Are You A Traveler?

When the subject of “travel” comes up in conversation, people reflect on the activity with a variety of perspectives.

 “Yes, I love to travel,” may mean the person takes a vacation every summer.

“Yes, I love to travel,” may mean this person is up for road trips, even if a flight would be quicker.

“Yes, I love to travel,” may hint at wanderlust, that there is a desire to see the world. This is me, I love to travel. Near or far, but my favorite place is different. I really like to go far enough that the destination feels more different than familiar. I like the challenge of working through languages. I like staying in places where I have to learn the way the faucets work, or the tea kettle heats, or the elevator engages. I get a kick out of looking at a menu and taking a tiny risk on selecting something exotic. I welcome the chance to learn that there are other ways the world to accomplish the same things, whether it’s the way coffee is served or a handshake is exchanged. I love the opportunity to learn more about history and culture and being immersed in it, not just reading about it.

I’ve been to many “different” places, but one of the most different was my first visit to China. I remember as I packed my suitcase, I started looking at the “made in” labels on my stuff. It seemed like 80% of my belonging were made in China. I recall thinking I shouldn’t worry about forgetting anything, because everything I owned started there. 

I arrived in China and it was probably the first time in my traveling career that I felt like I was truly in a foreign place. I couldn’t understand a word of Chinese. I couldn’t read a single Chinese symbol. I had no grasp on the culture; what was acceptable and appropriate. I wasn’t even sure my go-to gestures and body language would convey what I intended. This added excitement to the adventure. 

And it confirmed, once again, that traveling with a group is the way to go. Our tour guide was there to explain, interpret, and educate us each step of the way. We were able to go and do and see so much more with our personal guide. If I had been on my own trying to figure things out, well, I might still be there.

Our world is big place. There are colorful cultures, friendly people, breath taking scenery, and amazing creations that are even better seen through your own eyes. China is one of those places. We are going back to China April 2019. If you are a traveler, I invite you to see for yourself, from Beijing to Shanghai, from  the Great Wall to the Yangtze River. It will be terracotta warriors and palaces. There will be opportunities to meet students and elders.

This trip will give you the chance to explore while having the safety and ease of being with friends. Memories will be made. Jillions of photos will be taken. Noodles will be eaten. And lots of items labeled “made in China” will be purchased. Let’s travel.

Where in the World?

I’m not a huge fan of late night talk show television programs. In fact, I’m not a big fan of television but I occasionally watch a YouTube video to see what I’m missing or more often, what I’m not missing. Did you saw the Jimmy Kimmel Live Challenge recently where he sent a person to the streets and asked people walking by to point to a world map (without names) and name any county? ANY country. If you missed it, you can Google YouTube Jimmy Kimmel Live Challenge Country and be entertained? Horrified? Saddened? Those were my reactions...

I know that the piece was edited selecting the ones that couldn’t meet the challenge, because it always makes us feel better when someone else looks like an idiot, right? But while we are laughing at these dumb-dumbs that allowed themselves to be filmed not even being able to locate the United States on a map, it really is a sad comment of some folks lack of knowledge of the planet they live on.

 I did not grow up with much world knowledge. Being a farm family in Northeast Oklahoma in the 1960’s limited travel and my connection with other countries would have been articles in the Weekly Reader Magazine (Who remembers those?) or stories my dad told about Germany. We didn’t have a world globe at our house, and I’m not sure I could have found Germany on the pull-down map of Europe that hung above the chalk board without reading the name.

We did have Geography in school but honestly I can’t remember much about the material, the textbook or the lessons. I recall playing a game of Pictionary with friends years ago, and needing to draw the United States to get my team to make a guess of a state. I’m not proud to say, my USA was shaped something more like a raw turkey, tail-up to the east. I’m scared to think what any other countries would have resembled if I didn’t have a visual on the one I lived in.

I’ve been very blessed to travel the world and walk in countries that were just names on a map. I wouldn’t want to be challenged on the street to label a globe, but I bring this up to ask.....could you? One of the many benefits of travel is learning about the rest of the world and putting faces on places. Those names become real and have value when you hear them mentioned in the news, books and conversation.

Could your kids and grandkids name countries on a map? Can you? Our world is so much smaller because of technology. Our children are better traveled than many of us were growing up. It might be a great experiment to spend some time with a map, and learning together. The happy part of the sad Kimmel Country Challenge is that our entire American pride is saved by a kid, about 10 years of age, who takes the pointer and… correctly names multiple countries. Sigh.

Convert? Adapt? Charge!

“Sister, do you smell something hot? Is something burning?” She picked up her expensive curling iron as one last spark flew out, and a tiny puff of smoke marked its demise.

“Guess it will be a bad hair week.”

