Alexithymia Antithesis

10 Last Minute Travel Tips for the Holidays

10 Last Minute Travel Tips for the Holidays

Before your leave for the holidays, check out these unique, last minute travel tips for Christmas and New Year's travel

Travel as a Political Act

I just started reading a book called Travel as a Political Act.  The book is about traveling to broaden your horizons about other cultures and people so that the way we view life can be seen through the eyes of others and not just the cultural ideology of America.  Such things like Bulgarians and Moroccans have their own dream and it's different than the American dream.  Minimum wage is is more than many people make an entire day in many parts of the world.  And many countries are ok with higher taxes to help others with health care and homelessness.

While I don't always agree with the viewpoints in the book, I read it with an open mind and with a desire to at least understand a different perspective.  I say this as someone who is very opinionated, believes I am often right in my view, and comes across as very serious and maybe even obnoxious.  There is something more than just that side of me.  I also say this as someone who enjoys experiences and learning in my travels as opposed to just seeing all the sights.  From my trips to Europe, my most vivid memories are of adventures, lessons learned, and people I have met.  I've seen the Eiffel Tower, the Prado, Anne Frank's house, various castles, museums, and monuments.  I don't have many memories of those places though I do have many pictures. 

However, I can tell you stories of wandering upon a nude beach in Portugal, a Lebanese girl I met at McDonald's in Paris, hanging out with new friends and a local Italian at a small beach village in Italy, getting locked out of my hotel after going to a night club in Florence and how I managed to find a place to sleep for the night, spending the day with a translator named Dema, a Russian kid, and an Estonian kid in Estonia and what I learned from that experience.  I can tell you what I learned about myself while trying to find our hotel in Madrid, how two different people can see the same museum and each take away something different from the experience, what taking the Metro to Notre Dame taught be about communication.  It's from these experiences and people that my view of the world and how I see myself have been forever changed.

I remember my first trip to Estonia in 1995.  I had never been out of the country until then.  When I got there, I was fascinated with the people and the language.  I spent 3 hours on a bus trip trying to learn some words and phrases.  I ordered food from a vendor on the street with my basic Estonian.  I loved getting to know our translators.  I wanted to learn about Estonian history, culture, and food.  I don't know where all of that came from.  I am a quiet, shy kid but that trip helped me discover a passion I never knew I had.  Year later, I still have that passion and believe that is has helped shape and changed me.

While I don't agree with the politics and perspectives of everyone I meet, I admit that I am a different person because of it.  Sometimes I think I have no passion or dreams.  And then I remember my experiences and adventures from traveling and know that these are gifts God gave to me.  I believe everyone should be open to new experiences and people when they travel.  It will make us better citizens of the world as a result. 

Spain and Portugal journal finished!!

I have finally completed my Spain and Portugal journal.  I don't believe it to be a life changing read even though trips like this are always life changing experiences for me.  I will warn you - it is rather long, 33 pages and will take some time to download (please be patient while it downloads - I broke it up into Parts I and II).  However, it includes the journal of my trip and pictures from each day.  This is a journal not only of what we saw and the experiences from my perspective, but a personal journal talking about things I learned and giving insight into my life, how I look at life and live it the way I do, and my weaknesses and failures.  For everyone reading, this is an experience I hope everyone can at least take something from, even if it is nothing more than sharing in this experience with me.  Fortunately, I left out the nude photos from this trip but shared about the nude experiences.  Read the journal to see what I am talking about!  :)

Download SpainjournalPartI.doc

Download SpainjournalPartII.doc

Spain and Portugal pictures!

I have a bunch of pictures from the Spain and Portugal trip now up.  I still have some more that need to be posted as I still have to put up ones from Sevilla, Salema, and Lisbon but these should be posted tomorrow.  So feel free to browse through them.  There is a link to my flickr account on the right and the pics are open for everyone to see.  The pictures are out of order and I will organize them after I load the rest.  However, feel free to take a look.  There are descriptions of each picture so you know where it was taken.

