louisiana

Eight years after Hurricane Katrina, some areas of New Orleans are completely restored. “You would have never guessed that Uptown New Orleans, the Garden District, or downtown had even been affected by the hurricane,” says resident Freddie Hanson. “Parts of the city in the East and Ninth Ward, though, have barely come back, if at all. They still look like ground zero or a war zone.”

There’s something about the crunch of leaves underfoot and the hints of an upcoming winter that makes people want to celebrate. But don’t limit yourself to the traditional Americana of Halloween and Thanksgiving. The United States is home to many ethnic enclaves with a variety of cultural festivals. It turns out that, for all the cultural differences, deep down we all just want an excuse to eat, dance, and celebrate.

The scaled head of a predator drifts through the water like the tip of an iceberg. He wanders closer toward the boat and blinks his beady, black eyes at the passengers. For a moment he lies motionless, and you could mistake him for a brown, misshapen rock. Yet when the tour guide throws a morsel of food toward the water, the alligator rapidly raises his monstrous body and snatches the food out of the air. Then the giant reptile smoothly sinks back down into the murky water and glides away, his tail shifting back and forth behind him like a snake.

Rice is just one of those foods. You can find it in the cuisine of almost every country, from Asia to Africa to North America. But just about everyone has a different—and delicious—way of preparing it. Get to know some of your fellow rice connoisseurs by trying these international recipes.