Category: Family

Encouragement · Family · Travel

Powers of prediction.

dawnhirnLeave a comment

Before you take a trip, sharpen your powers of prediction:

  1. When your kids are stuck in the back seat of a car for any length of time, you’ve got a problem. Boredom creates chaos on short trips.   So how can you tolerate a long, worldwide trip?

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Prepare:  And may I add, prepare, prepare.  Do intensive map, cultural and historical studies about places you plan to visit.  We made the kids an important part of the discussion. Pre-departure, each child researched 12 countries(in 12 weeks) each and presented them ‘Toast Masters style’ in front of the family via a ‘speech’ or ‘power point.’ It was a great fun to hear and see what each child found interesting about that country and really hit home when we arrived at ‘their’ country.

En route, when the kids were tired of studying, Ron and I engaged them more.  There will be times when your kids are sick of looking at ‘another museum,’ ‘another temple,’ or ‘another dumpling.’  Arm yourself with ideas;  Trivia details and word games-our fav. is the Alphabet country or capital Game- are fun and interactive and keep their attention.  When we had no more to offer, we grabbed one of the books we brought in the Family pack.

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  1. Backpack contents swell during travel. No law of physics supports this; but it’s true, even if you don’t collect things! I don’t know how this happens but it’s like the socks-in-the-dryer thing:  Put two in only one comes out.

Prepare:    Plan what you are going to bring on your trip,  down to the number of socks.   Don’t stick with ‘pairs’.   Pack the ‘traveler’s pair’ – which is three.  At least you’ll have one foot clean at a time.

3. Pack your backpack a month before you travel, and try living out of it.  You will                  know what you need, what you don’t.  Pack and re-pack.

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Prepare:    Leave non-survival stuff at home.  But never, ever forget the blanket.   The first gift you were given at birth was a blanket, and there was a reason.  It’s a great comfort, can become a changing room, a shade from the sun, a place to hide or fake-sleep when you want privacy.  It converts to a pillow, a warm wrap or a back support.

  1. Set down “Do’s and Don’t’s,” but let them run ahead and play.

Prepare:    Bring a ball.

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Powers of prediction.  You’ve got them.  Use them.

Talk Friday!  Dawn

Family · Travel

What if we get sick?

dawnhirnLeave a comment

As we prepared for this long trip, well-meaning friends gave us their latest “they say.”  You know:  “They say mosquitoes carry all kinds of diseases, including Malaria, West Nile Virus, Dengue fever, Elephantiasis and Lassa Fever.”   Someone once added “They say only the females bite humans.  Female Mosquitoes don’t make any noise, so you only need to fear the mosquitoes you don’t hear.”  (Say what??)

The CDC is always able to keep you aware of the latest outbreaks and potential threats to your family.  Visit:  www.cdc.gov/travel   before you go.

Nobody should charge out to Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria or Senegal;  but just because the place you are going is outside the US, doesn’t mean every country is disease-laden.

On our trip, we visited many burn hospitals to lift the spirits of those who, like us, had suffered horrible burns.  The hospital staffs, doctors and nurses were so gracious to give us their time and their take on medical care and attention, techniques, etc.  The patients we met were receiving the best care.

We carried one large ‘family-sized’ bag with over-the-counter and doctor- prescribed antibiotics and medicines just in case.   Most Asians customarily wear masks to protect those around them from the germs of coughs and colds.  Nevertheless, we each got at least one cold.    And Colton perfected his ‘gag reflex’ during several episodes throwing up. For the most part, the 5 of us were rarely sick traveling to 32 countries in those six month.

We each carried a small bag and each of us was responsible for our teeth, hair and hygiene.  Of course, I made sure of that.  (Thank you, Drill Sergeant!)   I also insisted on bottled water for tooth brushing and when adding lemonade packs.  Hand sanitizer was another must!

Be diligent.  Pay attention to details in your daily travels.  But remember germs.   As they say:   “you only need to fear the ones you don’t hear.”  Ha Ha!   It’s all about hygiene, my friend!

