Fifteen Observations/Lessons Out Of Travel

 1.  Long 14-day trips drain you (I'd put it at a 90-percent odds).  Maybe it's what you need from a boring job, or being burnt-out.  But I'd typically suggest no more than seven days.  Also note, you probably don't want 14-days of just plain beach-resort laying around.  

2.  If going outside the US, do your menu research and have at least four food items which won't be a problem to order at some restaurant.  Note, both fish and lamb is pretty popular in 50-percent of the world.  For example, 95-percent of what you get served in Greece....has garlic in it.  

3.  Bus tours beyond the US....tend to be on the 'go' from 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM.  These may not fit your expectations.

4.  Have a tote-bag for walking tours or day-long events, and stow a 1-liter bottle of water there, with at least two snacks (avoid chocolate...it melts).  Hotels usually don't want you taking their breakfast chow out of the dining room.  Look for a fruit stand near the hotel.

5.  Public toilets are probably not going to be up to your expectations in 90-percent of the world.

6.  If going to a non-English country....have some some booklet with 300-odd phrases on you.  Knowing the expression for the WC (the toilet) is important.

7.  When the bus-guide says to gather to leave at 2:00 PM....they aren't BSing you.  Have some idea of where your end-point for the day or hotel is located, and have sufficient cash to reach that point (on your own).

8. Going to exotic European beach location?  Don't be utterly shocked if topless ladies or totally nude folks end up on the beach.  If you got some problem...you should have signed up for Florida or Texas beaches.  Also, don't be utterly shocked if the nude/topless scene is out-of-shape 50-year old guy/gal.  

9.  Electrical plugs differ from country to country.  Buy some universal package (probably in the $25 range) and carry it in your bag to service your phone/tab/camera.

10.  Sometimes, the most rural and less-traveled spots in the world....are more interesting than Paris, Amsterdam or Rome.  

11.  My general advice on eating....try to eat hearty at breakfast (at the hotel), have a light snack for mid-afternoon, and go for a hearty dinner at night.  Lot of countries tend to eat at 7 to 9 PM, which might be difficult for Americans to adjust to.

12.  Dress for the weather.  If it is extremely hot....opt for shorts and a t-shirt.  

13.  Subways are amazing for inner-city travel.  They are also a magnet for pick-pocket thieves.  

14.  The ultimate plus-up on travel is business travel tickets (the extra big seats).  However, I tend to see the real value in that you get entry into the business lounges at various airports.  So if you fly from A to B, then connect to C, and finally arrive at D (your final destination).....you had three entry points for business lounges, where food and drink are free.  If you have to waste an hour at A, then 90 minutes at B, and 200 minutes C....this lounge business might be a super positive.

15.  Hotels in exotic places make a ton of money off their bar situation.  If you need a drink or two at night...step out and walk a block or two to some pub....to pay half the cost of drinks.  Also note, for breakfast, water (of a decent drinking nature) is typically free....so hydrate there as much as possible.

The Thing About The Mental Disorders Discussion

I sat and tried to read over this article piece, stopped, and just stood there pondering.

First, this poll/study drills down into mostly white folks....not Hispanic or black.

Second, it does divide up folks into young and old.....conservative and liberal.  I have to trust that they asked enough questions to put people on the right listing.

What the numbers mostly say lead to three 'facts' (may be totally true....maybe only half-true):

1.  Young white liberals have a 46-percent chance of having some kind of mental condition.  They don't really spill the beans on what this might be (I might ask more questions what you mean by a mental condition).

2.  Young white female liberals....have a 56-percent chance of having a mental disorder.  Again, they just don't tell you the type of disorder.  They don't ask if they are heavily medicated, boozed-up half the time, or just hanging around whacked-out friends.

3.  Young white conservatives only have a 21-percent of some mental condition.  So you wander into some group like this....probably a church group or bowling 'gang', and feel pretty safe that they weren't nutcases.  

In the late 1970s....after I had wandered off the farm and gone to the Air Force....I had already been inoculated on crazy folks (being from Alabama, you probably bumped into at least one clearly crazed person every week).  So it didn't really bother me with the crazies that I met in the Air Force.  

As the years rolled by, I came to note that there were more and more of these mental disorder folks that you'd bump into. 

In the past six months, I bumped into an American with the bridge-crossing disorder.  For her, no problem in crossing a bridge that was forty-feet from the ground or stream.  But then you come to German bridges that are 300 ft from the ground?  NO....she has to design trips in some fashion where she would never cross such a bridge.  Yeah, it's a mental disorder but not likely to be one that you'd rank as critical.

I've also bumped into a German gal who has the 'wind on the neck' disorder.  This means she can't possibly sit in a out-door restaurant/cafe because the potential wind to hit her neck would create a perceived health problem (she has to always sit indoors).  

Now I should say this about the two women....they are both liberals.  It probably wouldn't take you more than 15 minutes of conversation to have the 'hints' laid out and you just sit and grin....avoiding conversation as much as possible.  They are nice people....just on the fringe of life, and having to deal with significant mental disorders.

So I don't doubt this number business.  My question....has this always been around and we've just become more open to people having mental issues/disorders?