Author’s note: This year, on Martin Luther Kind Jr. Day of Service in the US (January 19), I answered Dr. King’s question, “What are you doing for others?” by releasing Adventures Less Ordinary: How to Travel and Do Good, a free e-guide to mindful adventures. Months in the making, it’s an anthology of analyses and suggestions from two dozen experienced experts who have been working for many years to improve the volunteer travel industry.

The contributors explore the merits and perils of many established “voluntourism” activities and then provide practical advice to ethically-minded travelers about how to be sure of making a positive impact. It is, in short, a how-to handbook for compassionate people guided as much by the good you give as the good you get.

The following excerpt is part of my Editor’s Note to the book. If you nurture a free-spirited and adventure-minded desire for more to travel than just getting somewhere and being there, please register to receive your free copy at http://bit.ly/1wvCUDS.

Getting an Accurate Snapshot of Travel Generosity

Volunteer Linda Pritchard helps build a greenhouse for the Andean community in Machu Picchu, Peru.

When photographing an object in motion, you have three principal options: use an incredibly fast shutter speed for a crisp capture of both the moving object and the background, but not a sense of the motion; pan as the object passes to freeze just the object against an artistic blur of background; or, for background clarity and an object blur, simply snap the object without panning.

No matter what you do, though, something is missing: a sense of speed, or pixel-perfect detail of either the object or the background.

That was the challenge I accepted when I agreed to commission and edit contributions for Adventures Less Ordinary: How to Travel and Do Good: the necessary omission of something essential. Should our snapshots of the ways in which travel generosity can be harnessed provide a clear sense of what’s happening today against the broader state of travel and tourism, but without addressing any sense of the need for growth and change? Or should it focus on one element (the ways for altruistic travelers to give back, for example) at the expense of another (the tourism context inspiring such responsible behavior) and preserve the sense of progress and development?

Travel-Inspired Community Service

The Inspired Escapes water safari engages in a local clean water project, shadowing local residents as they build clean water wells in their community.

For decades, high-minded, compassionate, and generous travelers have understood the virtues of sharing time and money with worthy projects around the world. Students have offered their vigor and energy. Skilled professionals have donated their services. People of all stripes have made good with their time and money to improve the lot of others less fortunate.

Today more than ever before, there’s a sweeping sense of travel-inspired community service, with a broad embrace of the whole globe as our community. It has prompted growing numbers of free-spirited, adventure-minded explorers to step out of familiar routines and then interact with the world around them in ways that make a positive and lasting impact on the people and communities they visit and of which they are a part.

But while there’s nothing new about the desire to give as much as (or more than) one gets, many of the means by which such charitable assistance can be delivered are quite novel. And these days the knowledge of how best to leverage both big-heartedness and the jargony lexicon used to describe it is constantly in flux. More than just a work in progress, the whole complex of thoughts and actions associated with voluntourism, volunteerism, volunteering, service learning, charity challenges, travel fundraisers etc. is constantly shifting its basic shape and its substance.

This is all the more true as volunteering and fundraising topics are no longer as standalone as they once were. The activities with which they are associated are being integrated into the broad and growing pool of commercial but no less authentic travel experiences so appealing to new generations of travelers.

Acknowledging Complexity

The Inspired Escapes water safari engages in a local clean water project, shadowing local residents as they build clean water wells in their community.

So how could all of this be tackled in one guide, knowingly surrendering to an incomplete picture while hoping to provide as broad and as deep a base of understanding as possible? How could this unwieldy topic be introduced without overwhelming the casual traveler or being too jejune? How could this be accomplished without painting with too broad a brush and misrepresenting the work being done — undermining the good or erroneously overvaluing the bad? How could it be part of a collaborative effort to #MendNotEnd voluntourism?

The trick, I think, has been to acknowledge the complexity of the topic and tackle it from as many perspectives — and with the input of as many voices — as possible.

That is most evident in Part 1 of the guide, called Good Actions: What’s Being Done, which is, in keeping with the photographic analogy used above, the snapshot employing a fast shutter speed, freeze-framing topics and their contexts. A chorus of authoritative voices weighs in on a selection of typical activities through which service-oriented and philanthropic travelers have been doing good — working with children or wildlife, shoring up infrastructure and contributing to community development. By tapping these deep reserves of knowledge and experience, this guide provides readers with a critical lay of the land.

