photo by bittermelon

If you’re a lover of teas you already have an impressive choice of leaves from which to brew your next cup. From black, green, and red leaves to flavored teas and herbal tisanes, the variety is endless. Yet there’s another way to explore the world’s most popular beverage. Throw yourself an international tea party and sample the teas and preparations used by other cultures.

Many countries use a specific type of tea or ceremony to welcome guests into their homes. Tea preparation can also be quite specific to a region. Morocco is famous for its green tea flavored heavily with sprigs of mint. A visit to India can’t be complete without sharing masala tea – black tea brewed with milk, sugar, and spices. Around nearly every corner in Turkey you’ll find the ubiquitous sweetened apple tea. In the mountains of Tibet you’ll be served black tea with milk, salt, and yak butter. Russia’s tea is served strong (the stronger the tea, the more you are welcomed by your host). In Japan you may be fortunate enough to observe a tea ceremony made with matcha, a finely powdered green tea. Then switch it up with iced Thai tea, made with red tea, spices, and evaporated milk, or Taiwanese bubble tea, a milky sweet tea beverage with added tapioca balls.

As if these teas weren’t enough motivation, with a foreign tea comes the opportunity to try regional sweets and pastries. What more reason do you need to brew yourself a cup?

photo by cultrvultr

The Festival au Desert is held every January in Essakane, two hours from Timbuktu in the African country of Mali. The festival started in 2001 originally as a way for the local Touareg communities to share information. It’s now open to musicians from other African countries as well as artists from Europe.

Getting to the festival isn’t easy on your own. It’s highly recommended that you book with a tour company or at least hire a private Malian tour guide and driver. The festival itself also offers tour packages that will allow you to make the most of this fascinating trek into the Sahara. On the second day of the festival you can even enjoy a camel race.

The three-day festival features traditional African music as well as European influences. You'll see handmade instruments made of animal skin and gourds alongside shiny brass and electric guitars. Lounge on a sand dune and sleep under the stars while beautiful African music floats on the air. Culturally, it’s a vivid experience. Not many Westerners make it out to Essakane except during this festival, so you’ll see Malian life mostly uncorrupted. 

photo by listentoreason

When it comes time to purchase gemstone jewelry many of us are fairly clueless. We may know the very basics about cut and clarity, but beyond that we can’t tell what makes a good stone or how it's prepared for mounting in a final setting. To overcome this handicap and perhaps strike a better deal at the jewelers, educate yourself about the fascinating world of gemstones.

The International Gem Society (gemsociety.org) is a good starting point for your online education. They offer a site chock full of free information about how gemstones are created, cut terminology, the lowdown on enhanced gems, and how to identify stones. For a more thorough education in gemology you might consider signing up for their advanced courses or gemologist certification courses, both of which require paid membership in the Society. In addition to a thorough education in gemology you’ll have the chance to study and work hands-on with gems through their unique gem lending program.

photo by Epson

When most people think of papercrafts they think of origami. But there’s another form of papercraft that utilizes glue and colorful printouts to create amazing works of delicate art.

There are many papercraft sites on the internet to help you dip your toe into the world of this addictive and inexpensive art form. They offer patterns for you to download and print out, usually for no charge. Once you have the patterns printed out, an exacto knife, a pair of scissors, glue, and a ruler are all you need to start construction of your model. You can begin with simpler patterns that require only 30 minutes worth of time and work your way up to more elaborate pieces that can take upwards of 130 hours. Patterns range from architectural landmarks to plants and animals. Seasonal papercrafts add a personal touch to your store-bought holiday decorations.

photo by E01

photo by Image Editor

Every night we see them: a scatter of stars, the Moon, sometimes comets, sometimes Venus. If you've ever wanted to learn more about what you see in the sky, now is as good a time as any. Thanks to the internet, even the busiest among us can find time to learn about astronomy.

Whether you simply want to point out and identify constellations, or you're a budding astronomer who wants to invest in a high-powered telescope for celestial exploration, you'll find online courses to suit your time and interest level among these online astronomy resources (or any Google search result). Some courses are presented by universities and are more in-depth, offering introductory college-level syllabi. With these courses you'll learn the basics of physics and cosmology.  These courses often require a course fee. For those who aren't interested in learning physics but would like to know what you're looking at every night, there are courses suited for middle school children and hobby astronomers that are often free of charge.

 photo by EJP Photo

Pushing your Tonka trucks around in the sandbox is probably something you thought you'd never do again now that you're an adult. On the contrary. Through Cloud9LIving you can turn that childhood fantasy into a very adult reality.

