A smile leads you to friends all over the world.

Here are a few easy world travel tips that will make your adventures more fulfilling, cheaper, and more like what you’ve always imagined travel should be.

1. Smile at the world and the world will smile back at you. Seriously, far too many people don’t smile. A smile invites people to help you.

2. Let people help you. I know, you want to be a rugged traveler that doesn’t need anyone. The truth is though that one way human beings build relationships is through helping each other. Let someone help you find a place, accept the offer of a stranger, ask for help when you need it.

3. Help other people. Don’t expect anything in return but when you see someone drop something, help them pick it up. If you find a wallet, make it a quest to find the owner and return it. Help an old lady up some stairs.

3. Be the first to visit a place. I know, it sounds impossible but the truth is that in every town there are little cafes that only the locals know. In every country there are creeks or cities where tourists have never been. In the entire world, there are places that you’ve never heard of. Make these your mission.

4. Fear is your friend. When you feel fear it is your body’s way of giving you a warning. Pay attention to it. Know what it is. Learn to count backwards from three and ask yourself if you need to be afraid of this or not. Overcoming your fear is a massive rush. Listening to your fear and not getting killed is an even better rush.

5. Don’t be rigid. Part of the joy of travel is that it allows us to grow and become something different than we have always been. Open yourself up to new ideas. If you automatically say no, you will certainly miss something.

6. Remember to ask question about the people you are talking with. It’s far too easy to start talking about yourself. We are all our own favorite subject. People you meet will ask you questions. Answer them, but be brief and don’t forget to ask them about themselves. They are also their own favorite thing to talk about.

7. READ! If you are traveling and you don’t like to read, you will have a less wonderful time than those that do. When you are traveling the world, you will have times when you have to spend hours waiting for something. A book can make that time a joy. Plus, if you read about the places you are going or have been, you will find all of your travel more fulfilling. Sure, you can read the guidebook, but there isn’t much better than reading a story about a bar in Tangier and then walking into the place two days later. Fiction, biography, travel memoirs, or holy books like the Q’uran (if you are visiting a Muslim country). All of them will give you insight into the places you are visiting.

One of the great things about being associated with Lonely Planet is that I get to belong to a vibrant community of travelers, bloggers, and writers. Periodically, we get together and share our thoughts on a particular topic, idea, or place.

The results are often fantastic.

We will soon be releasing our first collaborative book under the Lonely Planet Blogsherpa brand and we have been working together on many other things as well. You may remember that I hosted a blog carnival about Culture Shock a few months back.

This week, Sash at Barefoot Inked hosted a blog carnival called ‘Love on the Road.’

I was one of the participants and you can guess who I was talking about (;)). The other participants were diverse and wrote about experiences on four continents among people with some very different ideas of what love is all about.

So, if the idea of Love on the Road gets your heart pounding, have a look.

http://barefootink.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/love-on-the-road-blogsherpa-carnival-8/

We left Bursa the way we came but without the guy in the bad suit. Indeed, though we did see him when we were leaving. We were carrying our bags down to the bus stop and this time we saw him sitting on a concrete wall, smoking a cigarette, no shoes, and wearing some scruffy clothes. He smiled and waved and it took me a second to place him because the bad suit had been so powerful. I waved back and Hanane said “Who was that?”

She remembered him once I told her. We grabbed a cup of coffee and then caught the bus back to the Bursa Otogar. The driver the day before hadn’t taken our tickets and so I was able to use them again. City bus tickets have to be purchased in advance, which I find to be incredibly odd and inconvenient. Luckily, we still had ours.

At the Otogar we bought some Turkish Delight and bought our bus tickets to Manisa for 20 lira each. I know I’ve been talking about Manisa quite a bit and that it is firmly not on the tourist trail. Although, I’m of a mind that it should be.

The reason we went to Manisa was so that we could have job interviews with a school there. I’d been emailing the director for a while and he had said to come anytime and they would show us around. So we did.

