Traditional Polish dishes are crossing food boundaries by popping up on Belgian, Italian and American restaurant menus across the Windy City. By Magdalena Slapik Chicago’s Polish community — more than 933,000 strong — is one of the largest outside of…
Blog Archives
Pierogi: The new pizza?
Posted in Europe, The Breakdown Tagged with: flo and santos, leopold, lokal restaurant, pierogi, poland
Paint the town Thai
Albany Park gets a makeover. By Alexia Severson Songkran, the Thai New Year celebrated in mid-April, is also known as “The Water Festival” because participants toss H2O all over one another — a tradition that stems from Thailand’s scorching spring…
Homegrown education fund helps students in Jamaica hit the books
A nonprofit offers scholarships and aims to bring people together. By Zack Aldrich Every day Daphne Lopez, an 81-year-old registered nurse in Evanston, bridges the divide between her Jamaican and American identities. Lopez, who has lived in Chicago for 44…
Posted in Africa, Global Spotlight, North America Tagged with: Chicago, CROSO, education, Jamaica, scholarships
Cultural traditions of breastfeeding get a modern spin
Indian-Americans feel comfortable with the traditional nursing practice and aren’t afraid to talk about it publically. By Antonietta Colasanto Time magazine’s May 2012 cover, showing Jamie Lynne Grumet nursing her 3-year-old son, caused a controversy surrounding American reluctance for breastfeeding…
Following in TOMS shoes
How your for-profit business can give back By Molly Fedick TOMS wearers love their shoes for more than comfort alone — just ask Lana Buseman, 24, a marketing associate at Harry Caray’s in Chicago. “I really like the idea that…
Girl power through a global lens
Experts and activists discuss whether girls really hold the power when it comes to education. By Ashlei Williams Khady Ndiaye, a Senegalese girl with cocoa skin and a broad smile, was 11 before she ever attended school. In 1998, Amy…
Mah-Jongg: An American game?
The traditional Asian board game shapes social lives. By Yu Le Every Monday night Arlene Rubin, 72, hosts five friends at her Hyde Park home. They gossip, munch on popcorn and play mah-jongg, a Chinese board game with dominolike tiles.…
Posted in ExpoDigi
Be a consultant, not a boss
While consulting on infrastructure and development projects abroad, the local chapter of Engineers Without Borders focuses on truly understanding local cultures for sustainable development. By Emma Dutton For five years, dozens of Chicago volunteers from Engineers Without Borders helped the…
Posted in Global Spotlight Tagged with: cuetzala de la reforma, engineers without borders, EWB, farmers, volunteers
Loosening the purse strings
A small business halts human trafficking through unique fundraising ventures. By Bethany Leggett In 2000, accessories designer Lia Valerio, 36, finished her Peace Corps assignment in Tonga and had a choice to make: fly back to the U.S. or keep…
Join the fair trade movement
Ten Thousand Villages can help you save one community at a time. By Alexia Severson When Edna Ruth Byler visited Puerto Rico 66 years ago, she met a group of women sewing and selling beautiful tablecloths and napkins. They were…
Posted in Global Spotlight Tagged with: artisan, fair trade, handbags, ten thousand villages, volunteer
