Entries Posted in June, 2010
June 30th, 2010
Hooray for Skype!
I’ve touted the benefits of Skype in the past.
I honestly don’t know how our Internationally based lifestyle would work without Skype.
But on the 24th of June, someone somehow got into my Skype account.
Between June 24th and June 26th, they made 8+ hours ($50 +) of skype-based phone calls to Taiwan, using my Skype account.
- I would like to go to Taiwan.
- I have known people from Taiwan.
- Taiwan seems like a great place.
- But I have never used my Skype account to make phone calls to (or from) Taiwan.
I contacted Skype to get the problem fixed.
Their online chat people were very nice, but the conversation basically ended with someone telling me that Skype would not be refunding the charges to my account, but would take action to make sure it wouldn’t happen again.
I thought… WHAT?
The person helping me implied that it was probably due to some malware installed on my computer.
But there’s not malware or anything running on my computer that is malicious. I run checks regularly to prevent that.
So I was thoroughly disappointed in getting off of the chat with their support people. A customer shouldn’t be held responsible for security vulnerabilities within software, or for problems within the systems of a business. That should be factored as an expense into what the business charges it’s customers.
So I started the dispute process with PayPal (who had paid the charges to Skype).
However, before I could complete the dispute, I received emails from Skype letting me know that the charges would be reversed due to their fraudulent nature.
And so, a big thumbs up, once again, goes to Skype.
If you’re not on Skype, you really should try it out. It’s really pretty amazing.
(Disclaimer: That is my referral link. If you sign up for any of Skype’s paid services (I had the free services of Skype for a year before paying them anything), I will receive a commission. Skype comes highly recommended.)
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June 29th, 2010
Hot Chocolate in June
You’ve heard of “Christmas in July”, but for us, it’s hot chocolate in June.
We knew when we booked our trip to New Zealand that we’d be coming in the winter. We thought it would be fun. Spending a winter during what is normally (for us Northern hemisphere dwellers) a summer.
We thought we came prepared. And we did. Mostly. We still picked up a few extras once we got here: hats, scarves, slippers. That sort of thing.
But, what we did remember to bring with us was: hot chocolate. Our stockings last Christmas we stocked with some delicious Land O Lakes Hot Chocolate packets. And, while they’re all good, we discovered our favorite today: Chocolate Graham.
We’ve tried the hot chocolate (Cadbury) here as well, and it’s just not as good as Land O Lakes.
Mmmmmm chocolately goodness…it’s like a smore in a cup. Perfect for warming up on a cold and rainy day.
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June 28th, 2010
7 Travel Questions: 4) How to Handle Family Relationships
A friend of mine from high school asked me a few questions about how we afford to travel and do what we do. I realized that these are questions Carrie and I get asked pretty frequently. So I’m posting the answers to her seven questions in a series of posts on our site here.
Every person has to find their own path to getting whatever they want from life. At the same time, it’s helpful in that path to have the knowledge and experience of others. Some of this is worded pretty strongly, but as always, take what works for you and leave the rest for someone else.
I miss my family. But we’re not planning on traveling forever. And it feels like there’s this window of time in our lives where we can do this… before kids, before our parents might need our help in their later years, before having a house, property, etc.
Nearly everyone tells us that now is the best time in our lives to be doing this kind of travel (around the world in 2ish years) so we listen to those people, knowing this is an opportunity we are taking advantage of.
We are also doing it as a business… traveling, blogging our travels, building relationships and seeking out opportunities for the future.
The work we’re doing now is setting us up for all kinds of *passive* and *residual* opportunities in the future.
If Carrie or I had a traditional “job”, and that job was telling us we had to travel the world for a year or we would lose our job, I imagine there would be more of an understanding about why we’re traveling the way we are.
But most people aren’t in the mentality of:
- going to explore the opportunities
- going to see what there is to see
- actually fulfilling dreams and realizing goals is what life’s about
- to say you’ve done it, and/or
- because technology and the time we live in allows you to
I think that most people want the safe and secure options. They want safe and secure options for you too.
Or maybe it’s just that your family and friends want to spend time with you. Which you should take as a compliment.
So I don’t have definite answers on how to get your family and friends to be in support of a traveling lifestyle, except to say that if your family isn’t supportive or doesn’t seem supportive of your desire to travel, it’s probably because they love you.
They are:
- concerned about your welfare, and
- they are worried that the world is dangerous (often people are under the impression that “foreign” places are more dangerous than they actually are), or perhaps
- they afraid that you might not have the skills to face the different kinds of challenges you inevitably face in a foreign place.
Regardless, they want to spend as much time with you as they can.
Your traveling gives them (legitimate) cause for concern that they won’t be able to spend the time with you that they want, and that it’s somehow more dangerous for you to be traveling than staying at home, which in most cases is not really true.
Unless you’re traveling somewhere like Somalia or places where crime against foreigners is a regular event and government (if it really exists at all) often looks the other way.
