What's a Vacation?

Think you can’t take time off for more than a weekend? Envy your French friends as they plan for three weeks in the country in the summer, the Italians who turn off the business e-mail during August?

Vacations, how much and when can be a sensitive topic. Unions negotiate for more time off on behalf of workers, employment contracts contain clauses relating to vacations to be taken and employers remind their staff that time off is a benefit not a right. But seldom does a government urge people to take more time off.

In Korea today the government urges people to take their vacation time. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal (www.wsj.com) the Korean government has decided that workers are not taking enough vacation. The article “Vacation Takes Work in Korea” cites 2007 statistics for hours work showing that Koreans worked 2,316 hours a year – significantly more than US workers who averaged 1,794 hours or employees in the OECD countries who worked the fewest hours at 1,768.

After years of encouraging people to work to build their economy, the government now tells people to use their time off. Although Korean government workers are allotted 23 days a years the typical worker only takes six days.

Vacation. An extended period of recreation, travel, being away form home. Time to refresh. What's your plan for 2010?

Hamburgers, Hemlines or Housing Starts?

Looking for ways to understand what’s going on in the economy, either local or global?
You may want to read through a recent Minyanville (www.minyanville.com) posted on MSN Money article (http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com) title “Economic indicators: Serious and Silly (although what’s silly for one person is serious for another.).

Of the ten indicators listed you’ll likely be familiar with the CPI (Consumer Price Index), housing starts and unemployment rate. But did you ever consider tracking sales of men’s underwear? That’s a one followed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. Other trends to watch include women’s hemlines (do shorter skirts mean a stronger economy?) or people on magazine covers (will the company stock go up or down?) For insight to global purchasing power there’s the Big Mac index published by the Economist magazine (www.economist.com)

With a glance at the current index issued in January 2010 I can see that a Big Mac will cost approximately US $4.84 when I arrive in Paris later this month and in Japan in November it will cost $3.50. The average cost in the US? It’s $3.58. What’s the cost at your next destination and what data, trends will you follow to understand our world economy?

Singapore

What will we eat? While we talk about the the practical, professional aspects of our plans for travel the questions in our mind are often about food. (speaking for myself of course). What’s special there? Will I like it? How will I find what’s interesting? All these queries are in my mind as I plan for my first visit to Singapore later this year.

Thanks to a my niece’s blog after her recent visit I can see some of what I may sample during my stay. Curious about the street food and local snacks? Check out Lia’s blog: http://reliableeats.blogspot.com and you’ll immediately see images to tempt you. . Scroll past the "Cupcakes in Tacoma" post to the January 30 entry and learn what makes peanut butter toast so special.

Want to learn about more about Singapore than its food? Visit http://app.www.sg for wonderful photos, practical information and fascinating facts. Did you know that the 2008 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix was the first ever night race in Forumla 1 history?

If you have a special place to visit, meal to find, snack you love in Singapore I hope you'll pass along the information. After my visit I'll share what I find. Exploring a new destination - exciting!

Valentines Day: Global, Local, Forbidden

Valentines a global holiday? Really? I knew it was celebrated in France. In Hong Kong I’ve shared a special Valentines dinner with friends and seen couples strolling through the shopping malls, arms linked. Each woman was carrying a large bouquet of flowers. Florists in these centers hope that Valentines Day falls on a weekday, because clients will order flowers to be sent to friends, sweethears in offices in adjacent buildings.

But it isn’t a celebration limited to the US, France and Hong Kong. Thanks to Chris writing at blog.brillianttrips.com, we are reminded that this is a global event. I learned form his post that in Denmark people send pressed white flowers called Snowdrops and that in Japan on February 14 women give presents to men. Their day comes on March 14 when it’s expected that men will reciprocate. In Taiwan the number of roses given has special significance (11 means “a favorite, and 108 “marry me") and for South Africa, the holiday brings tourists to the beaches.

Yet not every country celebrates with enthusiasm. In India there may be protests against this Western holiday and in Saudi Arabia celebration is banned. According to the Los Angeles Times writer Meris Lutz (latimes.com) Valentines Day is “outlawed as a pagan holiday”.

