 |
| OUE Skyspace: LA, CA (April 2018) |
Focusing has been difficult the past few months, so I'm taking an alternative approach to A-Z this year: looking back at past travel, editing or re-editing images from travels before, and responding to travel-related questions. Hope you are able to join me on this journey to my past!
For Day L, I have this awesome image of the sunset from OUE Skyspace. There was a couple that got engaged the night Justin and I were there and I managed to get them in my shot. (It was an accident, but I loved it! How cute are they?!)
Other places I considered for this post: Lāna‘i (HI), Laguna Beach (CA)
Today's questions …
34. What home comfort do you miss the most when you are traveling?
My pillow and blanket! Specifically on trips where I fly.
If it's a road trip, I miss a lot less. Maybe just my bed as a whole? Especially if the hotel bed is uncomfortable. And my laptop! I DO NOT take my laptop when I travel. I never have time to do anything on it anyway, so why take it?
35. How many foreign words have you learned so far?
Not many. I think I could get by in Germany okay. Not great by any means. The German I know is extremely basic.
But! I've got even fewer words in French and Spanish. Commercials and memes in the US help with the Spanish. I can definitely order in French; I usually rely on my husband when we are looking at a Spanish menu. He's really good with food and knows what is what. I'm getting better, but I'm still learning.
As for Arabic? I know one word. Guess that's better than nothing?
I am familiar with zero other languages. I think I learned some for my trip to Czech Republic, but I completely lost everything the minute we left.
36. What has surprised you the most about yourself while traveling?
There is so much about the world that I don't know! Specifically with regards to different cultures.
While I think it's normal to not understand the world at large if you have never traveled, it's crazy for me to look back at old emails and see where miscommunication occurred because my life experience was not a match for the person I was talking to.
An example? In Germany, you bring cake on your birthday. In the US, other people surprise you with cake.
That seems simple enough, but you can see how it could easily lead to a misunderstanding.
And cultural differences don't stop there. I probably could write a post about all of the differences and still not cover even half of them.
The point? I've learned I need to be open, flexible, and understanding when speaking to people from other countries. If we don't see eye-to-eye at first, it might be miscommunication.
If you ever find yourself in this situation, don't give up too quickly; there may be something there that you aren't seeing. ❤️
…
Travel has also taught me that anything I can imagine is possible. Money obviously helps. Generally, just the idea that you don't have to be limited by what you think is possible. Don't let fear stop you from doing the things you want to do. And … where there is a will, there is a way. If your heart is in it, there is very little you can't accomplish.
How are your foreign language skills? Would you be comfortable going to a country not knowing the language?
See other posts in this year's A-Z.
