In this episode we talk about the transformative experiences of globe-trotting, from confronting the bride price tradition in Israel to absorbing the customs of local communities in far-flung corners of the world. We also explore the ways travel broadens perspectives, comparing the shared experiences of venturing abroad before and in the age of social media.
In this episode we talk about the transformative experiences of globe-trotting, from confronting the bride price tradition in Israel to absorbing the customs of local communities in far-flung corners of the world. We also explore the ways travel broadens perspectives, comparing the shared experiences of venturing abroad before and in the age of social media.
It's Reginald TL, coming to you from lovely city of Atlanta, georgia, going out to what I assume is Houston with Laura. Laura, is it Houston? No, laura, this is a travel show that we've been trying to do several times. This is like our third time trying to do the show. We're going to try to get it done here this time, and one of the places I've always wanted to go to was Houston. I don't really never a big, huge Texas guy, but Houston, places like Houston, dallas, austin they do kind of intrigue me in a sense, right Like a places to visit. Now, if a person, a person like me, who has never been to Texas and I think I've asked you this on every single one of these shows and I don't think you've answered it on any one of them, but I'm going to try again for the third or fourth time Is there a favorite, laura? Is there a favorite between those areas for you?
Speaker 2:In Texas. So the thing about Texas is that and this is why it's so hard to answer it's like a California, you know, from Northern to Southern you're going to get a totally different vibe, and so it's the same thing, I think in Texas. Houston, by far, is the most diverse of the cities, probably, you know, most populated. You've got an amazing nightlife, You've got cultural things. I mean it's, it really is fabulous. Dallas is pretty, you know. I think it's a very nice and you still get that city feel. San Antonio is smaller, Very Isn't that?
Speaker 1:that's where you're from, though right Is San Antonio where you're from.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it's very rich in culture. In like like Mexican culture, you know, because I would say Hispanic, but it's particularly, you know, people from Mexico and they have, you know, they're big on feet. It's a beautiful city. It's a great place to travel to and for tourists. For me personally, not to live, but that's just my opinion because I like a diverse city, austin will put you in the minds of California. It's got the beautiful hills. I mean Texas has hill country, texas has, you know, you've got Bayou's in Houston. You've got anything that you want. You can get it here in Texas, including severe heat and severe cold.
Speaker 1:Really. Yeah, we're going through severe cold here in Atlanta, so I know that's, that's all about. Now let's talk about the city. That's on your sweatshirt there, because you're not. We're in a Houston, you're not wearing a Texas sweatshirt there. You were in that New York shirt and New York I love New York, by the way let's talk about, because one of the things I wanted to speak on in this particular episode is is all the different types of perceptions you get about places that you've never been to, right, and the people that are there and the things that you hear in the news.
Speaker 1:You know, when you are just in the media in general, and one of the things is in Atlanta, you always hear about those Yankees there, this, that and the other, and they're just so rude and everything is dirty up there. There's rats the size of cats running around up there and I've got to say that my experience personally was pretty good. I didn't experience there was, I think the people was probably about biggest shock. I would say I wouldn't, and I wouldn't even say shock, because after you traveled for a bit, you kind of know not to make these assumptions, right. Right, and I would say that people, the people there, were a lot nicer than giving credit for and a lot more helpful than giving credit for what has been your perception of of New York.
Speaker 2:I think the same thing. I think you know it gets a bad rap and I I by no means am a connoisseur of like New York, right, you'd have to ask for sure, and how many times would you have to go to?
Speaker 1:I mean, I mean, think about it from a visiting standpoint. New York has so much to see. Can you ever really be a connoisseur without living there? I don't know if that's possible in any place, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, I can honestly say I I've traveled to New York probably more times than any other place that I've been. I probably would at one point, maybe once a month. My best friend lived there. It was my birthday, my 18th birthday gift. My aunt asked me she was a flight attendant for American and she said you can go anywhere in the United States you want to go and I picked New York city. We stayed in Manhattan and this was pre-Juliani I'm giving away my age and York has made a lot of changes since then and you know people who know New York. They know like pre-Juliani it was a certain way it was probably where you got these, you know those, those kind of CD you know like.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the underbelly like all the stereotypes that people probably come with come from From around that era, which is like a long, long, long time ago.
