’t have time to think about it either.

I got sick when I was 25. Not seriously. www.CultursMag.com

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MUST l KNOW

I had a severe flu that didn’t want to disappear. I was forced to stay home. Without stress, without pressure, without praise and without criticism it was terribly quiet. Being stressed and driven in recent years, the hectic of my everyday life, the sometimes cramped, I cried and cried. I was so disappointed and

frustrated. I had worked so hard, damn it! I had kneeled down, fought for my success. Why wasn’t I just happy?

Was dad proud of me, I asked my mother and she said, definitely. But he would be anyway, success or not.

Because I should have known one thing, what he had lived for was us and he gave us early advice, but what I never wanted to hear: “Your father always said that the most valuable thing you have is time and therefore you should use your time

for the things you love the most.

That’s why he didn’t work full time.

He loved his job, but he loved you more.”

I didn’t change immediately.

It took me two years until I dared.

I was incredibly scared of this step and it took a while until I knew what I loved the most and what I wanted to use my time for: my friends, my family and traveling. I quit my job when I was 27. Everyone declared me crazy. Why now, they asked.

Why when my career was doing so well? I pretended to know what I was doing. But to be honest, I had no plan.

Today, three years later, I know it was the right decision. The last years were not always easy. I am a freelancer now, writing books and plays. I never know how much I will have in my account at the end of the month. It’s usually not much. But I only work as much as I have to in order to get through. I almost never buy new clothes, have no fancy handbags and expensive furniture.

I have started studying Philosophy.

It is an online program because I travel so much or live abroad.

Anja Glover

CHOOSE HAPPINESS

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Eisenring writing in a library in Colombia.

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I know it was the right decision because I’ve never been so happy.

Not only because I travel so much, but because I can spend so much time with my friends. It’s not surprising that my personal happiness depends on it. According to the largest international study ever conducted on the subject, friendships are the key to a happy, healthy life. Surveys of over 3.4 million people around

Clockwise from top left: Traveling together in Columbia with friends from Paris.

With two of her very best friends in Warsaw.

Visiting her friend Debbie for Oktoberfest in Munich.

At a concert in Lucerne, Switzerland with friend Dominik. www.CultursMag.com

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MUST l KNOW

Nadja Zimmermann

the world were evaluated and neither alcohol nor cigarettes or a healthy diet have the same impact on our physical and mental health as friendships and social interactions.

My story is one of the reasons why my sister and I started “Yuujou,” a project focused on friendship.

We want to prove that the real networking of people is more valuable and stronger than the virtual one. Thanks to the financial support of a friend, six people from all over the world will be able to travel together for 100 days in spring 2019.

Today I regret that I didn’t

Above: Eisenring gives talks about why, and how, she lives.

This photo was taken in Zurich.

Right: Eisenring on a journey in the Rocky Mountains while taking a break from writing about cowboys.

Michael Crouser

Opposite: Traveling in Colombia.

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100 DAYS OF FREE TRAVEL: SIX PEOPLE: EPIC FRIENDSHIPS

Anja Glover

Yuujou is an international media art project with 30,000 people from 167 of the 194 countries applying to join a cast of six for this extraordinary project. Yuujou wants to show that we are all connected — not only virtually, but in real life. Soon, Yuujou will choose six of the 30,000 applicants to travel the world free of charge.

In April 2019, two teams of three people each start in Berlin and head off in opposite directions. Within 100 days, both teams try to make it to the other side of the world — Japan.

The route unfolds during the trip as the travelers let their next stop be picked by the person they’re currently staying with.

JOIN THE ADVENTURE: Culturs will follow YuuJou during the journey of six new friends around the world.

Watch videos of their adventures, get updates and find out more about their adventures here: cultursmag.com/travel-the Weekly video updates will be uploaded to cultursmag.com Follow their travel experiences and friendship stories in real time at yuujou.world and on social media.

remember my father’s advice earlier.

I should have known better, because I experienced for myself how quickly life can be over. I am very healthy, but I don’t know how much time I have left. Nobody knows that. How long can you still do what you want to do? How long can you use your time for the things you love the most? I think it’s a lifelong weighing of who or what gets the most valuable thing you have: your time.

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MUST l DO

Intersectional Roller Derby: If you want to play, you can play

By Tammy Rae Matthews (aka Hermione Danger) pronouns: she/hers port is foremost a fundamental societal institution. It could be a transformative space for revolutionary inclusion and profound social impact if we open our eyes to the multitudes of intersectional identities.

Theorist Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw’s “intersectionality” signifies the ways gender and race shape compounding facets of a person. It is a formidable, powerful and enduring social movement. Intersectionality’s framework reveals untold stories.

In 1991 in the “Stanford Law Review,” Crenshaw wrote: “I want to suggest that intersectionality offers a way of mediating the tension between assertions of multiple identity and the ongoing necessity of group politics.”

Here, we see that intersectionality reveals and unpacks deeply rooted and problematic sentiments that expose varying layers of vulnerability at the intersections. An overall analysis of privileged and marginalized identities could inform a more critical understanding of experiences of specifically queer identities in sport.

Intersectional sport is the goal of the You Can Play Project (youcanplayproject.org), which works to promote an inclusive environment.

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The organization’s significant initiative is promoting acceptance of queer folks in sporting spaces. It supports athletes, parents, coaches, administrators and other leaders with direct impact on the sporting experience. You Can Play encourages teams, schools and fans to create videos meant to highlight personal experience through a thoughtful and honest message on inclusivity in sport.

In partnership with videographer and editor Emilie Johnson (aka Rickashanaynay) and the Boulder County Bombers (bouldercountybombers.com), I directed the first roller derby “You Can Play” video.

It is available to view facebook.com/ YouCanPlayTeam.

“The roller derby community is welcoming, inclusive and empowering,” Fleur de Beast said in the video.

If you want to learn more about roller derby, please Google “roller derby” and your town, city, state or country. Then, begin to support your local league.

For many, roller derby represents a safe space.

In the video, Paws O Fury said: “Having the space to introduce myself as my full self feels really empowering.”

“So many people I’ve talked to who come here,” Buffy the Jammer Slayer said, “have found a space

and a way to be their whole self.”

After posting the video on its Facebook page, the roller derby athletic-wear company, Frogmouth, wrote: “This wonderful film about

Paws O Fury

inclusivity in roller derby may give you goosebumps.”

In her 2017 book, “Living a Feminist Life,” Sara Ahmed reminds us that living a feminist life requires that we stay students in feminist study. In sporting spaces, this means learning and using inclusive language.

“Derby is unique in the sense that there is a lot of open and inclusive language,” Butters Stotch said in the video.

The way people understand and express themselves depends on the words used in society and discourse.

To create inclusive spaces in roller derby specifically and in all sport, people need to learn about the multi-dimensional lives of the queer community to be productive, ethical and successful. “Wherever you feel like you belong, you should be able to go,�

Downtown Stabbey said in the video.

And remember: If you want to skate, you can skate. If you want to jam, you can jam. If you want to block, you can block. If you want to officiate, you can officiate. If you want to play, you can play.

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MUST l SEE

By Donna Musli

The Art

of Being a B.R.A.T.

he easiest way to understand a culture is to look at the art of that culture. Listen to their music.

Watch their films. But first you have to know where to find that art. And if you’re a military B.R.A.T. (or Third Culture Kid), that’s not an easy thing to do. There are no academic studies or museums focusing solely on military children. There is no “Military B.R.A.T.” or “TCK” section in your local library. An estimated five percent of the U.S. population grew up in a military family, but there is not one television show dedicated to our subculture. Which is why the nonprofit organization BRATs Without Borders and the Military Kid Art Project founded the B.R.A.T. Art Institute in 2016, and later this year, BAI will open the first library devoted to collecting the art, literature, poetry, music, film and performance art of military brats and TCKs around the world. Housed in an Attached Traveler Property studio in Richmond, Va., the library will also gather educational studies and dissertations pertaining to military B.R.A.T.s and TCKs that are languishing in the backrooms of who- knows-howmany universities.

As poet-playwright Marcus Gardley said so eloquently: “Art is the most profound way in which a group of people can understand their culture and other

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Above: Donna Musil, 13, the eternal outsider, at an outdoor skating ring in Taegu, Korea, 1973.

Right: Donna Musil, 14, on the cheerleading squad at Taegu American High School in Korea, circa 1974.

Below: UNCLASSIFIED co-curators Lora Beldon and Donna Musil with Montel Williams at the Pentagon ceremony after receiving the Newman’s Own Award.

cultures. Somehow, art gets at the soul of who we are as a people. It transcends race, class, and gender. It transcends sexual orientation. It transcends history.

