Tag Archives: travel

back, with an ironic souvenir

Posted in travel by

sick in bed

Here is a list of all the medicine and supplies I brought with me on my trip, in anticipation of any and all illness or need (or so I thought):

Pepto Bismol

Prescription Ciprofloxacin pills in case of food poisoning / bacterial infection

Imodium AD

Aleve for headaches

Dramamine regular formula

Dramamine non-drowsy formula

Claritin for allergies

“Gluten Defense” pills for accidental gluten ingestion

Antibacterial hand gel

Antibacterial hand wipes

Soap

97% Deet

50 SPF sunblock

Bacitracin

Band-Aids

Enough tampons to last me ’til menopause

Travel size contact solution

Check-in size contact solution

Two extra pairs of contacts

Glasses, just in case

Halfway through my trip I came down with a terrible sore throat and nasty cough, and by the last day I had full-on laryngitis. The one thing I didn’t have on-hand? Cold medicine. Thankfully one of my colleagues had brought Tylenol PM. It was the only medicine I took.

More than a week later, I’m still fighting the cold and now also a deadline. I’ll be back with highlights from the world’s most emotional country (supposedly, though not in my actual experience) once I’ve beaten both into submission.

(Photo: Jenny)

on the road again

Posted in travel by

Cristóbal Toral - Colorful Suitcases

It’s the eve of my departure for a far-off land. Half of my suitcase is a medicine cabinet and the other half is a gluten-free snack bar. I’m not quite sure of the degree to which I’ll be roughing it, but I have packed for every eventuality.

Tonight I’m reminding myself that I’m always more resilient in the moment than I think I am beforehand. My anxiousness is, I think, just a side product of “fear of happiness.”

Fingers crossed I am jumping headlong into a life-changing adventure that doesn’t include mosquito-borne illnesses, seasickness, typhoons, or travelers’ diarrhea. (But if it does, I have things packed for that.)

Have a lovely two weeks and enjoy your tap water!

(Photo of everything I’m bringing to the airport: Playing Futures: Applied Nomadology)

please let it be the weekend already

Posted in foreign food festival, French, travel by

choucroute garnie

In addition to my French slump, I am finding it impossible to work at my actual place of work this week. The weekend cannot come soon enough.

In the meantime, I just read this mouth-watering article (yes, I am slacking off) and my stomach literally grumbled aloud. An extremely good reason to learn French: so I can take a food tour of France and gorge myself on galettes (gluten-free!!) and choucroute garnie, which sounds like just about the best thing on earth.

On that note, time to find some lunch!

Til Monday…

(Photo: Sungit Yabang)

why learn Spanish

Posted in Spanish, travel by

Spanish speaking corzuela pardas

There are a million reasons to learn Spanish. Here are some of mine:

Let’s start with the obvious. Because it is the second most spoken native language in the world, because it is the official language of 20 countries, because it is one of the UN’s six official languages, and because 20% of my hometown speaks it for god’s sake.

Then the practical. Because once you know English and French you’re only a hop, skip and a jump away from knowing Spanish, too. It would be quite a waste to have such a jump-start on a language and not bother to learn at least a little.

The aspirational:

Spanish Mediterranean coast

Because the Mediterranean is, when it comes down to it, the best place on earth. And quite a large chunk of the Mediterranean runs along the Spanish coast.

The personally appealing:

Because my favorite genre of literature, magical realism, has distinctly Latin American roots and I wish I could read it in its native language. Especially my beloved Gabriel García Márquez.

Because Spain seems to operate on my night owl clock.

interior of Gaudi house

Because then I could live in Barcelona and visit Gaudí houses every day. (I know they speak Catalan there. I know that is different from Spanish. I’d work it out.)

Argentina World Cup teamBecause Argentine men are beautiful. All of them. I know this from personal experience.

provoleta grilled cheese

Because provoleta – a grilled hunk of cheese with a crunchy outside and gooey inside, seasoned with oregano – is the best invention in the history of food.

And finally, because I started learning it and now I want to finish learning it. Simple as that.

(Photos from top to bottom: Me; Maria Rosa Ferre; Trey Ratcliff; R. Mazalan; Wally Gobetz)

it’s the weekend!

Posted in learning tools, travel by

Chateau de Gudanes

And it’s supposed to be in the 70’s, which is the least that May could do after the travesty that was March and April. So far it’s just been more of the same – I wore my winter jacket all this week. INAPPROPRIATE. Fingers crossed that the weekend brings sunny skies and heat at last (and at the same time for God’s sake).

Til Monday! and in the meantime, links links links:

A speaking exchange program that is highly adorable, and also a very good idea.

If I learned French and had a bazillion dollars I, too, could renovate a centuries-old chateau in the countryside.

