Leaving on a Jet Plane

There is one part of traveling that I would certainly change if I could.  That would be the excessive wait times between flights.  Then again, the long flight times are also a major pain in the bum.  Really, is it too much to ask for some Star Trek-level technology that would allow for instantaneous transportation?  Then again, there are some amazing chances for people watching.  Right now, my attention is split between a woman with blond dreads and multiple tattoos, and a little girl and her mother.  Frankly, the woman is just a lot of fun to occasionally stare at.  The little girl is more actively entertaining.  Her mother attempted to take a picture in front of the large plane getting ready to board, but the kid decided her time would be better served running back and forth in front of the window instead.  I can’t say that I really blame the kid.  Sure, she doesn’t truly have any idea how long she’s going to be asked to sit still on a flying steel tube, but any time spent moving and walking around beats standing still.  Or at least, that was always my philosophy when I was 3…as well as yesterday. 

Watching this young child reminds me of something that I have encountered many times while flying.  That would be young kids who are 500% done with being on a plane.  Personally, I don’t get too upset over these kids acting out (though let’s face it I may be understanding of acting out, but it doesn’t mean I appreciate the screaming).  While parents try to keep their kids entertained, it’s frankly cruel and unusual punishment to ask a young child to sit still for more than 10 minutes.  There are occasions where kids are willing to stay in one place, but that’s really only under their own volition, not because mom, dad, or anyone else wants them to.  Therefore, I could never quite understand the people who would get unaccountably angry at the parents of small (screaming) children.  Now, I don’t have children, but I’ve done enough babysitting to know that there are occasions where even the best parent has a kid who will act out.  Truly, I think Buzzfeed has the best take on this phenomenon, as seen here.

My parents once flew from Hawaii to Chicago, and there was a family with two small children, one of whom cried almost the whole way.  People glared at the parents, and muttered things under their breath.  It got to the point that not only were the kids crying, but so was the mom.  Obviously those people didn’t know that making the mom upset would only cause the child to feed off her discomfort and cry more.  My parents were actually sitting across the aisle from this family, and they tried to distract the children and reassure their parents that they weren’t upset by the children’s behavior. 

For anyone out there who would react the same as my parents, way to go!  For those who would react with anger: if you have kids, please remember that parenting is the toughest (albeit, I hear, the most rewarding) job there is, and you need to cut the people sharing the job title of 'parent' some slack.  If you don’t have kids, try to remember what it was like when you were quite young and hated sitting still.  Not to mention, I know some adults who are scared by plane rides, so why do we expect all children to be completely chill with the experience? For all involved…try to ignore the situation if you can, or—if you feel comfortable doing so—pull some silly faces or play an impromptu game of peek-a-boo.

Then again, there’s also a third option wherein you use your scientific mind to create the first functioning transporter, thereby making plane rides and being forced to listen to screaming children for hours on end a thing of the past.  Personally, I like that option the best (however, I have the furthest thing from a scientific mind, so I will have to rely on others).  Though it will put a serious dent in my silly-face-pulling time.  I’ll just have to make that up with other random strangers I meet on the street.  Those lucky, lucky strangers :D

Wow, sorry for the tiny rant.  See, this is what happens when I'm given too much time to wait ;)

0 DAYS AWAY!!  Flying out today.  Budapest, here I come!!

What Every Good Traveler Needs

For the last four days, I have been packing—and repacking—for my trip.  There is an interesting phenomenon that occurs when I pack for an extended trip: no matter how many lists I make, I always feel as though I’m forgetting something.  To be fair, I’m not much of a list maker in general, so I don’t really trust my list-making skills when it comes to something like this.  But, in the spirit of enhancing those skills, I have made a short list of things every traveler should do to prepare for a big trip.

1.     Make a list, check it...4-5 times

I know, it seems like a silly thing to point out given my introduction above, but this is a staple for all travelers.  Even if you have a much better memory than myself, having a list of everything you plan to pack is a great help.  For my own piece of mind I even make a list of what I’m going to wear each day.  Sure, I may stray from that depending upon weather and events that may come up during the actual trip, but it helps me to cover pretty much all of my bases.  I also like to make a list of toiletries that I’ll be taking, because there is invariably some item I’ll be using up until the day I leave for the airport.  For those, I don’t actually check them off until they’re in either my checked bag or my carry-on.  As to the number of times you check your list…that’s completely up to you.  I tend to check mine obsessively because—as I said before—I don’t really trust my own lists.

