It forces you to talk to other people. And I mean that in the nicest way. At some point you are going to want to say something about the amazing place you just visited [...]]]> Have you ever traveled alone? Not everyone does it or likes it when they do, but is at least one definite advantage.

It forces you to talk to other people. And I mean that in the nicest way. At some point you are going to want to say something about the amazing place you just visited or ask for guidance about your plans for the next day or something like that. And if you don’t do it, no one will.

Isn’t meeting new people, especially in foreign countries, part of why we travel? If you aren’t a natural extrovert, any little bit of encouragement–like only having yourself to converse with and getting bored with it–really helps.

I’ve met all sorts of interesting people when I’ve traveled alone. Far more than I meet on trips with companions (which are fun for different reasons). I’ve met families far from home singing along on a Sound of Music bus tour, other single travelers looking for company while sitting at the bar for dinner, and shop keepers and restaurateurs I probably wouldn’t have spent much time with if I’d had a companion to talk to.

Who have you met when traveling alone?

Reading guidebooks, looking at pictures, surfing the web to see what’s what. It’s not the same as being there, but it sure is fun to look forward to all the new things to see and do.

My current anticipations: Amsterdam, London, Paris, Lisbon, Madrid.

What exciting new places are [...]]]> Anticipation is one of the exciting parts of travel.

Reading guidebooks, looking at pictures, surfing the web to see what’s what. It’s not the same as being there, but it sure is fun to look forward to all the new things to see and do.

My current anticipations: Amsterdam, London, Paris, Lisbon, Madrid.

What exciting new places are you anticipating right now?

The seats in the row behind me didn’t them.

Hmmm. Something to think about?

I am at a precarious point in my learning process. It’s been three months now and I’ve learned enough that I can express many [...]]]> As I study Polish and work with my teachers, I have all sorts of little victories. Usually followed quickly be several seeming defeats. But such is the nature of battle, n’est-ce pas?

I am at a precarious point in my learning process. It’s been three months now and I’ve learned enough that I can express many non-complex thoughts and would be able to successfully get along as a tourist in Poland. Funnily enough, roughly the same level of fluency as I have in French–which I studied for two years in high school and for eight intensive weeks (one-year equivalent) in college.

This isn’t as far along as I wanted to be at this time, but any failure or lack of progress at this point is entirely due to my own struggle with defining my goals. I can see the benefit of studying a language in its native country, where you walk outside and don’t have much of a choice about communicating in that language.

Anyway, this stage feels like an important plateau. I feel my energy sagging. So I know I need to push through.

Recent feedback from each of my three teachers was that each is impressed about some aspect of my learning. Doesn’t mean they always understand me when I say something (I can only imagine, and shudder at, how heavy my accent must be). And it doesn’t mean I understand them every time they speak. But I’m getting there.

What do you do when you reach a learning plateau like this in something you are studying? How do you shake things up?

What, exactly, is the etiquette for who gets to take under the middle seat of the row ahead of you?

The person with the longest legs wins? The person with the biggest second bag (since [...]]]> Have you ever been flying in an aisle or window seat with an empty middle seat between you and your other row-mate?

What, exactly, is the etiquette for who gets to take under the middle seat of the row ahead of you?

The person with the longest legs wins? The person with the biggest second bag (since if you have only one bag and it’s big you should put it in the overhead bin!) wins?

Last time, I just asked the guy in the window seat if he minded if I use that space. He said he didn’t, but I could tell that I just barely beat him to the punch.

How do you deal with taking this common space in the row?

I’m also a huge fan of his approach to life and travel in general. To steal that great marketing line, it [...]]]> Regular readers know what a fan I am of Chris Guillebeau and his quest to travel everywhere (to all 193 United Nations member states) by April 2013. He only has 8 countries left. Go Chris!

I’m also a huge fan of his approach to life and travel in general. To steal that great marketing line, it basically comes down to this: just do it.

In this post, he talks about how to travel anywhere.

Someone asks: Where should I start? His answer: Does it matter?

The post includes this sentiment which, if not immortal yet, should be: “We often feel paralyzed by choice and make no choice. But the thing is, no choice is a choice. If you’re not doing something about it, you’re doing something about it.”

