The Indian Festival of Lights Today marks the Indian festival of lights, called Diwali or Deepavali, which is celebrated throughout the country. The Diwali festival spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, and hope over despair. There are many stories associated with this festival. The most common is […]
Despite its incredible growth, India remains true to its historical essence. This is a brief account by Rita, a first time India volunteer, of her experience hearing the heart of India. This is my fourth Global volunteers program. The first three were in Romania. In December of 2016, I took a Road Scholars trip to Northern […]
There are some people who can just walk up to a person and make conversation in the most kind and natural way. I’m definitely not one of those people. But Jerry is. His ability to quickly bond and make friends gave him the chance to be asked by total strangers to take part at an […]
Jenny Quach is a volunteer coordinator at Global Volunteers. She knows a thing or two about Vietnam. She was born there. Here she shares a little bit about the Lunar New Year. While January 28, 2017 is just another day for most Americans, on the other side of the world, many Asian countries (China, Taiwan, Vietnam, […]
China Country Manager Baoli Wang talks about the Chinese Spring Festival and all the preparations families have to do for this festivity. Anticipation has been littering in the air for weeks as people frantically prepare for the Chinese Spring Festival. Now, the Festival is really around the corner! However, many people are not done with […]
Last weekend I went to the Andes region in Peru, to the city of Huancayo. There I encountered many customs that you might have never heard of and you might find interesting. I will share them with you in a few blog-posts. First of all, allow me to share the custom that brings the sweetest memories: Pachamanca. […]
China Country Manager Bao Li Wang talks about the most important holiday for the Chinese, the Spring Festival, and the Little New Year celebration on January 20. The Lunar New Year, known as the Spring Festival in China, is the most important holiday for the Chinese. The celebration for the Spring Festival usually lasts for […]
India Volunteers Erich and Katie recently were recruited by local families to judge a kolam competition outside Global Volunteers’ guest house in Chennai, India. This is their report: Today was a very special day as it started the Pongal celebration. Today is the first day of the festivities and it’s called Bhogi, which is similar […]
There’s more heating up on Pongal weekend than just the weather. In India, where this holiday is celebrated, there is a lot going on. If you don’t know about it already, read on to learn about Pongal, one of the coolest celebrations in India. It’s Pongal weekend! Pongal is one of the most important celebrations for […]
As part of our series on Myths and Legends, India Country Manager Stephen Raja continues talking about Kolam, and explains its relationship to yoga, happiness, and prosperity. On a previous post Stephen explained the legend behind Kolam (beautiful drawings found in the streets of India.) Now Stephen explains why women really choose to make this drawings […]