Also, my journal for the trip is complete.  I need to review it and will post it in the next couple of days.  Hope you enjoy!

Time to come home!

It´s been 3 weeks and tonight is the last night of our trip.  Lisbon has been my favorite city of any that I have visited.  I will finish this up later this week with my likes and dislikes of the trip.  I will also try and put the journal on here in the next week or so.  It will take some time to put together along with the pictures.  It has been a good trip with its ups and downs.  And I look forward to sleeping in my own bed tomorrow night!

Good bye to Spain, hello to Portugal!

Greetings from Sevilla!!  Tomorrow it is off to start our adventures in Portugal.  Still not able to put up pictures of the trip but will do so when I get back.  One more week to go.  It has been a fun but tiring trip.  I have decided I will put up a journal of my trip when I get back.  Most of it just has to do with our day, what we saw, and my thoughts on those things.  However, I will have some insights on me as a traveler, thoughts on missions, and some perspective on Spain, the US, and culture.  Not going to say it will change anyone´s life but I will just share where I am at and my thoughts on this trip.  So far, each city in the south of Spain has gotten better - Granada, Ronda, and Sevilla.  Ronda and Sevilla are my two top cities with Granada close behind.  I didn´t like the north of Spain as much.  More of my thoughts on Spain later.  Tomorrow is a completely different country, culture, and language as we take a long bus ride to the coast of Portugal.  Not sure how much more I will be able to get on here but I will update our adventure if I can.  If not, I will surely post the journal of the trip when I am done.  Buenos dias!!  Hasta luego!

Greetings from Madrid!

Wanted to drop in and give some of you an update on things.  So far, we have visited 4 cities - Barcelona, La Coruña, Madrid, and Toledo.  After only a week, I am very tired.  Here are a couple of highlights:

watching Barcelona soccer team (futbol) beat Zaragoza 4-1 in one of the most dominating matches I have ever seen, seeing the Olympic stadium in Barcelona, visiting our friend Leah in La Coruña, just hanging out with her friends, Toledo´s cathedral, the Prado in Madrid, churros and chocolate.

I don´t want to say there are low points to the trip but things that could have been better or have frustrated me:

Not being able to speak Spanish (Spain is one of the least English friendly countries in Europe), not having our ATM work the first few hours in Barcelona, rain and clouds in Madrid, La Coruña, and Toledo, watching how fast money goes as the dollar is at an all time worst against the Euro, watching 5 sets of batteries die in the camera in just a week, realizing how moody, irritable, and inflexible traveling can make us.

I am sorry I am not able to put any pictures up here right now but there are plenty that I have taken.  At this count 495 pictures and only a week into the trip.  Off to Granada on Thursday!  Adios!!

Off to Spain and Portugal

It is less than 8 hours before our flight leaves.  I am excited...and tired.  I am off to bed soon but look forward to this trip.  I hope to give some updates on here and maybe a few pictures if I can.  Tomorrow is also our 2 year anniversary so this will be quite an eventful day!  Here's to Spain and Portugal and a great next three weeks!  Who knows what things will come our way but I have a feeling it will be more than what we have planned!

The benefits of travel

In just a few days, I leave on what seems like my annual trip to Europe.  This will be the 4th trip there in 3 1/2 years.  On my first trip to Europe, I visited some of the popular countries - France, Germany, Italy, etc.  I had a lot of fun and loved seeing many of the big cities - Paris, Rome, Florence, Amsterdam.  It was a tough time in my life but I really loved seeing and experiencing different cultures.  I had that experience years ago when I was on a mission trip to Estonia.  But this trip was different.  I met a lot of people, was outgoing and extroverted, and just had a blast just observing other people and cultures.  However, by the end of the trip, I was lonely and discouraged.  Part of that had to do with where I was in my life.  Part of that was due to what seemed like an absence of God.  Or maybe it was just me.