Speaker 2:Right, exactly. And then it also changed with 9-Eleven. It changed the city, it changed the people. I think a true New Yorker who was there at the time can probably best articulate what went on, like the shift in energy and everything. But it really did change New York. It's like, when you know, covid changed the world. But I think New York gets like this bad rap because anytime you have so many people in such a small place right, it's so populated, of course the crime is going to be more because you've got more people. And about New Yorkers being rude, they're just always on a mission, going where they need to go. You know they walk around like they have blinders on and so you've got to like really get in that shuffle. You can't just stop and you know what is that? Like they're always trying to get somewhere. Everything is like this. You know that saying a New York minute yeah sure that that is real.
Speaker 1:I did experience that when I was up there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so what was that experience for you for the New York minute?
Speaker 1:In the sense of just like everybody being pressed. You know, there wasn't only. If you saw people that were kind of like hanging out and hanging around, they were typically tourists, yeah, whereas you're. So you're doing your tourist thing, you're taking your selfies, you're looking at all this, all this stuff, and people are just trying to get to work man, trying to get home, trying to get to their next destination, and they're pretty much focused on where they're going.
Speaker 1:I feel like I I mean that resonated with me to a certain degree because when I'm on trips, a lot of times I might have days that are kind of like off days on trips, versus the other days when I'm really focused on the next. I'm really focused on getting to what I'm trying to get to. You know, I wanted to go to the Met, I wanted to go do so many things. I was on tour guides, we were, you know, our tour guide, of course, is in New York, so he's he's popping from this spot to this spot, to this spot, to this spot, to this spot, so we're all running behind. Well, I wasn't like a group, so we're all running behind, you know, in that group. So that kind of resonated with me because I had places I wanted to go. I guess I would be. That would have maybe been more off putting to me if I wanted to kind of sit around and smell the roses, so to speak, and just kind of like look at stuff.
Speaker 1:But being that I was so like on the move myself of wanting I've had a purpose of things I wanted to kind of do, that kind of resonates. Because I mean, who wants to kind of just stand around taking pictures and stuff? I mean, I had those moments but I didn't have a lot of them. So I kind of get that. And also I think another thing to that when you're in a city that's a popular tourist city, I think that sometimes it can get kind of annoying that people are always just kind of in your way, stopping to take selfies, maybe one ask for directions. I will tell you I didn't necessarily have to ask for directions, like all I did a couple of times was somebody look at my phone, laura, and somebody would help me out. That's how. That's how easy it was. I'm looking at my phone, maybe I just look so lost. Look I think.
Speaker 2:And the weird headlights look.
Speaker 1:Yeah, is that it's really?
Speaker 2:easy Is that? It's really. You know their streets are numbered and so it's easy. You know. You know uptown from downtown by the numbers of the streets, so they make it really easy. Their blocks are shorter, so it really is a little bit easier to me to navigate than a lot of these cities.
Speaker 2:But I remember my first time going to New York. And then that brings me to the point where I was thinking because you know, you and I travel differently. You love and itinerary and I don't. I remember my first time going to New York and we got in our flight, got in late, I'm 18, you know, it's many moons ago, like many moons ago.
Speaker 2:And so my aunt, you know, tells me when it when it really was not probably safe for me to go by myself at night. And so I'm like, okay, you know, I'm ready to go. And she was like, oh no, no, we, you know, we'll go tomorrow and we'll go to the Empire State Building and we'll go here and we'll go there. And I'm like, oh, I want to. Like, I want to see the grittiness, the streets, I want to see the people, I want to see, you know, the side street fashion and all of that. And she was like Laura, this is not San Antonio. Like you, just don't walk down the street.
Speaker 2:And I was like, well, what do people who are from New York do? So she was like but you don't know where you're going, you've never been here. And I said, okay, this is what I'll do, I'll go out of the hotel, I'll make a right, I'll walk until I get that you know that New York feel. And then I'll turn around and walk back. Can't go wrong, right? And then she was like okay, don't take your purse, because you don't want to look like a tourist, don't take pictures, just walk. And so I was very it was ultra shock for this little Texas, san Antonio, texas girl, in the best kind of way, and that's exactly what I did. Like I, I tried not to, like you know, just stare in awe with my mouth open, but really taking in the streets was just one of the best experiences that I could have ever had, by far of any trip that I've ever taken.
Speaker 1:Really.