2.     Get a fanny pack

OK, we don’t need to go full 80's on our trips, but you definitely need something that you can keep close to your body that can hold your passport and money.  If you ever need a lesson in how easy it is to get items off of someone, take a look at this clip from Brain Games, or an oldie but goodie from Ripley’s Believe it or Not (Any chance for me to look at Dean Cain, thank you ;P).  Now, obviously these are examples where the people get their stuff back, so I don’t think we should risk it.  Therefore, I always keep my money and passport in a necklace pouch that I wear under my clothes.  I’m sure that a really good pickpocket could still get it if he or she was seriously motivated, but they’d have to get up close and personal…and I’d expect a nice dinner out of the encounter.

3.     Know your limitations

This one can cover both the physical and mental challenges of traveling.  Whether you’re going on a local trip or overseas, you need to make sure you’re prepared for the trip.  Over packing is a cardinal sin of traveling.  So long as you have the essentials (toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, spare underwear, socks, or whatever you honestly can’t live without) you can get by in almost any situation or location.  Sure, airlines have a weight and size limit on bags, but you also have a weight and size limit on what you’re willing to carry around for an undetermined amount of time.  I once walked roughly four miles with a giant rolling bag and two carry-on-sized bags because I got mildly lost.  It’s amazing how even the small bags seemed to grow heavier with each step.  That is an experience I never wish to have again, and something I wouldn’t wish on anyone else.  As for the mental limitations, traveling can inundate you with a lot of new and exciting information.  Give yourself a chance to rest on occasion.  I suggest finding a nice café or restaurant that gives you a good view of the local attractions and an opportunity to people-watch.  That way, you’re still enjoying the sites, but in a relaxing manner.  Even a ten minute break from walking and taking pictures can do you a world of good.

4.     Bring a memory card

Speaking of taking pictures…the best thing about cameras today is that you don’t have to worry about the number of film rolls you can fit into your bags.  No matter what the size of your digital camera, there’s always room for a big memory card…or at least a card with a big memory.  You especially want more space if you’re planning to take a lot of video.  That can eat up memory faster than a zombie at a Mensa conference.  If you’re planning to bring your laptop along on your trip, then you really only need enough space on your memory card to last you a day or two.  That is of course assuming you’re planning to download your pictures and video each day, as I plan to.

5.     Get your house in order

For those of you who keep your home neat as a pin 24/7, you may keep lying to me and ignore this section completely.  Personally, I like to keep a small bit of clutter around so I have everything readily available (if you can lie about the 24/7 thing, I can lie about the reason for my clutter).  However, when I’m going on a trip, I like to get everything cleaned up and organized as possible.  Part of that is because I’m entirely morbid and I like to plan for worst cases scenarios wherein my parents may have to clear things out of my apartment, in which case I’d like to have it ready to go.  Mostly though, there’s nothing better than coming home from a long vacation and not having to do a thing with my place.  I can almost guarantee that I will walk through my door, kick off my shoes, throw my bag in the middle of the floor, and promptly fall face down on my bed for a good long nap.  Coming home to an orderly apartment also has the added benefit of knowing exactly where to place my new souvenirs.

6.     Take care of kitty

Now this one only applies to those with animals.  I will be away from my Firefly for a whole two weeks, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to bear it.  Then again, that’s two weeks in which I won’t have to scoop a single litter box.  Those of you with pets know that figuring out what to do with Fido can sometimes be the most stressful and time-consuming aspect of traveling.  Sometimes, it can even be the most expensive depending upon where your pet will be staying while you’re "off gallivanting God knows where" (Firefly’s words, I swear).  My parents are kindly kitty-sitting while I’m gone.  As you can imagine, this is a great weight off my mind.  Then again, I know Firefly will be hopelessly spoiled while I’m away, and there’s an extremely good chance she’ll give me the cold shoulder for the first day I’m back.  But that’s OK, pets forgive much more easily than people, and I have access to her treats.

Well, I think that completes my short list of travel tips.  I may think of more, and it sounds like I have a stop-over of 4.5 hours in London to think of more as needed.  I suppose I can add an addendum to #3 and say that part of my mental limitations that I need to compensate for is my tendency to get bored easily.  To that end, I have four wonderful traveling companions I can chat with.  And, when they get tired of me, I’ll have my laptop and some movies on a thumb drive to keep me occupied.

