Weekly Travel Tip 5
Consider the language where you’re going.
I love learning languages, but not everybody has the time or desire to learn before your trip. Here’s my tips for how to get by - or get started learning.
While it’s always nice to learn a few phrases for the country you’re visiting, it’s not always possible. When I lived in Bangladesh, I traveled all around Asia. I love languages but it just wasn’t possible for me to learn Malaysian for a trip in October and then Vietnamese for a trip in December.
If you’re not going to learn the language, check that you can get along with English, or another language you already know.
Everywhere I’ve been, people have appreciated me learning at least a little. I try to get down basic greetings and how to talk about the weather. Just “Hi, how are you? Sure is hot/cold/rainy today” goes a long way.
If you’re determined to learn more than how to say hi/bye, look for in person group lessons. I taught middle school for twelve years and am a firm believer in the benefit if learning with a group you can practice with.
However, it’s important to start as soon as possible. The day you decide to learn a language, get an app like Duolingo to start on the basics while you look for in person lessons. The day I decided to learn Portuguese, I downloaded Duolingo and it made a huge difference. (Duolingo isn’t sponsored, it’s just something that works for me).
Recent blog
When I published last week’s newsletter, I only had about half the Paucartambo photos uploaded. I took 1,000-1,500 photos per day, so it took me a while to get them all uploaded and processed. If you’ve already read the blog, take another look. If it’s your first time, I hope you love it!
Recent article
Chicas de Alturas: Cusco’s All-Female Climbing Group
The Saqra I spent all of the Paucartambo festival with are a group of 35 men and one woman. So, this week’s article is my attempt at a little gender balance. Click the link above to read my article about a Peruvian climbing and mountaineering group started for and by women.