Category: Travel

Adventure with Engagement AWE · Travel

Virtual Vacations

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Augmented Reality – they call it.  “Explore cities and towns where you live — even around the globe, to capture as many Pokemon as you can find.”  That’s the pitch.

Just about the time when cities are trying to pass laws to ban pedestrians from using their cell phones while crossing the street, Nintendo came up with its record-selling mobile game Pokemon-Go.  The concept was brilliant – if not too well thought out.  ‘Get these Millennials off their duffs and out in the open air as they interact with this cell phone game.’  Sales have gone bonkers, and unfortunately, so have a few people.  Some have become so lost in the game they aren’t paying attention to where they are going.

All sorts of strange incidents have happened: people are running into trees, walking into fences, not to mention several of the more tragic stories.

Before you hit ‘download’, consider this: Have you been to the truly amazing places the world has to offer?  Seriously. Your personal memory bank will hold more data than your Pokedex:

Have you taken your family to Old Faithful Geyser at Yellowstone National Park?   It erupts every half-hour to two-hours.  Faithfully.  No download required.

The Grand Canyon?   That’s a real life interactive game – from backpacking to pack-rafting, to day hiking.

Stone Mountain Park in Georgia is the largest exposed piece of granite in the world.  This remarkable mound of rock holds a  nine-story carving of General Robert E. Lee.  But size is all relative.  Only one-third of the mountain is exposed, and the rest is ten miles below ground.      If you want more ‘theme-park activity’, you’ve come to the right place.

No doubt, the Hirn boys will be begging for Pokemon-Go.  But as a group, the Hirn family recommends Adventure With Engagement.  (Engagement with your family beats the socks off Augmented Reality.)   The graphics on your phone just don’t match up to some of the sites we saw: The Tunnel of Love in the Ukraine, the tulip fields in Netherlands;  Mendenhall Ice Caves in Juneau, Alaska; Red Beach in Panjin, China; the Bamboo Forest in Japan,  or Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Take the opportunity to travel, to see first-hand the wonders of the world with those you love.   Nothing you can capture can match those long term memories.

Including Pikachu.

Dawn

Encouragement · Travel

Laugh. Hard and often!

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“Laughter is an instant vacation,” said  Milton Berle, one of the great television pioneers.

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Today I am writing a continuation to Friday’s post:  “Say What?”   American advertising geniuses are paid millions to come up with great advertising slogans.  Sometimes they are unrecognizable when they wash up on foreign shores:

A famous drug company marketed a new remedy in the United Arab Emirates. To avoid any mistakes,  they used pictures. The first picture was of someone ill, the next picture showed the person taking the medication, the last picture showed them looking well. What they forgot is that in the Arab world people read from right to left!

Coors the American brewer went flat in Spain when their hip phrase “Turn It Loose” came out as “Get Diarrhea.”

When Pepsi started a marketing campaign in Taiwan, the translation of the Pepsi slogan “Come Alive with the Pepsi Generation” came out as “Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead.”

Chicken-man Frank Purdue’s slogan, “It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken,” got badly mangled in a Spanish translation. A photo of Purdue with one of his birds appeared on billboards all over Mexico with a caption that translated as “It takes a hard man to make a chicken affectionate.”

Jolly Green Giant translated into Arabic means “Intimidating Green Ogre.”

In Italy, a campaign for Schweppes Tonic Water translated the name into Schweppes Toilet Water!  Bet that drove sales – the other way!

On packaging for a Rowenta iron – DO NOT IRON CLOTHES ON BODY.   Sadly, I don’t think this was a translation issue.  Good to know though.

Translation is tricky.  Language should never be a barrier that stops you from trying to interact with those whose culture you don’t understand.   Kindness is the international language.  So is the smile.  And if you make a foolish mistake, like we did constantly, you can offer them the gift of an ‘instant vacation’ — laughter!

Laugh.  Hard and often!

Dawn

Travel

Say what??

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When we were traveling, we were particularly drawn to American companies that ‘made it big’ across the pond.(s)    This week our Facebook posts a photo of our guys standing in front of two American fast-food-chains that have made it big in China:  Kentucky Fried Chicken and Subway.  (Check Facebook:  Ourbackpack).    Ever wonder how much American marketer’s catch-phrases would be lost in translation?  Me too. “Finger-Lickin’Good” translated to  “Eat Your Fingers Off,” was a good start.