This holiday often seems to be something created by the people who sell us greeting cards, its origins lost in a barrage of commercial messages. Yet, depending on where you are, the meaning is transformed, the celebratory activities varied.

Valentines Day – Global. Local. Sometimes forbidden.

Visitors from Sudan

Until this week my vision of Sudan was strife, death, poverty. My impressions came from the news, images on-line. I’d never met anyone who’d even visited Sudan, much less some who was from Sudan. All that changed Thursday evening. I had dinner with two people from Sudan who were in Los Angeles at the end of their visit to the US. They’d come to study curriculum development for their educational system.

Our dinner was the last activity of the their 10-day, three city (Boston, Washington, DC, Los Angeles) tour arranged by International Visitors Leadership program. The program is a joint effort of the National Council of International Visitors (NCIV) and the US Department of State. As a board member of the Los Angeles chapter of NCIV, the International Visitors Council of Los Angeles (www.ncivla.org) I was asked to provide hospitality for these visitors. What a great opportunity it was!

The visitors, a man and woman, both with graduate degrees, had traveled to Europe and Asia but never before to the US. By the time I saw them, they had met educators, government representatives, business people across the US.

They told me the trip changed their view of the United States and of Americans. No longer would they believe all Americans carried guns, that fights were everywhere and that all women dressed in a provocative manner. Their original vision was shaped by movies they’d seen. Now, they said, much to their surprise, they knew that wasn’t true.

And in exchange, their visit changed my view of Sudan. We shared stories of families and education, of travels and what we do to make a long flight better (we load our Kindles with books to read.). Suddenly I knew Sudan wasn’t all desolate and impoverished. It was like all countries a mixture of realities.

Thanks to the National Council of International Visitors (www.nciv.org) we three have new (maybe expanded even improved) views of the world. We are linked to each other. Planning to exchange more visits, to stay in touch. We’ve changed our worlds and you can change yours too. Join an NCIV group near you. Help shift the view of Americans for visitors and yours of the countries they represent, the world we inhabit.

The Phone and The World

A recent article in the Economist (www.economist.com) titled “The Apparatgeist calls” reminds us that culture influences more than the food we eat and the time we eat it. Rather the writer points out that culture shapes what we name things like our phones which, when translated into English, are referred to as cellulars, mobiles, hand machines, handys or something you can carry with you depending on where you live. (The US, UK, China,Germany, Japan).

Beyond naming culture and lifestyle shapes the look of the phones we buy and how we use them. For example when and where we are willing to take a call. The author suggests that in Italy people are willing to pay for a great looking phone rather than minutes to talk while the Germans generally are more concerned about cost that appearance.

History, economics, too play a role in shaping the use of phones, but the one constant across all cultures seems to be that the phone you can carry has become an integral part of our lives.

What to Wear?

I laughed out loud reading David Lebovitz’s description of the moment he knew he’d adapted to his new home city – Paris. In his book "The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World’s Most Glorious – and Perplexing – City" he described the lazy Sunday afternoon when he showered, shaved, dressed in a starched shirt and pressed jeans - all in order to take out the garbage – only steps down the hall from his front door.

No old sweatshirt, wrinkled shorts or yoga pants outside the front door for this (formerly) California guy. How he appeared, should one of his neighbors spot him, now was important. Without conscious thought he’d adapted to the dress patterns of his new home.

For a Californian who does wear old sweats to walk down the hall to the garbage chute the idea is hilarious. But at the same time, as one who spends significant time each year in Paris, it makes perfect sense. How you look even taking out the garbage matters.

When we pack for business trip we think in terms of weather at our destination, the weight of the bag and the cost we’ll be charged to get it on the plane. We need to take a few minutes to think about what we wear to look like we belong, to create a look that makes people comfortable with us. Formal or casual? Jeans or suits? Short sleeves or not? Lots of jewelry or none?

To answer the question Google: what to wear (name of destination),
Check Journeywoman (www.journeywoman.com), or guides including Fodor’s (www.Fodors.com) or Trip Advisor (www.tripadvisor.com), ask someone you know who does business at where you’re headed. For fun look at what’s being worn on the streets around the world go to The Sartorlialist (www.thesartorialist.blogspot.com).

Make it easy for people to feel at ease with you – look like you belong wherever your business takes you.