In an effort to reintegrate a sense of percolating change, one that encourages readers to focus on future developments and how best to leverage them, the second section of the guide, called Good Intentions: What to Think About, encourages review of what to think about before, during and after acting.

Three Core Considerations

In both sections, a point was made of assembling information that covers three core considerations:

* the state of the service-oriented travel industry — contributors were asked to hold nothing back when describing what’s going on, how things work, and how successful they have proven to be;

* a sense of the pitfalls of which travelers should be aware — as nothing’s perfect (yet), contributors were asked to explain how to approach service-focused travel planning with a smart and critical eye, teasing out the areas of concern and finding ways to deal with them that help improve the space;

* the kinds of questions to ask when seeking to meet the needs of local communities and the emotional and philanthropic desires of donors — moving toward improvement means giving people the means to root out trouble and then steer well clear of it.

The result is, I believe, a potent resource for compassionate people seeking the ultimate adventure.

All photos are courtesy of Inspired Escapes.

http://ift.tt/1vgNeA9

Featured photo by Kellan

http://ift.tt/1yMIw7K

Nowadays, Colombia is one of the best places in the Americas for street art. The quality of urban art together with the decentralization of murals to small and medium-size towns make Colombian walls and streets feel alive with colors and messages. Common topics include social commentary, historical characters, cultural heritage, and a reflection about how we relate to nature in modern times. Here’s a compilation of some of the best street art in the country — enjoy.

All photos via Street Art in Columbia.

1

Numerous murals in Bogota have been created by prestigious local and international artists.

The picture shows one of the first ones. Created by Blu in 2009, it represents Colombia’s dark days of violence and drug trafficking.

2

Graffiti and large-scale “interventions” are much more valued now.

New large-scale urban art emerges in the streets of both the capital city and small towns. The picture of JADE’s piece, made in collaboration with Vertigo Graffiti and MDCREW, is just a well-renowned example. For the past 10 years there has been a boom in street art, with growing appreciation from the general public. Now all you need is a property owner’s permission to paint, and there’s even designated public areas for this purpose.

3

You can find murals in the making, international festivals, and workshops all year round.

All over the country and all-year long, murals and graffiti are spreading through the urban centers. There are also international festivals taking places in Bogota (like Meeting of Styles), Medellin, Cali, and Manizales, among other cities. On top of that, some cultural organizations carry out sponsored workshops for artists.

Intermission

1

This is the sickest ski video we’ve ever seen

by Matt Hershberger

Transforming neighborhoods: A project to paint an entire favela in Rio de Janeiro

by Dikson



7

6 myths about Colombia that need to be busted

by Sarah Duncan

4

Great artists leave their legacy in remote and isolated places too.

That’s the case of Isla de San Andrés, where several street artists got inspired. Stinkfish, for instance, created “urban mirrors” using local people as models for his stencils. Image by Stinkfish.

5

No town is too small or too far away for street art.

Even towns two hours away from Cartagena receive artists from different parts of the world that want to contribute to public spaces. They incorporate symbols from the local communities in their designs, so that their pieces end up teaching a little bit of history through images. Picture by Ledania.

6

Even small communities have stories to be told and characters worth honoring.

This gigantic mural, in Manizales city, portrays Tonra, Fercho and Ecks. The artists in charge of it decided to use elements from local history and to represent its culture and idiosyncrasy.

7

Colombian street art attracts tourists and “specialized” tour guides.

Urban art forms—informally called “rayones” in Colombian Spanish—invade the streets of Bogota, especially Cra. Séptima Avenue. The design above belongs to Bastardilla, a talented local (female) street artist. Guided tours take visitors to see this and other creations. Many tours are given by expats: former tourists that saw the potential of street art in Colombia and decided to stay, making a business out of it.

8

Walls are turned into political and historical showcases.

This is a depiction of Jaime Garzón, a well-known victim of violence who was murdered for using political satire to criticize corruption in Colombia. This type of graffiti not only honors historical characters, but also fosters freedom of expression.

9

Colombian cultural icons are re-interpreted by street artists.

Toxicómano is one of the most renowned street artists in Colombia. Amongst his multiple urban interventions, this one portrays novelist Gabriel García Márquez. The mural invites people to learn about the work of this indisputable Colombian icon.

Intermission

46

22 reasons why we should all be moving to Barcelona right now

by Elisa Stutts-Barquin



1

Watch this empty warehouse become an epic street art canvas

by Alex Scola



3

Inside the Darien Gap: An exploration in 19 photos

by Matthew Karsten

10

Cultural heritage and popular city markets meet in street art.