Talk to you Friday!

Dawn

Encouragement · Family · Travel

I’m afraid

dawnhirnLeave a comment

Did you ever play the game where you sit with friends around the table, one person whispers a little story into someone’s ear and it is passed on and on until it returns to the original story teller?  Somehow, during the transfer, the story experiences a metamorphosis and is hardly recognizable when it returns.

In 1980,  Ted Turner pioneered 24-hour news broadcast, and for the good and bad of it, we are being served.   Since 9/11, we anxiously feed off the news provided to us  at ‘the speed of sound,’ but unless it’s breaking news, we are being fed the same stuff with different slants all day and all night.

When you first hear ‘the story’ you are set on edge.  But as the story goes around the table it is amplified, adjusted and augmented.

It’s hard not to project fear into your upcoming trip.  But no one should go blindly on a world adventure.  Do your homework. Before you set sail or spread your wings,  check with the US State Department for updated travel alerts: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings.html

There are places you should not go.  Outside those places, your risk of dying from terrorism is one in 20 million, far exceeding your risk of being struck by lightning, which is one in 5.5 million.

Next week I’ll help you face a few more fears and give you the scoop on Ebola, the Zika Virus, concern over doctors and hospital care for your family, medicines,  fear of the food and the fear of ‘strangers.’

Like Franklin D. Roosevelt said: “The only thing to fear is fear itself.”      (March 4, 1933)

Adventure with Engagement AWE · Family · Travel

Kids. Don’t leave home without ‘em.

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If you want to travel easy, don’t choose Adventure With Engagement.  No AWE for you.  You choose AIL Adventure In Leisure,  which is a total contradiction to Adventure With Engagement.  Too much leisure will make you sick, fat and lazy.   And AIL does not usually include kids.  It’s an adult-only luxury hotel, spa or cruise ship experience, but not the stuff you use to make family memories.  Not lasting ones, anyway.

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True adventure takes some thought and preparation.  It is never rigid or buttoned-up, and almost always has an element of risk.

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Don’t go with your gut, which tells you herding your family through Beijing sounds exhausting.  If you leave the kids behind, every day at least once you will say “Oh, I wish so-and-so could have seen that!”   Before you know it, your kids are grown.  You will either have carved out memories or regrets.

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Kids slow you down.  That’s a good thing on a World adventure because otherwise you tend to speed up to include everything.  Sure,  you may not walk the entire Great Wall of China, but why would you want to?   Take time for snacks and bio breaks.  Stop and smell the Peking Duck!    Resist the list and the urge to answer questions at cocktail parties by playing the  “did you see game?”  This trip never was about crossing destinations off your list.   Life should always be about  experiencing Adventure With Engagement.  And you can do that by using each other’s eyes.

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Kids make friends with everyone.      Tyler, Trenton and Colton rarely let shyness stand in their way.  They spoke the languages understood in every country:  Smiles and Soccer.    And through our children, we met some wonderful loving people that we may not have otherwise met.    Which begs the question:  Why don’t they send children to the international diplomatic tables?  Let ‘em bring a ball.

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Talk to you again Friday.  And thanks so much for reading my blog.  I hope it inspires you to find your own Adventure With Engagement!

Dawn

Adventure with Engagement AWE · Family · Travel

Hidden Treasure

dawnhirnLeave a comment

When you think of bonding with your family, does it put a knot in your gut? Your husband (or wife) will always be busy. The kids can think of about 250 better things to do than to hang out with their brothers or sisters. If you announce your ‘family time’ plan before you have a plan, you are in for some attitude.

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You want an Adventure With Engagement. But what is your plan?

When we announced our plans for a seven-month trip, the boys probably first thought we had lost our minds. Then of course, came denial. During the planning process, they began to show more interest. Of course, it was an ebb and flow, one day studying the countries we would visit with enthusiasm, the next, being hit with reality; they would be away from their friends and comfort blanket of electronics for a good seven months. And we got a lot of attitude.

