Thursday, December 27, 2012
Just Banned this Toy from the Car!
Rather than write a lengthy post about this little story of driving along I-40 to Memphis on Christmas Day, I thought I would share why this little toy got taken away... Enjoy!
Monday, December 24, 2012
Christmas Ornaments of the World
Merry Christmas, everyone! Here are some pictures of some of our Christmas ornaments we have brought home from other countries.
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| Belize, 2008 |
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| Australia, 2009 |
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| Italy, 2010 |
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| France, 2011 |
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Words
My wife and I have traveled to many countries where the primary language happened to be English. The English-speaking countries we have traveled to together have been: Canada, Belize, Australia, the U.K., and the Bahamas. In spite of having a common language that is mostly understood, there have been some misunderstandings, some unintentional comic relief, and some moments that just make you wonder how America and the rest of the English-speaking world got separated by a common language. Here are three short stories...
Asking for a bandage almost resulted in calling "999" (or Britain's "911")
While my wife was a little over 4 months pregnant, we happened to be in London. For some reason, she needed a band aid. Unfortunately, we didn't think to pack any of them. I went downstairs to the front desk to see if they had any. On my way down, I thought about how I was going to ask for one as I was of the belief that "band aid" was an Americanized word that might not be understood. So, I thought I would ask for a "bandage" instead. I casually waited in line behind various guests that were checking out. A few minutes later, I was up at the front of the line and asked, "Do you have a small bandage?"
The poor girl behind the desk frantically sprung into action believing somebody was seriously hurt. She pulled out some gauze pads from the first aid kit.
"I'm sorry, but this isn't exactly it. I'm not sure what the British word for it is. My wife has a minor cut and just wants to cover it up. We just need a bandage with an adhesive."
So, she pulled out a roll of first aid tape. "Is this what you are needing?"
"I'm afraid not. It should have self-sticking adhesive at the ends with a pad in the middle."
"Oh, a plaster!"
She pulled one out. I opened the package. "Yes! This is it! I appreciate it so much!"
"No problem at all. Would you mind telling me what that is in American English?"
"Sure. It's a band aid."
"I never heard of that before. I'll make sure to share that with the staff so we can better assist our future American guests."
So, on our way to the subway station, we decided to stop by Britain's version of the Dollar Tree, which was called Poundland! Rather than bug the front desk again for plasters, we decided to get some of our own.
Sadly, though, we discovered one small problem...
Oh, and it gets worse...
I went back to Poundland to try to find a pair of scissors that would be sharp enough to cut the plaster, but to no avail. All they had were those little safety scissors that we all used to have back in the first grade that would only cut thin sheets of paper and that's it.
So, every time my wife needed a new plaster, it was always preceded by getting in line at the front desk (or queueing) just to ask to borrow a pair of scissors. We didn't mind waiting in line, but felt like we were being a pain to the hotel staff.
Toilet "Humor"
During our stays across Australia, we discovered two things that we hated about hotels there: (1) no complimentary breakfast and (2) no complimentary internet. However, during my wife's hours upon hours of research ahead of time, she discovered a way around #2: McDonald's!
So, every morning in the cities of Melbourne, Cairns (pronounced "Cans"), and Sydney, we would take my wife's netbook and go to the nearest McDonald's for breakfast and uploading photos to Facebook. Toward the end of our day, we would return to McDonald's for dessert and uploading yet more photos to Facebook!
One morning in Cairns, we were eating breakfast at McDonald's (of all places). Cairns is one of Australia's smaller cities (153,000 people, 14th largest city). So, it had more of a relaxed feel than the hustle and bustle of Melbourne and Sydney, the top two cities in Australia that had over 4.1 million in population in the cities proper.
While I was eating my breakfast, minding my own business, I could not believe what I had heard from the staff there!
Manager (Shouting over the equipment just to be heard): "Does anybody know where Claire went?"
One of Claire's Coworkers (Shouting back): "She's in the toilet!"
At this point, I just about died laughing. A split second later, I realized my wife and I comprised maybe 25% of the restaurant's customers at the time. So, I quickly stifled myself and turned my laughter to "covering and coughing." International incident averted!
By this point, I had already been in the country for about a week. So, I knew that Claire's coworker was really saying that she went to the restroom!
Know What You Order
Between Australia and the U.K., we found ourselves having some dishes that had unusual names. If you didn't have much familiarity with the Australian and British versions of the English language, you might as very well be lost when it comes to ordering some food outside the traditional fish and chips.