There are few places in the world where this is the case.
So research to avoid those places. However, based on having traveled for months and having always been able to go other places and avoid these kinds of situations, they are the exception, rather than the rule.
Be true to yourself and what you want, and do your best to understand what your family and friends are really saying – not with their words, but with the emotion behind their words.
An adamantly stated “you shouldn’t go,” from a loved one can easily be “You shouldn’t go… because I will miss you so much that my heart will nearly break.”
Be patient. Be honest.
I think that’s the best advice when it comes to anything, but especially when it’s family related.
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June 28th, 2010
The Longest Way
I love reading stories of other travelers and their journeys.
This one was captured in a really unique way, so it has been shared here.
Hint… to see the video best, click play, and then move your arrow off of the player so that the controls go away and you can view the whole screen.
November 9th 2007 – November 13th 2008
one year on foot – 4646km through China
unlimited beard & hair growth
Want to learn more?
thelongestway.com
Popularity: 1% [?]
June 26th, 2010
Cinnamon Applesauce…who knew?
Our friend Matt loves eating pork. Really loves it. In fact, he had no meat other than pork a few weeks ago. He told us he thought it was one of the best weeks of his life.
So, when we were thinking of ideas for what to make for him, we came up with an American classic: pork chops with stuffing and applesauce.
When I went shopping for the ingredients, I couldn’t find applesauce. When Jonathan finally asked (it took asking 2 people until someone even knew what it was), we realized that a teeny tiny jar was $10. Um….no.
Not when I can buy 3 pounds of apples for $3 at the organic food market. (And they’re some of the best apples! And organic.)
Applesauce can’t be that hard to make right?
Nope, it’s easy. So easy in fact, that I will probably never buy applesauce in a jar again.
But, be sure to add the lemon. At first I didn’t, and I could really tell it was missing something.
Cinnamon-Spiced Applesauce
Bon Appétit | October 1998
yield: Makes about 3 cups
Ingredients
• 3 pounds apples, peeled, cored, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or more to taste)
Preparation
Combine apples, 1 cup water and brown sugar in heavy medium saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until apples are very tender, about 25 minutes. Uncover and simmer until almost all liquid in saucepan has evaporated, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice and cinnamon. Cool 30 minutes.
Popularity: 2% [?]
June 25th, 2010
The “Beauty” Of English Language Undone
THE BEAUTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE UNDONE
(From an email forward I receive from time to time)
We’ll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.
If the plural of man is always called men,
Then shouldn’t the plural of pan be called pen?
If I speak of my foot and show you my feet,
And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn’t the plural of booth be called beeth?
Then one may be that, and three would be those,
Yet hat in the plural would never be hose,
And the plural of cat is cats, not cose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim!
Let’s face it – English is a crazy language.
There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren’t invented in England ..We take English for granted, but if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, and a
guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write but fingers don’t fing,grocers don’t groce and hammers don’t ham? Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend. If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the folks who grew up speaking English could be running the danger of being called verbally insane.
In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?
We ship by truck but send cargo by ship.
We have noses that run and feet that smell.
We park in a driveway and drive in a parkway.
And how can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?
You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which:
- your house can burn up as it burns down
- you fill in a form by filling it out
- an alarm goes off by going on
And, in closing, if Father is Pop, how come Mother’s not Mop?
Have any others you’d like to share here?
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June 24th, 2010
Staying Longer in Christchurch
Being settled in a place for nearly a month now (which we hadn’t done since leaving Quito, Ecuador in April,) has been really nice.
Christchurch is a place where you can get pretty much anything you need or want, everything is within 15 minutes by bus or two hours walking (that may sound odd to people who haven’t been doing much walking), and people (as all over in New Zealand) are really friendly.
But we didn’t know if we were going to stay. What was weighing on our minds was:
- Christchurch is nice, but there’s so much of New Zealand we haven’t seen yet and want to see while we’re here.
- Our apartment was rented to us under false pretenses (long story which actually involves a large crystal meth bust the police did a few weeks ago – not here, but near here and involving the person we rented from), and we didn’t know if that would get resolved in time for us to stay.
For point #1, it’s easy to get to those places from where we are here… the furthest place away we want to go on the South Island is Milford Sound which is 8 hours or so by car (driving on the “other” side of the road).
So we can have the apartment and not have to lug our stuff with us everywhere.
For point #2, I’m happy to report that all has been resolved, and it’s in writing (with the proper people this time) that we are staying here another month. So that’s good.
Sorry to be cryptic about that – just don’t know if I should talk about it until it’s all resolved. But we’ve been safe and fine the whole time. It just left things up in the air (as far as staying here is concerned,) for us for a couple of weeks.
But we’re good to stay in Christchurch, at this great apartment, and will be making plans to do some travels to other cities on the south island of New Zealand from here.
