Life & English

If you transit at Incheon Airport, Korea, you can discover many interesting tours from this airport. Every passenger who has connecting flight from third countries to other third countries can choose tours to visit Incheon city, Seoul city, Temple and traditional sites or shopping.

Incheon city tour will help you to visit Songdo Hanok Village, Central Park and Shopping street. The Hanok village introduces traditional beauty reserved in a modern city filled with skyscrapers. It is surrounded by neighboring tourist attractions like Central Park , Hyundai Premium Outlet, and local Korean cafes & restaurants. Songdo Central Park is a seaside park built within Songdo city. it is a green paradise found among the crowded skyscrapers in the city. In Triple Shopping Street, things to see , things to eat, things to enjoy, and various cultural amenities are all combined at this splendid shopping walkway. Visitors can visit Paradise City, it is the first Korean-style resort complex in Northeast Asia that offers a diverse range of year-round accommodations, entertainment and cultural experiences such as casino, clubs, art gallery and retail amenities. The art gallery at Paradise City exhibits more than 2,700 artworks including those of worldrenowned artists such as Yayoi Kusama and Demien Hirst.During a guided tour, you can meet 8 key artworks of Paradise City Art Gallery.

Paradise tour

If you prefer tradition, let visit Gyeongbokgung Palace and Cheonggyecheon Stream. This palace was completed in 1395and the first royal palace built by the Joseon Dynasty. Gyeongbokgung Palace was built about 25 years earlier than the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. The palace was burned down in 1592 during a Japanese invasion but was restored in 1867 during the reign of King Gojong. Insa-dong is a popular neighborhood located at Jongno, Seoul and is home to antique ships, folk art galleries and small shops selling traditional goods. Cheonggyecheon Stream running between Seoul’s Jongno-gu and Jung-gu holds not only the 600-year history of Seoul but the lives and memories of Korean people who made their livelihoods around the stream. The stream was once a small watercourse hidden by an overpass but a massive urban renewal project transformed the stream and now it is one of the most popular and loved places in Seoul. 

Also, visitors can visit Jogyesa Temple and Jeondeungsa Temple. Jogyesa is the chief temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and the center of Korea’s modern Buddhist movement. The grand Daewoongjeon (Main Temple) boasts splendid ornaments and golden Buddhastatues. The temple also holds annual lantern festival in celebration of Buddhist's birthday. Jeondeungsa Temple is considered the oldest temple in Korea and is known to have been built in the late 4th century, around when Buddhism was first introduced to Korea. In the 13th century, during the reign of King Wonjong of Goryeo Dynasty, the temple was rebuilt and played a significant role in the revival of Buddhism.

Incheon Airport

Other views, Lotte Mart , Namdaemun Market and Myeong-dong are interesting sites for shopping. Lotte Mart has discount stores, it located in Unseo-dong, Incheon, visitors can shop for local food, grocery, household supplies, and home appliances, with convenient access to the global refund scheme for international tourists. A food court for a brief meal is on the second floor. Namdaemun Market is the largest traditional market in Korea and the streets are filled with small shops that sell clothes, glasses, kitchen utensils, toys, iking equipment, fishing equipment, stationeries, art equipment, hats, flowers, ginseng and basically everything you can think of. Myeong-dong is filled with shopping centers, boutiques and duty free stores and is one of the most popular shopping districts in Seoul. It is where international tourists can experience Korea’s latest fashion trends and various street foods.

Incheon airport and interesting experiences always welcome visitors.

Quy Minh

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Tet, or Tet Nguyen Dan, is the biggest and most popular festival of the year in Vietnam. Tet is the occasion for Vietnamese to express their respect and remembrance for their ancestors as well as welcoming the New Lunar Year with their beloved family members.

Moreover, in the past, Tet was essential as it provided one of few long breaks during the agricultural year, which was held between the harvesting of the crops and the sowing of the next ones. To make it easier, one can imagine Tet as a combination of Christmas and New Year: every family will get together to have big meals, decorate Tet trees and eat Tet food to welcome the new lunar year. The new year of Lunar Calendar normally will start in late January or beginning of February according to Gregorian calendar.

Tet occupies an important role in Vietnamese’s religious belief. Vietnamese people begin their preparations well in advance of the upcoming New Year. They spend a few days cleaning their homes and decorate the house with kumquat tree, branches of peach blossom, and many other colorful flowers. The ancestral altar is especially taken care of, with careful decoration of five kinds of fruits and “bánh chưng”, a traditional Vietnamese rice cake which is made from glutinous rice, green beans, pork and other ingredients.