Speaker 2:By far, by far, that that experience as an 18 year old was. It was one of those experiences that changes your life, like you can travel and you see beautiful things and you're you know, but this really did change my life. Again, it was culture shock for me. I was this, you know, little girl from San Antonio, Texas, who had not been a whole lot of places. I've been places, but with my family not really experiencing, you know, lots of different cultures in San Antonio, always being this, you know, like asked what are you? And when you go to New York, nobody asks you what are you?
Speaker 1:because there's a, there's so many.
Speaker 2:Yes, and so I. I finally, finally, Reggie, I felt like I fit in somewhere. I never really felt that in my life until I went to New York and just saw so many shades of people and you know, it was amazing.
Speaker 1:You know that's interesting because I will say that I had a very so with me, the kind of person and kind of how I travel, I like to, and I stay up very late. So this is I don't know if this is a recommendation I can give people, because I'm can be pretty adventurous and I and I'm naturally a night owl what I would typically do is I'll have itinerary days, okay, and I and I have three nights. So what I would do and when I did what I was in New York is we'd pop out 1112 o'clock at night is because people are still out. So we're out of here, like like we'll. We might do like a itinerary in a daytime of some sort. I think that's when we went to see Hamilton. We saw that I went to Broadway, that was all in daytime came back, we chilled for a second, popped back out of the hotel for whatever our night thing Maybe.
Speaker 1:One day was going to the Met, another day was just riding around. My brother was there. He's been in New York for about 20 years, so he just took us around all the real new york, like not just the Times Square, touristy stuff, so like neighborhoods and stuff like that, because there's certain parts that once you get outside of the city of new york, that looked like a lot of other places, um, once you're outside of like the city portion and you're just going to where people actually live in residential areas and different burros and stuff like that. So we did that night, um, but I enjoyed Walking around and to me it was nothing like it walking around new york about one o'clock in the morning with all these people out, um, there was nothing like it and and I enjoyed it. Yeah, correct, likes everywhere, people everywhere there's and we were right in Times Square. So I understand that's like the most touristy Place in new york you can go is like right in Times Square. Um, but when you're there, the lord, the lights were so much it seemed like it was day, didn't even seem like nighttime, like you're out there in the light. There's so many lights out there that it just didn't seem Unsafe.
Speaker 1:And in a sense, when you're from, I will tell you, just being from Atlanta, in general, I guess it's different, yeah, uh, when you're from a city Going to a bigger city versus being from the country Going to the city, if that makes sense. You're already aware of city dynamics and I will tell you, the city dynamics are. City dynamics is you need to be looking Over your shoulder to a certain degree, only that certainly need to be afraid of the city, but you need to be cautious. That's just city dynamics. In my opinion, whether I was in Korea, where I was in new york, it was the same thing, um, because you know, when you're in Seoul, it's always a massive city, it's a city Um, so it. There's a lot of city dynamics there. The people do it. Everywhere you look down an alleyway, there's like 30, 40 businesses right down a random alleyway with people all selling all kinds of stuff, all kinds of stands and stuff like that.
Speaker 1:But I feel like, if you naturally, um, if you're naturally equipped to Look out for yourself in these settings, um, maybe you just elevated a bit, you know, maybe you, if you're not, you shouldn't be doing stupid stuff. I think, in any city, like you shouldn't be telegraphing that you're not from a place. Um, you shouldn't be, because that makes you an easy target, especially in New York, because the people, like you'll see people in Deadpool costumes and stuff like that and that's gonna cost you, ladies and gentlemen, you, you, you Don't let that guy, that spider-man guy walk up to you and I think that's gonna be sweet because he's gonna ask for some money and they're gonna be pretty aggressive. So, um, yeah, you got to get over that. Did you experience any of that when you? Because where were you? Were you in Times Square when you went? Has you been several times?
Speaker 2:I have and I've been um to every borough, uh, except for maybe Staten Island, but I've been to, you know, queens and Brooklyn and the Bronx.
Speaker 1:Brooklyn man. I like Brooklyn. Brooklyn's a coming up area right now.
Speaker 2:Yeah and um, I'll never forget, like when I, when I first went. You know the guys will sell you like a bracelet or something.
Speaker 2:I like you know, yeah, yeah, yeah, come on. Okay, and you're so pretty, you know, just just just 20 dollars, two dollars. I'm like, oh really, yeah, yeah, yeah, here you go and you give them the money and you go, and then you get back to your room You're like that's not what I. He sold me something different, you know. And then you start watching. But I've always been the type I will say this. I've I've always been the type to be able to kind of read the room and.
