Chicken Soup for the Soul

culture and my culture is the belief in eating certain foods after giving birth. As mentioned before, we are not allowed to eat cold foods because it wouldn’t help the healing process. After a woman gives birth, she is also given a strict diet of chicken soup accompanied with toasted tortillas or wheat toast and we are allowed to drink only oatmeal water or “atole”. Women in my culture need to follow this diet for the next forty days following a child’s birth. We are “safe” to eat our normal…

philosophy has created a society in which heavily relies upon the notion of fixing the “broken machine” by “killing” microorganisms. However what biomedicine leave to the wayside is the notion of holistic health – health that encompasses the body, mind, and soul. Whilst the dominant definition of health currently, some cultures still haven’t prescribed to the ideology as yet. Unique to the Latin Americans of Central America, and the Trinitarian peoples of Bolivia, Susto or “fright disease”…

Do you dream of seeing your writing in print? Do you wish your writing would sell again and again? Are you a librarian or teacher needing an author visit program? Do you need someone to speak at your writer's conference? Though I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas, I am willing to travel. With over 2000 articles, essays, and stories to magazines and anthologies, plus 23 books for children and writers, I am happy to share my experience and my writing. So check out my website, my books,…

“ Sí bueno, ¿Sabes cómo decir los zapatos en Inglés ?” I questioned as part of my daily back and forth I exchanged with my host mother Luisa. She taught me Spanish while I tried to teach her English.The summer of 2015 I embarked to Peru with an organization called Rustic Pathways. Living in Peru for two weeks was an experience that has changed who I am. Throughout my time in Perka Norte, my host family and I grew incredibly close despite the cultural and language barrier. During the chilly…

Try the barbecue chicken or fried catfish with sides like corn pudding or collard greens. The array of sides is extensive. This is food like your grandma made. Offering everything from salads and sandwiches to meatloaf, Sweet Potatoes is sure to satisfy your appetite.…

picture of Amy Winehouse and manipulated it on Adobe Photoshop to make it look similar to the Marilyn Monroe pop art by Andy Warhol. The source of my inspiration was the Pop Art movement, more specifically Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe and Campbell’s soup repetitive pop art. The reason why this movement inspired me to do my artwork is because I like it. It is very pronounced and colorful. It draws immediate attention to the viewers because of all the usage of bright colors. Pop art is…

It is true that "Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant". There comes a time, a moment in one's life when we are hit with adversities that can instantly change you. They change the way we think, the way we react, and the way we feel, revealing talents that would have never surfaced in more pleasurable circumstances. Adversities like danger, health issues, and struggles experienced in life determines the person we become.…

natural dark brown. It was curled just a little with a low finish of some hair product, reflecting the fluorescent light from the hospital’s cheap industrial lights in all different directions. Her eyes, her soft blue eyes somehow peering into his soul seeing his pain, his…

Beliefs When a person just passed away, their family are encouraged to use a cloth to cover their mirror and other reflecting surfaces. The household God are needed to covered with red paper. They believe the spirit of the death person would take their soul to accompany it go to the underworld through the mirror. When attending a funeral, the guests are required to wear black and white only because this mean they are in “sorrow occasion”. Chinese New Year Taboos and Beliefs The children are…

Eyes fill with fierce and rage as he says, “This is not food, hunger might be satisfied, but your soul remains empty.” He then takes out a box filled with things I have never seen. A viscous liquid colored by red, few green particles, and bits of lump is present before me. “It is a tomato soup, taste what real food taste like,” he said. Giving me a small brown object, he asks me to dip it into the soup, and insert them in my mouth. It tastes magical – the warmth and rich flavors tingles my…