I don't speak the language, what should I learn?

As I'm preparing to go south of the border and be forced to butcher the beautiful Spanish language, I am writing a list of key phrases that I know I need to be ready to say.  Realizing I'm crunched for time, I can't learn every phrase and every food item, so I'm beginning a narrowing process of what I should learn.

I've ordered coffee in many different countries, and so I went through and tried to see if I could remember them off the top of my head.  I could for the most part, but I definitely couldn't spell them so I had to look that part up.  The three I could mostly remember off the top of my head were:

Italian: caffe latte per favore
French: cafe au lait s'il vous plait
Spanish: cafe con leche por favor

I had to look up Portuguese (cafe com leite por favor,) because I couldn't remember that one.  Three out of four isn't bad.  I've never visited any of the Asian countries, so as I'm looking at how to say those, that seems immensely challenging to me.

I always purchase a general phrase book, and big shocker, I prefer Rick Steve's books because they are specifically travel-related phrases.  I purchased this Spanish book for when we went to Ecuador, and even though it's specific to Spain, it seemed to work well for our purposes.  

You have limited time and can't learn everything, so what should you do?  Here are some tips for what I found to be the most useful.

1.  Learn the words for what you don't want to eat, not everything you like to eat.  I like to try new things to an extent, but if I know there's something I hate or something I'm allergic to, I can skim the menu and quickly eliminate those items.  You're not going to be able to memorize every word, so as long as you can agree to eat anything but XYZ, you'll be fine.  For me, I don't like fish so I can easily eliminate every item with "pescado" in it.  

2.  Learn how to say "I don't speak the language."  Here's where it gets tricky.  When you try and pass for knowing what you're saying, they're going to assume you understand so they'll start talking quickly, throwing a lot of phrases and words at you that you can't understand.  We started saying right off the bat "I don't speak this language."  Because, frankly, we don't.  I'm trying to get by with a few key phrases, but if I immediately start talking in the language, they actually think I can speak it AND understand it.  Basically, if you ask a question in French you're going to get a response in French and you better hope you understand it.  Or, just set the record straight by openly admitting you don't know, and the proceed with trying to communicate with the very few words you know.  This will help the person know what they're dealing with and they can begin pointing and miming to try to help you understand them.

3.  Learn "hello" "please" "thank you" and "good day."  These are ones that don't require responses or a going back and forth conversation, but they show that you're polite and making an effort.  Plus it's fun.  In Portugal, my husband would say thank you differently than me, because men say it one way, and women say it another.  So I would say, "obrigada" and he would say "obrigado."

4.  Learn basic transportation phrases.  You should be able to recognize the words for airport, bus, car, taxi, etc.  When you see the giant signs at the airport, it's good to know where the metro is and what words they use to describe it.  People do not want you to interrupt the flow by stopping and reading signs for 30 minutes, so at least try to do some homework ahead of time.

5.  Prepare mentally for the frustrations that lie ahead of you.  There will be times when you just simply can't understand and someone will not understand you.  That's just part of the package.  Just be mentally prepared for this, and expect to have some times when you get your dinner and it's steak when you thought you ordered chicken.  Just be ready to get lost because you thought they said turn left, but they meant turn right.  Be prepared to walk into the ladies room and see a man because you didn't know the word for "women's bathroom."  Misunderstandings and miscommunication will happen and they will be easier the more you can accept them and move on instead of letting it ruin the day.  These will be the times you'll laugh at later, so why not try to laugh as soon as possible?

Why I love convertible bags

I've written about my favorite travel bag before, and why I love it so much. It's a tote that converts to a backpack and is easily pack-able.   (Read about it here.)

In order to avoid shoulder pain as well as have flexibility when traveling, having a bag that can be worn multiple ways can come in handy. There are many travel bags that serve multiple purposes, and although they tend to be pricier, they can be a worthwhile investment when it comes to having flexibility.

Read my other recommendations and why I love them on Travel Fashion Girl.

Picking a travel destination as a group

If you've ever planned a trip for a group of people, you know how frustrating it can be.  I love traveling with other people as it's a great time to explore and learn together.  Plus you have the company of each other while you're waiting at airports, and the comic relief when you're on your last leg.  I've written a post on tips for traveling with other couples, which include avoiding hanger and being flexible.  However, choosing a destination can be tricky as we all have different travel dreams and destinations that we want to go to.

Recently, we were trying to pick a destination with another couple, and my husband came up with a great exercise for narrowing down our choices.  We got out some world maps, an atlas and a giant white board.  Then we started the fun part.

1.  Where do you want to go?  We were asked to choose our top three destinations that we wanted to travel to.  Regardless of time of year, flight time or any other deterrents.  It would be anywhere in the world.  Once we had our three destinations, they were all different, but some were in the same continent.  Some were the exact same destinations, and some were completely not near any other destinations chosen.  

