Americas

September 11th, 2010  |  By Round Earth Media

Plear

For Kunrath Lam, the most special occasion for eating plear - this Cambodian beef salad - came after the murderous Khmer Rouge was finally driven out of power. | Photo by Mary Stucky

When Kunrath Lam was just a little girl she endured one of the most brutal regimes the world has ever known. Nearly 2 million Cambodians died during the reign of the Communist Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. Kunrath Lam and her parents somehow managed to survive – though her childhood was one of intense deprivation. Lam used to dream of the delicious meals her grandmother had prepared for her in happier times. Lam’s absolute favorite– plear salad. Now, in the new country she calls home, Lam makes plear for customers at her restaurant in St. Paul, Minnesota. Mary Stucky paid her a visit. Her story appeared in World Vision Report.
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September 11th, 2010  |  By Round Earth Media

Goat Cutlet

Jamal Hashi shows off the goat stew his mother taught him to make years ago. | Photo by Mary Stucky

Throughout East Africa, goat is a traditional source of both meat and milk. When he was a boy in Somalia, Jamal Hashi spent his summers herding goats on his family’s farm.   Now, he’s in the United States,  introducing Americans to Somali delicacies – including goat — at his restaurant in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Mary Stucky visited Jamal Hashi as he prepared roasted goat cutlet with vegetables in a special sauce – a dish he says his mother served on special occasions in Somalia.
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August 7th, 2010  |  By Round Earth Media

Dual Identity and the Liberian-Minnesotan Experience

Tamia Dakinah is Miss Liberia Minnesota. | Photo: Facebook, Miss Liberia MN Beauty Pageant

To make other cultures real through vivid first-hand stories and to explain the connections between “us” and “them” – that’s our goal here at Round Earth Media, and Linda Sjostrom, our web editor, understands it well. Linda has spent time reporting and editing for print and radio both in the United States and abroad. Here, a recent event prompts her to not only reflect on a story she covered in the past, but to also consider identity.

Just last month, a crowd gathered at the Miracle Empowerment Center to witness the crowning of Tamia Dakinah as Miss Liberia Minnesota 2010. In the same way, others across the country have or will name someone the Miss Liberia of their own state this year.

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August 2nd, 2010  |  By Round Earth Media

Global Hit: Bocafloja

International star Bocafloja says he wasn’t really interested in politics or social change when he first started out – but now it

Rap, in Spanish, easily crosses borders with fans in the United States, Canada and throughout Latin America. One of the most popular independent rappers in Spanish is Aldo Villegas, also known as Bocafloja (which means “loose mouth”). Bocafloja has been active in Mexico City’s hip hop scene since its inception in the mid-1990s and, as Mary Stucky reports, over the years he’s acquired a huge following in both Mexico and the United States.
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July 18th, 2010  |  By Mary Stucky

Remember the “Marxist Threat” in Central America in the 1980s?

President Mauricio Funes of the leftist Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front took office a year ago in El Salvador. The former TV journalist was elected on the ticket of the FMLN, this after a 12-year civil war and after the former Marxist revolutionary group turned into a mainstream political party. The right wing Arena Party had ruled the country since the end of the civil war. How’s Funes done in his first year in office? Reporter Ambar Espinoza addresses that question as we plan our reporting trip to Central America.

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July 7th, 2010  |  By Mary Stucky

Our Central America Project

Gold mining in El Salvador: Pacific Rim verdict expected in August 2010

As we get closer to our trip to Central America, we will be blogging about some of the most important issues facing the region. One of the most contentious issues facing the country of El Salvador is gold mining. Is it an economic boon or an environmental disaster? From journalist Ambar Espinoza, the latest on the case involving the so-called Pacific Rim mine.

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June 22nd, 2010  |  By Mary Stucky

From a Friend of Round Earth

Elisa Bernick (at left) is one of those people who never had to be convinced about the importance of reliable global journalism. She’s a former radio reporter and video producer and the author of The Family Sabbatical Handbook: The Budget Guide to Living Abroad With Your Children. I’ve used the fabulous checklists in this book to plan for a reporting trip and it’s a great resource for anyone who lives or travels abroad. You can buy Elisa’s book through Amazon or intrepidtraveler.com. Elisa currently works as a writer for The Family Handyman magazine, a national DIY home improvement magazine published by The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc. Here’s what she has to say about Round Earth.

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April 22nd, 2010  |  By Round Earth Media

Mexico’s markets going mainstream

Alongside the more traditional fresh food markets in Mexico, US-style supermarkets are beginning to appear. | Photo by Mary Stucky

Alongside the more traditional fresh food markets in Mexico, US-style supermarkets are beginning to appear. | Photo by Mary Stucky

Visitors to Mexico are charmed by all of the colorful food markets – fruits and vegetables in gorgeous display and, maybe not so appetizing – raw meat hanging from hooks and piled on chopping blocks. But these traditional markets in Mexico are giving way to US-style supermarkets with produce and meat wrapped neatly in plastic. Mary Stucky reports about the recent and dramatic growth of supermarkets in Mexico.
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April 10th, 2010  |  By Round Earth Media

Edible flowers in Mexico

Mexican food writer Nicholas Gilman buying colorin outside the church in Malinalco Mexico. | Photo by Mary Stucky

Mexican food writer Nicholas Gilman buying colorin outside the church in Malinalco Mexico. | Photo by Mary Stucky

In the United States it’s traditional to put a bouquet of flowers on the dinner table but we don’t think of eating those flowers. Not so in Mexico where you’re almost as likely to find flowers in the food as on the table. As Mary Stucky reports, Mexicans have been cooking with flowers – and eating them – for centuries.
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April 8th, 2010  |  By Round Earth Media

Abortion and gay marriage new hot-button issues in Mexico

Busy bar scenes like this one in Pata Negra are a common occurrence in Mexico City's Condessa neighborhood. | Photo by Christopher Wilson

Busy bar scenes like this one in Pata Negra are a common occurrence in Mexico City's Condesa neighborhood. | Photo by Christopher Wilson

Hot button social issues like abortion and gay marriage are a staple of American politics. But in Mexico these controversial issues were rarely a factor in elections – until now. It all started when Mexico City legalized abortion three years ago. And, late last year Mexico’s huge capital city gave legal approval for gay marriage. This in a country that’s overwhelmingly Catholic. As Mary Stucky reports, Mexicans have broken what was once considered a taboo: mixing religion and politics.
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