Speaker 2:You know, look around, and I think part of that is because I love human nature and people watching and just to watch interaction between people and how they react to different things, and so Naturally, I'm able to read the room or read the city to be able to see. You know, like Something is off about this, is not feeling right, and I go with my gut. Um, you can't go wrong if you go with your gut. Even if it's this very slight inkling of no, then you know, and there are just some people who either ignore it or I don't know, they just don't have it. I don't, I don't know, I don't know.
Speaker 2:But being a traveler and wanting to go off the beaten path, um, because I we've talked about this before you know, when you really want to know a city, you ask the locals. So, where do you go eat? I don't want to go to, you know this place. That's this Pamphlet in my hotel. I want to go where the locals eat. I want to go where the locals shop, where they go out, where they go get coffee, where they. You know, that's what I want to do, um, and that's how you really learn a city. Um, and just get that real feel right. Um, yeah, absolutely, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:I feel like, uh, when I was there, you, you kind of get. It only takes a couple of days for you to know the difference between, um, new Yorker pricing and tourist pricing. Yeah, so there's, there's, and I feel like that's not a new york thing, that is a traveling thing. You have the tourist price and you have the actual price. Yeah, um, I, when I first got to New York, I went, uh, I was in my hotel, we went out to eat my hotel, and this is the only that has happened and people, my brother laughs at me. Uh, when I told him, when I told him this, he was like you're crazy. Uh, so I went down, went down to the hotel lobby real quick and we're like, hey, we're really hungry, right. So we went and put our stuff up, went out to the hotel lobby to eat and I had some.
Speaker 1:I had three hot dogs. There was a little mini hot dogs about that big three mini hot dogs. Um, those hot dogs were 23 dollars For three Little mini hot. They weren't even full-sized hot dogs.
Speaker 1:Now, anybody who's been in New York knows how cheap you can get a hot dog for at any food stand and they're delicious, by the way, at any of those food stands are amazing. Yeah, um, amazing food stands in New York. Uh, we build, but be on the lookout for tourist pricing there too, um, but I'm in a hotel and and the hotel wasn't necessarily tourist pricing was just a bad decision, in my opinion, just because we were staying in a nice hotel. So if you're staying in a nice hotel and you decide to eat at that hotel, be prepared to pay a lot of money. But I will tell you, lord, those hot dogs are delicious. Those, those are some of the best.
Speaker 1:Those little three mini hot dogs I had were absolutely amazing. I don't know what they did to them, but they were great. But they were not worth 23 dollars. Don't pay 23 dollars for three little mini hot dogs. And they didn't even come in french fries, they came with chips and, um, I do regret the price, but I don't. I don't regret that experience and I made that mistake when I first got there. So everything else was a little better price wise, because I made that mistake very early on. Um, but it is something that you have to look out for, I think, in in any of these stands and, moving on from from New York, let's talk about some other places that you've been to, because you have an interesting story that you've told me about when you were in israel and, and let's, let's talk a little bit about that, because you told me that was also a, uh, one of the highlights of places that you've been.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it absolutely was, um. And then you talk about like um, you know, getting taken advantage of that. That happened to us in israel as well and luckily our god went back to the guy and he was like no, given their money back. So not only are you getting taken advantage of, but you kind of got to. You know, do like um. You know your money is it's not an american dollars and you're like okay, that's, you know, or let me get out my. I'm trying to. You know your money and you're trying to. You know it was a mess, but in israel, twice I was with a group and twice Someone offered to Buy me and the first time it happened we thought it was. Because I still think it is.
Speaker 2:Um, you know, because of my upbringing and background, I'm I'm very careful with being judgmental on other cultures, because that's what you know and that's how you're brought up and that's what you know. And you know who am I to say it's right or wrong, but you know where it's it's. It's absolutely ludicrous for a man to go to another man and you know I'm standing there as if I'm not standing there. So what you know, what would you take for her? You know I want to buy her. I want to buy her. Uh, what would you take? And you know it's just ludicrous, it's right. But that happened to us twice. In the first time we thought it was a joke, we laughed and our guide was like no, that's, you know it's offensive for you to laugh and like not take it seriously, like you can decline that offer, but that's he's serious. And so, yeah, that was, that was a trip.