The bus ride there was beautiful. We passed some mountains and streams and finally we came to a city with a large mountain behind it. It just felt good to me. I called the director and he gave us directions. A young Turkish guy from the bus helped us and shared the cab with us. I had to insist on paying for the cab. Turkish people really are the most hospitable and helpful I’ve ever met.

We got to the school and met with the director. He helped us find a cheap hotel with everything we wanted. Manisa isn’t loaded with hotel options, so this was a very nice thing. Even with his help it was a very plain hotel room and cost us 60 lira for the night. The Otel Emirhan.

Manisa is primarily a business city and so it doesn’t have all the cheap or luxurious options for travelers that other cities in Turkey have. Otel Emirhan was fine and offered us a/c, television, breakfast, wi-fi, hot water showers, and a decent bed in a clean room.

Once we had settled in a bit, we went to a great little cafe where Hanane had a waffle and we met with a second director from a different school.

It had been me that had the interview, but we both ended up getting jobs! We’re moving to Manisa, Turkey! That night we had dinner with new friends.

In the morning we had a very nice walk through the town where we found plenty of shops, movie theaters (that even sometimes have films in English), big green parks, a beautiful old mosque, and a lively souk filled with fresh fruits and vegetables, cheese, and more.

We also came across some very strange things…a statue of a man called “Tarzan of Manisa” whom I’ll be writing a future post on and this guy:

We agreed to come back and start teaching in the fall and they agreed to give us jobs, help us with residence permits, and housing. I’ll be heading back in just a few weeks and Hanane will follow a month after that so I can make sure everything is as it seems.

When we told people we later met that we had been in Manisa or were moving there, their typical reaction was “Why?” and that’s how we found out that Manisa is famous for being the home to crazy people.

It’s also in the mountains, has plenty of hiking nearby, wild horses, it’s a 30-minute bus ride from the beach city of Izmir, and in ancient times Manisa was where Turkish Sultan’s used to undergo their Sultan Training. Furthermore, Manisa was named one of the best cities to do business in for all of Europe. So,it all seemed pretty great to us.

This morning me and my wife are heading off on our first international adventure together. It’s her first time in an airplane, first time leaving Morocco, and first time going through airline security. It’s all bound to be interesting and surprising.

We’re both excited and anticipating the adventures ahead of us in Cappodocia, Istanbul, and along the Bosphorous. I’ve been wanting to go to Turkey since the day I decided to quit being a stock broker back in 2003 when a strange client told me “You know, you’re a great stockbroker, but you seem to hate it (He was right!) Why don’t you quit and go manage a guest house along the Bosphorus?”

It seemed like a better idea than staying in Portland and making myself miserable with worry over other people’s money. The problem was I didn’t have any money but I had just written and published Rough Living: Tips and Tales of a Vagabond and so I got in my VW bus and set out to do my 20 book tour, since I only had 20 copies.

Since then, that book has passed through the hands of plenty of folks and inspired more than a few vagabonds to hit the road. It’s now incorporated into The Vagobond Files which just happens to be selling for 15% off the regular price

Purchase The Vagobond Files with 15% off with the coupon code BEACHREAD305 right now at Lulu.com

Here’s the very over the top description I put with the book :

This book contains everything you want to know. If you are looking for the truth about God, existence, and reality, you will find it here. If you are looking for ways to solve the problems of the world, you will find them here. If you are looking for a recipe for cattail salad, you will find it here. If you are looking for how to live in your car, you will find instructions here. This volume contains everything that was in Rough Living: An Urban Survival Manual and Rough Living: Tips and Tales of a Vagobond. It contains a fairy tale or two, the revealed words of God to Vago C. Damitio, Genesis rewritten as it actually happened, the philosophy of electromagnetism, plus gambling, sex, drugs, rock and roll, and angst. This is over 400 pages of size 10 font with narrow margins and very little white space. The only people that shouldn’t buy this book are dead people. You’re not dead yet, so Buy it now!

Anyway, it’s funny that I was heading there when I got sort of sidetracked by falling in love in Morocco, then getting married, and now I’m heading there with my new wife.