It’s almost feels like I’m actually going now.  I’m getting super excited, and just as nervous as I always feel before a big trip.  Hopefully, I’ll do my church proud and serve God as He needs.


1 DAY AWAY!!

Budapest: It's the Final Countdown!

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page

-       St. Augustine

Admittedly, I only recently discovered this quote, but it has quickly become my favorite.  As someone who loves to both read and travel, I feel like this might be my new mantra.  In the spirit of this quote, I try to travel as much as possible, whether in or out of the US.  Next week, I’ll be going to Budapest, Hungary as part of a five-person mission team through the First United Methodist Church of Mattoon.  I’ll be going with the two pastors and their wives.  We’ll be teaching English to incoming freshmen of the Forrai Private School—a school that specializes in the arts.  The interesting thing about this school is that the building was donated to the Hungarian Methodist Church and is therefore run by the church.

I’ve got to say there are several aspects of this upcoming trip that absolutely thrill me.  The first is that this will be my second time going to Central Europe.  So far my travels have been in Western Europe, with most centered in the UK.  My only other foray into CE was Germany to visit my roommate from Dublin.  I really enjoyed the architecture and history, so I’m looking forward to more of that from Hungary.  I plan to get a lot of use out of my camera in the week I’m there!  We already know a few of the activities we’ll be enjoying, which includes watching a Hungarian opera, going the parliament, and enjoying the Szechenyi Baths…to name a few.  I’m definitely ready for the baths, and whatever spa delicacies I can enjoy!!

I’m also looking forward to the teaching part.  For the last year or so, I’ve been toying with the notion of going back to school (this would be the third time for those of you keeping score) and getting my Masters so I can teach college-level English.  While teaching Hungarian teenagers is not quite the same, I think any and all practice I can get with lesson plans and projects will serve me well.  Our group will be at the school for a week, working with the students in both one large group and five small groups.  Our pastors will be leading the group lessons, but I’ll get to teach one of the small groups each day. 

The other activities I’m anticipating aren’t technically for the mission team.  The Forrai students are supposed to have a craft each day that correspond to the elements of earth, air, fire, water and man (one element for each day we're there).  Though I’m sure these incoming freshmen can blow me out of the water when it comes to artwork, I really want to get my hands on some materials and create something beautiful.  Then again, I’m not really sure that we’ll be allowed to do so.  If not, no big deal.  I’ll probably already be pushing the baggage limit when I come back without some pieces of self-made artwork to tote back.  At the very least, I’ll get some enjoyment out of watching the students make stuff that I’m sure will blow my mind.  And, as always with me, pictures will be provided.

And, last but not least, I can’t wait to meet the host family that will be putting me up during my weeklong stay.  They’re a younger couple with two small boys.  I’m not sure how old the boys are—or the parents for that matter—but I’m hoping for a fun experience for all!  I’ve been learning some German, which will hopefully help me to communicate with the family.  German is apparently Hungary’s second language, and it is now (almost) my third!  I got the boys two Hot Wheels cars each—since I didn’t know their ages, I’m hoping these are appropriate for them.  I also got Uno for the family.  I figured the rules for that were simple enough to understand without knowing too much English.  I want to get something for the parents, but so far I’m drawing a blank on what to get them.  There are plenty of kitschy things I could find for them, but I don’t know if I want to go that route.  Going handmade is also a viable choice, but I don’t think they’d necessarily want something made by my hand :P  So, if anyone has any suggestions for uniquely American gifts I could bring my host family, I'm all ears!

What’s funny is that even with all these things I’m looking forward to, it still doesn’t seem like it’s happening.  The whole thing is still a little surreal.  I find that no matter where I go, it doesn’t seem real until I’m packed and headed to the airport.  I plan on doing some of the packing in the next few days (mostly because I have a tendency to forget things if I don’t leave myself enough leeway) along with some hefty apartment cleaning…including laundry for my desired traveling clothes.  I plan to keep everyone updated with regular reports and photos (of Hungary...not my cleaning progress ;P)…though with a procrastinating novelist, one can never be sure what one will get :D

7 DAYS AWAY!!