Speaker 1:So tell me something real quick. There. Two things here, laura. So one Flattering or not flattering, because were you the only female in the group or you were there multiple females in the group.
Speaker 2:There was one other female in the group. Um, she was an older lady, um, so let's see if if I just want to be partly honest it I'm not gonna say it was flattering, um, because I really am very independent on my own, my own woman, but I must say I'm there must have been some type of flattery there, because I remember saying, like, is that all I'm worth? You know, still not knowing what the going, what the going rate is for a wife, but, um, yeah, so I don't, I don't know that I was flattered. I think, like, had it been this huge amount, you know, then it was been like yeah, all right, but Absolutely felt, very, not degraded, but you know, like, do come on.
Speaker 2:Um, are you serious? Like no, we're not gonna do that. Um, but it's the same way I feel about when people are telling women what to do with their bodies here in the united states. Um, like, are you, are you serious? This is, this Belongs to me, you know I'm and god, but this belongs to me. And no, it's not for sale. You can't, at least for me. Um, you can't tell me what to do with it, things like that.
Speaker 2:So, but the culture is so different there, which and we've talked about this before too like, when you're traveling abroad, you really need to know the culture, you need to read, to educate yourself, because you are not, you are in someone else's land. You know, you really need to be educated in that, and it's and it's very, not just ignorant, but it's very um pompous and arrogant of anyone, but especially of americans and united states, for us to Not educate ourselves and not know the culture when we're traveling abroad. Um, even when I went to I'll never forget this I went to new york once and A cab driver was saying something to me and he said where are you from? And I said oh, I'm from texas. And he said yeah, I can tell by your voice. He said but you're the first person from texas who didn't tell me exactly where they're from. Like, we know all about texas, you know and I wow, texas, and texas do have that kind of.
Speaker 2:You know, I'm a texan, you know, and we're that's in texas, that that it doesn't mean anything in california or new york or wisconsin, or Only in texas, right.
Speaker 2:And so I'm very arrogant of us, when we travel, um, not to educate ourselves on the customs and the cultures, because everyone does not have the same rights In different countries, in different places, um, that we have that we, you know that are amazing in the united states, that that we tend to take for granted, um, but you really see that another thing in israel is our guide, who was jewish, couldn't go into becla hem with us, um, because he was jewish. And we just we were like what do you mean? Like you just walk, walk over here? And he was like no, I can't, you can, even though we weren't muslim, but we were still tourists, I guess, and we had our passports, but he could not enter because he was jewish.
Speaker 2:So you know, we take those things for granted. There's nowhere that you can't go here. There are some places where you you think twice about going if you're a certain skin color or if you're a woman, but you know, in, in theory, there is no place that you can't go. So we do take those, those freedoms, for granted, but we've got to know what we're dealing with when we're traveling abroad.
Speaker 1:It's interesting and and I'm gonna bring up a couple of things as we kind of um, as you get towards the end of the shows, I'll bring up some, some things that I think will be helpful, kind of towards the end of the show, and we'll kind of piggyback off that, and but right now let's talk about some things that were just unexpected. Um, now, when I can tell you when I uh was in korea and korea is an amazing place I really could do a whole show on korea. I love it so much. I have, like a korean plate here that I just like have sitting to the side here. I'm not sure, I'm not sure if you can see that. Sure, if you can see that right there.
Speaker 2:That's gorgeous.
Speaker 1:Yes, and you can get stuff like that, a ton of stuff. But I have a stuff, a lot of ton of trinkets like that from Korea a million and it's amazing place to be. But I will tell you there were some unexpected things, just like we talked about with with New York, and one of the unexpected things was, for one, of American culture and black American, african American culture In general.
Speaker 1:African American culture in the impact of American culture on other cultures and this is not just Korea and places I've been to, but in the impact of American culture on other places is vast, you know, and the impact of African American culture on other places is is a vast. It travels man, and so that was something that was like surprising to me. You go there, you see all the you know rappers and all this other kind of stuff that you see in these other cultures that you would Be ubiquitous for. That African American culture here in America is something that was surprising to me to see so far away On the other side of the earth. You know that's a show.