Of course, I’m having to adapt my travel style a bit but it’s exciting to see if we will be able to globe trot for pennies together. Of course, this is our honeymoon too so there will be some hotels and probably not much hitchhiking. Definitely she has said that there will be no scrounging for food in dumpsters! This is International Vagabonding 101 for her…and it’s time for me to see if we have what it takes to live the Vagabond Lifestyle on the Go.

I know that a lot of people don’t travel because of the worries associated with it. Travel can be stressful and the media doesn’t help much by telling us about every travel disaster, terrorist event, or travel nightmare. The truth is that it doesn’t matter if you are heading to Pompano Beach, Houston, or Tahiti because the dangers are all about the same. Of course, if you are heading somewhere and really worried about it, you can always invest in some travel insurance.

Don't worry, Enjoy your Vacation!

Whether you are planning an extended stay or visiting tropical island beach hotels, the following tips will take some of the worry out of your vacations, cruises, or outdoor adventures.

International travel has always appealed to students because students are those most likely to enjoy obstacles and dangers. Being out of your familiar environment is something that can cause confusion and misunderstandings so the first tip for worry warts is about paperwork.

Worry Free Travel Tip #1 : Have your papers!

World travel can involve a lot of papers

I’m not talking about your New York Times here, I’m talking about documentation. I was once asked about my birth certificate when I was getting a car rental in London. So, this is about more than just your passport. Your passport is important too. Make sure it is still valid well before you leave. Make sure it still has blank pages which can be stamped. Ensure that you have the proper visas or can get the visa upon arrival. Here are the list of documents I recommend you travel with:

* Passport – walid with blank pages
* Country Visa
* Copy of Birth Certificate
* Student ID
* Driver’s License
* Credit Cards
* Copy #1 of all the above in your luggage
* Copy #2 of all the above hidden in a coat or pants pocket or inside a different bag
* 10 passport sized photos

Two copies? Yes. You don’t want to worry right? Having copies makes a huge difference if you lose something or if you run into problems. The photos will come in handy if you have to do anything relating to consulates or embassies. In regards to photocopies of your credit cards, I recommend you blank out some of the numbers on your copies and just remember which number is blanked out like ’23′.

Worry Free Travel Tip #2 : Money without Stress

Stop worrying about the money, Sonny!

If money makes you crazy with worry, here is what you can do. Change a little bit of money before you leave your home country for the local currency. You’ll get the worst rate at home most likely, so I wouldn’t change a huge amount. I would say about $200 or the equivalent is enough. This is just in case you can’t find an ATM when you get there. In addition, put $100 in USD, Euros, or Pounds in a couple different spots for emergencies, these are safe currencies that you can use just about anywhere in the world.

Don’t count on your ATM working or a currency exchange being open and available when you arrive. Sometimes they aren’t.This can be especially true when you fly into airports serviced by cheap flights. Now you don’t have to worry about it. Make sure you know your PIN numbers by heart. There’s little that’s worse than having your card shut down because you used the wrong pin. It’s a good idea to have someone who you trust have your pin #s and copies of your information too.

In terms of exchange, ATMs often offer the most competitive rates. My recommendation is to forget about traveler’s checks. You lose on both ends with them and often you can’t use them in restaurants, cheap hotels, or guest houses.

Worry Free Travel Tip #3 : Dealing with Taxi Drivers

Not all taxi drivers are crooks, but some are!

It’s true that in many cities, taxi drivers are just waiting to rip you off. This isn’t just true in third world countries but also in cities like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Orlando too.

Use the internet before you leave home to see how much a trip from the airport should cost. Often driver’s won’t use the meter for set trips and you need to know what the cost should be. Look out for ‘special discounts’ and make sure you have local currency because they usually won’t accept foreign cash, credit cards, or traveler’s checks and if they do, they usually will gouge you on the rate. If they offer to take you around on your first day for a small tour, take their card or number and feign interest since if they think you are going to be coming back, it is unlikely that they will try to gouge you. Know where you are going to stay or pretend you know, taking taxi recommendations for hotels is usually a way for them to make a few bucks at your expense.