10 secrets to learning a language without spending a dime. (So you can save up for the chateau instead.)

Pre-immersion makes anticipating a trip more fun than the trip itself.

(Photo: Chateau de Gudanes)

(get over the) hump-day inspiration: C.S. Lewis

Posted in inspiration & encouragement, travel by

CS Lewis quote

Because 34 is the new 14.

This photo, by the way, is from my first glimpse of South America along the Chilean coast. It would have been a more profound moment had I not flown through Toronto and been delirious with exhaustion. In retrospect I peg it as the kick-off to my new era of crazy dreaming and scheming. At the time I just stared and stared and thought, I will process this after I sleep.

solo in Paris – or anywhere really

Posted in French, inspiration & encouragement, travel by

strolling couple in paris

My favorite thing is to wander aimlessly around a densely packed city and take in the sights. That’s basically all I did in Buenos Aires from early in the morning til the wee hours of night: walk and gawk, walk and gawk, stop to sit in a park, walk and gawk, stop to eat steak (always, steak), walk and gawk, walk and gawk. I must have covered a forty square mile area by foot and every single block had something to be in awe of, whether animal, vegetable or mineral.

Apparently the French have a word for people like me: flâneur, or stroller. Stephanie Rosenbloom wrote a piece for this week’s Times travel section about strolling Paris on her own, and it perfectly captures the magic of solo travel. The way that being alone enhances the senses and imbues every experience with both grounding stillness and skin-prickling energy.

Paris, she convincingly writes, is a city that “deeply rewards the solo traveler”:

In a city that has been perfecting beauty since the reign of Napoleon III, there are innumerable sensual details — patterns, textures, colors, sounds — that can be diluted, even missed, when chattering with someone or collaborating on an itinerary. Alone one becomes acutely aware of the hollow clack of pétanque balls in a park; the patina of Maillol’s bronze “Baigneuse se Coiffant” that makes her look wet even on a cloudless day in the Tuileries; how each of the empty wine bottles beside sidewalk recycling bins is the embodiment of someone’s good time.

I have only spent a few days in Paris and that was years ago – but I remember it as gray, snobby and overrated. I’ve never felt the need to return until I read this article, which had me wanting to jump on the next plane. Instead I practiced my flânerie / joggerie along the Hudson River on a drop-dead gorgeous New York City day and was thankful to be living in the walkingest city in the world.

(Photo: I took this picture when I visited Paris in 2000. Everything about this elderly couple, from their classic dress, to their slow unhurried stroll, to their arm-in-arm charm, felt perfectly suited to the city.)

investing in experiences

Posted in inspiration & encouragement, travel by

piggy bank

I love this post by Design Sponge’s Amy Azzarito, about rechanneling her money from “things” into “experiences.” She’s committed to that practice in theory, but as she points out, “it’s easier to say that you’re going to stop buying things (and invest in experiences instead) than it is to do it.” Especially in New York City, I would add.

It’s really hard to keep from buying stuff I can technically afford – whether a pair of shoes I really want or the new mattress I actually really need – when the alternatives seem to be spending the money on some other thing instead, using it for a fairly small beans experience, or putting it away towards a far-into-the-future goal that is too lofty and nebulous to feel real (i.e. saving enough to ever retire).

It became easier for Amy when she earmarked that money towards a specific, medium-term “experience” goal instead – in her case (and mine), travel:

One of the best things that helped me through my detox diet was deciding what my next travel experience (my ultimate goal) was going to be. Looking at travel books (which I checked out from the library) and pricing out trip options seriously helped curb spending. Those Vans shoes basically equaled a night in a hotel and once I started looking at things through my travel goggles, I was much less likely to even consider spending the money on them.

“Travel goggles” is an apt term for what happens when you commit to a plan that requires lots of vision and tenacity and temptation resistance but that makes you super excited and motivated, too. Ever since I decided to do a self-styled study abroad sabbatical – and priced out how much it will cost – I’ve found it easier to pass up non-essential purchases. I know that to make my trip a reality I’ll have to aggressively reroute all my disposable income – for two years – towards that dream. God knows I won’t be able to stay the course for a third year, so it’s really important that I don’t cheat on my saving commitment.

That means I’ll be whipping out my travel goggles often – whenever I am staring down a pair of miraculously comfortable heels, or burning soup in my paltry excuse for a saucepan, or feeling sad about the state of my apartment’s furnishings. Another night (or 700) on my glorified futon now means another night in West Africa later.

P.S. Here’s another one of Amy’s posts – about facing the fear of learning a second language – that seemed written just for me, apart from the fact that I’m sure a million people can relate to it.

