On Being a Tourist

There are some things I have learned about being a tourist after visiting 26 countries.

1. The tour books are always well-meaning, expensive and out of date. I always purchase a tour book when I plan to visit a new country. There are rules for tipping and bargaining that have been in place for hundreds of years. These rules should be obeyed. You don't want to unset an economy by tipping too much or not enough. Ancient history is also usually a safe read. We always stay in name-brand hotels and often, our hotel isn't mentioned. The restaurants mentioned are either out of business or have moved locations.

2. Never joke with the customs control person. Even when you look like a grandma to yourself, you look like a terrorist to the passport control person. Be polite, respectful and terse when you are in passport control.

3. Underwire bras are ALWAYS a bad idea. I think that some deranged man, somewhere, probably in Homeland Security decided that he didn't like his wife/girlfriend's underwire bra because it is always good for getting frisked by a stranger in a public place. I know that some women like the experience but I can live without it. Men, if you wear an underwire bra, well, that is just too much information.

4. We learned in Korea that a good tour guide (the real-person) is 100 times better than the best tour book. I booked a whole series of tours, including a dinner and two shows. It was well worth the extra $30.00 US we spent for the help. Both shows were excellent and out-of-the-way. The guide showed us things along the way that we wouldn't have noticed without their expertise. Plus, when it looked like the cab was taking us for a foreigner's special ride, it was nice to have a local reassuring us that it was indeed the correct way. (We didn't pay any cab fares.) Next time, we can do it ourselves. We have a list.

5. This is the most important. Always visit any country like it is the only time you will ever have the chance to visit. Why? Because it is probably the only chance. Plus you need to prioritize your experience. So do all the things that are important to you first. Then if you never return, it will be without regrets.

6. No regrets. Do what you want to do. Buy what you want, within your budget. Eat what you want to try. Love the people you are with. Otherwise, life isn't really worth the effort.

Thirty Years and a Day.

Yup, it's been thirty years since we started adventuring together; actually 35 if you count the years we dated.

In that time we have lived in:
Marshalltown, Iowa
Melbourne, Iowa
Plano, TX
Richardson, TX
Back to Plano
Newport Beach, CA
Lake Forest, CA
Back to Plano Tx
Taipei, Taiwan

When we are all finished with our adventuring, we plan to return once again to Plano, TX. It is a slice of the American Dream of Suburbia and it works well for these adventurers.

Next week, we are off to Korea. That will put the number of countries visited for me to 26. Mark has been to well over 30 already.

You might say that we love to travel and that would be somewhat true. Actually, the traveling part is getting tedious, but once we arrive at our destination, the travel is well worth the adventure we experience. We do love to try new experiences and to meet new people, to see new places.

Not everyone loves America. The United States is largely misunderstood world-wide and that is the fault of Americans. Still to some extent, everyone wants what Americans aleady have achieved as a nation. Where ever I go, I am proud to be an American. I do not wave the flag or provoke people who believe differently than I do, but it is there and I do not deny it. We have been told over and over that the American passport is the "golden " passport because it can take you places that are not easily accessible to citizens of all other countries.

I wouldn't trade my adventuring for a quieter life now, but I am happy knowing that eventually I will return to the suburban American life. It will be a great way to finish.

Most of the time, with the assistance of all sorts of technology, we manage to feel connected to our family and friends even though we are half-way around the world. We have a VoIP phone with a local Dallas phone number that rings in our Taipei living room. We use e-mail and Facebook to communicate everyday with friends and family, especially when there are pictures to share. We have a Slingbox so we can location shift and time shift local Dallas area television to our Taipei living room. Did I mention that we even still read the Dallas Morning News everyday thanks again to the electronic media? Most of the time this fills the void pretty well. After all, our children are self-supporting adults now. They wouldn't live with us even if we were back in Texas. Our parents are still healthy enough that they live independent lives too.

But this past week really hammered home the fact that we are half way around the world and the fastest we could get home to our families in an emergency is about 2 days. A phone call is a rotten substitute for a hug when you really need a hug.

First our much-loved family pet, Saltie got sick. He is 14 years old and had never been sick a day in his life. Our daughter, whose dog he really is, was beside herself with worry. Actually we were too. We worried about Saltie and we worried about our daughter. I seriously considered going home for a few days. If something were to happen to Saltie, I would feel horrible that I wasn't there. I would feel even more horrible that I wouldn't be there for Elissa. Okay, so she has a group of friends that would be extremely supportive, but I would still want to be there.

Then my sister-in-law's father died from cancer. My sister-in-law is always there for me when I have needed her. I would have liked to be able to do something to be supportive, again besides a phone call and a sympathy card.

Two days later, my aunt died in a car accident. She wasn't that old. She was just running a quick errand and just that quickly, she was gone. Again, wanting to do something more meaningful that a phone call and a card.

But distance makes meaningful and timely, in-person gestures pretty much impossible.

I think I will savour my family time in December much more this year. Families are our most valuable possessions. They need to be treated with care and tenderness. Being connected is more than electronics, no matter how good they are.