Worry Free Travel Tip #4 : World Travel with Kids

Traveling with kids can be fun or stressful

If you are going to bring your children bring their birth certificates. If you are traveling in some Arab countries, single women traveling with children need written permission from the children’s father and there are other odd regulations that you should know about before embarking upon your journey. Airlines often have special promotions for kids that are worth finding out about.

Worry Free Travel Tip #5 : Lost Bags

It's a good idea to take a digital picture of the contents of your check in bags.

Most airlines will provide you with a small amount of money if they misplace your bags and most bags are found within 24 hours. Make sure that you have information about your rental cars, vacation packages, and hotel rooms with you and don’t trust that your checked bag will make it. It usually does, but why create an extra chance for yourself to worry?

For summer travel remember that you can’t carry big containers of sunscreen in your carry on. If you must bring it with you, buy a small bottle that conforms to airline regulations.

Worry Free Travel Tip #6 : Your Emergency Paper or Travel Book

In addtion to rental car, hotel, and flight information, your travel book can also give you something to do while you wait. Like sketching.

While it would be nice to be able to memorize all the essential information about your vacations, this usually isn’t very practical. This is especially true for extended travel.

Create a piece of paper or small notebook with information about your hotel rooms, rental car, airline confirmation numbers, and any addresses or phone numbers you may need such as those of local institutes you plan to visit.

I call this my travel book and it is essential that it fits in your pocket. It’s also a good idea to have emergency phone numbers, consulate information, and maybe even your passwords or pin numbers inside. The way to do this is to write something that contains your passwords, looks natural, and doesn’t scream out password. Don’t write: “UBC Pin = 6767″ or “Citibank Password = HungryMonkey 101″ instead write something like

“6767 South Vegas Street, New York, NY” or “Places to eat in Florida – The Hungry Monkey on Route 101″, you’ll know what the pin or password is but it’s very unlikely any thieves would be able to figure it out.

It’s important to include the contact information for your banks and credit cards and the number to call if they get lost or stolen. Keep this piece of paper or travel book on you at all times.

Now, stop worrying and start enjoying your travels.

All There Is To It, Is To Do It -Finding Your Passion Income

I’ve been working on this for a while. It just didn’t seem right to release it while I was working as an English teacher. At the moment, I am 100% Freelance supported and doing quite well.

This e-book might shock you. It isn’t one of these books that tells you how to make $100 a day with adsense. I don’t have a method for you to earn with. I don’t even tell you to go do what I’m doing or join any sort of affiliate program.

This e-book is about making the changes that are necessary for you to find any measure of success.

Let me be honest, I’m not rich. I haven’t made tons of money. I did just get back from five days in a Mediterranean Beach House though, a few months ago my wife and I had a wedding that would have made Prince of Persia jealous, and in a few days we are taking a magnificent vacation to Turkey.

In the past year, I’ve traveled on three continents and it will be four before the year is done. I don’t have a boss. Everything that we have done has been through my freelancing and finding my passion income. My teaching salary was a tiny thing, it is and has been my passion income that actually pays for everything we have and do. I taught because it fulfilled me in other ways and provided other things for our life here in Morocco which we wanted.

Now, I’m teaching through releasing this e-book. Maybe you already have all the knowledge that is inside it. If so, I’m glad. If you don’t though, I hope that you will take the time to profit from all of this.

The book isn’t too long. Just a little over 7000 words. A word of warning, most of the work will have to be done by you.

I’m selling All There Is To It, Is To Do It -Finding Your Passion Income for just $9 per copy.

If you are willing to write a short review within 48 hours, I will sell you a copy for just $6.

If you want to make an offer to trade for All There Is To It, Is To Do It -Finding Your Passion Income feel free to email me with your offer.

That’s all I can say for now. I’ll let the reviewers and buyers say the rest.