2.  What was your favorite thing about your last trip?  The next thing we did was think back on the last trip we took and consider what our favorite part of the trip was.  For example, was it that seeing a particular museum?  Was it the day when you had nothing planned and you stumbled onto a beautiful beach?  What was it?  And not just the activity, but the essence of the activity.  For example, what was it that you liked?  Did you like seeing the history of a building , was that what really moved you?  Or was it the trees blowing near the building that you enjoyed the most?  Once we all had our favorite thing, we looked for patterns.  Were a lot of the favorites nature-related?  City-related?  Non-destination specific, such as "relaxation"?  These patterns will come in handy later when you begin to narrow things down.

3.  What was your least favorite thing about your last trip?  Maybe there were multiple things, but what was the worst part?  Too many activities jammed into one day?  Too much traveling to and from, and not enough time in one destination?  The hotels all sucked?  What was it?  And again, look for patterns.  Did people feel they had too much time in one destination, or not enough time?  Did they not have enough alone time, what was it? 

4.  Use the patterns to narrow down the places.  Consider the list in light of your favorite and least favorite parts of traveling.  Are there places that would be mainly museums and no one really liked that the last time?  Are there places that are way too far to fly, and that was someone's least favorite part?  Was there a place that has killer food and that's what someone loved the last time?  Narrow down as much as you can with these.

5.  Consider the time of year you're going on the trip.  Now, consider if you can do the things you really want to do at the time of the year you're going.  With a group of people, you're working with everyone's schedules which means there most likely will be one time of year that works for everyone.  This will be what you have to work with.  

6.  How many of these places can we get in one trip?  If a lot of people picked European destinations, can you do a few of these in one trip?  What makes the most sense?  If you have a European, North American and Asian destination, you're going to have to narrow that down to one continent most likely.  

7.  Evaluate the results.  This was a group effort, and surprisingly we narrowed it down to three possibilities and everyone was happy with any of the options.  We took into consideration everyone's least and favorite parts of traveling, and realized that we could all be pleased with a trip to one of three places.  With a little more research on our parts, we can narrow it down even further to the perfect spot for this group, at one time of year.  

Not only was this beneficial, and it didn't involve us trying to convince each other why everyone should agree on MY destination, but it was fun.  Thinking of all the places we could go together, and all the things we could see, we realized that we could all be pleased by one or more aspects of everyone's destinations.  Especially when we realized that some of it wasn't the actual destination, but the activities we'd do and HOW the trip would be planned out so everyone isn't run ragged.  

How do you choose a destination for a group of people?

Camping checklist for an overnight fall adventure

I've written a few things about camping in the past, as this is something that I've grown to love.  And as it has grown on me, there are things I've learned.  I've posted a view articles previously: Camping, it's not so bad, Camping: no heat hairstyles, and Camping: Dolly Sods Wilderness.

Now, I've written a more comprehensive guide about what to bring not only in the clothing realm, but equipment for Travel Fashion Girl.  Click here to read my full article titled: Camping checklist for an overnight Autumn adventure.  I have some more camping articles in the works that will be posted at some time in the near future.

Some beauty product recommendations, in my humble opinion

I recently watched Julie and Julia, and Julie Powell started a blog in 2002 and she would make entries daily about how her cooking project was going (trying to cook her way through Julia Child's cookbook.)  This was when blogs were still new, and not every Tom, Dick and Harry had one.  So she would often say, "Hello?  Is anyone out there?"  Or "Is anyone actually reading this?"  Which can be sort of how writers actually feel.  Although, I receive feedback from people who say "I read on your blog..."  But it does seem at times to go into a black hole called the Internet.  However, I'm still plugging away over here!  I'm sure someone is reading this, even if it's just you.  (Whoever you are.)

I was asked for some travel-related product recommendations, so I thought I would start with beauty products. (Sorry guys.)  These are some of the products that I find helpful and why I find them useful.

1. GoTubbs.  These containers are more expensive than some of the other ones you can buy, but they work amazingly well.  I use these for conditioner and any hair product that takes up too much space.  I also use them for foundation, because foundation containers tend to be made of glass and are very heavy.  Mine is also square which means it fits weirdly into my toiletries bag.  These are better because they also can stack.

2. Coconut Wipes.  These wipes are wonderful to have with you if you're going to be traveling by plane or if you're going camping.  They clean and moisturize and smell delicious.  If you're away from home and not able to do your normal face cleansing procedure, this is a great alternative.

3. Toiletry bag with removable quart-sized bag.  I bought my toiletry bag at Target three years ago and have had a hard time finding others like it to recommend.  Mine has a clear, removable quart-sized bag which makes going through TSA so much easier.  I found this bag, which has a zipper-removable bag. Although it is pricey, this is the idea for what you're looking for.

4.  Birchbox.  I think a Birchbox subscription is the perfect way to load up on travel-sized toiletries.  Each month, they usually let you select at least one item from a list of five items or a specialty box.  This means that if you know you're out of mascara or shampoo, you can personalize your box for one of those items.  It's only $10 a month and I think it's worth it for the loot.

5.  Coconut Oil.  This is something that is becoming more part of my routine, but there are many uses for it.  There is a great article here about oil vs. lotion for traveling, and I think there are some great points made, such as a little oil goes a lot longer than lotion.  

What about you?  What are your favorite travel beauty products?