I dug further:

When Coca Cola was first introduced into China they named it “Ke-Kou-Ke-La.”  Unfortunately, the Coke company did not discover until after thousands of signs had been printed,  that the phrase means “bite the wax tadpole.” Coke then researched 40,000 Chinese characters and found a close phonetic equivalent: Ko-Kou-Ko-Le, which can be roughly translated as “happiness in the mouth.”   Of course the ‘happiness in your mouth’ is only a plus for your dentist who get’s the benefit of correcting the ‘happiness damage.’

When Braniff Airlines translated a slogan touting its upholstery, “Fly in leather,” it came out in Spanish as “Fly naked.”

Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called Cue, the name of a notorious porno magazine.

The American Dairy Association’s huge success with its campaign “Got Milk?” prompted them to expand advertising to Mexico. It was soon brought to their attention that the Spanish translation read “Are you lactating?”

Ford seemed to have a problem in Brazil where sales of the Pinto flopped. On investigation the company found out that Pinto was Brazilian slang for “tiny male genitals.” Ford pried the nameplates off each and every Pinto, and substituted the word: Corcel, which means “horse.”

And my favorite:  Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following American marketing idea, and wrote: “Nothing sucks like an Electrolux.”

Honestly, there’s so much more to share, so I’ll save it for next week.  This weekend we will be celebrating the fact that – though we adored seeing the world – we are hopelessly in love with the Land of the Free.  Thank God for your heritage.  And God Bless America!

Dawn

Family · Travel

Theme Park Mentality

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A National Park Ranger shared some interesting questions he has been asked by tourists,  regarding the Grand Canyon:

  1. “Is the Grand Canyon human made?”
  2. “What time do you feed the animals?”
  3. “When do you turn on the waterfalls?”

Have we groomed our children for ‘theme-park mentality?’

If so, adventure takes another hit.

When we chose a 180-day world adventure,  we knew there would be loads of challenges.  Studying helped equip us with some necessary strategies: forewarned is forearmed.  But ‘Adventure on schedule’ is always watered down ‘adventure.’

Some things were knew for certain that, unlike Epcot:  there was no ‘walking bridge’ over to “China World,” if the lines to Morocco,  were too long. If someone made a mess on the streets of China, there was no “park cleaning service” to clean it up.  If your ‘ride’ broke down, you walked.  There might be fireworks at night; there might not.  If you don’t like Chinese food, you cannot just jump on the monorail to find a quick burger.

Some of the most wonderful moments come from a family adventure when we relax our grip on time.  Nature doesn’t run a tight schedule.  Wandering is a direction and within a few guidelines, your family can make wonderful memories exploring.

If one of our beautiful National Parks is your summer destination for  AWE (Adventure With Engagement),  remember, any great adventure  requires common sense.    If you don’t keep your wits sharp, you may end up in some difficult situations.  Be patient.  You will figure it out!

Oh, and one more thing:

When you are in a National Park, if you are approached by a big guy in a cuddly bear costume, don’t grab your phone and snuggle up for a ‘selfie.’  Run away!  It’s not a costume!!

Dawn

Family · Travel

Powers of prediction

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Scheduling a road trip with your family?  A fortune teller may alert you to difficulties. But before you waste your quarters, understand that somebody can point them out to you and your family, but when it all boils down, it’s up to you to solve them.

Ask yourself: “what do I expect from this trip?”   And if your answer comes out on the soft and fluffy side, do a bit of research, then rest on your powers of prediction:  There will be arguments, tantrums, melt-downs and mishaps.  You may get lost.  You may regret schlepping around all those unnecessary things you packed.  You may leave something important behind.  And you will get sick of those overused kid phrases:  “I’m bored,” “it’s not fair,” “how long do we have to stay here?”  In every case, communication is essential.

Study:   Do intensive map, cultural and historical studies about places you plan to visit and then match it with your kids’  list of things to do. No amount of persuasion will convince them to see more museums, churches or historical sites after the first few you visit(we required 4 museums, 5 churches/mosques and 3 waterparks on our 6 month trip.) Make your kids an important part of the discussion, having them map out and research the things they are interested in.

Make room:  Backpack contents swell during travel. No law of physics supports this; but it’s true, you will always come back fatter than when you left.

Practice:   Try living out of your backpack or suitcase one week before you hit the road.  In that time, you should know what you need, what you don’t.  Re-pack.

One essential thing:   Never forget your ‘security blanket.’   For me, it was my pillow which made rest that much better.  And during those times of great stress, it could substitute as  punching bag.

Another essential thing:    A ball, a deck of cards and a pencil and pad.  Make trivia your friend.

Road trips have residual power . . . . . they increase in value long after the trip is over.   The trials of being on the road with your family, will become moments of fond reflection or at least comic relief in years to come.  You’re a family; embrace the confusion.  Tell the fortune-telling gypsy Madam Gooseberry, to mind her own business.  You and your kids face  challenges every day and you know them better than she does.                                      This isn’t your first rodeo.