It transcends war. It, for me, is the only thing that truly is eternal. Histories get rewritten and changed. They get buried.

But art, for some reason, manages to remain untainted.”

This is especially true for military B.R.A.T.s who move multiple times before they graduate, and are then scattered to the winds like the petals of a dandelion. We can’t go home. We have no geographical home. In fact, until the internet, we could hardly talk about our experiences with each other, because we didn’t know where most of our friends ended up. We were like little islands, free-floating in a sea of confusion.

Who am I? Where am I from? Why do I feel this way? I had all these opportunities.

I’m a tough cookie. Why can’t I fit in?

If this sounds like indulgent navelgazing, it’s not. Fitting in or belonging, as it turns out, is the third most important human need, behind only food and safety. Religion, education, even enlightenment take a backseat to belonging. But it’s hard to understand where you belong when you can’t even find a book or film on the subject.

Which is why I spent seven years making “BRATS: Our Journey Home,” the first documentary about the life and legacies of growing up military, narrated

by Kris Kristofferson, an Air Force B.R.A.T. I was floored by Mary Edwards Wertsch’s book, “Military BRATS: Legacies of Childhood Inside the Fortress.” I couldn’t believe it wasn’t required reading for every military family. I thought perhaps

Above: Proud Marine and Vietnam veteran Tom Beldon and his daughter Lora enjoy a moment on the beach after his second combat tour.

Right: Unique outdoor folk art,

by Tom Beldon.

Below: “War Torn Teddy,” by Lora Beldon.

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MUST l SEE

Above: Poster for the documentary film, “BRATS: Our Journey Home,” narrated

by Kris Kristofferson.

Left: The future home of the B.R.A.T. Art Institute Library & Research Center at the Attached Traveler Property studios in Richmond, Virginia.

a film might be easier for some people to digest.

I was wrong. Just like Wertsch’s book, the BRATS film was overlooked by the mainstream media and quietly avoided by the military-as-institution. Despite winning multiple awards and breaking independent DVD sales records, the film has yet to be aired on American television, other than AFN-TV overseas. PBS said they couldn’t air it because it was “made by a non-profit about themselves.” It’s hard to believe there is some nefarious plot to ignore or denigrate military

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B.R.A.T.s. It’s more likely we’re just invisible, as famed B.R.A.T. author Pat Conroy said in his introduction to Wertsch’s book. No one knows we exist. There was a high school principle in Colorado Springs who said he couldn’t show the film to his students because it was “too honest.” I remember thinking, if you can’t be honest with children whose parents are literally dying for this country, who can you be honest with?

So, for the past ten years, a small group of dedicated individuals at BRATS Without Borders has focused on designing programs to raise awareness and address the challenges of this invisible subculture. We’ve created educational workshops for military parents and professionals. We partnered with Virginia Beach schoolteacher and Air Force B.R.A.T. Christy McAnally to form BRATS Clubs for children and adults, so they don’t feel alone if they’re attending a non-DoD school. One child asked if she could still join after her father died in Afghanistan, because she “officially” wasn’t a B.R.A.T., anymore. The other members welcomed her with open arms.

Lora Beldon, a mixed media artist and Marine Corps B.R.A.T., created the first culturally-specific art camps for military children through her company, the Military Kid Art Project. After the American Overseas Schools Historical Society (AOSHS) let me dig through their archives, Beldon and I curated “UNCLASSIFIED: The Military Kid Art Show,” the first contemporary art exhibit exploring the American B.R.A.T. Subculture.

The cutting-edge exhibit featured original visual art, poetry, film, artifacts, and STEM curriculum, and won the

prestigious Newman’s Own Award for programs that break the mold and improve the quality of life for military families, past and present.

The exhibit led to the founding of the B.R.A.T. Art Institute, where we are currently reconfiguring UNCLASSIFIED, the art camps and workshops to include both adults and children. The exhibit also propelled “Our Own Private Battlefield”

Clockwise from Top: A military B.R.A.T.’s passport, post World War II. Not all B.R.A.T.s do what they’re told.

Some military B.R.A.T.s attended school in good old-fashioned Quonset huts.

Fred Brown was one of many Native American families to serve in the U.S. military.

Air Force B.R.A.T. Michelle Green and her best friend sport matching outfits in the 1960s.

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Top to Bottom: Virginia Beach B.R.A.T.s enjoy their first Military B.R.A.T. Art Camp.

Virginia Beach tweens work on trust exercises at their middle school B.R.A.T.s Club.

Virginia Beach teens take a break from making videos about growing up military at BAI’s Military B.R.A.T. Art Camp.

One happy camper after a Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program workshop.

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into existence, a documentary film exploring the long-term effects of combat PTSD on military children. A five-year work-in-progress, the film documents how the Beldons have used art to help heal their family torn apart by the Vietnam War. Last year, Beldon’s father saw his 50-year-old son for the first time since he was 16 years old.

Military B.R.A.T.s matter. They helped found this country. Along with their families, they have borne the brunt of every military adventure — and misadventure — America has entered over the past two centuries. I attended 10 schools in 12 years on three continents, before losing my father to Agent Orange-related cancer at 16. He was 42.

Others have spent lifetimes juggling the consequences of war.

Growing up military isn’t all bad, of course. Many of us get to see a world we wouldn’t otherwise have seen. The Department of Defense teachers and schools are often excellent. And we are certainly the living embodiment of the positive effects of forced integration on a mass populace after President Truman integrated the military in 1948. It took the adults a little time to get used to it, but military kids were playing together.

These experiences have shaped our lives on a profound level, and continue to inform our thoughts, attitudes and behavior. By gathering the artwork of this subculture in one place for the first time in history, the B.R.A.T. Art Institute hopes to protect the heart, soul, and integrity of a world few Americans even know exist.

For more information or to support the B.R.A.T. Art Institute, visit cultursmag. com/BRAT.

Old Dominion University in Virginia hosts UNCLASSIFIED: The Military Kid Art Show.

“In the World Alone,” by Donarich D., 2012

“On the Warpath,” by Tim F., 1991

“Heartless,” by Cierra J. Standifer, age 11.

Visitors explore the art of B.R.A.T. at UNCLASSIFIED: The Military Kid Art Show.

“Dolls,” by Donarich D., 2012

Military B.R.A.T. books and artifacts are exhibited in a genuine military footlocker on loan from the Museum of the American Military Family & Learning Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

“Off Post Housing,” by Don Richards, 1978 www.CultursMag.com

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“I think at a time before we really became a global society, being a military B.R.A.T. made you more aware of the world. I had a greater respect for other cultures. And on the other hand also solidified my being American [from the U.S.]. It’s so easy to stand and say it when you are surrounded by other Americans. But when you are the minority in the country, you stand taller and you are more connected with those standing with you.” ~ Cindy F.

My

Experience

as a Military B.R.A.T. On the B.R.A.T.s: Our Journey Home private Facebook Group, we asked "what do you remember most about your B.R.A.T. experience?

What was your favorite part?

What do you think others don’t understand?"

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“We as B.R.A.T.s have been places others only dream about — or places others never knew existed. Experienced cultures out of necessity — learning the culture, and more, of places both overseas and in the states.

Met people who we would never have met — people who wanted us in their country — and those that did not. We have made and kept friends in every corner of the world. And we KNOW that if we ever needed one — even if we hadn’t seen each other in 30 years — we would be there for each other.” ~ Pam P.

“What I remember most is my time in Germany (my high school years ) ‘83 - ‘87. I lived in another country and was taught/demanded to respect their laws and traditions and to always remember that we [North] Americans were guests in their country and to behave like a guest.

I remember in school that for the most part, we all got along. There wasn’t any bullying. The new kid coming in was welcomed with open arms. Ice skating in the winter and walking in downtown Bitburg in the summer. Most of all, knowing that if I did something that got my dad in trouble with the Air Force, meant double trouble for me — kept my a** in line.” ~ Michelle C.

“I remember the great times I had with Oma and Opa when we were stationed in Germany and what great son-in-law my dad was. [He] always wanted to visit his baby and good food and being in South Dakota. He was an Army adviser to National Guard, and went to Vietnam.We were off-base and the civilians did not even know Vietnam or care what I was going through in sixth grade. I prayed A LOT. 1968-69. Scared to death.” ~ Carol D.

“Growing up in the ‘60s - ‘70s in Germany we moved many times and I didn’t mind it. Dad being deployed to Vietnam twice and Korea once. This was normal, it was our lives’ and we didn’t know different. Making new and leaving the old friends behind. As I’ve become older, I miss old friends and often wonder where they might be. One of the strangest places I did live [was in] a former officer’s house on the concentration camp.

