Quotes to Live By

“It isn’t the big things, it’s the improbable awesomeness of every little damn thing.”

Anthony Bourdain

Quote It

Can you pick out the tourists? Apparently they can't either.

Travelers never think that they are the foreigners.

-Mason Cooley

Interesting thing to think about, huh? What are YOUR thoughts on this??? Agree or disagree?

Quote This

A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.

-Laozi

Quote It

“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be.”

-Douglas Adams

Parlez-vous English?

If you’ve ever taken a trip abroad, chances are that at some point or another you’ve encountered someone who just doesn’t seem to understand what the hell you’re saying. This can be frustrating, I know. I’ve experienced this in at least 8 of the 15 countries I’ve travelled to so far–and that’s not counting my experiences on home turf. No matter how many times I go through it, it always results in a similar experience of me nervously laughing as I blurt out the only words of the language I know, trying to string the words together into sentences with what I, at least, hope are universal words.

My first encounter with this sort of situation while abroad took place on the steps of the Sydney Opera House in the summer of 2008. I was doing interviews of people from around the world during World Youth Day for a friend back home. As I was walking down the steps of the historic opera house, I noticed a group of Italians making their way in my direction. I thought, What the heck? Despite having taken two semesters of Italian prior to this incident,“ciao” was probably the most logical word I had said during the effort. The woman ended her quasi-interview with a nice and subtle, “Stupid American,” as she smiled and walked away.

This doesn’t always happen. The thought of being in this situation shouldn’t detract you from taking that dream vacation or trip either, you just need to be smart about your approach. I’ve found that the easiest way to get past that language barrier is to speak very simply. Use the words you know, use universally common words (ie: toilet), pick up on body language…In short, YOU CAN DO IT!

In your travels, have you ever encountered a situation where a language barrier became an obstacle? OR, did it somehow help?

Now, I’m not a big fan of Rick Steves (A story for another time), but sometimes the man knows what he’s talking about. Check out his Top Ten list of things to help you overcome language barriers, it could really come in handy! (Rick Steves’: Overcoming Language Barriers)

MARCO! (Polo!..Anyone?)

We all had to sit through social studies/history classes back in the day (possibly even currently), so we have all heard mention of some of our travelling forefathers. I’m talking about those brave men who risked falling off the face of the Earth when it was still flat, who now have cities and holidays to celebrate their adventures, who now have rusting bronze statues of themselves around the globe, who….!

Alright, so the life of our original travel nuts may not have been the most glamorous or fashionable for that matter, but they did rock the boat when it came to exploring new worlds. We owe them a little thanks for helping to inspire us to get out there and see the world, so here’s some brief recognition to a few of our late-travelling buddies…

Explorers for Portugal
-Vasco da Gama
-Prince Henry

Explorers for Spain
-Christopher Columbus (Best non-school day of the year)
-Ferdinand Magellan (Are you gellin’?)
-Ponce de Leon
-Hernando de Soto
-Francisco Vazquez de Coronado

Explorers for France
-Giovanni da Verrazanno
-Samuel de Champlain

Explorers for Italy
-Marco Polo (Creator of a favorite summertime water sport)

Explorers for England
-Sir Francis Drake (Like “Mr” only better)

Explorers for America
-Lewis and Clark (inspiration for a much later heroic couple, Lois and Clark)
-Amelia Earhart (foremother of travel)

Travel the World for Free

I know it sounds ridiculous–believe me, that’s how I viewed it at first too, but it’s really all just perception. We have this mindset that we need to travel luxuriously, to travel at a certain speed, but this is all just what we’ve been exposed to, what we’ve come to believe.

I came across this article and really want to share it with you to help erase this mindset that travelling has to be done a certain way or only when it fits within our budget. Although I don’t recommend travelling without any money to your name, I do recommend checking out these tips to make travelling much more accessible and less stressful.

1. Embrace the Simple Joy of Travel
2. Keep Your Needs To A Minimum
3. Go Slow
4. Leave Your Possessions and Obsessions Behind
5. Trust People and you will Receive Free Food and Lodging
6. Learn a Useful Craft or Skill
7. Get Out of the City
8. Find A Job You Love That Entails Travel
9. Embrace Serendipity

For a more in-depth look into each of these tips, check out: http://thetravelersnotebook.com/how-to/how-to-travel-for-free/

Living in the Moment

I know, I know, it’s been awhile since I last updated this. It’s just so easy to get caught up in the things going on around you sometimes. One of my fondest memories of Rome was losing track of any sense of time (and even location at times) and just exploring the city without any restrictions. I was able to soak in so many more things by not constantly looking at my watch or worrying about sticking to any schedule…

When have you allowed yourself to lose all sense of time and just get caught up in the moment/in the place you were? How did that feel?

Sponsors needed: Apply Here

I found this video a few weeks ago and can’t help but share it with others since. I absolutely LOVE the very thought of being able to do something like this–not only to see the world round, but also to connect and interact with people from ever corner of the globe. I hope you enjoy this celebration of life and interconnectedness as much as I do!

When I Think Back…

I couldn’t help but enjoy this simple cartoon. Have I been a travel bug all my life? Hardly. I’ve traveled around the country with my family on vacays, but not until the past year or two when I started to travel on my own have I been truly bitten. Now I’m hooked:)

When were you bit by the travel bug?