The book will teach what you can achieve as a freelancer, it goes with you from the very beginning giving you advice about how to set start freelance jobs. The last two pages you get the resources which to me are the really interesting part. A great book for newbie freelancers. This books get 9/10 for newbies and 7/10 for pros – Digital Point Forums

This is a 28 page long book motivating and helping out mainly freelancers. It does not give you an exact process or something like that, but gives you the correct direction to succeed in the freelancing circuit. It also has some good pictures. For those starting, it should be a great book for finding inspiration and motivation. My Rating: 8.5/10. – Digital Point Forums

If you missed the story of how I met my wife, let me remind you. I was couchsurfing at her family’s house in Morocco. Couchsurfing likes to remind people that it’s not a dating site, but in fact, it is a place where I’ve met many of my closest friends and the woman I married.

This was the first day I couchsurfed with the family that I would eventually marry into. Wow.

World Travel on Almost Nothing Tip #4:
Make strangers into friends.

One of the things that I love about Couchsurfing.com is that it relies on opening your heart and mind to the hospitality of strangers. Contrary to popular belief, most people on the planet are good and want to help you in this life. If you doubt that, look inside yourself and I’m sure you will see it is true.

Rafael and I became brother fools after he offered me his couch in Belgium.

I’ve made friends just about everywhere I’ve been and in the process I’ve managed to avoid paying for hotels, meals, and sometimes even transportation. I’m not saying you should be mercenary about seeking out and using people, I’m saying that when you open your arms to the world, you often get a hug in return.

Kelli hosted me on two seperate occaisions in Quebec. I can't wait to return the favor.

Sometimes a beer is necessary. Usually it's not. It's always good though.

The cost for this moment was only paid in muscle.

World Travel Tip #2

Modern nation states are built on a simple lie. That lie tells you that unless you can pay for new goods and services your life won’t be worth anything. It’s complete and total crap.

A look at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs shows what you actually need. Food, sleep, air, defecation, and a sense of who you are. That’s it. The rest is luxury and as such is not necessary. In fact, it often gets in the way.

Nobody is charging you to breathe. Water can be found for free just about everywhere on the planet (though it may take a little umm…digestive adjustment), if there isn’t a free toilet, you can probably defecate on the ground, and if you don’t know who you are, isn’t it time you found out? You don’t need a therapist to tell you, you just need to take the time to ask yourself and listen for an answer. In addition companionship, love, self esteem, and even security can be found for little to nothing.

These strangers became friends as I hiked around the Island of Oahu. A simple hello led to sandwiches and ice cold water! Mmmm!

Step outside and start a conversation with a stranger and I can promise you that if you are looking for food or shelter, you will find them, maybe not with the first person you talk with but certainly with someone. Contrary to popular belief, people are GOOD and they want to help each other. Unless you are a real ass, you’ll find people take joy in being a part of your life and that includes food and shelter.

Tomorrow: Adjusting your pace

Maybe you’ve noticed that I manage to see quite a few places and you’ve thought to yourself “Boy, I wish I had the money to do that!”

I look tall next to these Lao women who live in a small Mekong Village

Honestly, I’m not sure, but the following is some of what I’ve figured out about how to travel for next to nothing. Inchallah, it will inspire one or two of you out there to get off your butts and hit the road like you’ve always dreamed of. If it does and your life changes forever, feel free to donate a few bucks using my paypal donate button over on the left side of the site. Every little bit helps keep this Vagobond and his wife on the go.

As I just commented to my friend Nick, a trip to the grocery store in the USA costs most than I spend on most of my adventures. World travel doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact, there are many times that it is free.

Paying for the chance to race GoCarts in Barcelona was an expense I consider to be necessary.

Of course the travel agencies, cruise lines, and airlines don’t want you to know that. Big hotels and resorts live off of people who don’t know where they would stay without Hilton or Marriott to house them. Those guys and the talking heads in the media earn their salaries selling trips to all-inclusive resorts and big time guided tours of places you can walk through for free.

They are banking on the fact that your imagination stops at your credit card and that most people are just too damn scared to take a chance when they leave the confining comfort of their own home. I’m about to spoil that misconception. Unless those guys start sponsoring me, I’m going to keep giving away tips and tricks that open up the entire world to you.