I have learned a lot from my trips.  I grew up very conservative, very strict personal values and adherence to the laws and proper conduct within society.  However, in these last few trips to Europe I have learned some things and become at least a little less judgmental and more open and accepting of others.  I’ve never smoked marijuana in my life.  But I am more open to it being legalized while opposed to it morally because I see how other countries have dealt with it.  I’ve come to prefer the way other countries do things even to the way we do some things in America.  I have a greater appreciation for values I find in other countries that we have long left behind in our super saturated materialistic culture.  I am much more in favor of the world as a whole than I am of us as America.  Despite the negative viewpoints we may have here in America about socialism, I see some of the benefits of it in Europe.  This is not to say that anyone gets it right but it does say that one country doesn't always know best.  We can always learn from each other.  There are so many other things that I have observed, more than just these.  But it opened my eyes to see how others live, how different it can be from America, and how it can even be a better quality of life, in some aspects, than what we have here.

I am still conservative morally and I find it hard to go outside of the rules.  I still tend to judge others and evaluate so many people by my own standards.  But thanks to traveling, I judge people a little less frequently.  I realized that there are cultures and places in this world that do things better than us and have a better quality of life.  I have seen and experienced a different viewpoint on how to handle some of the issues that all people face.  While I may not always agree with what I see, I feel like I understand a little better.  All this has changed me a little bit.  Some would say it was due to living in California.  However, I know I have been changed by traveling.  Learning to understand others better.  Seeing ways of doing things that are different from my own experiences and culture.  Realizing that our way is not always better, just different.  And understanding that there are people and cultures that have a better quality of life than what I have here in America.  I want that.  And it is great to know it works both ways.  Other cultures can learn things from America than just our democracy, freedoms, and values.  As Europe goes through a period of immigration and racism, much could be learned from the mistakes and successes of America in the 50s, 60s, and 70s.

Without a doubt, I am opinionated and stubborn, always think I am right, feel like I can argue and debate any argument to show that I am right, and really have a hard time seeing a view outside of my own.  However, there are moments and times in my life where I am a little less judgmental and open and accepting of others.  When it all comes down to it, I owe this change in me to God.  But it has been travel that has been used to change me.  It is in those moments that the world isn't about me, I don't see things from my own experiences and my culture here in America, and I realize that this world is so big and made up of so many people that can learn from each other.  In these altruistic moments, I realize it is not about everyone agreeing or seeing things the same way.  It is about taking the time to listen, understand, and see where someone else is coming from.  We may not agree but there is an openness to being changed.  In the end, we can't change the world or make everyone see things our way.  But if we take the time to listen and learn from one another, the greatest and biggest step towards changing the world will start inside of us.

Read this article just to see a different perspective.  It's about social and political issues.  And while I don't agree with everything, it just opens your eyes to seeing how one person has been changed through the beauty of travel.

  http://www.ricksteves.com/about/pressroom/activism/innocents.htm

Coke or Pepsi?

To most Americans, we all tend to like Coke or Pepsi better. It is a matter of taste and preference here. But in Northern Ireland, this question can be a matter of life and death. Northern Ireland has had a history of violence and tension between Protestants and Catholics. Bloody Sunday, hunger strikes, the Brighton bomb, Sinn Fein, IRA, Ulster Volunteer Force, John Hume, Gerry Adams, Martin McGuiness, Ian Paisley, the Good Friday Peace Agreement, power sharing executive in Northern Ireland. Just a few names and bits of history from the Catholic-Protestant struggle in Northern Ireland.

Even knowing just a little about the history, many realize there have been hatred between Catholics and Protestants for years. For many of us here in America, we may not understand why.  A lot of effort has been made to bring peace between the two. And now with the agreement in March to share power in Northern Ireland, it seems things are looking a little better. But as this article points out, there is still a tremendous amount of tension. While this an article from ESPN, it highlights how sports can hopefully bring people closer together. But it also highlights how much tension there still is and how far there is to go to bring healing.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?page=espnmag_peaceplayers