Working as a nurse in a tourist town, I encounter many foreigners. I recently enjoyed a conversation with one of these foreigners, a patient of mine. She had a thick accent that I couldn’t place although she spoke very good English.
I asked her where she was from and she replied Australia. I gave her a questioning look and said, “Uh, your accent is not Australian.” She told me she was originally from Greece and that she had been living in Australia for the last 40 years.
We chatted casually and she commented on how wonderful her trip to the United States had been. “Your country is so beautiful and the people are so friendly. They are always smiling.”
Whoa, back up here. Americans? Friendly? I have heard it before from the travel community but being a native Californian, I’ve never believed it. Until 4 years ago, I’d always lived in Socal and the people there are anything but friendly. I will say, though, the farther north you go, the friendlier the people become. Especially Alaska! Alaskans are probably the friendliest Americans I’ve met.
I’m curious as to what other people think about this. Do you find Americans to be friendly?
Today is a day of letting go. In just over 12 hours, I was to be boarding a plane for Nepal. I cancelled the flight just 2 hours ago. I’ve known for weeks that I would be canceling the trip but hadn’t really accepted that fact until last week. Even so, it took me until today to actually cancel my ticket.
Ever since my trip to Nepal last year, I have held onto the experience tightly creating a strong emotional attachment. It is time to let go of that attachment and know that I can always return at another time. Nepal will still be there. Right now, it is more important for me to work out my own personal issues.
As part of the“Shed Project,” (see my prior post,) I am shedding emotional baggage. The short story is that I’m buying a house with my husband and tomorrow we need to sign loan documents for the house. I am buying the house because it is what’s best for my marriage. I’d rather not own a house but it is something my husband needs and I know he deserves that. Therefore, I am dealing my own emotions about it and doing my best to let go of the anger and sadness I feel for having to cancel my trip.
There is much more to the story but it is a personal one. Today I’m making the commitment to let go and shed the emotional baggage I’ve been carrying around. I will put away my own selfishness and do my best to accept what is happening here in the present moment.
I will end this with a stanza from Stephen Mitchell’s, Bhagavad Gita, A New Translation.
“He whose mind is untroubled
by any misfortune, whose craving
for pleasures has disappeared,
who is free from greed, fear, anger,
who is unattached to all things,
who neither grieves nor rejoices
if good or if bad things happen –
that man is a man of firm wisdom.”
Having recently taken a cruise through Alaska’s inside passage, I wish this app had been around several months earlier. Conde Nast released their Traveler: Cruise Finder HD App last month for the iPad. And, it was released as an iPhone app last week.
This app is very strong. If you’re looking to research a cruise, this app is for you! What I like most about it is that an internet connection is not required for most of the app. It even has some short videos and a photo gallery of various cruise lines, all available offline.
Cruises show an overall rating, size of the ship with number of passengers, and relative price. There is also a short description. To book a cruise or get further information, an internet connection is required.
For instance, searching for Alaska and leaving all preferences unselected, the app shows 8 ships.
Sharing what you’ve found is easy by using the Facebook or Email button. You can also save your favorites within the app itself.
The Insider Tips need an internet connection to access but I thought the articles were good and they loaded inside the app without kicking you out to Safari.
What I would like to see:
- A search feature. It would be helpful to type in the name of the cruise line if you have already decided which company to go with
- The photo gallery needs to be a link on the cruise line’s “see more” page
The app is not rated very high on iTunes and I’m not sure why. I rated it 5 stars. Hopefully, Conde Nast will improve it a bit but overall, its a great app to start wtih.
Be sure to pick it up quick as it is FREE for a limited time only!
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