when on your holidays abroad..............

........abroad being anywhere other than america naturally.........

do you attempt to speak the language? do you like to absorb the difference in culture? or are you like the vast majority of english people who insist on speaking english wherever they are and have the most annoying habit of just talking slower and louder if the 'native' doesn't understand—

what kind of vacation do you prefer? lounging in the sun? visiting places of interest? touring the churches (pulls face - people do you know!)? shopping? extreme clubbing? do you want to get drunk every day? do you want to get something elsed every night??

tell me scorps. what is your perfect vacation destination and activity.

try and keep it clean cos i'm going through a prudish phase right now.

I speak French, German and Italian so I use them when in the appropriate countries. Otherwise I try to learn a few phrases in the native language, and use a lot of smiles!

ooo...yeah...what do scorpios like for an ideal vacation?other than having lots of sex in the hotel....=|


***or are you like the vast majority of english people who insist on speaking english wherever they are and have the most annoying habit of just talking slower and louder if the 'native' doesn't understand—***

So funny!!! just like what you see in those TV sitcoms.

I love to travel but I haven't been outside the country either.

Not be a downer (sorry Rox) but I think you non Americans are a little harsh on us "yanks" when it comes to our not traveling more often and broadening our cultural view. I'm with Satori. I'd LOVE to travel the world (especially Europe) but think about how expensive it is for us Americans to go. You guys can jump on a train and be in another country in a few hours. I'd LOVE to be able to do that. How awesome to have that many different cultures around you. Not the watered down American version but the real thing.
I live smack dab in the middle of the country. Last time we checked it was going to be thousands just to get to Ireland. We want to go so bad but we dont have that kind of money to blow. That's also why I don't know any other languages. As diverse as America is we speak English for the most part. I learned a little French but that was long ago. I never have used it. 😢 If I had the chance to use it more I'd have stuck to learning alot more.

Anyway... I love going to a coast. I didn't even see the ocean until I was 21. It was love at first sight. I just sat for hours staring off into the ocean. The only ocean we have around here is our amber waves of grain. 😛

Try coming to Asia. Countries here will make you a millionaire. and there's 1 country that will make you a gazillionaire...My parents are leaving for Bali tomorrow and i overhead that they will be carrying 1.5mil Rupiah with them....lol. Bali is an island near Australia, but it belongs to Indonesia though. Countries like Singapore and Malaysia speaks english...mostly...else, they will be speaking chinese and many other dialects...=| oh...singapore being a 1st world country is more expensive than Australia.so don't come here, choose Australia first.

We are at the other half of the earth. my time here is exactly 12 hours apart. If it's 2pm in NY, it's 2am here. I can only tell you about Malaysia and Singapore becuase i'm most familiar with them.

most travellers like Malaysia for the rain forrest and everyday is summer here. I have never seen snow in my life. Unless you are a singaporean, most of us rarely have the chance to go Europe or US because it's too expensive.

Amazing journeying, it sounds to me, Satori ...


www.bluemorphotours.com


.. and expensive.

so, expensive that it makes a person wonder if it's for the purpose of healing someone, or financial gain .. because you still have to pay for flight, hotel and ground transportation.



I would love to meet my demons ... plenty, to be sure, and scarry as hell (pun intended)

If I had the money and a person to go with me ... I'd go, Satori, without a second thought .. wouldn't you?

Yeah, I need a person there also .. but, not to hold my hand because I fear my demons ... rather, because I fear the hallucinagin (sp).

LSD I don't like .. haven't dropped acid in many, many moons ... because I don't like to trip. I'm a reality-based individual I guess becausse of being a Pisces ... I'm adamant about keepin me feet on the ground because it's so easy to let loose and fly.


so, taking ayahuasca for me, would have to be done with a person who is capable of coming into my dimension, where ever that may be at any given time while journeying, and pull me through. If left to freely trip with hallucinations ....... the experience wouldn't be bearable for me and would cause more trama then what it's suppose to be fixing.