The house was on what was formerly SS Strasse, the grand boulevard of the camp.” ~ Paula D.

“No one in our school ever mentioned Vietnam. Yet the last year of high school one of our former schoolmates was killed and they brought the casket to our gym. That is when I heard fellow students talking about Vietnam. Most of the guys in my graduating class were killed in Vietnam. We had a reunion and of course, we had it at the O-Club on base. That felt strange.” ~ S. Davis

“What I remember most is my father being away and how we missed and worried about him. I also remember the excitement and anxiety of attending a new school. My favorite part was travel and understanding history better. I think I learned to respect other cultures and could see prejudice more easily. There are good and bad people wherever you go. I think others outside the fortress just simply do not understand the sacrifice and they do not see how fortunate we are here in the United States.

Other countries are different and there are a million ways to the same thing. I also believe the military has a way of leveling the playing field. There may be those that never had what the military provides. It is what you make of it.

Definitely, a young person is strongly resilient, yet can be less mature in other areas. If you haven’t made frequent moves that may not be the case. I moved every year, 11 schools. I was/ am a Military B.R.A.T., spouse and mom.” ~ Darlene W.

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MUST l WEAR

MONA LUCERO Indie Designer Extraordinaire Cross-cultural fashion designer Mona Lucero designs clothing that is fun, flirty and decidedly feminine.

She indulges us with lush fabrics, vibrant patterns, layers of lace, frilly tulle and appliquĂŠ.

Her fashions are not only show-stoppers, they are very wearable; comfortable and flattering.

Let us introduce you to her world of butterflies and hearts.

Afterward, sashay over to her website to see more styles. www.monalucero.com

Online Exclusive For more on Lucero’s cross-cultural background, designs and inspiration, visit cultursmag.com/Mona

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Photography by Brien Hollowell

A signature style from Lucero is the circle skirt.

Adorned with flowers and butterflies over layer on top of layer of feminine fun, you can’t help but twirl when you wear it.

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Bold, colorful zigzags going this way, and that, look deceivingly simple until you get a back view.

Soft gathers and folds appear just where they are most useful.

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Grecian-Asian fusion meet to create a stunning halter dress.

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Art and fashion should be colorful, unexpected, and inspirational. Art and fashion aren’t frivolous.

They help us through the difficult times, inspire us to understand each other and to appreciate life.

They give us hope. — Mona Lucero

Who says shorts are just for the weekend?

Paired with a heart embellished halter top and jacket of boldest red, these shorts will take you from a day of work to a night out.

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Stripes of a different color are the order of the day. These versatile column dresses come with a message of peace and love in the form of leather appliqués down the front.

Accent with a letterman’s jacket to make a real statement.

Makeup Stylist: Sedrique Olison Clothing Stylists: Sonja Motley and Mona Lucero Models: Aïda Sow and Joyce Green www.CultursMag.com

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The ultimate planning system to get organized, achieve your goals and preserve memories in one stylish space.

Yearly and Daily Planners available now!

ANNUAL PLANNER: INSIDE PAGES

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VISIT shop.cultursmag.com to get your Annual Planner Daily Planners, Add-on Pages, Tabs,Stickers and Cover Jackets.

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All proceeds support cross-cultural education around the globe.

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AUTHENTIC

All Natural

Pretty [Prit-ee] Adjective How many describe a beer with the unique ability to beautify its surroundings.

Including but not limited to: liquoe store shelves, dimly lit bars, backyard decks, pint glasses, or in a more ethereal sense, the proverbial lense from which one views the world. But mainly it’s used to describe a damn good fruited sour ale balanced by nothing less than pink Himalayan sea salts. Just sayin’.

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The 600 thread-count Excellence Collection provides a sumptuous, ultra luxurious feel that creates a bedtime worth rushing home for.

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BETWEEN THE SHEETS Wake up to luxury

E

gyptian, Canadian TCK Mariam Elshafie now lives in the United Kingdom. She founded House Babylon on the foundation that luxury should not be elusive or exclusive. Her company’s mission is to simplify a confusing retail experience by offering a selective range of exceptionally crafted products, sourced ethically without high mark-ups.

Driven by this philosophy, they source premium Egyptian Cotton to create what Elshafie calls, “the softest most durable bedding sent directly to your doorstep, all at attainable prices.”

All of the company’s bed linen is made of certified premium long-staple Egyptian cotton and is Oeko-Tex certified (free of harmful dyes & chemicals).

See for yourself at www.housebabylon.com

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Right: The 300 thread-count Classic Collection is Crisp, light, and almost certainly cooler than you. Perfect for those seeking textured and stylish sheets, that are plush enough to look immaculate, yet light and cool. ÂŁ85

Below: The Cairo Collection (600 thread count): Thick, soft, and smooth, it provides a sumptuous, ultra luxurious feel that is instantly rich and satisfying. ÂŁ120

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CSU STANDS FOR INCLUSION At Colorado State University, inclusion is our heritage, our present, and our future. We’re working toward a world in which any person, regardless of background, has access to lifechanging higher education and the research and knowledge it creates.

An equal-access and equal-opportunity University

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PENG SUCCULENTS

W

ith a penchant for miniature succulents, this London-based award-winning Horticulturist brings her love to the world through Etsy and Instagram. This five-star rated seller ships to destinations worldwide for a relatively small cost. See for yourself why on Instagram @PengSucculents and link to her Etsy shop to get your own.

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W

hen we met Kareem in London, he spoke of fragrance being a gift of the human spirit. He created a candle line in homage to his babysitter, a woman who consistently went above and beyond to enhance the lives of the children in her care. Her dreams and stories of world travel would ignite his own yearning for adventure.

As a young man, he visited one of the places from her stories, and decided to show his gratitude for her inspiration to him. His thank you gift was three perfumes that distinctly represented the pastoral town of Grasse, South of France (which is known as the global capital of perfumery), along with a collection of postcards and other memorabilia.

All these years later, his former caretaker was overjoyed and overcome with emotion in smelling the perfumes and reading about a town she had once loved.

This built the foundation for Magma London — a home fragrance brand that aims to deliver global scent collections with snapshots of the culture from which it stems.

Choose beautifully packaged candles and diffusers with scents like Fig & Sea Salt; Amber & Musk; Congac & Blond Tobacco, Bouquet Blanche & Bergamot and more. Priced at ÂŁ 25.

Visit magmalondon.com

MAGMA LONDON Distinguished Home Fragrance www.CultursMag.com

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ccording to the company, Moonshine was the name given to illegal alcohol produced during prohibition in the United States. Those days gave rise to stories of gangsters, bootleggers and hedonism. O’Donnell moonshine looks to revive a taste of that era with a grainbased spirit distilled using traditional techniques and bottled in original mason jars. With flavors like Roasted Apple, Bitter Rose, Tough Nut and High Proof (original) and 20-50 percent alcohol by volume, they’re bound to make your toes curl. £ 20 to 33.35.

Visit odonnellmoonshine.co.uk

MUST l VISIT

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, USA, truly is an experience. Festivities include many lounges, parties, after-parties, panels, screenings and more. With a staunch commitment to diversity and inclusion not only were the crowds more diverse than expected, so were the offerings.

Actor Mindy Kaling at the hosted after party for “Late Night” at Chase Sapphire on Main (Photo by Dan Steinberg/ Invision for Chase Sapphire/AP Images)

Here are a few notable debuts from Sundance 2019: HALA: Dutiful and academically gifted, Hala skillfully navigates social life as a teen in Chicago and her obligations as only child to Pakistani immigrants. When she meets Jesse, a classmate who shares her love for poetry and skateboarding, their romance is complicated by her Muslim faith and a father who is prepared to arrange her marriage according to their family’s cultural tradition. As Hala begins to challenge these customs, her parents’ lives unravel.

Hala producer Jada Pinket Smith attends the Pizza Hut x Legion M Lounge at Sundance

(l to r) Director Julius Onah, Actors Naomi Watts, and Octavia Spencer at the “Luce” after party at Chase Sapphire on Main at Sundance. (Photo

by Dan Steinberg/Invision for Chase Sapphire/AP Images)

LUCE: Seventeen-year-old Luce (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.) is a star athlete and debate-team captain in his suburban Virginia high school.

Raised by loving adoptive white parents Amy and Peter (Naomi Watts, Tim Roth), the African-born teenager is worlds away from his former incarnation as a war-torn child soldier in Eritrea. But Luce’s idealized image as star pupil and immigrant success story is challenged when his teacher Mrs. Wilson (Octavia Spencer) uncovers his incendiary political views. When Wilson confronts Luce’s parents, an intense debate ignites and a different side of Luce is revealed. A masterful social thriller on race and identity from writer-director Julius Onah, featuring a breakout turn by Harrison (It Comes at Night), LUCE exposes unsettling tensions at the intersection of race, class, gender and power.

