ExploreThere

My experience with culture shock

I was a mess. Cursing as I angrily scooted through notorious Taiwan traffic, I jolted to a stop at the 7-Eleven and kicked my kickstand down as hard as I could. Without taking off my helmet, I went inside, ignoring the greeting from the cashier, and headed straight to the goods. In moments I was at the register, staring down the cashier as my Pringles, Sprite, Fanta, M&Ms, and two packs of Hi-Chews were scanned. Once the transaction was over, I stuffed all my purchases into my tired, faux-leather purse and climbed back aboard my two-wheeled transportation.

Within minutes I was letting myself into my apartment, then into my room, where I lay on my bed, checking Facebook and mindlessly consuming my feelings. Soon I was fighting back tears, and then I was crying. Pathetic, gaping-mouthed, wrappers in both hands, crying like my world was ending.

Several pounds later, I finally figured it out: culture shock. My emotions were as predictable as the weather and often changed even more quickly. The one book I’d read that would supposedly help me with my transition assumed my family had moved with me, and it was about as helpful as a hangnail.…

Why you need a weekend escape

The majority of corporate America gets 2-3 weeks vacation a year. Most people choose to try and save that up over the course of the year and take a few weeks sitting on a beach somewhere, and others save their vacation time up over the course of several years in hopes to cash in on a longer vacation. What happens though when you’ve have a few tough weeks and the stress just builds up and you don’t want to use all of that vacation time? You should consider a weekend escape to refresh your mind and spirits.

There are a few things to consider when looking for a place to escape for the weekend in order to make the most of it.

What’s your definition of relaxing

Personally for me, I have various forms of relaxing. Sitting by the water with a good book is one way to get me to unwind, but a stroll through a few historical museums has the same effect for me sometimes. Learning is my key goal. Your’s may be quite different however, so think about just what it is that you want to be doing with your time.

What is it that you think about doing when you’re sitting at the office wishing you were not working?…

Around the world in 5 minutes

Its amazing what we can do in current times. Generations before us had to little opportunity to travel, and if they did, it took weeks to go the places we can go in just a few hours.

This time lapse video was put together by Kien Lam (Its seems as the time of this writing this video sent so many visitors to his site that it crashed) who visited 17 Countries in 343 Days and took over 6237 Photographs.

Keeping up with recording a trip for an entire year without the urge to post your footage until the very end is a feat in and of itself. This is an amazing trip around the world and we’re glad he shared with us. This is a significant feat, traveling for a year around the world, visiting various cultures, recording the process, and its an experience that he will have for the rest of his life to continue to share with people through the various stories he was a part of along the way.

Why are you waiting to start your adventure?…

Last week, the European Court of Justice (EJC) rulled against a legal challenge by U.S. Airlines to prevent the European Union from implementing a tax on carbon emissions by airlines using European airspace.

What this means for you is actually pretty significant. In the future, the airlines are going to have to pass along the costs to you, the traveler, in an effort to stay in the air. Airlines have been struggling over the last 10 years to save costs, and governments have been pulled in on several occasions to bail them out. We are demanding customers. We want the cheapest rates, and the best service, and airlines are having a difficult time keeping up.

This new tax is estimated to add nearly a billion dollars in fees in 2011 alone and up to 4 billion per year in 2020. What will the exact increase in prices be? We’ll have to see in the upcoming months, but it is likely going to be seen across the industry as a whole. Airlines that serve the EU on a few flights will likely pass along the costs to all flights, even those that do not fly into the EU. For those companies inside the EU such as Lufthansa, Ryan Air, British Airways, and others, they will likely see more siginificant travel costs.…

Moving abroad isn’t ideal for everyone. It’s an overwhelming, unsettling, shocking change to your routine. However, it could potentially be the most incredible experience of your life.

The major indicators that I should give life in Taiwan a try aren’t going to be the same for all expats; looking back to early 2010, when I was considering the move, these factors had all been true for me for many years.

Needed a major trip every 6 months

This started in high school, when my parents recognized my worsening depression and let me fly to South Carolina for a week to visit a friend. Every six months or so my wanderlust would explode in a desperate, uncontrollable need to explore.

The year before I moved to Taiwan, I took two week-long vacations: the Netherlands in the summer and Alaska in the winter. Both times I felt the same yearning to escape the confines of Texas.

My credit card company loved me; my bank account hated me.

Looked for greener pastures

In high school I hoped to go to college away from home. After college I applied for jobs in Florida, California, and anywhere else that looked new and exciting. My first full-time job lasted just 2.5 years; I had to get out of the small city and spread my wings in a more culturally-diverse, 20-something-friendly larger city.…

DuoLingo Language Learning

Have you ever wanted to learn a language, but you just didn’t know how, or didn’t have the extra money to take a class or hire a personal tutor?

Just released into beta, DuoLingo is hoping to help you learn that language that you’ve always told yourself you were going to learn. We’ve all tried different learning methods, some more successful than others, but DuoLingo is hoping you will help them translate the web while you learn a language.

How do you translate a language that you don’t know? Watch the above video to get an better explanation, but you start out as a beginner, with the easiest of sentences getting shown to you to translate, and you work your way up over time to more complicated sentences, which means they are trying to keep you at a comfortable level so that you don’t experience the frustration you may feel in a classroom setting where you are expected to keep up or slow yourself down with the rest of the group. If you don’t know words you are being asked to translate, a helper will give you suggetions for the proper translations, and makes note that you may need to review those words later on.…