You're very brave, Satori .. if you will take it without a trained Shaman there to guide you during your darkest hallucinations. Afterall, facing your real demons is what the drug is for and I can't imagine attempting it without a professional. You got balls 🙂



Someday, I'm going too ... problem though ... I don't want to go if it gets really popular and becomes a tourist attraction because then it will lose its meaning ... we would become sheep to them, rather than people who need to have thier soul pieces re-connected.

Maybe that's what it is already .... that's why it's so expensive.

Well as a British person we've had the stereotype of being patronizing, thuggish and disrespectful to foreigners when in their country. That stereotype holds true to people of my age group (17-25 year olds). I always try and to learn atleast a few keywords in their native language (ie hello,goodbye, thank you, please, yes/no) and continue to do so, as i've travelled to France,Belgium (day trips), Tenerife and Mallorica (Spain) and Crete (Greece).

Vacation wise I don't mind the lounging in the sun but after a while I get restless and bored and want to discover the (insert city/country here) of the locals and experience the country's culture (Greece and France being my favourite so far). It's quite a contrast to most people of my age group but then again, I ain't a typical person haha.

-Josh

PS I should add in school I was in the top set of the language classes.

PSS there are a lot of other countries I want to visit like:- Russia,Sweden,USA,Canada,South Africa, mainland Greece.

Posted by Shaks
nothing like the "beautiful" sound of a nasal, annoying and loud American accent to have around while on vacation😛

HAHAHAHA!!!!! @ Shaks

Only place I ever had trouble visiting where the citizens didnt speak English was the back country regions of Germany. And I'm talking deep, deep in the Black Forest area. Everywhere else in Europe, and in every city, they all speak English. Even in Lichtenstein!

However, I'm planning on going to see U2360 in Barcelona, and worry if those ingrate Spaniards speak Anglaise? Anyone on the board live near there? Anyone.....

Well living in NYC....the capital of the world........you learn a lot. I know how to curse in many languages 🙂

virgogottome, if you are so unhappy with Seattle then give the land back to the Natives and the Mexicans 😛

Couldn't survive without travelling..have been to many places..to list a few:
New York
Boston
Canada
Switzerland
Germany
Italy
France
Spain
Portugal
All of the Canary Islands
Amsterdam
Dubai
Cyprus
Greece
Egypt
Morocco
Scotland
Saudi Arabia
Bahrain

Travel is in the blood and I wouldn't have it any other way. Speak "broken" French and German..moderate Arabic and of course English..now learning Spanish..wouldn't mind settling in one of the Spanish cities or Dubai.

Oh and going to South Africa in August/September..cannot wait..

Type of holidays I prefer have to be adventure based..involve a lot of activity..I am an extremely active person..I would never take a beach bum with me..that shit bores me...countries are to be explored..for their culture, food, history etc..I don't understand the mentality of individuals who just go somewhere to burn themselves in the sun all day long either in the hotel pool or by the sea..like duhhhh!

gingerscorp: 'The only ocean we have around here is our amber waves of grain.'

OMFG! i had a flash-back to my childhood with that cos it's from 'america the beautiful' right? my parents and their weird zionist jew club used to sing the same song but supplementing the country 'america' for 'israel'!!!!! LMAO!!!

oh ISRAAAAAAAAAEL, oh ISRAAAAAAAAAAEL
god shed his grace on theeeeeeeeeeeeee
and crown thy good with brotherhood
from sea to shining seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeea

i always wondered why they couldn't just write their own damn song instead of plagurising that one!!!

ok. i'm gonna list the countries i've visited but although an impressive list like missy's - it should be noted that i am considerably oooooooooolder LOL 🙂

france
holland
italy
sicily (yeah, i know it's still italy lol)
turkey
cyprus
greece - including mainland greece and the following islands: skiathos, skopelos, cos, ithica, rhodes, kephalonia, mykanos,zakynthos and crete. (needless to say, i LOVE greece 🙂 )
tunisia
israel
jordan
tobago
bahamas
cuba
portugal
oh....spain!
fuerteventura (canary island)
menorca (baleriac island)
gibraltar

i think that's it. i've been to most places more than once. i think it's fair to say that if you live in england as i did for years - you pretty much spend as much time overseas as you can LOL!!! usually somewhere where sunshine has been invented at least!!

i've never been to africa but i don't know if i've mentioned that i can see it from my roof terrace 😄

Oh dang..I missed Turkey on my list!..lol...Nice list Rox...Ahh it's soo cool to travel....I want to go away again. I have yet to visit Thailand..but I am doing a tour of Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam..that will be for 3 week but not till next year. So much of the world to see. Ideally that partner I meet would be also into travel and perhaps we can both take a sabatical for about 6 months to a year and travel the world...that is at the top of the priority list.