People also try to pay all their pending debts and resolve all the arguments among co-workers, friends or members of family. Everybody, especially children, buy new clothes and shoes to wear on the first days of New Year. Vietnamese people believe that the color of red and yellow will bring good fortune, which may explain why these colors can be seen everywhere in New Lunar Year. People always smile and behave as nice as they can in the hope for a better year. Besides, gifts are exchanged between family members and friends and relatives, while children receive lucky money kept in red envelope.

Tet is not a day,Tet is several days of celebration. Tet’s celebration is the longest holiday in Vietnam, it can be a week or nine days.

QM

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Native Americans were the first people to live in Illinois. When French explorers first reached the area in 1673, they were welcomed. Native Americans helped the explorers find their way trough their territory. By the time the French arrived, native peoples had already been living in Illinois for about 12,000 years.

Native Americans were the first to farm Illinois rich soil. They built the first villages along the rivers of Illinois. Even the state’s name comes from Native Americans. Illinois is named for the Illinois Nation, a group of Native American tribes in the region. The tribes of the Illinois Nation occupied a vast territory along the Mississippi river. They lived in Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri and Arkansas. Some of the Illinois tribes made their home in the land that would become the state of Illinois. The tribes of the Illinois Nation shared the same language, which is part of the Algonquin language family. The name Illinois came from a French spelling of their own name for themselves – Illiniwek. Roughly translated, Illiniwek means “the men” or “the people”.

A Native Americans' festival

In 2000, there were more than 4 millions Native Americans in the United States. Illinois is still home to about 31,000. They are members of tribes from all over North America. Many moved to Illinois to find jobs in cities. They still try to preserve their traditions. Native Americans hold powwows in Chicago, Peoria, Utica and other places in Illinois. Native American children participate as dancers, drummers or storytellers. Storytelling is a very old Native American tradition. Cultural practices and belief were passed on through stories. Today, tribal groups try to preserve that tradition.

Quy Minh

Reference: “Illinois Native Peoples” by Andrew Santella, Heinemann State Studies

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About C.E. 900, Native Americans in Illinois began building large villages. This called the Mississippi Period.

Most of these villages were along the Mississippi River. The largest was Cahokia. It may have been home to as many as 15,000 people. Houses at Cahokia were made up of one room, with a fireplace that was used for cooking. There were pits used to store food and platforms for sleeping in the same room. At the center of Cahokia, there was a plaza and a huge mound that came to be known as Monks Mound.

Monk Mound at Cahokia

Monks Mound is the largest prehistoric structure still standing in what is now the United States. It over 100 feet tall, 1000 feet long and 800 feet wide as its base. There was a large buiding at the top of the mound. This was perhaps the home of the most important priest or leader of the village. Monks Mound was largest of many mounds built in the Mississippi River valley by these ancient people. There were than 100 mounds were used as burial places.

About 700 years ago, the population of Cahokia and other neighboring villages began to decline. Diseases or wars may have taken the lives of many people. Whatever the reason, by about C.E 1500, the Mississippian culture had disappeared from Ilinois. When the first French explorers arrived in the area in the late 1600, they found a different Native American culture.

Quy Minh

Reference: “Illinois Native Peoples” by Andrew Santella, Heinemann State Studies

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Most Native American groups believe their people were always in America. However, the first residents of America probably came from Asia. At least 14,000 years ago, they walked from Asia to North America. At that time, the two continents were connected by land, between what is today Alaska and Northeast Asia. Today, the land-bridge that connected the two continents is covered by the Bering Sea. It seems that the process of globalization began 14,000 years ago.

Many Native American ways of life were connected to the natural world. Before the arrival of Europeans, the natural world provided Native Americans everything they need to live. They live in homes made of wood and plant material from forests. Their diet was a mix of crops grown in the soil and meat gathered by hunters on the prairies. Even their tool were made of stone, wood and animal bone that could be found close to home.

Native Americans with their traditional dresses

Religious beliefs were a part of everyday life for Native Americans. They believed that spirits live in the world around them and help shape their life. They performed rituals to win the favor of these spirits. A warrior would seek the help of spirits before he went into battle. A farming village would ask spirits to deliver a good harvest… Most of them believed in one supreme being that watched over the world.

Native American taught their children the skills they would need as adults. Boys learned to use bows and arrows to hunt. Teenage boys might perform dangerous acts, like diving into icy water. Girls learned to help their mothers with cooking, sewing and other tasks. When a girl became a teenager, she might leave her village to live by herself for several days the visited by older women who helped teach her about life as a woman. Their life was friendly with the natural world.