In Australia, we stopped at the Koala Cafe, a little place we drove to just off the Great Ocean Road somewhere between Melbourne and the Twelve Apostles. There, we ordered prawn burgers. Now, most Americans may not be familiar with what a prawn is, but should be familiar with what it looks like. It's shrimp! We thought that was unusual and figured, "Why not?"
In London, we stopped at a restaurant along the River Thames. Sadly, I cannot remember the name of the place, but I do remember them serving decent traditional fish and chips, which was something I had wanted since arriving in town. My wife, meanwhile, was amused by a dish named Bubble and Squeak. I was fearing the worst about the squeak part, thinking it was a mouse, but then thought that the Ministry of Health (or whatever) probably would not condone that. So, this is what it turned out to be...
A year later in London (again), we stopped at a restaurant not too far from our hotel (and Poundland). I did not feel like having fish and chips again, but felt like trying another dish named Gammon Steak. Let's think about that second word there again: steak. When I think of the word, I typically think beef. So, I thought to myself, "Hey, I love steak. I wonder what gammon is. I'll give it a shot. Perhaps gammon is a finer choice of meat (as the meal was about 9 or 10 British pounds (or US $14 to US $15)?" So, what did I actually order???
Asking for a bandage almost resulted in calling "999" (or Britain's "911")
While my wife was a little over 4 months pregnant, we happened to be in London. For some reason, she needed a band aid. Unfortunately, we didn't think to pack any of them. I went downstairs to the front desk to see if they had any. On my way down, I thought about how I was going to ask for one as I was of the belief that "band aid" was an Americanized word that might not be understood. So, I thought I would ask for a "bandage" instead. I casually waited in line behind various guests that were checking out. A few minutes later, I was up at the front of the line and asked, "Do you have a small bandage?"
The poor girl behind the desk frantically sprung into action believing somebody was seriously hurt. She pulled out some gauze pads from the first aid kit.
"I'm sorry, but this isn't exactly it. I'm not sure what the British word for it is. My wife has a minor cut and just wants to cover it up. We just need a bandage with an adhesive."
So, she pulled out a roll of first aid tape. "Is this what you are needing?"
"I'm afraid not. It should have self-sticking adhesive at the ends with a pad in the middle."
"Oh, a plaster!"
She pulled one out. I opened the package. "Yes! This is it! I appreciate it so much!"
"No problem at all. Would you mind telling me what that is in American English?"
"Sure. It's a band aid."
"I never heard of that before. I'll make sure to share that with the staff so we can better assist our future American guests."
So, on our way to the subway station, we decided to stop by Britain's version of the Dollar Tree, which was called Poundland! Rather than bug the front desk again for plasters, we decided to get some of our own.
Sadly, though, we discovered one small problem...
 |
| It was one big sheet you had to cut on your own! However, airport security would have a fit if we tried to carry anything sharp enough to cut it! |
Oh, and it gets worse...
 |
| I didn't read the measurements, realizing it was one large strip that had to be cut to size! |
I went back to Poundland to try to find a pair of scissors that would be sharp enough to cut the plaster, but to no avail. All they had were those little safety scissors that we all used to have back in the first grade that would only cut thin sheets of paper and that's it.
So, every time my wife needed a new plaster, it was always preceded by getting in line at the front desk (or queueing) just to ask to borrow a pair of scissors. We didn't mind waiting in line, but felt like we were being a pain to the hotel staff.
Toilet "Humor"
During our stays across Australia, we discovered two things that we hated about hotels there: (1) no complimentary breakfast and (2) no complimentary internet. However, during my wife's hours upon hours of research ahead of time, she discovered a way around #2: McDonald's!
So, every morning in the cities of Melbourne, Cairns (pronounced "Cans"), and Sydney, we would take my wife's netbook and go to the nearest McDonald's for breakfast and uploading photos to Facebook. Toward the end of our day, we would return to McDonald's for dessert and uploading yet more photos to Facebook!
One morning in Cairns, we were eating breakfast at McDonald's (of all places). Cairns is one of Australia's smaller cities (153,000 people, 14th largest city). So, it had more of a relaxed feel than the hustle and bustle of Melbourne and Sydney, the top two cities in Australia that had over 4.1 million in population in the cities proper.
While I was eating my breakfast, minding my own business, I could not believe what I had heard from the staff there!
Manager (Shouting over the equipment just to be heard): "Does anybody know where Claire went?"
One of Claire's Coworkers (Shouting back): "She's in the toilet!"
