Florida Culture for the Week of February 29, 2016 by Josh Garrick

For American high school seniors (and their parents), the first four months of the new year ring in an especially stressful period – the final throes of the college admissions process. Deadlines for applications arrive, decisions for early action are made, campus visits are made and weighing final selection all add to the angst. “Will I get in?” is replaced by “where will I go?” in the minds of these students.
 

Blood on the station floor. Mine! Yes, another fall on the escalator as I hurried to catch the high-speed German ICE (Inter City Express) train in Amsterdam’s Centraal Station. Heavy bag deciding to go south, me following. A bang on the head and a cut finger. Police there in an instant, tissues materialised to stem the dripping, wanting me to sit and calm down … and the train to leave in two minutes. And you know how German trains leave as the second hand hits the Twelve. No, not dizzy, shaken but okay ..

Florida Culture for the Week of February 22, 2016 by Josh Garrick

Have you ever wanted a Turkish carpet? Not one from a big box store near your house, but a real one - authentic, made by hand with such skill? 

The World Festival of Children's Theatre, coming to Stratford this summer, offers a pivotal opportunity for those who care about childhood creativity to share their inspiration and best practices. Experts in children's theatre and creative play will gather concurrently in Stratford for PLAY! A Symposium, a key educational exchange presented in the context of the world festival at the University of Waterloo's Stratford campus. Local, Canadian and international participants are welcome and encouraged to participate.

Tera Sabatino is a senior at the University of Pittsburgh. She is a History major with a concentration in 20th century history and will be starting nursing school in the fall. She notes, "after studying abroad, I caught the travel bug and would love to spend time being a travelling nurse." 

I suppose that if you are “going Dutch,” and you are lulled by the lure of Amsterdam Gouda, Haarlem, or even The Hague, all gables and canals, then Rotterdam may come as a bit of a disappointment.

Well, fooled be you.

Like going to see the Mona Lisa and walking past the Pissarro, without much of a glance.

Flying can be stressful - let's not even dig into the reasons why, because it will just make us crabby. But in an effort to discover more happiness in travel, we've published a three part series that focuses on the positive - happy tips for travel. Our resource for all questions about happiness is Deborah Heisz, Editorial Director of Live Happy - and ask her a few questions. Deborah has a B.A. in English from Texas Tech University and an MBA from the University of Dallas.

Kirsten Maxwell runs Kids Are A Trip, which is a family travel resource sharing tips and advice about travel with children in hopes of helping other families plan their vacations. She notes, "We are a Chicago-based family with three boys who love to explore the world around us. We believe travel in itself is an education and we hope to educate ourselves and others as we share our experiences and adventures around the world."