After a 20 minute safety class and an equipment orientation where you learn how to properly operate the machines, you're set loose to choose your piece of equipment based on availability and what's on the agenda for that day's activities. Choices range from the CAT 315 Excavator, the CAT D5 Bulldozer, or the CAT 246 Skid Steer. You'll have 10 acres on which to move around sand, gravel, rocks and other material, guided by your instructor's hand signals and radio communication. You can dig trenches, build dams, or test your coordination by stacking rocks. You're able to use one piece of machinery on the half day option, and two pieces on the full day course which also includes lunch. Cabs are climate controlled, so you can demolish and construct in perfect comfort.

photo by imelsewhere

Staying ahead of fashion trends often means taking a global view. A look to the East may be one of the quirkiest inspirations there are. And a nine-hour flight to Tokyo is no longer necessary thanks to the internet.

Purchasing Japanese fashions that haven't been re-styled for tamer Western tastes has typically been difficult to do: you must purchase directly from Japan and the majority of Japanese sellers won't ship to addresses outside of the country. Also there’s the matter of currency exchange and conversion. If you’re willing to shop using Yahoo! Auctions, a service similar to Ebay, you’ll be able to get around these restrictions. Companies like From Japan allow Westerners to participate in Japanese Yahoo! Auctions. They’ll place bids for you, inform you if you are in danger of being outbid, and mail you the product once you’ve won. The company will also send  employees to Japanese stores to purchase items which are not available on auction. They charge a small fee for this latter service, and of course you are responsible for international shipping costs, but it’s the next best thing to browsing the stores in person. Who wouldn’t want an outfit which you can tell your friends, “Oh, this? It’s from Shibuya. That's in Japan”?

photo by sharona790

While gambling is a risky proposition that shouldn’t be undertaken lightly, especially if you suspect yourself of having an addictive personality, placing a bet or two for fun can be a way of ramping up the excitement of watching a horse race. It's something to try once at least. If you've never bet on horses, the vast array of options and terms may seem daunting. But there are a few simple bets that you can try that will have you cheering as your favorite horse rounds the final turn.

The easiest horse racing bet is a Win bet. This requires placing a bet for a specific horse to come in first place in a race. If you like the horse but aren’t sure it will win the race, there are two other options for you to play. Betting that the horse will finish the race in either first or second is called a Place bet. If you’re less confident than that you might try a Show bet, which is wagering that the horse will come in first, second, or third.

A Quinella bet is when you guess which horses will be the first and second place finishers of a race. The order that the top two horses finish in doesn't matter in the Quinella. Expanding on this is the Trifecta, which is the betting of the first, second, and third place finishers of a race. A Superfecta involves four horses.

For all of these bets, how much you win depends on the difficulty of the bet, which is reflected in the odds. The odds will change during the pre-race, so keep an eye on them. When the odds are right for you, you can bet online or at the track. Stating your bet is as simple as saying, “$10 to win on (number of the horse as it appears in the program).” Then cross your fingers and pray.

photo by adwriter

As busy as our lives are, it probably won't surprise you to learn that your mind is equally as busy.  Thoughts are constantly bombarding us: what to make for dinner; what time to pick up the kids; when to pay that bill; deadlines for work; worries about keeping your partner happy. A way of relieving the stress of everyday living is to practice a mediation technique in which you focus on your breathing.

Meditation on the breath doesn't require anything but ten to thirty minutes of quiet time. Relax your body and concentrate on your breath as it enters and leaves your nostrils. Count each breath up to ten. Concentrate on nothing else. That is your focus. If a stray thought enters your mind, which it invariably will, mentally note what it is and then let it go. Each time a thought interrupts you begin counting from one again.

Your first attempts may be frustrating. You will be surprised at how many things cross your mind and how difficult it is to focus on a single subject. Meditation on the breath is an eye-opening exercise in recognizing how scattered our thoughts can be and how little we experience true relaxation and peace. As you continue to practice you will find yourself able to count more and more breaths without interruption. It's the first step to regaining true peace of mind and perhaps developing an interest in the many forms of meditation that exist.