Culture Archives - The Travelling Sociologist

Why You Should Visit the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Ghana

10 October, 2019: The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) comprises a World Heritage Convention responsible for assessing and assigning protected status, or “World Heritage Site” status, to landmarks around the world that are great natural or cultural importance and should be preserved. This designation comes with responsibility on the part of each […]

How to Celebrate Canada Day in Ottawa: Plan Your Trip With This Guide

1 July, 2019: There is no better place to celebrate Canada Day than in the national capital, Ottawa. As the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, is unsurprisingly the most pull-out-all-the-stops-energetic celebrator of Canada’s national day. Before you head over to celebrate Canada Day in Ottawa, it is important to realize that, unlike in many other […]

Top Ten Things to Do in Ghana: Multi-Regional Edition

4 April, 2019: Here’s a little bit of geo-historical context to start off this guide on the top ten things to do in Ghana, West Africa: Ghana is the first sub-Saharan country to gain independence from colonial rule. It achieved this sovereignty in 1957, upon which it changed its name from the “Gold Coast” to […]

6 Comments 04/04/2019

Africa Ghana

Top Ten Things to Do in Ghana: Greater Accra Regional Edition

7 January, 2019: First, a quick geo-historical sketch will set the right tone and context to this ultimate top-10 list of things to do in Accra, Ghana. Ghana is a coastal country bordering the Gulf of Guinea at the mouth of the Atlantic Ocean and comprises 10 distinct and culturally diverse regions. It’s capital city, […]

4 Comments 07/01/2019

Resources

Ten Things to Avoid When Meeting Someone From a Different Culture

5 November, 2018: We all operate through a set of implicit and explicit social rules, some of which are quite obvious, such as avoiding offensive behaviours and comments when meeting someone from a different culture than yours. Other rules may be less obvious, such as exactly what type of comments are acceptable to make about […]

Quebec Culture in the Midst of Canadian Culture

1 July, 2018: Happy Canada Day! In Canadian culture, this day celebrates the creation of the Dominion of Canada on 1 July, 1867, when various independent provinces were united together to form a country. (That’s right, Canada is only 151 years young!) In Quebec culture, on the other hand—specifically in Montreal—this day celebrates…the acquisition of […]

15 Comments 01/07/2018

Canada

How to Survive a Canadian Winter

22 January, 2018 This timely winter survival guide – written in the middle of the Canadian winter season – is inspired by the rampant fearmongering and often inaccurate notions that circulate around this time of year about the Canadian winter being the epitome of one’s worst winter nightmares. Surviving winter in Canada – both mentally […]

14 Comments 22/01/2018

Europe Italy

Interview With a Comasco

30 October, 2017 Welcome to my interview series featuring cultural perspectives from nationals of different countries around the world. This month, I’m happy to introduce you to a native Comasco, who was born and raised in Como, Italy. A little background: Como is both the name of a province and the name of the capital […]

6 Comments 30/10/2017

Europe Spain

Top Ten Things to Do in Barcelona

4 September, 2017 Barcelona is the capital of the Catalonia region in northeast Spain. It is a city that is somewhat notorious for its separatist politics but also admirable for its fierce pride in its Catalonian culture and Catalan language. Throughout the city, Catalonian flags wave proudly from balconies and flagpoles in a nod of […]

16 Comments 04/09/2017

Europe France

À la Lyonnaise

31 July, 2017 Where in the world…? Lyon is the third-largest city in France and the capital of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. It is located in the centre-east of the country, roughly150 km southwest of Geneva and 114 km northwest of Grenoble. The Rhône and Saône rivers run through the city and converge to […]

5 Comments 31/07/2017

Europe Spain

Top Ten Things to Do in Madrid

July 10, 2017 I went backpacking solo in Spain a few years ago (October 24-25, 2012), and one of the places I visited was Madrid. In contrast to Barcelona, which is a seaside city, Madrid is landlocked and improbably located right in the middle of arid, desert-like land. However, the city itself is […]

Québec’s Cabane à Sucre/Sugar Shack Tradition

4 April, 2017 It’s springtime in Québec. And that means, among other things, that the cabane à sucre (sugar shack) visiting season is open. What is a cabane à sucre? It is simply a seasonal restaurant, housed in a large log cabin, that serves an all-you-can-eat buffet of all things maple syrup: maple baked […]