Speaker 2:That's a show within itself as well, just the impact of African American culture on the world. But go ahead.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's vast and and that was surprising to me I wasn't necessarily Expecting that. Another thing is like your treatment. I feel like If you have a personality and we talked about this before off you know off air, so to speak if you have a personality and people tend to like you, where you are from, whether you're in from the country, whether you're from a city with millions of people that will travel, people will like you in other places. It doesn't matter. Like it, that won't be just a an American thing for you. If you're Friendly and you send the attract people and people tend to like you, people will like you in other places. You know You'll have the same kind of interactions In other countries. You might not speak the language, but you'll have the same kind of interactions there in other countries.
Speaker 1:So that was something that surprised me and is how and just how well you will be Treated, because I think that from, especially from a, an African-american standpoint, you always feel like or people, I should say that and this is kind of more the stereotype than the reality People always feel like you're just gonna go everywhere and just be this oppressed individual. They're just gonna hate on you everywhere you go in in the world and not knowing that a lot of people feel like America's the most oppressed place. So when you go to places, other places in the world, they feel like America's the most Most discriminative place that you'll ever be. So when you go to these places, a lot of times there's.
Speaker 1:They're surprised that you feel like way about them because they're like look at where you're from, are you crazy? Like Right. So that was something that was surprising. The treatment be very friendly people. Other friendly people weren't surprised and I thought this Just a lot of cultures in general is mostly mostly by encounter are friendly people. Now, it's not to say that there aren't Some assholes out here for sure there are. Every place has their share of them. There are dangerous people every place, every place has their share of them, but the vast majority friendly. It was a Very fast moving city because it is a city with millions of people, so it was extremely fast moving. What are some of the things that surprised you about places that you've gone?
Speaker 2:I Think I think one is, I Probably you know the, the freedoms that we take for granted when you go to some places outside of the United States and you kind of see some of the things that they do. It's it, it really makes you think about how fortunate you are, you know, even though we have so many Things that we could work on here. And you're right, I think, that energy transcends wherever you go. It's just like Music, right, like a good song. It doesn't matter what language it's in, like, if it's right that rhythm is going, it doesn't matter, people are still gonna move to it because it moves you. So You're right that energy transcends, no matter where you go. Um, and, and you can see that it just doesn't matter, I think.
Speaker 2:Let me see what are some of the things that have surprised me. Um, I Don't, I can't think of a lot of things, probably just there are some similarities in the places that you go. Some things are the same, but you know, depending on where, in Certainly, in the United States you go, even though we're the, you know, we're the United States, there are lots of different. There are differences in the way people talk, you know. In the way you know some people call it pop, some people call it soda, in the way you eat your hot dog.
Speaker 2:Do you eat it? With coleslaw, do you eat it? You know, and so that's always interesting to me to go To different places, even in the United States, and just kind of learn how people do things there. You know the the New Orleans culture. There's nothing like it. You know when you go to Vegas how people, you know how people act, and I think Times Square is kind of, doesn't it remind you, like the Vegas strip with the lights?
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know, it reminds me in a sense, you know what? What the similarities between Times Square and Vegas to me are is how different things are once you leave the strip, once you leave Times Square, like once you leave those areas. If you leave Vegas, you leave this trip and you just out in Henderson or wherever you are, you just out in the neighborhood in the dead very much you.
Speaker 1:You pretty much typical USA Outlet malls, strip malls, stores, saying that you see everywhere, and then you have the strip which is like nothing that you see anywhere.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So they were very similar, uh, in that aspect. And one of the things that I do want to close with is one of my main takeaways and then I'll get one from you as well, because, of course, we can make a whole list. We could do another show. Maybe we will do another travel show With just a few tips for people who are just kind of embarking on their travel journeys. But one of the things that you touched on, I feel like it's super important.
Speaker 1:No matter where you go, even if it's in the united states and that's gonna be my main one um, if you're going to another place and you feel like you got to learn the language, you're doing your dual lingo, you're getting up, you're doing everything to try to learn the language and and how people speak in that place, I feel like your time will be better spent learning the customs. Learn the customs of where you are going. Learn the customs because people will be impressed with that. People will be impressed that you know you don't have to know the language, but if you know the certain customs if you're in korea, you know how to hold your chopsticks, how to place your chopstick, if you know how that kind of stuff goes a long way because to them it shows and and this is anywhere, I think when people come into your house, you want them to. You want you can appreciate the fact that they appreciate your customs. You take your shoes off at the door. If you see, my shoes are at the door, and when you come into my house do you take them off, and then people may appreciate that small gesture. They're not gonna like they might not be on you if you don't take them off, and that's the same kind of thing. They're not. They know you are a tourist in these places, so they don't have a high bar of you knowing what their customs are, but it goes a very long way when you do so. I feel like you're better, you're better off learning those customs.