Quy Minh

Reference: “Illinois Native Peoples” by Andrew Santella, Heinemann State Studies

Ảnh: 

Simbang Gabi is a devotional nine-day series of Masses practiced by Roman Catholics and Aglipayans in the Philippines in anticipation of Christmas. The Simbang Gabi Masses in the Philippines are held daily from December 16–24. Simbang Gabi has an important role in the Philippines culture.

The Philippines is an agricultural country known for its rice, coconut and sugarcane plantations. The weather here is often very hot therefore people began work before sunrise to avoid the noonday heat out in the fields. When the Christmas season would begin, it was customary to hold novenas in the evenings, but the priests saw people’s fatigue after the working days. As a compromise, the priests began to say Masses in the early morning while it was still dark before people went out to work the land. It began in 1669, Mass was organized in the early mornings instead of the evening novenas more common in the rest of the Hispanic world. Year by year, the Simbang Gabi Celebration became a distinct feature of the Philippines culture and became a symbol of sharing.

Simbang Gabi was one of the most popular traditions for people in the Philippines and for Filipinos living abroad. It is a significant moment not only because it strengthens relationships among family members and parishioners but also because it is the time where our faith is intensified.

Dancers in a Simbang Gabi Celebration

In the United States, Filipinos celebrate Simbang Gabi around 7pm in the evening, not just in the morning, in order to accommodate the needs of people on a great variety of work schedules. Evening celebrations of the Simbang Gabi which begins at the 15th of December and ends on the 23rd, erroneously described as "anticipated Simbang gabi" since Vigil or anticipated Masses are only applicable for Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, are scheduled especially in urban areas. On the last day of the Simbang Gabi, the service is called "Rooster's Mass".

No matter how or when this celebration takes place, the annual Simbang Gabi provides a strong indications of sharing in the hearts of Filipinos.

Quy Minh

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Amazon Go is a new kind of store with no checkout required. It created the world’s most advanced shopping technology and customers never have to wait in line.

With Just Walk Out Shopping experience, simply use the Amazon Go app to enter the store, take the products you want, and go! No lines, no checkout. Amazon checkout-free shopping experience is made possible by the same types of technologies used in self-driving cars: computer vision, sensor fusion, and deep learning. Customers use the Amazon Go app to enter. Just Walk Out Technology automatically detects when products are taken from or returned to the shelves and keeps track of them in a virtual cart. When you’re done shopping, you can just leave the store. A little later, Amazon will send you a receipt and charge your Amazon account.

Customers need Amazon accounts and the free Amazon Go app. Can find the Amazon Go app on the Apple App Store, Google Play, and Amazon Appstore. When you arrive, use the app to enter the store, then feel free to put your phone away—you don’t need it to shop. Then just browse and shop like you would at any other store. The flagship store has prepared foods, meal kits, limited groceries, and liquor available for purchase. Once you’re done shopping, you’re on your way. No lines, no checkout, no waiting. Very fast and convenient.

Now Amazon Go is a chain of grocery stores operated by the online retailer Amazon. Amazon reportedly plans to open as many as 3,000 Amazon Go locations across the United States by 2021.

Quy Minh

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Oktoberfest is the world's largest beer festival and travelling funfair. The Oktoberfest is an important part of Bavarian culture, having been held since the year 1810. Held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, it is a folk festival running from mid or late September to the first weekend in October, with more than six million people from around the world attending the event every year.

The Munich Oktoberfest originally took place in the 16 - 18 days period leading up to the first Sunday in October. Other cities across the world also hold Oktoberfest celebrations that are modeled after the original Munich event. Before the festival officially starts, parades are held with the traditional marksmen's clubs, beer-tent waitresses, and landlords participating. During Oktoberfest, some locals wear Bavarian hats, which contain a tuft of chamois hair. Historically, in Bavaria chamois hair was highly valued and prized. The more tufts of chamois hair on one's hat, the wealthier one was considered to be. Due to modern technology, this tradition has declined with the appearance of chamois hair imitations on the market.

Oktoberfest parade

Outside of Germany, the largest Oktoberfest is in Kitchener, Ontario and surrounding cities in Waterloo Region, attracting over 700,000 visitors annually. The next largest Oktoberfest outside of Germany is mostly regarded as being in Blumenau, Brazil with 700,000+ visitors, Cincinnati, Ohio, US with 500,000+ visitors, and the Denver, Colorado, US with 450,000+ visitors. In New York City, there is even an Oktoberfest held under a big tent along the city's East River. However, the largest one mostly depends on specific year's numbers and varies with sources. Starting in September 2007, Montreal began hosting its own Oktoberfest.