LATE NIGHT with Mindy Kaling: Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson) is a pioneer and legendary host on the late-night talk-show circuit. When she’s accused of being a “woman who hates women,” Kaling is hired as the one woman in the all-male writers’ room. Wanting to prove she’s not simply a diversity hire disrupting the comfort of the brotherhood, Kaling’s character, Molly, is determined to help by revitalizing Katherine’s show and career — and possibly effect even bigger change at the same time.

(l to r) Actors Jon Hamm, and Jennifer Morrison at “The Report” presented by Vice Studios after party at Chase Sapphire on Main (Photo by Dan Steinberg/Invision for Chase Sapphire/AP Images)

“Every year I come here and see something different, something interesting, something great. It could be a documentary, it could be a short subject, it could be a feature, it could be VR, AR, all of the above. It’s an incredible breeding ground and trading ground for the next generation of filmmakers for however you define film, so I’m happy to be a part of it.” — Actor Jon Hamm www.CultursMag.com

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BOOK REVIEW

THE PERFECT NON-TCK BOOK FOR TCKS

Becoming Through Crossing Boundaries

By Fran Wilson

M

ichelle Obama introduces her thoughts by asking a typical question of childhood. What do you want to be when you grow up? “Becoming” is our former first lady’s response.

Michelle Obama’s journey is not easy. It is full, not only of successes, but of her fighting spirit in understanding her talents, self-doubts and hidden histories of dear family and friends.

She was seemingly born to cross borders starting with the shifting demographics of her childhood neighborhood. She notes the effects that racism had on her family and South Side, Chicago. Through parental sacrifice, she attended Princeton and its Ivy League culture. As she navigates the cultures of home, university, a legal career, a municipal career, she asks, “Am I enough?” Her marriage to Barack Obama, our Third Culture president, added more cultural texture to her experiences.

With kind forthrightness, she demonstrates how the layering of culture and history nourishes her becoming.

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Michelle Obama may not be a Third Culture Kid (TCK), but who knew her cross-cultural background and mid-western U.S. family values would lead her to accidentally decode one of the most culturally prolific of TCKs (if not the most well-known) — Barack Obama. Throughout her book, Michelle uses phrases in how she and/or others sometimes describe or outcomes of interacting with her culturally elusive husband.

“He’s not one of us” “He’s not a real black man” “The in-between” “Backward intellectual ideas about race and class” “Hybrid” Each of these deftly, though inadvertently, describe the in-between-ness of the Culturs population. Military B.R.A.T.s, Missionary Kids, TCKs, trans-racial and international adoptees, mixed-ethnicity and mixed-race people know these spaces all-too-well. Barack happens to navigate quite a few of these spaces as shown in the diagram below.

What Michelle tackled, on top of being a newlywed, was subtle differences in cultural understanding, wants and needs. What she perceived as matrimonial challenge may indeed have been subtle cultural differences that those who grew up in homogeneous cultural environs may never-before have had to navigate. Though she had to navigate them alone, she did so deftly, seeking assistance and working with her husband to create understanding along the way.

Michelle Obama may not be a TCK, but we predict the distillations and observations she shared in this memoir will go a long way in helping those in relationship with culturally fluid partners develop better understanding for each other.

TABLE COMPARING COMMON FACTORS OF THIRD CULTURE KIDS’ (TCKS) UPBRINGING WITH THOSE OF OTHER CROSS-CULTURAL KIDS (CCKS) BACKGROUND

CROSS-CULTURAL NTERACTIONS

CYCLES OF MOBILITY

ANTICPATED REPATRIATION

ORGANIZATIONAL SYSTEM IDENTITY

APPEARANCE SOCIOCOMPARED TO ECONOMIC SURROUNDING FACTORS MAJORITY CULTURE

GROUP SPECIFIC ISSUES/HIDDEN LOSSES

TCKs

High Change cultural environments frequently

High repetitive between countries

Yes

Very often, usually the sponsoring agency/corporation

May change with each move

Varies, but many live with certain “status” due to parent’s career

Each sector deals with issues specific to their purpose for existing

Children of Immigrants

Likely to be high 1. Probably interacts with very different cultural worlds daily — at home and at school/ work

Varied…

1. Big move to new country 2. May or may not travel within new country or back to visit country of origin

No

Less often

Depends where they came from, where they immigrated to

Varied

Loss of lifestyle in original country

International Adoptees

Depends Some keep contact with country of origin while living in adoptive parents’ cultural world

1. Usually one major original move. After that, depends on family

No

Not usually

Depends Often different from majority culture of adoptive parents

Often middle to upper socioeconomic scale as it is expensive to adopt internationally

Face normal adoption issues as well as cultural issues

Children of Refugees

Depends

1. May be high Hoping so mobility for short or long periods 2. May be little for long time while in refugee camp

Not usually but can begin to get their identity primarily as “refugees”

Depends where they are refugees and where they have come from

Generally poor.

Even those with means often cannot access them during a war or crisis and live in an impoverished situation

Often have faced the violence of war, starvation, displacement… may still be living in fear of current and future violence

Children of NonImmigrant Minorities

Depends 1. Some live in a strong subculture and change cultural worlds each day from school to home.

2. Others live more like majority culture - don’t exchange cultural worlds as markedly day by day

Varies Citizens 1. For some, already mobility between cultural worlds is daily 2. Others live in a more monocultural environment for years 3. Some move for parent’s job like any other family

Sponsoring system is not the most usual place for identity, per se, but can depend on parent’s career

Usually unlike surrounding majority culture

Varied All socioeconomic groups included

Can face issues of prejudice because of ethnicity/ nationality

Bi-racial/ Bi-cultural Children

Depends 1. On frequency of interaction with each parent’s cultural world 2. If they have one strong ethnic culture at home and another in their school/job

Depends…

1. On where parents are from 2. How often they visit family who live afar

Not necessarily

Depends May resemble in one culture, not another, maybe in both, may be in neither

Varied All socioeconomic groups included

May face issues of rejection from one parent’s cultural group or another or both

“Domestic” TCKs

Our definition assumes the moves have been between different cultural communities in home country

High Citizens Have moved from already place to place

Depends on parent’s career

Depends May be same as or different from majority with each move

Varied All socioeconomic groups are included

Face many of the same issues traditional TCKs face of rootlessness, etc.

Live in the culture of the refugee situation but often it exists in the midst of another cultural world of the non-refugees around them

Varies 1. To which parent’s culture?

2. Some are dual citizens

All socio-economic groups included

Chart information courtesy of crossculturalkid.org www.CultursMag.com

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AUSTRIAN Food Celebrating

Every few months, CultursCASA (a gathering place for the globally minded) gets together for a casual dinner party that celebrates cultures around the world.

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Last time we celebrated east Africa. This time — we continue our focus on Europe with an Austrianthemed dinner. What’s even better is we create award-winning party kits so you can easily recreate authentic cultural events for up to 10 people yourselves. Here’s a glimpse of our Austrian dinner, imagined and prepared by our columnist, Claudia Koerbler. Details on stores and online locations to purchase your CultursCelebrations! kit: theme Austria, will be announced on our monthly “insiders” newsletter. Visit cultursmag.com to join for free today and get notice of when these beauties are available. All proceeds support cross-cultural education worldwide.

Wienerschnitzel Recipe A popular German mainstay easily made with chicken, pork or veal.

Ingredients 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese 2 eggs 1 teaspoon minced parsley 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 pinch ground nutmeg 2 tablespoons milk 1 cup dry bread crumbs 6 tablespoons butter sliced lemon

Directions • Tenderize chicken breast with flat side of a meat mallet until about

1/4 inch thick. Dip in flour to coat.

• Stir together dairy, spices and milk. Place bread crumbs on a plate.

Dip each tenderized breast into the egg mixture, then coat with bread crumbs. Refrigerate for one to 24 hours.

• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat then brown chicken on each side. Place on plates or platter to serve, using lemon wedge as garnish.

• Enjoy! www.CultursMag.com

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AUTO Story & Photography by Angelia D. McGowan

Paris Motor Show: The Most Visited Auto Show In The World

M

y passport, that I renewed in 2018, received its first stamp from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport Customs and Immigration that same year.

That means I finally used my high school French in Paris. The Parisians laughed when I spoke, but I’m sure it was with me. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it. As a NorthAmerican, I helped them recall words in English. They helped me recall words in French.

No worries. I found places to practice.