At this point, I just about died laughing. A split second later, I realized my wife and I comprised maybe 25% of the restaurant's customers at the time. So, I quickly stifled myself and turned my laughter to "covering and coughing." International incident averted!
By this point, I had already been in the country for about a week. So, I knew that Claire's coworker was really saying that she went to the restroom!
Know What You Order
Between Australia and the U.K., we found ourselves having some dishes that had unusual names. If you didn't have much familiarity with the Australian and British versions of the English language, you might as very well be lost when it comes to ordering some food outside the traditional fish and chips.
In Australia, we stopped at the Koala Cafe, a little place we drove to just off the Great Ocean Road somewhere between Melbourne and the Twelve Apostles. There, we ordered prawn burgers. Now, most Americans may not be familiar with what a prawn is, but should be familiar with what it looks like. It's shrimp! We thought that was unusual and figured, "Why not?"
 |
| ...and it wasn't that bad! |
In London, we stopped at a restaurant along the River Thames. Sadly, I cannot remember the name of the place, but I do remember them serving decent traditional fish and chips, which was something I had wanted since arriving in town. My wife, meanwhile, was amused by a dish named Bubble and Squeak. I was fearing the worst about the squeak part, thinking it was a mouse, but then thought that the Ministry of Health (or whatever) probably would not condone that. So, this is what it turned out to be...
 |
| It's the darker stuff next to the eggs. This variant is just pan-fried cabbage, but it can be served in other varieties (according to Wikipedia.) |
A year later in London (again), we stopped at a restaurant not too far from our hotel (and Poundland). I did not feel like having fish and chips again, but felt like trying another dish named Gammon Steak. Let's think about that second word there again: steak. When I think of the word, I typically think beef. So, I thought to myself, "Hey, I love steak. I wonder what gammon is. I'll give it a shot. Perhaps gammon is a finer choice of meat (as the meal was about 9 or 10 British pounds (or US $14 to US $15)?" So, what did I actually order???
 |
| Ham?!?!? I was expecting beef! However, I "manned up," took responsibility for failing to ask questions, and proceeded to eat the greatest ham steak of my life! The chips (aka: fries) weren't bad, either... |
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Laundry
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| It's not what you think it is... |
Cairns, Australia (2009):
This one was unavoidable. We were in Australia for two weeks during their winter and had to carry both fall and summer clothes. So, while we our bags were fully loaded, we were also flipping between temperate and tropical climates. Talk about a pain!
So, one evening, we hit a nearby laundromat. This place was rather interesting and regrettably, we left the camera behind at our hotel room. Anyway, there were no doors in and out of the laundromat like you would see in the U.S. However, I did see roll-down steel doors. I thought it was rather odd for a building like this to be set up this way--especially with the fact that Australia is obviously one of those countries that keeps up with the times.
We loaded our clothes into a washer and walked two shops down to eat Indian food. Yes, of all things, we had Indian food while we were in Australia! Australia, too, apparently is a melting pot of many different cultures. Anyway, the guy running the restaurant (a little "hole in the wall") spoke perfect English. The time we were there while waiting on our laundry after finishing our meal, he talked with us between customers. What we gathered was that he helped some of the locals with their computer problems on the side and that he had lived in all corners of the world (including a stint in Los Angeles). I could have told him at the time that I worked for Dell, but decided to leave work at work. One of the things I don't like to do when on vacation is talk about work. Don't get me wrong. I work hard, but ever since meeting my wife seven years ago, I have done well in keeping life and work separate.
Paris, France (2011):
Five days into being in Europe and we already had to do laundry! The reason for that was because nearly every place in Europe we have been to in the summer (except for Italy) was cold! Cold weather means bulky clothing. So, my wife, my brother-in-law, and I had to go do laundry. We carried a minimum amount of clothes because we had to walk from our hotel and, besides, we were at the halfway mark on our trip through Europe.
So, we dumped our clothes into the washer and my brother-in-law left to wander around. There were three seats, all side-by-side, in the laundromat. My wife, who was about four months pregnant, sat down on one of the end seats, turned 90 degrees, laid her legs across the other two seats, and said, "Little cows!"
"Little cows" is a code for "Dave, massage my calves!" So, I obliged.
One of the locals came in about a minute or two later, who had laundry in one of the dryers. He opened it up, felt no heat, and cursed at the dryer in French. "Mierd!" A friend of his came in and verified the problem. Then, they started feeling the insides of the other vacant dryers for ones that felt hot. Eventually, they found one that was working and transferred the clothes there. Then, the guy left the laundromat for about 20 minutes.