In the United States, German - Americans are a large group. Correspondingly, there are hundreds of large and small Oktoberfest celebrations held annually throughout the country, the largest being Oktoberfest Zinzinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. Known for its large German immigrant population, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and its historic Pennsylvania Dutch population are well known to have many Oktoberfest celebrations during the months of September and October. These celebrations became increasingly popular among the general Commonwealth population in the later half of the 20th century with the rise of microbreweries, and with the opening of authentic German brew houses such as Hofbrauhaus in Pittsburgh, PA. Oktoberfest in New Braunfels, Texas was called Wursfest, it began in 1961 and attendance typically ranges from 125,000-200,000 people. Other major celebrations across the United States include those at many cities in California, Arizona, Tennessee, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Florida, Texas, Missouri, Nebraska, New York … and many others.

Currently Oktoberfest is spreading to new geographical locations. Everyone can find Oktoberfest celebrations mixing German traditions, food and beer with local culture outside of Germany.

Quy Minh

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Amazon.com

July 2018, Amazon's chief Jeff Bezos is the first person to top $100 billion as number one on the Forbes list of the World's Billionaires.

Amazon.com is an American electronic commerce and cloud computing company based in Seattle that was founded by Jeff Bezos on July 5 - 1994, in the garage of Bezos' rented home. Now the tech giant is the largest Internet retailer in the world as measured by revenue and market capitalization. Amazon started as an online bookstore and later diversified to sell audio books, video games, software, electronics, furniture, food, clothes, toys, jewelry... This company is the world's largest provider of cloud infrastructure services… Amazon has separate retail websites for the United States, the United Kingdom and Ireland, France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Australia, Brazil, Japan, China, India, and Mexico. In 2016, Dutch, Polish, and Turkish language versions of the German Amazon website were also launched. Amazon also offers international shipping of some of its products to certain other countries.

Bezos selected the name Amazon by looking through the dictionary; he settled on “Amazon” because it was a place that was “exotic and different”, just as he had envisioned for his Internet enterprise. The Amazon River, he noted, was the biggest river in the world, and he planned to make his store the biggest bookstore in the world. Additionally, a name that began with “A” was preferential due to the probability it would occur at the top of an alphabetized list.

Amazon River

Amazon River of South America is the world's largest river and the lifeblood of the world's largest ecosystem. Running about 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers), it is home to a huge variety of animalsand plants that dwell in its lush, evergreen environment.

The area covered by the Amazon River and its tributaries more than triples between the dry season and wet season over the course of a year. In an average dry season, 110,000 square kilometers of land are water-covered, while in the wet season the flooded area of the Amazon basin rises to 350,000 square kilometers. At its widest point the Amazon River can be 6.8 miles (11 kilometers) wide during the dry season, but during the rainy season when the Amazon River floods the surrounding plains it can be up to 24.8 miles (40 kilometers) wide. The waters of the Amazon support a diverse range of wildlife. Along with the Orinoco, the river is one of the main habitats of the Boto, also known as the Amazon River Dolphin. The largest species of river dolphin, it can grow to lengths of up to 2.6 meters. The river also supports thousands of species of fish, as well as crabs and turtles.

Quy Minh

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The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, has one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States.

The DIA is the first art museum in the United States to develop an augmented reality tour using Google’s cutting edge Tango technology. Experience the artworks at the DIA in a completely new way: Pick up a device at the Farnsworth admission desk, the use its built-in wayfinding system to visit 2000 year old mummy and reveal an x-ray view od the skeleton inside or stand in front the wall from the Ishtar Gate, and use device to walk through a digital reconstruction of the gates of ancient Babylon... When we visited the DIA, we saw many young students and their teachers. We listened a teacher’s lecture and students’ comments about an old painting. It was a very nice experience.

A teacher and students in the DIA

The DIA collection is regarded as among the top six museums in the United States with an encyclopedic collection which spans the globe from ancient Egyptian and European works to contemporary art. Its art collection is valued in billions of dollars, up to $8.1 billion. The DIA hosts major art exhibitions; it contains a 1150-seat theatre, a 380-seat hall for recitals and lectures, an art reference library, and a conservation services laboratory. The museum building is highly regarded by architects with the white marble as the main exterior material for the entire structure. With over 100 galleries, it covers 61,100 m2 with a major renovation and expansion project completed in 2007 that added 5,400 m2. The campus is part of the city's Cultural Center Historic District listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The DIA is among the most visited art museums in the world.

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