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How did Hooking up become the norm?

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Hookup culture, it’s what everyone is doing now. When it comes to the relationships youth are having today, hooking up is the norm. Friends with benefits, situationship, grooming, these are all examples of common romantic predicaments young people find themselves in that aren’t actually committed relationships.  In my opinion, a big reason why hookup culture has become so predominant and such a problem is, one, because of the internet. At no point in history have we ever been as lonely of a society as we are today. People live by themselves in their apartment, go to work, and occasionally see their friends if they have spare time. Love just like the internet can become addictive. In a world where we have a plethora of options at our fingertips, users of social media have gotten used to instant gratification. With dating apps it is easy to message someone you don’t know and meet up with them that day and possibly hook up. That is what people are interested in now, something quick to...
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8 de Marzo

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Femicide: ” the killing of a woman or girl, in particular by a man and on account of her gender.” This is the definition the Oxford dictionary gives when you search for femicide. I know this topic might sound terrifying at first,  but it is a very real issue many women live in fear of. Femicides are a global hate crime but are prone to be problems in societies where machismo is present. ”The rates of femicide differ depending on the specific country, but of the countries with the top 25 highest femicide rates, 50% are in Latin America.” In Mexico city, the city I lived in for 13 years, femicides are one of the most prevalent crimes. On my Facebook feed every other day something would pop up. Articles saying, have you seen Fernanda? girl goes missing in Tlalpan yesterday at 8:16pm, 7 year old girl Fatima killed in femicide. It starts to become overwhelming when one is exposed to these anxiety provoking posts. Naturally, the women of Mexico quickly got fed up with living in fear....
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Being Bilingual: and the good and the bad that comes with it

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We use language everyday. It is something that inherently forms as a part of our identity, shows who we most identify ourselves with, and expresses our culture. People are born with what is known as their native language, any additional languages after one's native language turns them into a bilingual, trilingual, or for three percent of the population speaking four or more languages, qualifies them as a polyglot. A person who only speaks their native language is known as monolingual, approximately forty percent of the population is monolingual. In today's modern world where generations now have knowledge and resources at their fingertips, but also where intercultural relationships are becoming increasingly more common, the result of this is a world that is dominantly bilingual. Forty three percent of the globe's population is bilingual in comparison to monolinguals forty percent.  If you are someone like me who grew up between two cultures and were spoken to in two languag...
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A Brieft History and Tutorial of Risotto

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  Ah.. Italy, the land of infamously delicious and complex food. Italy has been long recognized as a culinary powerhouse for its discoveries and techniques in cooking. Although the country is known for its vast assortment of pizza and pasta dishes, it has learned to master other ingredients as well, including rice. But this is not just any rice, and it is certainly not the kind of rice you would use for an asian dish. I am talking about the esteemed, arborio rice. This rice is a short grain rice which means that it is packed with starch. Providing a luxurious, creamy texture that makes this dish so iconic. The dish I am talking about is, of course, risotto. The word risotto comes from the Italian word “riso” meaning rice. In human history, rice has been a staple for centuries first dating “ in northern Thailand (ca. 2000 to 1500 BC); and the An Sơn site in southern Vietnam (ca. 2000 to 1200 BC).” It was not until some 2,000 years later that rice made its way to Italy. “ The histor...
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Valentine's Day in Japan

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   Like many things, Japan does things different from the rest of the world, including Valentine's Day. In America, Valentine’s Day is celebrated on the 14th of February. People In relationships use this day to surprise each other with lavish gifts like planned vacations, fancy dinners, and heartfelt letters. While people who are not in love, might spend the day more casually by watching a romantic comedy and eating ice cream at home. In Japan, the celebration of love does not end until a day called ‘White day.’ You see, in Japan, Valentine’s Day is celebrated on 14th of February, just like in America, but women are the ones responsible of buying men gifts. This day is used as an opportunity for young women to make their “confessions” of love to men by customarily giving them chocolates. I know that this may sound very shocking and perhaps even a little upsetting at first. The woman is doing all of the work you might think, but trust me it gets better.  A month later, and...
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How to navigate Mexico City like a real local

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Mexico city is one of the largest cities in the world with a total population of 22.2 million people. The city’s transportation system is a vital backbone to how many locals live their daily lives. Being a very polluted city, residents that are fortunate enough to have a car are suspended one day of the week from driving in order to maintain air quality. Many civilians of Mexico city do not earn a large salary and heavily depend on the economic cost and convenience of public transportation. Counting only the metro and metrobus alone, out of dozen of commuting options, there are around 5.85 million daily Metro and Metrobus users. Anyone who wants to consider themselves a real "Chilang@", needs to learn the in's and out's of this city's extensive and complex transportation system.  The first line of the Metro or “l ínea una”, was inaugurated on the 19th of June 1967. With a total of 20 stops, it spans horizontally across the city starting at “Observatorio” in the We...
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The story of how one family ziplined their way to West Berlin

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Harnesses, rope, handmade pulleys, and a hammer: that’s all it takes to escape from East Berlin, as the Holzapfel family discovered. During the 1950’s, thousands of East Berliners escaped to West Berlin from their communist government in what was known as the “Brain Drain.” Many people fleeing East Berlin were some of the society's most skilled and important workers. In attempts to stop these people from fleeing, the German Democratic Republic (GDR), or East Berlin, built the Berlin wall in 1961.  It became evident very quickly how serious East Berlin was about keeping its civilians in. Measuring 96 miles long and 13 feet tall, the Berlin wall was impossible to get over as it had a cement cylindrical upper structure to prevent people from grappling over the top. Even if one was lucky enough to make it to the other side, they would have to make it past the lethal “death strip.” This area consisted of gravel to show fugitives’ footprints, landmines, electrical fences, guard dogs, bri...
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