As someone who writes auto reviews from time to time, I was happy to attend the Paris Motor Show at Porte de Versailles. During the event, that ran October 4-14, 2018, I saw first-hand some of the innovative ways the industry introduces design and technology advancements to a global audience.

Leading up to the show, there had been much talk about how the auto show circuit is going through changes, namely with manufacturers being more selective on where in the world they choose to have an auto show presence. In short, every manufacturer will not be at every auto show.

According to their press office, “By associating, within the Porte de Versailles, the Paris Motor Show, the Mondial de la Moto, the Mondial de la Mobilité, Mondial.Tech, Mondial Limited, the historic exhibition ‘Routes Mythiques’ (Legendary Roads), by creating new event formats such as the conference ‘Tomorrow in Motion’ the model for the Mondial Paris Motor

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Show has presented a dynamic event with programming to meet the desires of almost any automobile or motorcycle enthusiast.”

Ultimately, they introduced a new format in the world of automobile shows.

The 120th anniversary show launched Mondial Women to promote the role women play in the sectors of automobiles, motorcycles and mobility. The Mondial Tech Startups Awards competition recognized WeProov as the top startup among candidates from 53 countries in the world for its work in security, automatization and cybersecurity. To mark the launch of Mondial.

Tech, the event welcomed the most important technological show in the world, the CES-Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show. Many would certainly argue the line between technology and the auto industry has become almost non-existent.

Add to that Google and Facebook events, and the Mondial Paris Motor Show reigned unique. There was a lot to see and learn.

At the conclusion of the biennial auto show, more than 1 million people reportedly attended the event over an 11-day period, setting it as the most visited auto show in the world, again, ahead of the 2018 Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland at 660,000-plus and the IAA (Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung) in Frankfurt, Germany at 810,000-plus. Auto enthusiasts around the world will have a chance to experience both of these top auto shows in 2019 (Geneva in March and Frankfurt in September).

Back to Paris As a first-time visitor to Paris, I explored the city on a nighttime cruise on the Seine River, eventually walking to the Eiffel Tower for a true light show.

While participating in a group literary walking tour hosted by DiscoverParis, I learned how black writers and musicians from around the world spent time at coffee shops and jazz clubs surrounding Luxembourg Gardens. Images of African American Novelists

Richard Wright and James Baldwin and composer James Reese Europe came to life in my mind while listening to the tour guide talk about history as we passed Luxembourg Palace, also recognized as the home of the French Senate. During the tour, we also learned about Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi’s Statue of Liberty. That was just to start.

Multiple languages from around the world floated in the air around me at the auto show and in the city.

In the big picture, my language faux pas were small.

But, if I must exercise correction and practice more, I must return to Paris. www.CultursMag.com

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TECHNOLOGY

By Andrea Bazoin, M.Ed., Founder of everHuman

Will Virtual Reality Unite or Divide Us?

I

recently had the privilege of attending the event “Becoming: An Intimate Conversation with Michelle Obama,” moderated by Actor Reese Witherspoon.

As Obama shared her story about growing up in the southside of Chicago, progressing through her career in law and public service and eventually becoming the First Lady of the United States, she said something that I will never forget, “It’s harder to hate up close.” As our world has supposedly become “smaller” through global

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internet connections, we’ve also experienced incredible division and an ugly surge of hatred across our nation and the world. Why is this?

For many of us, there is a growing awareness that in the digital age, there is no substitute for direct, face-to-face human connection. Yes, video chatting has made it possible to keep in touch and see friends and family on a screen, in real time. But, this isn’t the same as a warm embrace, a shared meal, or an opened door. As much as we’ve expanded our awareness of the lives of strangers from around the world through things like social media and online gaming, we also know we are being deceived by bots, anonymous posts and fake profiles.

But, what if there were a way to feel like you were truly walking in someone else’s shoes? What if you could stroll along the streets of their hometown, sit at a table across from their family members and hear the rhythms of their daily lives? Moreover, what if you could do this without ever leaving your house?

With the ever-expanding world of Extended Reality (XR), we may soon find out just what it feels like to do just that. In fact, you may already be using XR. This can include Virtual Reality (VR) headsets that immerse you in a 360 degree deep-sea diving expedition, Augmented Reality (AR) apps that can overlay an IKEA desk in your home office or a Pokemon character at the bus stop and even Mixed Reality (MR) devices that allow you jot down a grocery list item on a digital sticky note, virtually place it on your real refrigerator, then go fight a dragon down your hallway just for fun. www.CultursMag.com

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We already know that through XR we can trigger the thrill of a skydive, the fear of a military training, or even the novelty of a virtual new hairstyle.

But, as XR becomes more widely available, how can we use it to experience deeper emotions like joy, compassion or empathy? For example, could a white, middle-class, able-bodied man in the American midwest virtually experience life as a Sudanese teenaged girl living in a refugee camp? Or, instead of just watching the evening news as if it were a fictional movie, could you put on a VR headset and virtually narrowly escape the latest

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earthquake in Indonesia while trying to assist actual victims?

Dr. Stefano Triberti, PhD, Psychologist and Post-Doc Researcher at the University of Milan — Italy, believes XR holds great potential for deepening human understanding. In his recent article, “Mixed Reality for CrossCultural Integration: Using Positive Technology to Share Experiences and Promote Communication,” published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, he and his colleagues presented their opinions on the potential for Mixed Reality to be used as a tool to help new immigrants struggling to negotiate their physical, psychological and emotional lives in a new host country.

“When one has to move to another country, for whatever reason, you arrive lacking the scenarios and experiences from the place you are coming from

and it is difficult to share them with others. It is difficult to show them you have different, but perhaps similar, experiences from an emotional point of view. But, in theory, you could use images from your country and superimpose them onto your current location [using XR].”

What makes XR so different from watching a scene on a traditional flat screen, explained Beverly Vessella, who runs product at Seattle-based Pixvana, Inc., is the immersive nature of the experience. “When you have a 360 degree experience, you are the protagonist in the story. As a creator,

you can’t hide behind the camera or edit what you see by choosing where you point the lens.” Beverly explains how her company is using XR primarily as a medium for creating enhanced experiences that can capture hearts and minds, whether for enterprise training in difficult skills or seeing through another’s eyes.

Beverly, herself, has many fascinating and heartfelt stories to tell. Her parents emigrated to San Francisco from Hong Kong before she was born. Her first

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Beverly Vessella and her husband Tom work in a world of virtual reality but live a decidedly low-tech life.

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language was Cantonese and she appreciates the way her parents instilled Chinese values like honor, respect and high-achievement throughout her upbringing. Today, living in Seattle with her husband and young daughter, she uses technology — including VR — to maintain a sense of closeness with her parents. “I once shot a VR video of my daughter. She toddled towards the camera, positioned at eye-level and looked into it with curiosity and wonder.

When I showed it to my parents, I could tell it touched them deeply — they could see the world from her perspective. It’s a much more intimate experience [than flat-screen video].”

Beverly and her husband Tom, a Principal Product Manager for Amazon Alexa, are both deeply immersed in technology through their professions.

However, Beverly explained, “I am not going to put my daughter in a headset anytime soon.” At home, Beverly and Tom live a decidedly low-tech life, each describing themselves as private and outdoorsy. Their daughter mostly plays with wooden toys, board books, and the family schnauzer. As much as Beverly and Tom love their high-tech jobs, they both understand the dangers of replacing face time with screen time.

“Life is human beings,” Beverly stated.

“The imperfection and struggles of life is what makes it great.”

Perhaps it’s this — being vulnerable to our struggles and imperfections — that is so often lost in the online space.

With the anonymity of the internet, we can represent ourselves online as whatever, and whoever, we want. We can gloss over what makes us vulnerable and handpick the parts of ourselves we want to share online. At the same

Yes, video chatting has made it possible to keep in touch and see friends and family on a screen, in real time. But, this isn’t the same as a warm embrace, a shared meal, or an opened door.

time, we can also pick others apart under the guise of a username or avatar.

The internet has no way of holding us accountable.

So, as yet another wave of new technologies becomes available to the average user, will we use it to learn about others and deepen our sense of empathy and belonging, or simply as another vehicle for self-promotion and comparison? Or, perhaps we’ll be surprised to find our true selves in the abyss of a virtual space. As Oscar Wilde once said, “Man is least himself when he talks in his own person, give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.”

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HEALTH

By Rhonda M. Coleman, DAOM

Diet, Health & Locale

T Joanie Simon

oday, I had the pleasure of participating in a social justice discussion at an international studies high school. The class was English IV, the topic “How Health Affects Economic Mobility.” The setting, 28 seniors in two circles — an inner and outer circle.

