Category: Around the World
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Three lessons from giving dishes an extra rinse at dim sum
When I was growing up, my parents and I went to dim sum every Sunday afternoon with my grandparents. The first thing we did after we sat down was order a teapot of boiled water to wash our cutlery. We started by pouring boiled water in our cups, which we then poured over a pair…
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Aerial roots can strengthen a tree’s foundation and absorb water and nutrients
Every tree has roots that set the foundation for the trunk and branches in the ground. I learned recently that some trees, like banyan trees, also grow aerial roots from the branches. Like the roots in the ground, some of these roots can absorb water and nutrients from the air. As these roots grow and…
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Create space for the things you want, so they can find you
What do you want more of in your life? Have you created space and time for it? It’s easy and comfortable to fill spaces with things you’re familiar with or good at. It’s difficult and uncomfortable to create space for the things you want, especially when they’re unfamiliar. If you’ve been yearning to travel, you…
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Pineapples, pizza, and possibility
Do you like pineapples on your pizza? The style is known as a Hawaiian pizza, and it’s a polarizing topic. For example, the former president of Iceland joked that he’d ban pineapples on pizza if he could. When I lived in New York City, I searched far and wide before finding a half decent restaurant…
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Music is a buoy in the seas of time and space
What new music do you listen to when you travel? Because if it goes well together, there’s a good chance that your brain will naturally associate it with the place. You can tap into this by being open to what’s around you, as well. In one of our first weeks living in New York City,…
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When you change your routines up, you slow time down
I used to work as a writer for Lifehacker. A couple of years before that gig, I’d already started writing guest posts for them. I wrote the first of these while I was a student, about how our brains perceive time. I was curious about it because I noticed people older than me always saying…
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A place is a tool that people maintain
A place is a tool. The library helps you focus and work. The gym helps you work out. Your home helps you relax and unwind. A nice restaurant is a tool for you to get together with friends and family, share a meal, and create a new experience. If you walked into a nice restaurant,…
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Make your place interesting
If you want to do interesting things in your town or city, you’ll need to do homework. You might be signing up for local newsletters, checking out event calendars, or just walking around and observing. If there isn’t anything that’s interesting, your homework will be to start an event. There will always be people looking…