Gauche’s interventions not only beautify popular city markets’ walls, but also re-interpret Latin American and indigenous symbols. The piece in the photograph was created with the help of people who work there every day selling fruits and vegetables to support their families. This perfect combination of colors, nature and human shapes synthesizes what our ancestors left us in a fantastic way. Image by Manizales biocultural.

11

“Esperanza” (hope) for a peaceful future permeates the murals.

The picture shows only a fraction of the Calle 26 collection of street art in Bogota, a long wall where many pieces refer to the sociopolitical conflicts in Colombia. Street art plays an important role in the public “discussion” of controversial issues. The last thing we lose is hope in the possibility of a better country away from war, drugs, and fear. The mural represents rural inhabitants and their dream of ceasing armed conflicts.

12

Of course, old facades are a constant.

All over the country, abandoned buildings and old houses attract street artists who seek to enhance and re-interpret local urban spaces.

13

Our relationship with nature is also depicted.

Psylo Sabin and Suku are always working in the south of the country, sometimes in collaboration with artists from Peru and Ecuador. Their designs, which fill the walls with life, focus on the importance of preserving the natural environment and improving the relationship between humans and nature.

14

Street art even preserves and positively transforms heritage sites.

In the beloved Getsemaní neighborhood, in Cartagena, Yurika’s interventions add to the aesthetics of a city appreciated for its history and tradition. Because Cartagena’s colonial walls have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site over 20 years ago, permits for urban art are hard to get and the artists need to make sure their work is not “offensive.” Getting a permit is actually a big accomplishment that the graffiteros celebrate. Image by Street art utopia.

http://ift.tt/163wlwy

ELIZABETH is wickedly talented…she only began surfing in her mid 40s, and is now out in the water all the time, constantly trying to improve and enjoy herself. Last week I caught her YouTubing how to do aerials! I wanted to capture her cheeky personality while hopefully making a film that people will be inspired by.

http://ift.tt/1CHVMR6

Photo: eastendimages

1. That special burgundy book

We all forget how lucky we our to have our British passports. And not because they’ve now been fitted with nifty computer chips, but because they can take us almost anywhere in the world without foreign immigration batting an eyelid. Our passports are magic keys in a world with so many impenetrable borders, which enable us to drift through Africa to Asia, and back through Latin America without a care in the world. Sure, there are limits — we probably can’t take a nice summer’s vacation to North Korea — but we have plenty of other military dictator friends who’ll happily let us in.

2. The linguistic lottery

We won it. So, once we get to almost anywhere in the world we can at least get by, we can always find someone to communicate with, and we can, probably, even find some employment as a result of it. Unfortunately, most of the British population takes this as a given, expecting every human being on earth to be able to recite Shakespeare. Instead, we should realize how lucky we are, and start extending more courtesies to our foreign guests who aren’t so fluent, or we could even, god forbid, try and learn another language.

3. Natural disasters, or lack thereof

One cold winter’s night at University in Sheffield my friends and I felt a somewhat surprising tremor shake our house. My friend asked in all seriousness: “Is Rob having sex upstairs?” Needless to say, my housemate did not have the physical capabilities to rattle a house by his sexual prowess alone; it was indeed a small earthquake. I’m offering this example to show just how incomprehensible the idea of a natural disaster is in the UK; that a man shaking a house in the flows of passion is more believable than the UK actually experiencing an earthquake. We do get the occasional coating of snow, and let me tell you this: it causes irrepressible havoc on our sheltered society, which is about as much as we can bear. God knows how we would respond if we were to experience a genuine natural disaster.

4. The marvelous NHS

Do any of you Brits know what it feels like to go to the doctors — or avoid the doctors for this reason — just to be slapped with a head-spinning invoice? No, because we have free healthcare for all. Each and every human being in Britain is extended the right to free healthcare, which is exactly how it should be.

Unfortunately, in most of the world healthcare is costly; it’s a privilege not a right. We need to stop letting those Tory maniacs systematically dismantle our NHS just for private profit, and start sticking up for one of the only institutions we have left that we can be genuinely proud of.

5. Everything is relatively nearby

As a nation we tend to think we’re more important than we actually are; and as an island we seem to think we’re a lot bigger than we actually are. In reality, we’re pretty small, and thus have the luxury of being able to visit every corner of our quaint little land in just a matter of hours. Although, some people would have you believe that a journey to Newcastle is akin to Frodo’s trek across Middle Earth, it’s just a few hours on a comfortable, albeit overpriced, train.