I am torn between buying a place on Jumeirah Beach in Dubai or one of the Spanish cities..which would you recommend Rox? I can see speak Arabic but I am trying to learn Spanish now..I heard it's very phonetic...I love the UK and especially London so would always miss it..but I wish to live in the sun...life is so much better when the sun is blazing down...

Oh and I missed Ibiza as well...but I did say to name a few..LOL..anyways..Ibiza was actually very beautiful as well...the people are sooooooooooo friendly..not sure if they are just E'd out of their heads or geniunely nice...lol..nah they are geniunely nice..I met Robbie Williams there on one of his yachts in Ibiza town. I also learned how to ride a little scooter..which is definitely the best form of transport...especially with ones hair billowing in the wind and the skirt floating around whilst riding...ahhh good times 🙂

I want to travel the whole damn world. From the jungles of South America to the Mediterranean.

GG: what a beautiful baby girl!!! i wanna chub those chops!

missy: the cities are all great here. full of colour and culture. i like malaga cos it's not too huge and it has a really cosmopolitan feel - similar to amsterdam but sunnier. picasso's home town and also where antonio banderas was born.

there's a big middle eastern community in this part of spain too. some of the road signs are in arabic where i live 🙂

oh dear. the dementure is setting in 😢

Rox... Yeah! Boo! They need to get their own song. WTF? LOL

We are saving up for a trip to Ireland. *sigh*

I love traveling and yes I am an american (first gen. tho)

I generally try and learn the language or atleast get a few good phrases in. I pick up language including the accent pretty easily, so it works for me.

I remember in china I was asked several times how long I've lived there and I would have to stop them from trying to hold a serious conversation because i wasn't THAT fluent. I guess I fooled them with good pronunciation.


I've been to:
Senegal
Gambia
England
Sweden
Norway
Korea
China
Puerto Rico
Brussels
Spain
Morocco
Plenty east coast states...not so much west coast (Cali is all) and no middle america foolishness

I want to go EVERYWHERE I just hope I can find a decent job that lets me do it.

Does anyone know how I can get a job with the travel channel...a Samantha Brown-esque job—

ovi: yeah - i went to that beach. in fact, i snorkelled there. the sea is the most undescribable colour. i love greece. great food too. a place to get good and fat, just like italy LOL!!!

ofcourse, we have better surfing beaches in spain 😉

The Dames thread is about speaking the language of foreign cultures when travelling abroad....not breathtaking scenary.

I'll relate to all my most favoritest moment while visiting the great wasteland known as Detroit, Michigan, USA.

Driving lost around downtown Detroit trying to locate the Greyhound Bus Terminal, so my gf could board her departing bus for a return trip home, I saw a man "of the cloth" walking down the sidewalk with his white collar and Bible in tow. I pulled over and asked him if he could give us directions to the station? His arm extended, he requested that I bestow a few sheckles into his upturned palm to "...Feed dey flock...".

I don't speak Detroitanese, but gathered he meant loose change would provide me with an answer.

The contents of our rental car's cupholder readily filled his outstretched paw.

What spouted forth from 'The Ministers' mouth sounded something like this: "Go downs dis street tah dah Chebbie dats up on blocks, and toin left. Dhen, looks four da blew dawg. Dare itiz."

I was confused.

I asked him to repeat himself.

"Dah blew dawg! Dere it be. Looks for dah blew dawg, foo!"

"Whats the blew dog?" I stammered?

"Da blew dawg, da ting runnin' alongside da bus!"


OMFG!

He was telling me to look for a picture of the leaping Greyhound canine that's painted on the side of all their buses!


That, my friends, is how you survive holidays abrod......