The inner circle was responsible for carrying the conversation while the the outer circle tracked a partner on the inside. It was a cross between a Socratic seminar and “fishbowl” strategy.

I was asked to visit and serve as a resource and contribute to the analysis of the materials referenced for the lesson — They had watched “What the Health” and “The Magic Pill” earlier in the weeks preceding and read a chapter in “Class Matters” that focused on how three people from different classes were treated after a experiencing a heart attack.

When I entered the classroom, the kids were responding to a prompt about how diet impacts health.

One was saying that too much of anything could be bad for you. Later, a question came up, and a debate ensued, about whether a perfect diet exists. A few of the youth responded “yes” there is a perfect diet, but none could describe it. More were commenting that there is no such thing. Here, I requested an opportunity to share my perspective for consideration.

I explained that I didn’t want to use the word “perfect” in my response, but that instead I would suggest that there might be an ideal diet that would vary depending on the body, as well as the activity level and the location of the body. It would also

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depend on the strength or presence of deficiency in the body. I offered the following: • Somebody living in Ariz., USA, would have different needs from somebody living in Hawaii, USA, and that same body would have different needs from a body living in the Andes of Peru. If someone is a marathon runner living in Tucson, Ariz., they might need to eat water-rich foods like cucumber, watermelon, tomatoes and broccoli to support tissue hydration.

• A retiree living in Hawaii might notice a preference for salty foods like fish and seaweed to help control excess “moisture” experienced as joint inflammation.

• A nomadic pastoralist living in the the Peruvian Andes tending to animals would likely tend to use spices and herbs like maca, coca leaves and peppers that are warming to the body in their diet.

I explained that I didn’t want to use the word “perfect” in my response, but that instead I would suggest that there might be an ideal diet which would vary depending on the body, as well as the activity level and the location of the body

There is no singular ideal or perfect diet, because we, each of us, are different and have different needs.

This is why one person can successfully lose weight eating a salad and water diet, while the next five might have no success following the same strict regimen.

Eating locally and eating foods that are currently in season can be helpful because it will usually fulfill the needs of the body-replenishing fluids during dry and hot times, or increase blood flow when it’s cold out. Knowing the internal climate of [your] own body can be even more useful. Consider these: • Are you a transplant to your current locale?

• Are you from a tropical region now living in a

more arid climate?

• Do you usually thrive in cold, northern mountain

region but are now living in the South Pacific?

• Is there a measurable difference between where

you live now and where you lived six to seven years ago?

You may need to adjust how you would normally eat to match what your body might need in your new surroundings.

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TRIBUTE

Edna Earlene Motley Remembering the matriarch of a dedicated military family

By Julia Hubbel

I

n the all-too-swift arc that is the story of our lives, we touch thousands, change many, and are ourselves changed, often for the better. If we’re fortunate, our children become our friends, and they are there to honor the work we’ve done in the world, when it’s our time to leave it.

Such is the story of Edna Motley and her daughter Sonja. We are the sum of our stories, and the following speaks to a long, full life well-lived, and a wife, mother and friend well-loved.

Edna Earlene Bolden was born in 1925, the year that New York City became the world’s largest city. It was a world in which a lovely dress could be bought for under $10, flappers were all the rage, and America was just beginning its love affair with cars. Airplanes were still a novelty. A December baby, she came into the world in Denver, then still a relatively small city with a population around 26,000. She was Dora and Earl Bolden’s first child.

Dora, burdened by her first pregnancy, would periodically visit the Denver Zoo to provide relief from her increasingly heavy body.

Delighted by the monkeys’ antics, she would find a front row seat and rest, laughing to the point of tears.

Not everyone thought this was a good idea, however. Dora’s mother Mimi believed that being too close to the monkey cage would cause trouble for the young mother.

Mimi might have been right — but only briefly. For when Edna was born, her shocked parents beheld a tiny baby with an unusual amount of hair covering her entire body.

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At that, her dumbfounded father declared all further children off-limits.

The Great Monkey Hex didn’t last long, however.

Edna evolved in to a cute child, the first of seven. She swiftly became mom No. 2 to Dora’s large family, known to be both bossy and highly protective of bullied kids. This earned her the nickname “Eddie.”

She was not to be messed with.

The Boldens were famous in Denver, USA, for their barbeque, so Edna grew up surrounded by great cooks as well as deep faith. Family, faith, food and fellowship were the cornerstones of her life. The Church of God in Christ provided one pillar, the family’s famous restaurants — Bolden’s Barbeque. She loved the kitchen, and swiftly developed her skills with both creating great food but also lovely presentation.

Her cooking skills led to her being hired to work for the famous Richthofen Castle, which was built in the late 1880s by the famous WWI Flying Ace The Red Baron’s uncle.

She also ran cafeterias for a number of Denver’s large businesses and provided catering services.

She was also a very talented piano player. Five Points, which was one of the wealthiest Black communities in the West, was also known as the “Harlem of the West.”

Edna performed with an all-male jazz band during the height of Five Points’ glory days. Welton Street was also home to over 50 bars and clubs where famous jazz musicians performed regularly. Oscar Peterson, called by Duke Ellington “The

Opposite — Baby Edna in 1926.

Left — Edna with her daughter, Sonja, in the early 1960s.

Below — Edna with her parents, Eora and Earl Bolden.

Bottom — Out and about in the 1950s Photos courtesy of Sonja Motley

Maharaja of the Keyboard,” was one of Edna’s very favorites. Edna often told the story of meeting him when he visited the restaurant — Bolden’s Barbeque stayed open after-hours for the out-of-town talent.

One day a young U.S. Army sergeant saw Edna coming home from working at one of her cafeterias that she and her father ran. This young man was so flustered that he uttered what later became a famous family line: “Can my complexion go your direction?”

That Army sergeant, who was on leave at the time, had been living next door to the Boldens in the 1950s.

Sgt. Thomas Motley might have been tongue-tied, but he was also determined. Maybe it was the barbeque sauce, maybe it was her spirit, maybe it was a whole combination of things. Tom wanted Edna. Happily, she wanted him back. www.CultursMag.com

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her child and husband. A great mom, a loving wife, but even more so, a great best friend.

As Sonja grew into a young woman, their relationship flourished. Edna and Sonja would be joined at the hip through thick and thin, more like sisters than mother and child.

Three stories speak to Edna’s personality, as well as the conditions that shaped her life.

The Great Penguin Heist

Edna with husband Tom Motley.

The Motleys welcomed their only daughter into the world, Sonja Louise, in June of 1961.

Sonja would spend part of her young life in Germany, courtesy of Uncle Sam. Edna would shepherd her small family around the world, in Tom Motley’s wake, through Germany, Thailand and Holland, as well as stints in Virginia and Texas.

Once Tom retired from the Army, they settled back around family and friends in Denver, a much-changed city. Edna threw her heart into her family, becoming known for her ability to make gorgeous clothing and fine food. She was always present for the PTA and provided a loving home for her husband and child.

After Tom settled back into civilian life, he grew flowers, while his wife cultivated a gorgeous vegetable garden.

In the 1950s, Edna was named one of the best dressed women in Denver. It was this fashion sense and love of good lines and tailoring that had a strong early influence on Sonja’s fashion career. She led an active social life through club memberships. This multi-talented, multi-faceted woman engaged herself in a broad range of activities and hobbies while at the same time providing a safe and protective home for

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In 1962, Tom was assigned to Germany. Bremerhaven was a smallish town, located on the River Weser on its western bank. This was the first overseas assignment after Sonja was born.

A typical day involved bundling her infant and heading out early. She and Sonja would stroll the town, sometimes heading to a nearby town for special treats.

One candy shop offered black licorice in ropes, which Tom was particularly fond of, so Edna took Sonja to the store to pick up a supply.

German shops in the sixties weren’t very accommodating for baby carriages, so on this particular day Edna had to leave her tiny child in the baby carriage right outside the shop while she chose the licorice.

When she came back out, the carriage was empty, her tiny child gone.

Stunned and terrified, Edna hurtled down the cobblestone street in her three-inch heels, calling Sonja’s name. She was desperate and crying. Suddenly she noticed a group of “penguins” gathered in a circle.

They were nuns, talking and muttering and discussing something. That something was Sonja. As Edna made her way into the circle, she saw a nun trying to gently rub the skin color off Sonja’s cheek.

She retrieved her tiny child, wiped the tears of relief off her face and made her way back to the candy store.

To the isolated Catholic community of 1960s Germany, a Black child was an impossibility. Thereafter, Sonja never left her hip.

Not a Sticky or a Dickie in Sight In 1968, Cinderella City, home to some 250 stores, was the largest mall west of the Mississippi River. In its heyday one could get lost for hours on end, tempted by four large anchor stores and a plethora of small shops and boutiques. It was a shopper’s paradise, and as such was the perfect place for Edna and Sonja, who absolutely loved to shop.