6. Talking of trains, we can get them to everywhere and anywhere.

We have an extensive rail network, probably too extensive, but glorious all the same. I’ve yet to visit any other country where you can pick up a train to absolutely everywhere from absolutely anywhere. From the most-vibrant cities to the most-unthinkable hovels, we’ve put rail tracks through them. I mean, who in their right mind knows where Adlestrop or Saudersfoot are? Nobody, but you can be damn sure that there’s a train station there if you ever need to visit. Conversely, we do not take the current ticket prices for granted, as they are getting wholly ridiculous!

7. Cultural diversity

From Caribbean to African and from Arabic to Oriental, our society is influenced by a huge array of different cultures and traditions! It has made Britain so much more vibrant and colorful. Of course, it’s something that lots of people seem to moan about, but come on, get over that false image of a golden age of ‘Britishness’ gone by and start embracing a nation filled will exotic flavors, interesting stories and perspectives, coherent dancing, colorful dress, and contemporary music. If it wasn’t for the introduction of different cultures, we’d all still be sitting around in our cummerbunds, eating boiled potatoes, and playing backgammon every night.

8. Watchable television

I have often been guilty of criticizing British television myself. Often pumped full of z-list celebrities prancing around on reality TV shows, there are many aspects of British TV to scorn. But, then again, a quick trip abroad will display to you just how watchable our TV shows really are in comparison — excellent comedies, quiz shows, news specials, and documentaries. The BBC has given us a nice solid base to start, even though quality does waver from time to time, and then Channel 4 sneaks in for the slightly more racy shows for post-watershed viewing.

9. The deliciousness and versatility of fish

We’re an island nation, we’re surrounded by sea, we have bucket loads of fish. But for some godforsaken reason we’ve hardly even began to explore their culinary genius. Some British brut a long time ago decided that the only way to enjoy a good fish was to smother it in pancake batter, deep-fat fry it, and serve it up on a plate with a mountain of chips soaked in grease. What was that person thinking? And why have we never dared to question it?! We need to start appreciating our fish by showing them the love they deserve, whilst preparing them to eat.

10. 50 shades of green

You may be surprised to hear that there is more than just perpetual grey in the UK. In fact, our island is simply bursting with greenery. From forests to farms and cricket pitches to football fields, there is natural color and growth everywhere. Us Brits always seem to think that we live in a geographically boring country, but it’s really a green, vegetation-rich country. Of course, the reason for this expansive plant life and fertile ground is the unrelenting barrage of rain that lays siege to our land, but if you’ll permit me a shameless pun, the vegetation that it brings with it is quite literally the silver lining to our grey cloud.

http://ift.tt/1wIUyhS

Photo: Paul Terefenko

1. You’ve chugged a 40 of Black Ice in a ravine. In -10 weather.

2. May 2-4 means drinking a 2-4 of Creemore at the cottage.

3. You’ve been drunk snowmobiling in Collingwood.

4. You got your fake ID from that shady place next to the Eaton Centre. Or the shady guy at school who changed the date on your G1.

5. You could always count on Sneaky Dee’s, Philthy McNasty’s, and The Unicorn for some no-holds-barred underage drinking.

6. You got shitfaced on the subway before Battle of the Bands.

7. You played Circle of Death. And got frostbite afterwards.

8. You’ve been drunk enough at Steam Whistle that they had to ask you to stop pulling the steam whistle.

9. You’ve sat in the 500 section at a Jays game, polishing off a mickey.

10. Your go-to purveyor was Dial-a-Bottle. Because the delivery dudes didn’t give a shit.

11. You transported your 2-4 of Alexander Keith’s down a park hill using a discarded box like a toboggan. When it smashed on the ice below, you had to stop your crazy friend from eating the beer-soaked snow for fear he’d swallow glass.

12. You know the special pain that is arriving at the LCBO one minute too late.

13. You got chased by cops at a park party, yelling “PIGS!” the whole time.

14. Where there was beer there was weed, and where there was weed, there was a bong from Friendly Stranger.

15. It’s not brunch without clam juice.

16. You’ve snuck into a friend’s parents’ house through the basement entrance, sneaking back out to grab a Molson from the six-pack chilling in the snow.