I continued massaging my wife's "little cows."
Time passes.
The same guy returns a little early, seeing his clothes were still tumbling in the dryer. My wife starts to shift back to normal sitting position when he said in an awkward version of English, "That's okay. Sit!"
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Heather and I sitting at the Canal Saint Martin
at night. Because we were at 48 degrees North latitude, the sky did not officially turn
a pitch-black hue until about 10:45 PM.
|
Then, we went back to the hotel, dropped off our clothes, and walked a few blocks to the Canal Saint Martin before calling it a night.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Eight Quick Tips for Disney World
1. Be prepared for rain in the afternoon! It has been a reoccurring theme for our four days at Disney!
2. If you have a larger stroller, use the front row of the parking lot trams. The front row is a double row and significantly wider, allowing you to fit your stroller in the tram seat.
3. Plan in advance what rides you want to ride (or attractions you want to see). Once you know what you want to ride (or see), get the Fast Pass. Each person in your group can only have one Fast Pass at a time, so make it count.
4. If you are travelling with a small child, be sure to get Rider Swap tickets from the ride attendant. Regardless of whether you have a Fast Pass or not for this ride, you will be able to enter the Fast Pass line. The Rider Swap ticket allows for up to three people total to return at any time of the day (they are dated). Be sure to show proof of child (see below) when doing so to eliminate potential hassle.
5. Wireless data availability is inconsistent, subject to carrier. The two carriers represented on our trip were AT&T and Boost Mobile. AT&T had no problems whatsoever. Boost Mobile had problems at Magic Kingdom and Epcot. I did not try my Boost phone at Animal Kingdom, after two consecutive days of frustration. Then, I tried it again at Hollywood Studios, where there were...wait for it...no problems at all!
6. If you have a baby, each park has a baby care center. On the maps, they are marked by a little pacifier. They are really great. Each one has a central lounge flanked by a semi-private changing area and a private nursing room with rocking chairs. The one at Epcot had four rocking chairs to a room with no dividers, though. They also sell diapers and baby food, and offer high chairs to feed kids in the baby care center. In the central lounge, there is at least one sink, one microwave, and a TV for cartoons. I was able to go into the nursing room at Hollywood Studios because it was a private room with space for only one family.
7. Free water! You do not have to buy their overpriced Dasani (or as I call it "da nasty") bottled tap water! You can ask for a cup of water from most of the quick service restaurants, and yes, it's no charge.
8. You can bring your own food into the park! You read that right. Just make sure it all fits into a small soft-sided cooler and they will not give you any grief over it.
2. If you have a larger stroller, use the front row of the parking lot trams. The front row is a double row and significantly wider, allowing you to fit your stroller in the tram seat.
3. Plan in advance what rides you want to ride (or attractions you want to see). Once you know what you want to ride (or see), get the Fast Pass. Each person in your group can only have one Fast Pass at a time, so make it count.
4. If you are travelling with a small child, be sure to get Rider Swap tickets from the ride attendant. Regardless of whether you have a Fast Pass or not for this ride, you will be able to enter the Fast Pass line. The Rider Swap ticket allows for up to three people total to return at any time of the day (they are dated). Be sure to show proof of child (see below) when doing so to eliminate potential hassle.
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| "Proof of Child" |
5. Wireless data availability is inconsistent, subject to carrier. The two carriers represented on our trip were AT&T and Boost Mobile. AT&T had no problems whatsoever. Boost Mobile had problems at Magic Kingdom and Epcot. I did not try my Boost phone at Animal Kingdom, after two consecutive days of frustration. Then, I tried it again at Hollywood Studios, where there were...wait for it...no problems at all!
6. If you have a baby, each park has a baby care center. On the maps, they are marked by a little pacifier. They are really great. Each one has a central lounge flanked by a semi-private changing area and a private nursing room with rocking chairs. The one at Epcot had four rocking chairs to a room with no dividers, though. They also sell diapers and baby food, and offer high chairs to feed kids in the baby care center. In the central lounge, there is at least one sink, one microwave, and a TV for cartoons. I was able to go into the nursing room at Hollywood Studios because it was a private room with space for only one family.
7. Free water! You do not have to buy their overpriced Dasani (or as I call it "da nasty") bottled tap water! You can ask for a cup of water from most of the quick service restaurants, and yes, it's no charge.
8. You can bring your own food into the park! You read that right. Just make sure it all fits into a small soft-sided cooler and they will not give you any grief over it.
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