Travel – Put Things in Perspective

by NatalieTanner · July 1, 2017

Travel – Put Things in Perspective

Travel – Put Things in Perspective – Weather temperatures

Cold is a relative term. Someone in Texas thinks 40 degrees is cold while someone in Canada thinks that same 40 degrees is warm enough to be swimming weather.

We have been warned over and over again while planning summer travel to places like Greece and Turkey that it will be ‘very hot’. We chuckle because we are from south Texas and our idea of ‘very hot’ is different from others. During our summer trips to the ‘very hot’ Turkey and Greece is was actually cooler than at home!

Travel – Put Things in Perspective – Drinks

Ice in your drink is not common the world over. I personally prefer drinks room temperature so this is no problem for me, but I know a lot of people who love ice.

The size of drinks vary considerably, too. Texas, for example, is proud that “Everything is BIGGER in Texas” and a small drink in Texas might be considered a large sized drink in other parts of the world.

Travel – Put things in Perspective – Air Conditioning

We always research carefully that our hotels have air conditioning. For those of us who have easy access to it in our day to day life really prefer it, especially at night for sleeping.

However; travel is an adventure that often will bring you outside your comfort zone – sometimes when you least expect it.

Once on a March trip to a hotel in Madrid that we had carefully chosen to include air conditioning, we found the room uncomfortably warm. When we inquired about the air conditioning we found out that the entire building was controlled from another relocation and the air conditioning would not be turned on until May – no matter what the temperatures were! So, like the locals, we opened the windows at night. Hotel Europa is still a GREAT choice if you are staying in Madrid – clean, with friendly staff and in a fantastic location.

Read about our stay at Hotel Europa.

Another time, in Turkey, we were on a tour in a mini van. We asked the driver if he would please turn on the air conditioner. He happily complied. BUT, then he promptly opened his window. Later we found out that some people in Turkey believe that going from the very hot to the very cold of air conditioning is bad for you. So…be aware of the cultural feelings regarding air conditioning, too.

Dress for the weather and read tips on how to travel comfortably in the heat without air conditioning.

Travel – Put things in Perspective – Speed

Every culture and country has its own rhythm and speed. Even within a country, different cities will have different paces. Large cities often have a faster pace than smaller cities.

Some countries even have words or phrases to describe their relaxed time:

Italy says, “La Dolce Vita” and Greece says “Siga, Siga”.

If you encounter a place where the pace slows down to a crawl it is best not to fight it. Instead, take a deep breath and enjoy it. Isn’t this why you traveled to this place? To have new experiences? To relax? To savor this culture?

Travel – Put things in Perspective – Money

Cheap and expensive are two terms that are definitely relative. Depending upon where you come from and how much money you earn, you might have a very different idea of what is expensive.

Travel – Put things in Perspective – Distance

This one always makes me chuckle. I live in the suburbs in South Texas. We have sidewalks in our neighborhood so we can walk to the school or park. But, leaving the neighborhood on foot requires maneuvering a major busy road that has no sidewalks. You would just never do that. So, walking long distances is not something we do in our everyday life. To go to the movies, or the gym or the store, we get in the car.

On the other hand, in most European countries the cities are designed for walking. People walk everywhere – to work, to visit friends, to the grocery store, and so on. Walking all day every day is normal.

Naturally, determining if something is a ‘short’ walk or a ‘long walk’ would be described very differently by these two different groups. Getting exact distances leaves nothing to chance. Google maps makes it easy. No more wondering if a short ‘5 min’ walk is really doable or not!

Traveling expands your mind and gives you a new perspective. What a gift for your children – to understand more of the world!