Dawn

American Idol
Family · Travel

American Idol

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What about the book:  “The Ugly American”. . . . . have you read it?  It was 1958, smack dab in the middle of the cold war between Russia and U.S.-the novel was set in an American Southeast Asian country. We were losing our struggle against communism (fiction, folks) because of the ineptness and bungling of the US Diplomatic Corp, being too arrogant to take time to understand local culture. (Reminder:  all fiction is based on some truth.)   And the lead character says:  *“A mysterious change seems to come over Americans when they go to a foreign land. They isolate themselves socially. They live pretentiously. They are loud and ostentatious.”

American’s were pigeon-holed!  Of course, the worst of these stories made the newsfeeds. There were places in the world where Americans were not treated fairly because, we were told, foreigners thought ‘Americans were pompous, arrogant and selfish.’

When the Hirn family stepped onto the scene 50 years later, our reception was quite the opposite.  The Asian people treated us like Rock Stars.  Each day was a series of photo-ops and the guys held up beautifully during the pressure of performance. Parents love to credit themselves for their kids’ good behavior.  And after all, Ron and I had drummed into the boys the importance of accepting everyone, regardless of race or religion or looks.  But if we get credit for the good behavior, must we take blame for the bad behavior?

Ron and couldn’t have been more proud of the guys.  They followed our lead to engage with the people as much as possible, to smile, reach out and be patient for the Asian Paparazzi.

And for 5 weeks, we experienced what it was like to be an American Idol.  What a great feeling!

And then, we went to France . . . .

Have a great weekend!

*Lederer, William J; Burdick, Eugene (1958). The Ugly American

Encouragement · Family · Travel

Unplugged

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We weighed the odds:  iPhone or no iPhone – that was the question.  But of course, when you are a Hirn, you travel on the skinny.   You stay on a budget. So you already know International cell phone service was OOTQ.   (That’s Hirn code for Out Of The Question.)

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In addition to the sheer pocket-ripping expenses, we would have had to keep up with more than 25 SIM cards and an unlocked phone. There were other obstacles:

Internet Service in different countries is limited.  Very limited!  Oh, there are public hotspots:   Starbucks was always accommodating us by allowing us to use their Internet Service only after purchasing our favorite pick-me-ups(no free Internet abroad.)  But our intention was to see the city, not sit in a Coffee Café.   The Hostels we stayed in usually had Internet Service as well, but once we were on the streets, we were unplugged.

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We wanted our boys to understand basic navigational skills.   We didn’t give the guys calculators to find the answers to their math questions, so it stood to reason we wouldn’t give them a GPS to find their way around foreign countries.  The two most dependable navigational tools are still a compass and a map.  And although Ron was our leader we worked together as a family to find our way.  We were in this thing together!

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America’s Global Positioning Satellite has spoiled us all.   When you travel unplugged, you commit to taking extra time to find your way.  You must have patience.

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Trial and error are integral parts of discovering Adventure With Engagement.  And there is no better Adventure than being engaged with your family as you try to find your way home, or at least back to where you are staying.   And when we got there, we all sang silent praise to the gift that awaited:

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Hostel, Sweet Hostel.

Dawn

Family · Travel

My pillow

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When we left the good old  US of A for our family ‘round-the-world-adventure,’ there were certain things I just couldn’t leave behind. I know – you’re thinking i-Phone,  and you are probably right, although that wasn’t the first thing on my mind. i-Phones don’t work everywhere.  But I knew two things that were the most important to me:

My pillow.  My favorite coffee mug.

Our relationship is one-sided.  My pillow doesn’t need me. And despite television ads, neither does my coffee cup.   But I need both of them.   Adults don’t walk around with security blankets, (Mr. Fluffster, Lambie, Cuddles – whatever you called them).  The astute adult sees beyond the situation, not particularly caring what people think about their ‘necessities.’

We bit off a lot when we decided to travel more than 30 countries for six months with our family, and we were focused upon ‘traveling light’ – that meant one ‘carry on’ per person, and of course the big family pack containing meds, school supplies, books, paper, and lots of ‘etcetera.’

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Each of us had at least one ‘must bring.’  For me, it was my feather pillow.  And my favorite coffee mug.

There would be nights on thin blankets on floors, speed-sleeping in trains and buses, but I always knew that my pillow would be there for me. And when I woke up I could count on something warm or semi-cool in my coffee mug.

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Before you leave home, own up to your ‘security blanket.”  Whatever it is – and it must be legal — Grab it.   And your passport.  And head out.

