I am known to be compulsive about recycling. In my mind it is one small and easy thing that we all can do to make a small difference in the world for our future generations. So, when I saw crates containing empty beer bottles at the local market in Seychelles, I took note. It meant we could recycle our empty beer bottles at the local market! Somewhere in our first...
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About twelve years ago, I took my first ever trip abroad to Ireland for business. My Irish colleagues were fantastic hosts and went the extra mile to ensure that my stay was enjoyable. In addition to being tour guides and accompanying me throughout my stay, my colleagues educated me on some of the nuances of foreign travel, like weighing and tagging produce at the...
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First impressions can set the tone, affect an experience and impact potential outcomes. A bad first impression can be difficult to overcome. And though we have all be told not to judge a book by its cover, we tend to make quick assessments of people, places and things—which ultimately formulate our first impression. We are less than twelve hours into our first visit...
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This week marks our last week in Australia and with only days remaining we still hadn’t tried Vegemite. It’s not quite on the same level as the kangaroo, but it’s still a major icon of Australia. If you ask an Australian about it, they all seem to love it, but confess that it’s an acquired taste. Even on our previous two visits to Australia,...
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One of the first few questions that we have when arriving in a new country is always about tipping. Are we supposed to tip? If so, who do we tip and how much?
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Throughout our travels, our most frequent mode of transportation has been walking. We often debate the unwritten rules of the sidewalk and wonder why walking in some foreign cities can be so challenging! My assumption has always been that the flow of pedestrian traffic on sidewalks should mirror the flow of road traffic. If cars drive on the right side of the road...
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Visiting a local market can be a fun cultural experience. Over the past six months we have spent many hours shopping for food in local markets. Although our grocery list does tend to have the same core ingredients regardless of where we are, we have found that the options available can vary in every city and country. We spent two weeks touring New Zealand in RVs...
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After more than ten days in China, I have officially reached my threshold of being elbowed, shoved and run into. In Western cultures these actions are considered rude. Even in the sporting world, many of these actions would result in penalties. In hockey, throwing an elbow would get two minutes in the penalty box! However, I am starting to believe that pushing,...
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While traveling in Northern China we got a small taste of what it might be like to be famous. We found ourselves drawing a lot of undue attention. It felt like we were constantly on display—on the subway, in the train station, walking down the street, in restaurants, nearly everywhere we seemed to draw attention. From an early age, I was taught not to attract undue...
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