Nothing holds you back more than fear. Fear of the unknown. FDR said it right, we have nothing to fear but fear itself. Face it, you’re going to die and you’re going to lose everything. We all do. You have very little control about when that is going to happen. The thing that makes most people miss out on the joy of travel is that they think they can control it and so they stay at home watching Jeopardy until they die of a coronary. They know the geography of the world, but they’ve never seen it. If you don’t open the door, you won’t see anything but the television.

Fear would have meant this starlit hike with friends who didn't share any language with me would never have happened.

Tip #1 for Cheap World Travel:

Let go of all that routine that arises from you trying to control your own dead end. The best thing about living is new experience and you can have as many as you want for free. Once you step away from your societal imposed responsibilities, you find that the world opens up and gives you more joy than you’ll ever find trying to buy your future security at the expense of the present.

When you start breaking free of your routine, you will discover the wonder of new faces and places, taste incredible new foods, and discover secrets about yourself and the world that you never expected to find.

Each new wonder unfolds before you like a road that was hidden from view and like any road, a new experience will often lead you to another and another and another. When you walk the road of travel, you get to experience life differently from when you take a package vacation or go through the daily motions in your ‘home’. In fact, the world is your home, if only you choose to accept it.

Sunsets are free. Mountaintops don’t cost a thing. Walking through a public market takes not a dime. Striking up a conversation with someone working beside a road you are walking down can lead to adventures you can’t imagine. Just being in a new place will provide you with more insights about yourself and the world than all the new clothes, fancy meals, or well rehearsed tourist trips can ever give you.

Sometimes a new perspective can really change things.

Tomorrow: What you really need!

In # 1 of this series, I presented the questions.
# 2 profiled Kay and Todd from Japan and the USA
# 3 profiles Vibek and Spencer from Norway and Gibralter
#4 profiles Lobot and Mrs. Lobot from the USA and France
#5 profiles Anna and Dr. Trouble from Poland and Japan
#6 profiles Denise and her guy from Malta and Hungary
#7 Profiles Joe and his wife from Canada and Turkey
#8 profiles Lewis and Lady X from Australia/Greece and Bulgaria
#9 Profiles Erin and Senor Mysterioso

1) Your names
Erin Ridley aka La Tortuga Viajera and Senor Mysterioso from the USA and Spain

2) Your blog
www.latortugaviajera.com

3) Your nationality
USA

4) Spouses nationality
Spanish

5) Where do you live now? Do you live with your spouse?
I live in Madrid, Spain with my fiance (we will be getting married July 23rd of this year. Amount of time married: T-41 days

6) Are you still married?
Not married yet, but still engaged!!

7) How did you meet?
Almost four years ago, I was in Madrid traveling with friends. It was our last night in Madrid in a bar that I met my future husband. We only spoke for 15 minutes or less, at which point I gave him my email and we parted ways. I thought nothing of it and basically forgot the encounter until two days later, after I’d left Spain, when I received an email from the fellow I’d met in the bar. Many emails and eight trips to Spain later, I finally made the move to Madrid.

8) What was the biggest impediment to getting married?
By far and away the red tape of the Spanish government (although, as I’m sure we’ll find out soon, the US surely has its fair share too). Our options were to either get married before we were really ready, or spend thousands of dollars getting me a work visa in Spain. We opted for the latter and somehow, against the odds, made it work. Once we finally decided to get married we thought all of our residency problems would finally be solved, but sure enough, Spain rejected our marriage application accusing us of possibly getting married for convenience. This required us to go through a slew of questioning, only to have to start the entire application process all over again from scratch. With an entire wedding planned and 40 people flying from the US, we didn’t even know if we could legitimately get married. Fortunately, two days ago, we found out the good news that the government will indeed allow us to get married!

9) Where did you get married?
We will be married in a 700-year-old monastery in the pueblo of Lupiana (which is in the province of Guadalajara, and community of Castilla La Mancha :)), Spain.