Find your Adventure With Engagement.

Talk soon!

Dawn

Adventure with Engagement AWE · Family · Travel

Transparent

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When we set out to video document our family world trip, we had no preconceived notion of how things were going to go.    We were still grieving for Ryan. I guess we will always be.    Our boys deserved a full life which is never fully under control.  We were willing to be transparent for the next six months, with the hope that our story would help others living under the shroud of fear which seems to swallow those who have lost loved ones in tragic accidents.

It wasn’t a comfortable decision.  Recovering from burns on over 25% of your body was tough for each of us and required continuous personal ‘upkeep.’  When you have skin grafts, the healthy skin is removed from one healthy area of your body to repair the damaged part somewhere else.  You have to treat two sites, keeping sites clean and creamed.  You can’t escape the pain or discomfort.   Stretching my grafted legs became a necessary routine for me, and the sun which I had always loved, had become my enemy.

Even so,  we embraced a challenge.  A family adventure – more than 30 countries, together all day and night, every day and night for over 180 days straight, so:

  1. We put ourselves in extreme circumstances of unfamiliarity.
  2. We faced our fears of losing another child, by reminding each other we would not be defeated.
  3. We took our boys out of the safety of the home ‘training ground’ and pushed them into the ‘proving ground’ of public scrutiny.
  4. And the videographer exposed us for who we really are under pressure.

What did we hope to gain in exchange for our transparency?    Recovery.  Restoration.  Reward.  Renewal . . . .  for ourselves and others who had been fractured from loss and grief.  We had faith in each other – faith in our family – faith in our research – faith in our future – faith in God.   We were armed.  We could do this!

Adventure is always unscripted.  No rehearsals, no makeup touch ups.  Just a douse of reality in the family adventure thing. We tell our story as authentically as possible.  Real life is always completely out of order, messy, fragmented, surprising, disappointing and encouraging.  To help each other, we must all be transparent.

After a full year of editing and sequencing our story, we have a television show which meets every requirement we have:  Transparent recovery.  We hope to raise the expectations of others who have suffered, to lift the expectations of other burn victims and their families so they could live again.  While traveling, we brought joy and love to others, and accepted the joy and love they gave to us.  And we did it as a family, then and from this day forward.

When you go on an adventure, take a camera.  But make sure you make your lives as transparent as possible.  No one can tolerate phony stories which are built out as authentic.  Fact is . . . they can see right through them.

Talk soon!

Dawn

Encouragement · Family · Travel

Adapt

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Adapt means to modify, alter, adjust, readjust, remodel, reshape, and rework.   All things considered, our boys did beautifully.  Kids do.

Adapting is something American adults have a bit more trouble doing, being silver spoon-fed at all.  We are used to luxury or at least the best we can afford in our home- away-from-home. There are different levels of adapting:   we can all adapt to a guy in a Goofy costume coming up for a hug, but that isn’t a real acid test.

Our world-adventure stretched us to new levels of tolerance.  Of course, looking backward from the comfort of our own dining room table  makes every awkward situation seem funny.  Everyone has their own favorite “meltdown story,” and occasionally stories sound  vaguely similar.

There was a lot of room for complaining but we had made everyone aware of what to expect before we left.  And yet, we still had surprises.

Street Food  – Sometimes it looked sketchy, but of course we could easily turn the food-thing into a competition.  They guys each longed to win the game: ‘what-was-the-weirdest-thing-you-ever-ate?”    But street food didn’t make us sick.  In fact, there were only a total of four throw-ups for six people the whole six months.  And street food was a daily diet.  Hunger forced us all to adapt.

Electronic withdrawals – The boys used their smartphones for photography.   They knew there was no Facebook and limited social media in China.  They said they could hack it.   But you know how that goes — nobody ever sees how  truly addicted they are until they no longer have the ability to connect.  Took about two days;  and they adapted.

Entertainment – Boys make everything from handrails to luggage ramps to subway hand rings into a playground. And if you follow our Our Backpack Facebook page, you know the value of the ‘ball.’   As parents, if you focus upon how it is going to look to the locals, you are fighting a losing battle. And there was no ‘deep cover.’  We were an American family with  three boys,  in a country with a one-child rule.  And the Chinese have contempt for truant students.    Yet, we were overwhelmed by their kindness to us.

Time alone.   I think that was one of the most difficult struggles.  Ron and I knew when the other needed a break.  We were each other’s Plan B.

Again let me stress this was not a vacation.  But remember, the “A” in Adventure, is the same “A” in Achievement.    We brought home another “A” for accomplishment, which is impossible to do unless you . . .

Adapt.

Talk later…

Dawn