17. You attended a rave at Guvernment, The Docks, System Soundbar, or the Opera House.

18. Then spent all of Sunday at The Comfort Zone. And maybe some of Monday.

19. You’ve had a 7 and 7 on a patio in Yorkville.

20. You’ve snuck vodka into a Maple Leafs game, then poured it into hot chocolate.

21. You celebrated your 18th birthday in Montreal.

http://ift.tt/1CTDJIj

Long exposure photography is fun and probably one of my most favorite things to shoot. A whole new world opens up, full of motion and movement — the image feels alive. From rolling waves to passing cars to the night sky, there are many adventures to be had keeping the shutter open. Since so many of us are hard at work keeping our images sharp and clear and the first time figuring out how to attempt a long exposure can be a bit daunting, here are nine steps to get you started.

All photos by the author.

1

Location

To start with, pick a location that you are familiar and comfortable with. There are potential long exposure images everywhere; all you need is motion or movement. Think about your finished image: capturing a waterfall or steam or waves this way will give you smooth silky water; an urban scene with cars will capture “light trails” that streak through the image; the night sky can come alive with stars and colours even our eyes cannot see; a busy marketplace can have a blur of humanity passing through it. What kind of motion inspires you? Plan on trying to capture that. Even better if you can check the location out beforehand, since most long exposures have to happen after sunset or before sunrise.

2

Stability

For long exposures you have to use a tripod, though you could rest the camera on a flat surface in a pinch. The key to a good long exposure image is to highlight a movement while retaining sharpness in the parts of the images not moving—if everything else in the image is also blurred, it will not have the same effect. That’s just a blurry image, unless you’re absolutely doing it on purpose. It is also best to use some sort of a remote trigger to avoid any camera movement as you press the shutter. If you do not have one yet, you can use the timer on the camera, such as 2 or 10 seconds, which will give you a count down after pressing the shutter.

3

Preparation

You should shoot in RAW for the best results—do you have enough space on your memory cards for that? Will you have enough battery life shooting for a couple of hours? Do you have the clothing you need? Bug spray or rubber boots? If you’re spending the night, bring a tent. The right equipment will depend on just how much darkness you’ll be working in. After sunset, you might still be blocking light with a high aperture, so even a basic kit lens can work; however, to capture the stars, which are so dim, you’ll want a lens with f/2.8 or at the very least, f/4. Do you want a wide scene, or some more zoomed in and possibly abstract? If you don’t have a fast enough lens, can you borrow or rent?

Intermission

1

This is the sickest ski video we’ve ever seen

by Matt Hershberger



46

22 reasons why we should all be moving to Barcelona right now

by Elisa Stutts-Barquin

A photographic journey through the Torres del Paine, Patagonia

by Michael Marquand

4

Conditions

Check the weather forecast. I have spent hours shooting in ski gear to save me getting cold, and I generally carry an umbrella. The umbrella is to cover my camera gear and not for me. You’ll want to make sure you’re comfortable and the camera is fairly dry. If you’re working with the night sky, you’ll want to consider if the moon is rising and/or full because that can get in the way of shooting stars.

5

Composition

What do you want in the scene? This can be tough at night as it is difficult to see through the viewfinder or in live view – come in the daytime to look around if you can. If you can’t, and it’s quite dark, you’ll have to somewhat blindly take an image, and adjust based on the result, until it’s what you like. What do you see and what do you want to capture? If you’re going into nature and can’t visit during the day, bring a powerful flashlight; if you’re going into the city, you’re probably okay to just play around until you find something you like.

6

Focus

If you’re doing an urban scene, there should be enough light to autofocus. If it starts to take a long time for the camera to figure it out, then focus it manually—you might want to practice doing this at home if you don’t trust your judgement. But if you’re working in the dark, out in nature, you can shine a powerful flashlight on something (like a tree) and autofocus; then, switch the lens to manual, and the correct distance should be set—but always zoom in on the result and see. For stars or the night sky, if there’s no foreground to autofocus on with a flashlight, you’ll need to manually set your lens somewhere between infinity and 3, shoot, and check the results, and repeat until it looks sharp (or recompose so there is something you can focus on).

7

Time of day

You really cannot take a long exposure during a sunny or bright daytime unless you have special filters (and a few of them). Heavy clouded days, or very shaded areas can allow for a long shutter during the day—so hike into a wooded area, or go shooting under an angry looking sky. Most of us do long exposures around sunset (after the sun is gone from the horizon), dawn, dusk, blue hour, and after dark. You want some light, but not too much, or the photo will be white/blown out. (On the other hard, if it’s too dark the image will be mostly black).