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You don’t have to jump right into a world trip, like we did, but unless you take a step toward AWE, you will stay stuck no matter where you go, no matter how long you are gone. There are so many things to do that will drum up AWE in your family:

-At the beach, (or near a stream, lake or river) rent a salt-water metal detector and at low tide push your way onto the shoreline. There is nothing quite as exciting as hearing the sound the detector makes when you find a treasure. No matter how small, it is an adventure you will never forget.

-After a day of treasure hunting, take your family to the beach Souvenir Shops and plunk down a few bucks on some oversized conch shells and other larger shells. I know – it’s not something I would regularly do either. But I know a lady who wakes up before daybreak and “seeds the beach” with these shells.   She gets her cup of coffee and her lounge chair and sits back to watch complete strangers find treasures.

AWE. Adventure with Engagement. Make it part of your family life.

It is where you will find real Hidden Treasure.

Family · Travel

Can’t speak the language . . . .

dawnhirnLeave a comment

The greatest barrier to communication is our ‘fear of looking stupid.’   The Hirn Family had jumped that hurdle when we lived on the Texas border.  Every good doctor must first understand what his patient needs, and Ron was determined to offer the best to his Spanish-speaking patients by communicating with them in their native tongue. And, as social as I am, nothing was going to stand in the way of my getting to know people.   We all speak Spanish pretty well; problem was, we hadn’t chosen Spanish-speaking countries to visit!

American’s pride ourselves in the fact that English — the International Language — is understood almost everywhere in the world.  But unless we are forced into a situation, too few of us find it important to learn another language. Why not? Communication is a powerful tool.

Before you leave for your trip, pull up the website: Omniglot http://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/          Great tool for learning a few phrases!

People are generally quite forgiving, but occasionally a blunder causes a large problem:  In the 1960’s Pepsi took it’s “Come Alive with the Pepsi Generation” slogan to China, which was not well received. The Chinese translated the slogan to: “Pepsi brings your relatives back from the dead.”

Clairol attempted to sell a new curling iron in German markets, dubbing the product a “Mist Stick.” “Mist” in German means “manure.” Who wants a hot roll of manure in their hair? www.fluentin3months.com

If you’re selling a product, do your homework. Otherwise, get out there and practice.  The people we met loved helping us.

Check out my Blog Thursday for some great communication tips I brought back. We’ll have you ready to go in no time!

Talk to you Thursday!  Dawn

Family · Travel

World travel? Can’t afford it.

dawnhirnLeave a comment

“Face it. I can’t afford to take my family on a world adventure.”  (Nasty buzz sound).    Wrong answer.  Save your money.  Clip coupons.  Trim your lifestyle.  And when you hit your goal and people ask you “what are you going to do now?” ditch the “Disney World-response,  (no offense Walt) and buy yourself a ticket around the world.  About $6500 is what we spent. Each.

You’re on your own getting to Disney.   Walt will charge you $6480 at the Polynesian bungalow for 4 nights, 4 people.  We traveled the world for  180 days, but you won’t want to stay at Disney as long cause it’ll cost you $291,600.

Choose China.  We stayed 4 nights, six of us, for under  $200.  The hostels are fabulous. (The hostel we stayed in Xi’an was rated #1 in the world).

A Five-day pass to Disney is $393 adults and $372 children. Park food is pricey. All you can eat dumplings in China, cost $5 for six of us.  And ‘yes’ we did get tired of dumplings.  But rice, chicken, pork and vegetables are standard and reasonable.

In India, your kids, sisters, aunts and grandmas’ souvenirs could run you as much as 60 cents for a pair of sandals, sans the Disney mouse ear logo.   What I’m telling you is you can do this.  We did.  Stay with me here.  I’ll give you more tips Tuesday.

How much does it cost to go to Disney World? (including example trips)