20sb blog swap post

hey, its that time again…20sb blog swop. this is my third one and i got linked with the oh soooo cute Taiwanese halfie Kristan. she is currently visiting the island next door to mine but lucky for us has taken the time to do the blog swop. so show the gal some love and be sure to check out my post over at hers

**************

Howdy, y’all! I’m so excited to be doing this blog swap with “fgrngtllt,” because in reading her recent entries I can see that she’s got a great sense of humor and a really unique style to her writing. Me, I’m not that funny, but I do love to write.

I also love to travel. Since I’m traveling today, both figuratively here to Figuring It All Out and literally on vacation in Ireland, I thought I’d share a few travel stories.

My mom was born and raised on the island of Taiwan, just off the coast of China. So when I was growing up, we went back five or six times to visit my grandparents and aunts and uncles. I never learned to speak Chinese fluently, and my dad only knew how to say hello (ni hao), thank you (xie xie), and beer (pi jiu). Needless to say, we were 100% dependent on my mom to be our guide and translator. It’s a weird feeling, to rely on someone completely that way, even if it is your mom.

One time coming back from a trip to Taiwan, I had the worst jetlag ever. Unfortunately I also had a week-long dance camp I had to go to. So I would get up and go to camp from 8 AM to 4 PM, come home and sleep, wake up at midnight to eat (was that breakfast, lunch, or dinner?) and then go back to bed until it was time for dance again.

Sleeping when you travel is always interesting. In my travels I have slept on a bed in a train, on a bunk bed in a hostel while someone else in the room was having sex, and on a café booth in Heathrow airport, although the airport staff kept trying to kick me out. As much as I love travel, it is always nice to go home and sleep in your own bed.

One summer in college, I lived and studied in Madrid, Spain. That was one of the best times of my life. I learned how to get around by myself in a foreign country, I visited friends in Spain, France, & Italy, and in time, I began to feel like a Spaniard instead of a foreigner. In fact, one of the highlights of my trip was being mistaken for a Madrileño (native of Madrid). A couple asked me for directions to a certain building, and although I did not know the answer, I was proud that they thought I would.

In a completely opposite experience, on Wednesday I was walking around this small Irish city when suddenly the streets filled with boys being let out of school. I passed one group and just knew that they were going to say something. “Konichiwa!” one boy greeted me cockily. I rolled my eyes. “I’m not Japanese, but thanks,” I replied. His friends broke out into raucous laughter at the rejection.

Walking around a city is one of my all-time favorite things to do. I think that’s why I like traveling so much: it seems like everyone in the world walks places except Americans. (Of course there are some exceptions, like in NYC and Boston.) In Europe, it’s also relatively safe for someone like me (small young female) to walk around, even at night. As long as you don’t mind school boys calling out to you in the wrong language, that is.

Do you like to travel? Where is your favorite place to go and why? Share a few of your travel stories! And if you’d like to visit me, at least on the web, hop on over to kristanhoffman.com. Thanks again to fgrngtllt for having me! It’s been a great trip.