10) What was your marriage ceremony like?
We’ve had to ditch the typical Catholic ceremony in order to accommodate American traditions (particularly sufficient usage of the English language!). This means we’ve had to go with a civil ceremony in which we can weave in traditions from both cultures as well as both languages.

11) How is the relationship with your in-laws?
I love them. I am very fortunate as not all Spanish families, much less Spanish moms, would be so supportive and understanding of our cultural differences. My in-laws give us the space we need to make our relationship work and completely support us.

12) What about your spouses with your family?
So far so good. Given that we live quite far away from my family (my family is in California), it is rather impossible for the relationship to be strained in any way. That said, my mother absolutely adores my future husband and couldn’t be happier to call him her son.

13) What was your biggest cultural misunderstanding?
I suppose what has been particularly difficult for us is the difference in the amount of time people spend together socially. In the US, if we meet up with friends or go to dinner with someone, we typically finish up and part ways after two to three hours (not to mention that we aren’t particularly used to staying up past midnight). In Spain, they are accustomed to spending more like five, six, seven or more hours together (eating, having a coffee, then having a drink, then eating some more, etc). So for me, after a couple of hours with his friends or family, my attention span has expired. It has taken us some time (and several heated arguments) to figure out that if we go out with friends that we need to have a backup plan for me to depart early (that is, I will last until 1AM if dinner is at 10PM, while he might carry on spending time with those same friends until 6AM). We’re just hoping that at our wedding I will make it through the all-night party!

14) Can you tell a funny story about a cultural mishap?
Where do I start? There was that time that I wanted two pieces of fish and ended up presenting my boyfriend with a gigantic entire fish cut into two pieces. That was a lovely lesson (I’ve avoided purchasing fish since). My favorite mishap occurred on my second trip to Spain when I first met my fiance’s sisters and we all went to a party out in the countryside together. I was trying my very best to fit in (and not look like the awkward American) by wearing a dress that I’d purchased in Spain. Well, apparently my dress had a peculiar cut that somehow made it look like a maternity dress, so as I was drinking my glass of wine an older woman came up to me in front of my fiance’s sisters and started berating me about how I should not drink while pregnant. I found this particularly strange considering I am by no means a big girl, not to mention that I believe it is fairly common knowledge (in Spain and elsewhere) that one glass of wine is just fine if you’re pregnant. What made the whole experience even more awkward was of course that my boyfriend’s sisters had the honor of translating the whole encounter to me. Needless to say, I’ve never worn that dress or anything similar since!

15) Have you traveled with your spouse?
My fiance and I have traveled extensively, in fact it is really a key part of our relationship – discovering new places, new cultures and new foods. In addition to that, he loves nothing more than to share with me all that his country has to offer. I am very lucky to have found someone with the same passion and appreciation for travel as me.

16) If so, has it been challenging? Why?
n/a

17) If not, why not?
I suppose they always say that when you travel with someone, you really learn whether you are compatible together, and for us that couldn’t be more true. We have very similar travel styles in the sense that we are power-tourists who love to experience everything a culture has to offer.

18) Do you have children? If so, what is that like, internationally
speaking.
Not yet!

19) If you don’t have children, why not? Do you plan to?
We don’t have children yet for obvious reasons I suppose – first, we would like to get married first. Also, because I feel like I haven’t yet sewn my wild oats (I’m only 28!). When we will have children would depend on who you ask. As I see it, it will most likely be in the next couple of years (give or take a couple years ;) , with the emphasis on “give”).

20) What is the best and the worst thing about international marriage?
I suppose when things get lost in translation due to cultural differences. This can be a blessing and a curse. Sometimes you can argue for days about whether something is wrong or right, when in reality, you’re dealing with two different sets of cultural norms, which basically means two sets of realities, and ultimately no real wrong or right. On the other hand, this can also mean that you can often easily dismiss differences based on culture – something you surely can’t use as an excuse in a traditional relationship. While the cultural differences can often be the source of arguments, they at the same time can set the expectation that you need to be more flexible, paving the way for more understanding that you might not have otherwise.