Speaker 1:I don't know if you watch shows. I watch shows like Uh, 90 day fiance when I grow up, and we'll be watching these shows, right, and it'll be like the other way though. So not, it'll be them going over there, more so than people coming over here, and so they'll go over there and they'll go to these different countries and they'll want to Americanize the countries, and it makes me cringe. It makes me cringe because they'll be over there. Well, where's it? Where is the air conditioning? Where is, where is all this I'm so used to in America? And he's like, did you even Remotely study up on where you were going? Like, did you even look it up on the internet, even google it? Um, so I feel like learning the customs Goes a very far away. That would be one of my main takeaways. If you take away anything. Yeah, one of my main takeaways would be that learn about where you're going.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I know we try to gentrify everything, don't we? Some of us? Um, I think it's respectful if I go to a country where the women Whether I agree with this or not If the women have to cover their hair, that is what I'm going to do, because that's your. It's disrespectful if I don't, um, but you know, you've got to be at a level of of maturity really to do that as well, and so, um, I think, one of the things that I could say for people and everybody doesn't have a job like this, I realized that, but I remember I was at a job and it sent me a lot of different places and I would always take a few days after or before and, um, make sure that I stayed, whether you know, like, if it was like a Chicago or, um, you know, denver, someplace like that, if I had to go on a business trip, I would take a few days after or before um Orlando, places like that, and that would be my vacation, and that meant my airfare was paid for, um, my hotel was partially paid for, um, you know, for three of the five or six days that I'm there, my meals are paid for and I've got amazing vacation. So you know things like that. There are so many travel clubs right now, um, that people could take advantage of, because, and and flights are not crazy expensive. Um, like there are ways that people can travel without spending a lot of money, um, and I see people doing that too Like people are making money off of traveling.
Speaker 2:But I think amazing things about travel is that you do get to experience, um, something different than you know. You're not. You're every day what you're, what you're living with every day, and that's not to say that that's bad, it's just different. And I've always said, like, when you travel, I made sure that I made my, I took my son everywhere with me, I made sure that he traveled, because when you stretch your mind, especially through traveling, and you meet people who are different than you and they're you know, they talk and walk and eat different things, it's really hard for your mind to go back to the way it was because of that exposure.
Speaker 2:I know people who don't leave their neighborhoods, their cities, their states, their countries, um, and I'm not saying those who financially can't, um, but if you can like, there's nothing like that. And then one last thing, reggie, and I don't want to say I'm too, too old, but I, when I did travel, it was before social media and I really had the pleasure Of being in the moment because I didn't have to post anything, I didn't have to Prove I was here. I didn't have to take a picture of my food before I ate it Not that there's anything wrong with that, because I love living vicariously through all of these people on social media. You know who travel, um, but there is something about going somewhere and really being in the moment and not worrying about Um. Is this a great shot for you know, for tiktok? Or you know, instagram?
Speaker 1:It's very interesting and people my know my social media struggles. I absolutely struggle. We could do a whole show on my struggles with social media because I am just so mister, not social media. I even know I do take a lot of pictures when I'm traveling, of random stuff. It'll be the random. I have like 30 pictures of random trees, um, when I'm going back through my stuff, uh, and looking at them, so I get it, um, and I think that social media is great for people who are into that, and and that's something that you do see when you go to a lot of places is groups and groups and groups of selfies, selfies, selfies, selfies, selfies, selfies. People on their traveling vlogs right, they're walking with their phone. No one's you in their shot, you know, and and and there's a. There's a lot of that that you do see now traveling now versus, I guess, been, but it, um, it's still amazing and, um, we'll probably be some more shows on this. I definitely appreciate you taking some time out here, laura.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's always fun talking to you, reggie.
Speaker 1:All right, this is Reggie natl. Check us out to dry heart radio, google podcast ever podcast butterfly, where you find your podcast, as well as tiktok and on instagram, which I'm going to have to actually pay attention to here at some point in my life. See you next time, guys. All right we got it.