It’s so simple, it gets very complicated. But for those that are traveling abroad, especially for the first time, it’s very important. Electricity. We toss our phone chargers, curling irons, electric toothbrushes into our suitcase and when we arrive in Northern  Europe there isn’t any way to plug our stuff in! Our American two flat blade plug doesn’t go in their two round holes! So you will need an special adapter. An adapter is a little device that our plug-ins fit into, that will fit into the foreign socket. Adapter.  Your set may include 5-7 little plugs of different configurations that should be marked with the country they are intended to be used. They are relatively cheap to  purchase.  If yours came with an instruction sheet, I recommend you getting a marker and labeling each adapter.

Here’s where it gets confusing. You may need a converter too. 

It is not too hard to find out if you need an adapter AND a converter.  To be sure, check the back of your laptop, camera, (or any device) for power input markings. If all you need is a simple adapter, then the power input marking should say, "Input: 100—240V and 50/60H," which means the device accepts variable voltage or hertz (and it can accept 220 volts). If you see that, then it means you will only need an adapter to change the shape of your power plug to fit into an outlet. Most smart phones will accept 220 volts.

If you plan on bringing small appliances like curling irons or razors, changing the shape of your adapter may not be enough. While most all personal electronics in recent years will accept both U.S. and European voltages, some older, smaller appliances do not work with the hefty 220 volts in Europe. This means you will fry your Chi flat iron. Trust me, I know. 

Again, check the label near the appliance's power cord. If it does not say 100—240V and 50-60 Hz., then you will need a "step-down transformer," also called a converter.

A converter will reduce the 220 volts from the outlet to provide just 110 volts for the appliance. Converters have a lot more components in them that are used to change the electricity that is going through them. They have a tiny fuse in them. Adapters do not have anything special in them, just a bunch of conductors that connect one end to the other in order to conduct electricity. This is all I know about electricity, but it has been learned from experience.

Due to the complexity of converters and the simplicity of adapters, expect to find a big price difference between the two.  Read the package, a convertor will cost in the $40 range where a set of adapters will be around $10. They can be bought at most stores that carry luggage and also airport shops.

Some of the newer products are a brick-like device that are convertors and adapters in one. The tricky part is they are often too heavy to stay plugged into the wall, so you wind up stacking books and towels and anything else to hold it in the wall. I suggest traveling with a very short extension cord as sometimes the outlets in older hotels are near the floor or other awkward places.

All of this information is to get you “Good to Go.” Never travel with something you would hate to lose (or melt down).  Maybe buy an inexpensive substitute or wait until you get to the destination and buy the appliance that you know will work with their power system. Charge!

What’s Your Story?

Perhaps you are skimming through the paper this weekend at a relative’s house. Perhaps you are in town for the holiday and to get together with your family. Perhaps it’s something that happens annually or perhaps not. Perhaps you might slow down and remember what growing up and the Fourth of July was like.

Our family farm Fourth was always the day to put up the corn from the garden. Dad would gather the ears in egg baskets, and then family members sat in a circle under the elm tree. There we shucked, silked, and cleaned the juicy ears of Peaches and Cream sweet corn. The next step was wrapping the corn, still on the cob, in aluminum foil and putting them in bags. They were counted and stored in the deep freeze for many family meals through the fall and winter. 

We would call a few friends to share corn with, one was my second grade  teacher and her husband, Jack Nuckolls.  Jack would  pick up the corn and me, and I’d go eat lunch at their house.

Some years the Fourth would mean a trip to Honey Creek to swim. It’s funny to think that we grew up two miles from the lake, but going swimming always meant the creek. I was 9 or 10 before I ever got into the lake. We were farm kids, not lake kids. 

As I drive through the four-state area, I’m a bit overwhelmed at the number of fireworks businesses. Back in the 70’s, I can only remember a couple of fireworks stands. One was always run by the cheerleaders, and that was the one all the football boys seemed to hang around... Our dad never spent over ten bucks on fireworks, and we went late in the day on the fourth to get them. We got an assortment of Black Cats, sparklers, and Roman candles. We would have a dozen pop bottle rockets that we really shot from pop bottles. We had a tiny box of black snakes. We lit the little pellet and the dark tube of ash would grow, amazing us. 

Our brown bag of firecrackers were usually shared with the neighbors. They would bring their $10 stash down and the show got bigger. This was usually done with the sound of the electric ice cream freezer grinding in the background. When we moved from hand crank to electric, it meant the dads could light the night works while moms watched the freezer, which made it more fun. We were barefoot in the grass swinging bent sparklers and we “Ohhhh’ed” and “Ahhhh’ed” over the rhythmic  pulse of the Roman candle as it delivered it’s dozen colorful shimmers into the night sky. All this was done across the yard, across the gravel road, stuck in the pipe gate. I’m sure it took longer for Dad to walk it over there than it did to blow it up.

The taste of salty  ice on the lid of the freezer can. The smell of the fresh corn. The sound of a string of Black Cats exploding. The sting of the tiny sparkler sparks hitting my arm. But most of all, being with my family making memories that are still vivid, fifty years later. Your little people are making these memories this weekend. Make some good ones.