(Photo: Philip Brewer)

wanderlust wish list

Posted in travel by

Dakar, Senegal

(Dakar photo: André Thiel)

Yesterday was a day of bad news and angst, and I really need something to lift my spirits today. Strange as it may seem to non-A-types, sometimes all it takes is the exercise of making a list to give me a little pick-me-up. Ordering the bullet points of my life and aspirations on one neat, scannable page is deeply satisfying. And when I create a wish list specifically, it lets me visualize everything I aspire to all at once. Which makes me happy.

So, today’s list of choice: the top 10 places I would like to visit.

1. Senegal

Dakar, Senegal

(Photo: Kalyan Neelamraju)

I have wanted to go since I first learned about this country in eighth grade French. Something about the culture and climate of Francophone West Africa calls to me, and the prospect of going to Dakar has been the carrot on a stick to keep me interested in French for more than 20 years now. I haven’t yet made it out there because I only ever had one or two of the requirements for the trip concurrently: enough time off, enough money to spend, the right travel partner, and/or the right frame of mind to visit alone. But mark my words – conditions are ripening and I’m committing to make 2016 my year!

2. Patagonia

Patagonia

(Photo: Chris Ford)

I saw a photo like the one above, and I was sold.

3. Cuba

Havana, Cuba

(Photo: Nathan Laurell)

For many reasons – cultural, architectural, temporal, geographical, linguistic.

4. Ukraine (my mother’s mother’s motherland), along with St. Petersburg and Moscow – once things simmer down…

Ukraine

(Photo: Peter Fenďa)

5. Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan

(Photo: Pierre)

Don’t know why exactly. Maybe something about East meeting West appeals to me. And Azerbaijan is one of the most beautiful names I’ve ever heard. Which is a terrible reason to visit a country, but sometimes a place just gets into your head for all the wrong reasons and then sticks around.

6. Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah and Athens, Georgia

Savannah, Georgia

(Photo: Jen Goellnitz)

I would eventually like to visit all 50 states and Georgia is the only one on the Eastern seaboard I haven’t been to (unless you count the Atlanta airport). Charleston and Savannah are supposed to be charming Southern cities and Athens sounds like a cute college town and I would love to road trip between them all.

7. Australia and New Zealand

near Perth, Australia

(Photo: Kenny Teo)

I can’t get more specific because I want to see all of it, from Sydney to Melbourne to the Outback to the West, to Aukland to Wellington to Christchurch to the mountains in between. Which means I will probably never see any of it. My fatal flaw is I get too ambitious and then end up doing nothing when I realize I can’t do everything.

8. Kenya and Tanzania

Tanzania

(Photo: David Berkowitz)

Again, overambitious. I want to see Kilimanjaro and the Serengeti and Masai Mara park and Lake Victoria and Nairobi and Zanzibar. This is actually a scaled down version of my original plan, which had been to visit Mozambique in the same trip.

9. Norway and Sweden

Lofoten Islands, Norway

(Photo: Henrik Johansson)

For midnight sun and the fjords. I was thisclose to using my miles on a Scandinavia vacation a couple of years ago but thankfully, I looked up the prices for hostels first and was rudely awakened to the fact that Norway has one of the highest costs of living in the world. Hostels were the price of hotels. So this one will probably stay on the wish list awhile.

10. Mexico City

Mexico City

(Photo: Boris G.)

Mexico’s got thousands of years of history and I’ve only ever been to the tourist strip in Tijuana. I need to cleanse my brain’s Mexico palate with something more representative.

Honorable mentions: Mali (not the best time to visit…), South Africa, South Korea, Montana and Wyoming.

Ahhh, that was fun. Which places are on your wish list?

have a good weekend!

Posted in inspiration & encouragement by

Arles, France

What are you up to this weekend? I will be continuing my Duolingo streak (days 46 and 47, I think). I’m about two-thirds of the way through the French version and at the rate I’m going I hope to be done by the end of next week. I’ll also be fitting in an episode or two of Destinos, a telenovela for Spanish learners that is extremely retro and extremely watchable for reasons I will get into some other time.

And I will be doing normal-person things, too: a hockey game viewing, a good friend’s birthday dinner, a documentary shorts screening, a run through the park. (That’s the plan, at least. I have a tendency to get over-ambitious…)

Til Monday! In the meantime, for your clicking pleasure here are some interesting and relevant things I read this week:

The benefits of learning a language later in life

Tips to stay motivated

The world’s best destinations for solo travel (Apparently Paris has “fun speed-dating styled language improvement events.”)

Lyon vs. Paris

Three ways to combat language-learner’s envy. 

The updated Duolingo app has a “duel” feature.

And, sadly, it’s not actually true that France banned work emails after 6pm.

(Photo of Arles, for your weekend daydreaming: Salva Barbera)