One memorable Christmas season in 1980, the two erstwhile Santas set forth in this enormous (now long defunct) mall to secure just two things: stick pens for the girl cousins and dickies for the boy cousins in the family.

After hours and hours of walking, inspecting, trying on, putting down, picking up, putting back, and purchasing everything BUT what they had come to Cinderella City to buy, they still didn’t have the four stick pens and dickies for the cousins.

They collapsed in the car to rest after lunch. Both fell asleep. One more department store search to go. Edna took a deep breath, eyeballed Sonja and intoned, “OKAY! Let’s go get these darn gifts. Dick pens and Stickies!”

There was a moment of stunned silence. Then both women collapsed in uncontrollable laughter and tears, then laughter and tears again.

Too weak to continue and too exhausted from laughter, Edna and Sonja called it a day. No dickies, no stickies, no dick pens nor sticky dickies were ever found.

That’s Not A Log! Edna’s history with animals was also colorful. She was known for frying chicken with the family hamster in her apron pocket (and animal that was probably grateful it wasn’t his turn in the pot).

Three enormous standard Poodles enjoyed her willingness to chauffeur them around a Denver park in a convertible. She was a prize fighter, as long as those prize fights involved the family dog Peppy Menace, and her broom. Neighbors on their porches found it highly amusing that she would walk the family cat Nina on a leash.

However, not all creatures were welcomed in Edna’s life. On one memorable day, she was seen streaking down a city block in Bangkok in her spike heels after realizing that the eight-foot log that she had spied crossing a city street was not, in fact, a log. It was a python.

Edna would shepherd her small family around the world, in Tom Motley’s wake, through Germany, Thailand and Holland, as well as stints in Virginia and Texas.

Final Thoughts Some believe that parents need to set boundaries with their children. Establishing too close a relationship can undermine a child’s ability to deal with life’s challenges. The bond has to be broken for the child to find their own way, some feel, for being too close to Mom can mean a life without Mom is unbearable. Therefore it’s essential to create distance.

That depends. It depends on the mother and child, and it depends on the life circumstances — which can allow two people to evolve into a powerful relationship that transcends mother-daughter. Through laughter, tears, wins, losses, the inevitable hard life lessons that shape us all, Edna and Sonja forged a friendship that wove itself into their DNA. Deep family goes further. It rises above the maternal bonds, informing us forever of those things most important: love, trust, and a thousand shared stories over the years.

These few stories, these snippets of Edna’s long and love-filled life, cannot possibly speak to the gift she was to all who knew her. Most especially for Sonja, in whom was trusted the sacred work of standing vigil as Edna became the child to Sonja’s mother. There is no greater gift, no greater love, than for a daughter to be present when the torch is passed.

We should all be so fortunate. In celebration and in tears, in love and in loss, Edna and Sonja are forever joined in this life and the next.

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MUST l WATCH

By Donnyale Ambrosine

Making

ART

India Hussey Isley and Sam Sheridan talk about the making of “I Am The Night” during a moderated panel discussion.

For All Of Us

he sat easily, confidently in the director’s chair — discussing the finer points of the scene’s essence with her lead actor, Wonder Woman’s Gal Gadot.

They nodded, both apparently pleased with the brief conversation’s outcome. As Gadot strode away, the director turned to focus on the large black screens in front of her. Just then, a reassuring hand cradled the small of her back and she turned to find herself the recipient of an unexpected and ever-so-slight kiss. A simple, yet sweet conveyance of love at what otherwise was close to the end of a long day, the culmination 80

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Patty Jenkins and Sam Sheridan at the Sundance Film Festival viewing of “I Am The Night.”

of months of filming in an all-too-familiar, yet foreign space. “Hmmmm,” she hummed, with a joyful lilt at the close, almost like a silent “thank you.” As she raised her gaze to meet his, he glanced deeply and lovingly into her eyes and walked away. Nothing more needed to be said.

How Three Generations of Cultural Fluidity — two military B.R.A.T.S an Adult Cross Cultural Kid and a Third Culture Kid — make meaning for us through film

“Wonder Woman” Director Patty Jenkins and Screenwriter Sam Sheridan are Hollywood’s culturally-fluid power couple. From the outside looking in, it’s the stuff of which relationship dreams are made, resulting in concrete outcomes like the ability to be together ALL DAY. Day after day. Week after week. Year after year. Working, living, rearing their tight-knit family with nine-year-old son Asa, glimpses of sweet moments like this abound. Their son is the recipient of these subtle and unexpected expressions as well. This is one piece of the duo’s formidable superpower, one piece of what adds to the inherent intuition with which they

create: the empathy they bring to their art — emboldened to even greater heights when their work comes together as one. What could have been anyone’s guess, however, is the depth of this couple’s inherent understanding of straddling culture and how it would make them the perfect team to tackle an enormously complex topic on many levels.

Illicit Beginnings For the first time in a major production, Sheridan and Jenkins collaborated on screen to conceptualize, create and produce the noir thriller, “I am the Night,” a www.CultursMag.com

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Jenkins directs India Hussey Isley on the set of “I Am The Night.”

six-part limited series on Turner Network Television that debuted Jan. 28. The series is inspired by the real life of Fauna Hodel, whose juxtaposition in race, identity, class and family led her on a search to discover her origins. Little did Hodel know that search would yield more than any person could imagine. A roller coaster of experiences resulting in shocking discoveries and emotional upheaval led the real life Hodel to cultivate and continuously spread a message of love to anyone she touched. The light she exuded among the darkness she encountered along the way is part of why Jenkins was intrigued by and championed the making of Hodel’s story.

“I just super adored her [Hodel] as a person, but where her story started going, I was absolutely shocked. I have heard a lot of stories and I’m a connoisseur of good stories, but this one, I was stunned by,” Jenkins shared. The thing that grabbed and stuck with the prolific director was the potential impact of one of the more taboo themes in a story rife with taboo

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themes. She could then understand the desperation of one of the main characters “to be a great man,” encapsulating the “greatness-at-what-price-vibe” of this real-life character who was George Hodel — Fauna’s grandfather. Hodel was a famous, or infamous (depending on one’s outlook), Hollywood gynecologist accused of the 1940s-era Black Dahlia Murder in Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, here was Fauna, who had gone in search of her identity and found out the worst about her lineage yet still chose to live in love and light.

“There’s something about the journey that people are on to find their identity and the fact that the person who found out the worst possible thing rose above that. And there was this incredibly happy, at-peace-with-herself, person,” Jenkins mused with a bit of incredulity, still, at the idea of someone being so joyful among all the disfunction.

Keeping It In The Family Both Jenkins and Sheridan studied

oil painting during their undergraduate years. An avid artist, Sheridan was enthralled (or used to be) by the work of surrealist painters — a perfect link for the unbelievable story his wife soon would bring home. “The surrealist thing with George Hodel and his ‘greatness at any price’ — looking at those surrealists again and realizing just how misogynistic and hateful of women and sort of destructive it was and how aggressive,” remembered Sheridan. “Like all of Dali’s stuff is toward women — it was a shock and I was very intrigued because those guys were held on pedestals as these genius great men who should be indulged and here was this clarity of how misogynistic it was.” Digging deeper, Sheridan was appalled and fascinated at the idea “of

this guy who may have killed the Black Dahlia as an art project.” This guy being Fauna’s grandfather, the elder Hodel.

But the project was a daunting one — with it came not just the possible intrigue of an unsolved murder, but an inbred tale of abandonment, deception, denial and ultimately, a search for true identity. It was a lot to tackle.

Finding The Key “So Patty had talked to Chris (actor Chris Pine, of “Star Trek” fame) about it on the set of “Wonder Woman.” Then Chris wanted to be involved and the question was, who is he going to be — is he going to be George Hodel? Then my breakthrough came when I thought if there’s a classic noir foil — you know

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MUST l WATCH either he’s a detective, or he’s a reporter or a drunk or whatever — where’s that guy? Now I can see a way to structure the story that’s not just darkness and also has a flow.” Sheridan emphasized the importance of infusing levity into a story as dark and heavy as it was conveyed in Fauna’s book of her life story, called “One Day She’ll Darken.” “You need something to balance, so you have to find a way to lighten that and keep the story going,” he cautioned. “So I was daunted until Chris’ involvement, and then it unlocked it for me.”

The Perfect Team They’d done it — found the perfect foil and birthed a digestible way for the public to consume this story’s thrilling, timely and needed subject-matter while being thoroughly entertained. Along the way, they also had become good friends with the younger Hodel, who, unfortunately succumbed to cancer right before filming commenced. Fauna and

Pine and Jenkins on set for “I Am The Night.”