8

Settings

Making the images is when you really get to play. If you are not comfortable shooting in manual mode, then set your camera to Time or Shutter Priority (S on Nikon, Tv on Canon, S on Sony, etc) and set the ISO to 100. Choose the shutter speed you want to try. It depends on how fast (or slow) the motion is happening, or how dim the situation is. If it’s water moving really fast, even 1/4th or 1/10th will reveal motion to the water. If it’s light streaks from cars, you’ll want 10 to 30 seconds in order to get a long streak rather than a short one. If you’re trying to shoot the stars, you actually will want ISO because stars are very very dim—something like ISO 2000 to start. Bare in mind that if it’s still bright out, or the street is well lit, you might not be able to obtain 30 seconds right away (it is letting in a lot of light). If you’re not comfortable with light and settings, just play and enjoy! The connections will start to come together soon enough. If you shoot on manual already, do all of the above but select an aperture to try along with the shutter, and the ISO at 100. If it’s still bright, try f/22 to block light. If it’s dusky, try f/8. If it’s quite dim, try f/4 or f/2.8. Go from there!

9

Review, rework, reshoot—and enjoy!

Once you have made your first image, review it on the screen. What do you think? Do you like the composition? Is it too bright or too dark? Play with the settings—on Shutter Priority you can use exposure compensation to brighten, or darken as best you can—you may want to switch the ISO to “Auto” if you’re really struggling; on manual, you could open or close the aperture, lengthen or shorten the shutter speed, or add/remove ISO. Is the focus good or is it off? Consider your vision for the photo. Explore your creativity and what the camera is capable of doing. Ultimately, you are the photographer and the camera is the tool. You are telling the camera what you want it to produce. Most importantly, have fun and do not forget to share your images.

http://ift.tt/1CTqirP

http://ift.tt/1LqiIsn

Poor Pedro Calado…he…almost…had it. Calado, from Rio de Janeiro, gets up on this epic big wave on Maui’s North Shore, makes a nice bottom turn, but then loses it all at just about the worst possible place — the top of the face as the inside section closes in. What happens next is an epic dose of spin cycle — just watch.

Want to see that wipeout one more time, in slow-mo? Okay:

http://ift.tt/161Rh75

And that’s why they call this place “Jaws.”

http://ift.tt/1LqiGAC

Photo by missmareck

1. You wish you could keep Montauk and Westhampton a secret from tourists and day-trippers, but it rarely works. And the Hampton Jitney packed with Upper East Siders rolls into town every summer anyway.

2. If you’re from the South Shore, you take that Billy Joel quote to heart: “You either date a rich girl from the North Shore or a cool girl from the South Shore.” And if you’re from the North Shore, you’re like, “Screw it, I’m basically Jay Gatsby.”

3. You grumble about the endless malls and strip malls all while vehemently defending Walt Whitman mall.

4. Your Strong Island accent definitely comes out after a few Lawn Guy Land Iced Teas.

5. You actually know a bunch of people who look and sound like the Long Island Medium — even when they’re sober.

6. Your party trick is pronouncing impossibly-long Native American names correctly. You’ve had plenty of practice with towns like Cutchogue, Massapequa, Quogue, and Sagaponack.

7. You get a sick pleasure out of scaring people because you grew up sneaking in and out of the Pilgrim State Psych Center and driving around Amityville looking for the horror house.

8. But honestly, the real horror stories came from the LIRR: stories of mysteriously smelly cars, being stranded at Jamaica, and hearing the dulcet sounds of someone heaving on the last drunk train.

9. You spent most of your tween and teen years in diners slurping milkshakes past midnight, and then eventually graduated to hanging out in parking lots. Because nothing says “cool” like standing around in front of the 99 Cent Store at 2 a.m.

More like this How to piss off someone from Long Island

10. Thanksgiving Eve: the biggest party night of the year (spent at Mulcahy’s or The Nutty Irishman, of course). But the downside was you were forced to make small talk with Joey and Courtney from high school.

11. You were pretty excited when that Adventureland movie came out, and you proudly boasted to your non-Long Island friends that you spent the summers of your youth there. You were probably either the kid screaming way too loudly on the kiddie rollercoaster or the kid puking on the pirate ship.