Whatever it is you want to do–travel, write, dance, sing, change your life–it doesn’t matter where you start. Just start. The rest will fall in line eventually.

Go. Do it. Right now.

Last year, I set a high bar for myself by not getting sunburned, not even one tiny bit, when learning to surf in Costa Rica.

This success was largely due to my use of an entire bottle of sunscreen [...]]]> Ahhh, springtime. When a pale girl’s thoughts turn to sunscreen. Or, rather, more sunscreen than the winter doses.

Last year, I set a high bar for myself by not getting sunburned, not even one tiny bit, when learning to surf in Costa Rica.

This success was largely due to my use of an entire bottle of sunscreen in one week and the fabulous sun protective clothing that I wore on the trip, even in the water. The discovery of capri length swim tights made all the difference.

All clothes block a little bit of the sun, of course. But I was petrified that when my winter white skin (not noticeable to most people as slightly paler than my summer white skin) met the equatorial sunshine. I was tickled by the success of wearing long-sleeve sun protective clothing (thanks Coolibar and Athleta) and not feeling overheated by doing so.

Now…the trade-off for wearing full sun protection on the beach, in the water, on the board and all the places where other people bare is all is that one is wearing, for all intents and purposes (and as a friend dubbed it) a swim-burqa.

Maybe this will start a new trend!

That’s the sound of me enjoying my fabulous new neck pillow from Therm-a-Rest. Many thanks to my friend for recommending REI as a place to buy it. When I tighten the straps, it gives just the right support on the sides and front, so my head doesn’t flop. It compresses enough at the back to [...]]]> Ahhhh.

That’s the sound of me enjoying my fabulous new neck pillow from Therm-a-Rest. Many thanks to my friend for recommending REI as a place to buy it. When I tighten the straps, it gives just the right support on the sides and front, so my head doesn’t flop. It compresses enough at the back to support my neck comfortably but not push my upper back away from the seat.

It packs up okay, though not as small as I wish, given that about a third of what I pack for any trip is pillows and blankets and other accessories to make the traveling parts of the journey comfortable.

Just came home on a red-eye. The non-stop turbulence for the first half of the flight and the guy behind me who pulled on my seat back every time he stood up, sat down, or readjusted himself meant that my sleep was not perfect. But it wasn’t neck or back discomfort that was the problem!

I’m one step closer to overnight flight nirvana.

And I’m all about living in the moment in Polish, since I don’t know enough verb tenses to successfully discuss things that have happened in the past or will happen [...]]]> It turns out I’m a pretty evasive character when I speak Polish. Most thoughts I share are qualified with perhaps or I think, or sometimes both.

And I’m all about living in the moment in Polish, since I don’t know enough verb tenses to successfully discuss things that have happened in the past or will happen in the future. I had a relatively long conversation about music my grandmother liked. It wasn’t until the end when my teacher asked me a question that I realized there was a bit of a misunderstanding…due to the fact that the whole conversation had been in the present tense. As, indeed, these days all stories about my grandmother must be in the past tense. So I found a way to say (in the present tense!), my grandmother is dead.

At least I I didn’t need to qualify that one.

I think. Perhaps.

Sitting in a classroom is one way.

Actually doing the thing it is you want to learn is another way. Like surfing. Not much good spending time in a classroom or hanging out on the sand for this one. You’ve just got to get out there and do it, [...]]]> How is it that we learn new things?

Sitting in a classroom is one way.

Actually doing the thing it is you want to learn is another way. Like surfing. Not much good spending time in a classroom or hanging out on the sand for this one. You’ve just got to get out there and do it, let the waves wash over you and your feet fall out from beneath you to figure out the rhythm of this one.

Immersion is another way to learn something. Like how to speak a language. Not much good spending too much time with a book for this one, unless you just want to read it, nor with a tape if you really want to speak it. Language is a living entity and, as far as I can tell, the reason people learn languages is to communicate with other people. So the best way is to actually get out there and communicate with those people from day one.

One of the joys of traveling is that if forces us to learn outside the classroom, outside our normal environment, when are minds are open to receiving new inputs and new experiences.

What have you learned while traveling (or for the sake of traveling) that you feel you never would have learned in another setting?

Photo courtesy of igoghost, stock.xchng