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(l to r) Sam Sheridan and Patty Jenkins on the set of “I am the Night.”

her adult daughters, Yvette Gentile and Rasha Pecoraro, had always considered Jenkins their Wonder Woman. Though Fauna worked diligently with Sheridan to convey her life’s detail, intrinsically, deep down, she always knew Sheridan and Jenkins were her people.

Culturally Fluid Beginnings Fauna was intersectional in many

ways: race, class, culture and more. She’d eventually find that within her own identity was contained an unprecedented level of dimensionality. Jenkins too shared a hidden diversity and dimensional multiplicity. As a military B.R.A.T. whose mother was a military B.R.A.T., Jenkins and her sister grew up crossing cultures from birth.

Born on a U.S. Air Force Base, at sixmonths-old, Jenkins began a plethora of moves that started with a trip to Cambodia, ended in high school with Washington D.C., USA, and included Thailand, Mississippi, New York, San Francisco, Kansas and Germany in-between.

“So a long story short was for me, even though I was one of the lucky ones who had a good split in a place, I never belonged.” Jenkins lived 10 or 11 years in Kansas, but she always was aware that it was temporary. “My best friend was a Polish immigrant and my next best friend was a French immigrant — we were all people who were all like, ‘I know I’m not from Kansas.’” We were always there in a transitory way and we knew we were going to leave.”

As with many who grow up in a cross-cultural lifestyle, honing an adaptability to situations, people and places, Jenkins had friends of many ilks, but they usually didn’t mesh together.

“I’ve mostly had one individual friend in each direction — never cliques of friends because we were never all alike — so it’s ‘I like that girl and I like this girl and I like that girl,’ but I was never in a pack of friends, because there was never a group of us. I had a different relationship with every friend I had.

“Sam is unusual in the fact that he is one of those friends but he comes from a stability that I had never needed before, technically even though he’s super not that way. He has this kind of wary understanding, and he has the qualities of my most-damaged and experienced

and transitory friends and I’m not sure why. I always have been like where do you get this from?”

Growing Up Military Meanwhile, Sheridan shared an equally transitory, though not necessarily migratory, upbringing. At and early age, his family moved from rural Mass.,USA, to Boston and Sheridan garnered friends

Actor Chris Pine as Journalist Jay Singletary.

from prep schools, international friends who spoke English as a third language, wealthy elites and farmer’s kids. Though he stayed put for a long time, within the diversity of his world, he learned a sort-of cultural code-switching while forming his own identity that would serve him well in future careers.

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MUST l WATCH Marine at age 18 (and daring a friend to cut off his hand — yes, that happened), to sailing the world as a professional sailor for three years — it all fed what would eventually lead him to be a fighter in Thailand, working for “Men’s Journal” and eventually becoming a best-selling author.

Oh, he also was Wildland Fire-Fighter and a Hotshot (forest first-responders who get the most dangerous assignments) somewhere in there. No Joke.

All of this, however, also is probably why he excels as a husband. This macho, world-traveling, dare-you-to-hurt-me, adventure seeker also embodies the empathy to provide his son with unbridled attention as well as provide his wife with

relationship-kindling intimate moments without smothering her larger-thanlife persona.

“I think my work as a nonfiction writer for the last 12 years turned me into a cultural journalist. But at the heart of that kind of journalism has to be empathy, the ability to put yourself in other shoes (and to acknowledge what you cannot understand).” It’s probably also helpful as son Asa grows up a Third Culture Kid (TCK), reared in the USA and the UK as Jenkins films for “Wonder Woman.” No doubt their backgrounds, and their daily work helps inform how to provide stability within mobility between two worlds.

Hussey Isley as Fauna and Justin Cornwall in “I Am The Night.”

The series is inspired by the real life of Fauna Hodel, whose juxtaposition in race, identity, class and family led her on a search to discover her origins... that search would yield more than any person could imagine.

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The empathy Jenkins and Sheridan bring to the table, plus the fluidity learned in their upbringing, made them the perfect team to take a daunting story and make it consumable for the masses. “I think Fauna’s story is universal,” said Sheridan.

“Patty taught me that every screenplay needs a universal truth at its heart; I think Fauna wondering ‘Who am I?’ is something that everyone knows and has felt.”

Online Exclusive For exclusive interviews with cast members, video snippets and more hidden diversity nuggets, from “I Am The Night,” visit cultursmag.com/Making-Art.”

Bringing It All Together The duo was so honorable in trying to tell a story worthy of the younger Hodel’s decades of striving and wishes for the world shone through in every aspect of this project. As Sheridan finished the script after filming began, two directors were hand-selected to continue episodes four through six, as Jenkins could only squeeze in the first two episodes before leaving for London. Victoria Mahoney (who has directed episodes of “Power,” “Claws,” “Queen Sugar” and “Grey’s Anatomy”) and award-winning Carl Franklin (with a long Filmography since 1986 including “Devil in a Blue Dress” and “House of Cards”).

Sheridan considers the two directors friends and emphasizes how much he learned from watching them work. As a first-time screenwriter and show runner, he absorbed a lot in the process. “The other directors were also great on this project, albeit all in very different ways. It was such

a wonderful classroom for me in visual storytelling, just to be there and watch such talented people work. Vic Mahoney is an exciting visual stylist, an innovative filmmaker; and Carl Franklin is a legend with good reason, a massive talent and deeply committed filmmaker with profound understanding of what he’s about. Carl’s forgotten more about filmmaking than most directors today ever know.”

As for his wife, Sheridan added, “Working with Patty is a joy. She is a genius. She’s working on levels and with ambitions that most people don’t even realize exist.”

Though he admits he would have relished another six months to write the series, “I feel like we did a good a job as we could have done in the time we had.

I’m very proud of what we did. I think all the directors did some good stuff. Beautiful moments. I feel like it’s good. For sure it’s good. I think it’s good. Is it great?

I think it has moments of greatness.” www.CultursMag.com

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L

ondon, a city full of history and culture, the perfect blend of the contemporary and the classic, a land between fantasy and reality.

When thinking of London, how many symbols can you recall? The prosperity brought by the Industrial Revolution, the myth of the empire where the sun never sets, the acme of fashion, the strength of British soccer players, or the rhythm of the Beatles? How many of you’ve been dreaming of receiving a train

London skyline with Big Ben and the London Eye at dusk.

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ticket all the way to Hogwarts, entering this mysterious and charming land from the Platform 9-3/4?

The winter in London is mostly overcast with the trace of melancholy.

Walking in the streets of the city, I was surrounded by the buildings of ancient centuries, felt the sea breeze from the Atlantic blowing freely, and looked up to see the sparkling glowing lights during Christmas. London is so alive.

The city of London is a melting pot of ethnics, religions and cultures. It embraces people from all over the world so that it became a city with diversity while retaining the charm of the historical amorous feelings. London tower bridge, Westminster Palace, Buckingham Palace, the British Museum, St. Paul’s Cathedral and other

famous sites have become British proud landmark sceneries. But you can also find as much fun either in the middle of Soho or Chinatown. There’re always new things from corner to corner so it took me ages to explore it all. This is how I love it.

Samuel Johnson once said: “Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.”

By Xiaoya Cheng

Destination:

LONDON

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Tower Bridge at night

Gherkin Building

British Museum 90

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Southwark Cathedral at night

National Gallery in Trafalgar Square

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Famous double-decker red busses and ice globes at Christmas

Iconic London Underground sign at night

Interior of Hackney Empire theatre

Somerset House ice rink Anchor pub on the Bankside riverside at night 92

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Kew Gardens

Kew Botanic Royal Gardens

The Orangery at Kew Gardens

Camden Town canal

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West End Marylebone St. Christopher’s Place shopping

London at Christmas

One New Change shopping centre roof with a view of St. Paul’s Cathedral

Spitalfields market

Carnaby Street market 94

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Houxton graffiti

Art workshop at the Wallace Collection

Houxton graffiti

Tate Modern art gallery and Millenium bridge

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BEHIND THE SCENES

rew c e e tyl d th s n urs behi gner t l Cu last desi e Th a b ith . w d ha nes cero u sce na L Mo 96

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ll we llo on a H is Ol ey en Bri ique : otl r dr he a M ilotta e j p S n a o B gr tist: ro r: S r Liz oto ce Ph up A Edito ylist: a Lu en, e t n e n k S Gr ow Mo Ma ashio er: oyce da S ni F n ĂŻ g J i o A es ls: r: D n D ode de o n i M sh fou Fa rs ltu u C

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