12. Like most suburban kids, you had to learn how to play an instrument, even though you had zero talent for playing the clarinet. No matter how much you practiced, you squeaked every other note during NYSSMA.

13. Most of your friends’ Sweet 16’s were like mini weddings, complete with five-star catering, ball gowns, and a Daddy-daughter dance. You may have even had a cameo on MTV’s ‘My Super Sweet 16.’

14. You lived mere miles from “the City,” but when you were growing up, the only time you ever ventured there was to see a Broadway show or to eat a dirty water dog in Times Square.

15. You’ll only admit it when you’re feeling particularly brazen, but you really think New York City pizza and bagels can’t hold a candle to Long Island pizza and bagels.

16. You get weirdly excited or proud when Long Island is on the national news, even if it’s bad news. “Yeah, Gilgo Beach? My friends and I just hung out there last summer!”

17. Speaking of beaches, you enjoy hanging out there more than most coastal Americans because you actually like the beach: no amusement parks, water slides, carnival games, or arcades. Simply miles and miles of pure sand, water, litter, and aggressive seagulls.

http://ift.tt/161ReIH

Photo: Glen Gladman

Forget about the tiny, metal Eiffel Tower, the overpriced bottle of wine, the oh-so-chic, made-in-China cotton handbag with “Paris” written all over it, and the duty-free bottle of Chanel bought in a rush at CDG, this is what you need to bring from France to your friends abroad:

1. Vahiné’s galette des rois kit

Photo: Julien Ducenne

These packages full of baking goodness are worth the 3.90 euros you’re going to spend at the local Leclerc. I personally vote for the frangipane version; nothing says “France is beyond awesome” like an almond and butter-filled pie.

Not only is it tasty, 100% French, and proves that you can think out of the box, but it will also be fun for those at the receiving end of this gift: they’ll bake it, hide the porcelain charm in a large chunk of unhealthy fat, eat it, and wear a paper crown!

You may have trouble finding it outside of December and January, but no worries, there’s plenty more below to please those waiting at home.

2. Breizh Cola

Photo: Stéfan

Behold the king of colas! The pride of Brittany!

Bretons have quite the sense of humour: they took the most well-known product in the world, mixed their own version right here in France, and made all of France proud with “le cola du phare ouest” (get it?). No, it’s not the most traditional French product, but you’re more likely to find a bottle of Breizh cola in a French home than a 1985 Châteauneuf-du-pape.

3. Huile prodigieuse de Nuxe

Photo: Nuxe

This is the perfect gift for those who still believe France is the epitome of chic and glamour. No need to spend a fortune at Sephora on brand names perfumes and lotions, just walk into the nearest drugstore and grab a 20-euro bottle of huile prodigieuse de Nuxe. If Cosmo, Elle, Glamour, and Marie-Claire praise it, you can bet you’ll make someone happy and moisturized.

4. A bag of Carambars

Photo: Sylvain Naudin

Carambars are THE candy every French person used to eat as a kid. I lost a baby tooth in a caranougat (the caramel kind) and my mom remembers when they were sold for 0.05 Francs at the corner store in the 1960s — I’ll tell you, it does not get more authentically French than that. Grab a large bag of them for a couple euros at the supermarket and make some foreigner smile before being held responsible for the decay of all their teeth. Don’t forget to read the joke inside the wrapper before showing the lucky recipients the proper way to eat it: bend the candy, stick it along your front gums, and smile like a simple-minded junk-food addict.

5. A copy of Charlie Hebdo

Photo: Adolfo Lujan / DISO Press

If you’re looking for a present for a French speaker with a good dose of humour and open-mindedness, get them a copy of Charlie Hebdo. Not only will you give them the gift of French satire and journalism, but you’ll support a paper that represents France’s freedom of press and you’ll show those who want to annihilate it that it’s never going to happen.

6. A box of Lu’s petits beurres

Photo: Laurence Vagner

Forget La Durée’s macaroons: First, you must be in Paris to get them and God knows there’s more to France than its capital. Second, you probably have to queue for an hour on the Champs-Elysées before you get to empty your wallet for something that’s good, but got very much blown out of proportions. On the other hand, Lu’s petits beurres may not be as decadent, but they are what real French people eat when they want a treat. You won’t break the bank, they won’t take much space in your luggage, and you’re going to give someone to gift of a genuine French experience.

http://ift.tt/1yKmhzB