Popularity: 1% [?]
June 21st, 2010
7 Travel Questions: 3) How Are You Able to Find Housing and Accommodation? Do You Arrange It Before You Arrive?
A friend of mine from high school asked me a few questions about how we afford to travel and do what we do. I realized that these are questions Carrie and I get asked pretty frequently. So I’m posting the answers to her seven questions in a series of posts on our site here.
Every person has to find their own path to getting whatever they want from life. At the same time, it’s helpful in that path to have the knowledge and experience of others. Some of this is worded pretty strongly, but as always, take what works for you and leave the rest for someone else.
Depends a lot on the country and circumstances. After a really bad apartment experience in Buenos Aires in 2008, we learned to inspect a place thoroughly on first inspection. We also learned that if we don’t have a place lined up, don’t push it. It’s always better to spend $10-$20 more for a night or two in a hotel while hunting for a place, as opposed to paying hundreds or thousands to stay in an apartment for a month that you won’t like or that has ants and spiders crawling all around the bathroom.
Actually, up until October 2009, Buenos Aires was our only travel experience where we didn’t stay with family or friends or have a hotel pre-arranged through a tour package of some kind. For longer stays, we use sites like VRBO.com and Viviun.com, or do a simple Google search for “Vacation Rental CITYNAME, COUNTRYNAME” or “Apartment rental CITYNAME, COUNTRYNAME”. For shorter stays, TripAdvisor.com is a great site that we use frequently because it’s generally real reviews from real people who have stayed there before… and you can get a good idea for price of an area.
Some areas have been more difficult. The most surprising difficult search was here in Christchurch, NZ, but we’re in an apartment now that we’re quite pleased with, completely furnished and all utilities for about $770 for the month.
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June 19th, 2010
Wine tasting in Waipara, New Zealand
Last weekend, our friends Matt and Nicole (and their son, Caden) took us to Waipara, New Zealand.
What’s in Waipara? Wine. That’s what’s in Waipara (wine, and wine alone).
That’s right, we went in search of some of the best wine in New Zealand. Now, reportedly, Blenheim is where to go to get the best wine, but why drive 4 hours when you can drive 20 minutes?
Waipara is only about 20-30 minutes away from Christchurch, and it is known for its pinot noir, Riesling, and chardonnay wines.
On our way there, we decided that no trip to wine country would be complete without also stopping at a beer brewery. So, we pulled in to BrewMoon for a beer tasting.
To be honest, I thought all of their beers were a little bitter for my taste. But, they served great lunch, and we had a fun time.
From there it was back to the business of the day: wine. Our first stop was Mudhouse Wines. But, they charged for a tasting, so we left…in search of free tastings.
We found the first one at: Torlesse. We were able to taste most of their wines, and even walked away with a bottle of Port.
Then we went to another winery, and tasted some great Rieslings.
On our way back to Christchurch, we decided to stop at MudHouse and pay their fee after all.
The pourer at Mud House was great. He was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about his wine offerings.
Caden had fun looking at the water fountain and sculpture outside. Then it was back home for us after a great day for our taste buds.
Popularity: 1% [?]
June 18th, 2010
Kartoffel Puffer (German Potato Pancakes)
The first time I had Kartoffel Puffer, I was in Germany and it was Christmas-time. I was in heaven. If you haven’t experienced Christmas in Germany, you’re really missing out. It’s fabulous.
The air smells of Christmas (at least what Christmas smells like to me) – Gluehwein (hot, spiced wine), apples, cinnamon, bratwurst, sauerkraut, and kartoffel puffer.
When I returned home a few months later, I was eager to share my “discovery” with Jonathan. But, of course, he already knew what they were. So, we tried to make them at home.
Something wasn’t quite right though. We learned what it was from Jonathan’s Oma (Grandma) who’s German. Apples. You can’t have truly great Kartoffel Puffer without apples.
Sure, most recipes say you don’t need them, but they don’t know the whole truth. Thankfully, you do.
Now, go into the kitchen, and make yourself some of these delicious treats (and, treats is right – they’re not the healthiest of foods, but that should mean you’ll enjoy them that much more).
Kartoffel Puffer
SERVES 4-5 , 2-3 cakes per serving
Ingredients
* 6 medium potatoes, peeled
* 1 medium onion
* 1 medium apple, peeled
* 1 egg
* 1/3 cup flour
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* cooking oil
* applesauce, for serving
Directions
1. Grate potatoes and onion. Stir in eggs, flour and salt immediately.
2. Heat cooking oil -about 1 Tablespoon per batch.
3. Using a one/third-cup metal measuring cup, scoop up some potato-onion mixture, and spread in a circle in the pan. Flatten out a bit, into a cake. Fry for about 2 minutes per side until golden-brown and crispy around edges.
4. Transfer cakes to a warm plate or keep warm in the oven. Best when served immediately with a dollup of applesauce.
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