Awkward Greetings

I've had a lot of awkward experiences in my life, usually because I create them. It's just one of my many talents. Something that I've observed over the years is that greetings can make for really awkward situations. There are so many different greetings that vary from culture to culture, that sometimes it's difficult to know what is expected and appropriate, depending on where you are and who you're with. Since I travel so much, it's challenging to keep track of the cultural greeting lingoes.

I was in Norway last week for work. This was my third time going, so I already knew everyone that I would be seeing. Monday morning, I showed up at the office and everyone was gathered in the common room. So I started making my rounds to say hi to everyone. Handshakes, hugs and smiles were exchanged. So far, so good. Then I got to the CFO, who I have had limited interaction with. He's about 6'3"; I'm 5'2". Automatically creates difficulties. I was waiting on his cues before making a move. So we went in for the hug, and he then proceeded to offer a kiss on the cheek. But by this point, I had already moved my face. As soon as I realized what he was doing, I tried turning my face back, but he was moving his face at the same time. Result: we nearly kissed on the lips. Wow. Disaster averted, but barely. Embarrassment on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest: 8.5. That was definitely not the first time this sort of thing has happened, and I'm sure it won't be the last.

Based off of my experience, here's what I've concluded about appropriate greetings for different cultures. It obviously depends on the individual and how well you know them, but generally speaking:

• Norwegians either shake hands or offer a hug. 
• The English go for a kiss on one cheek. 
• Italians go for a kiss on both cheeks. 
• Americans shake hands. 
• Bangladeshi's shake hands. 
• Japanese bow. 
• Iranians offer a kiss on both cheeks. 
• Pakistani's shake hands, occasionally offering a hug.

That's about the extent of my knowledge on cultural business/personal interactions. These days, I try to be as strategic about positioning myself as possible. I don't make any assumptions about how the greeting is going to go. The more neutral I remain, the greater the chance that I won't embarrass myself any more than is absolutely necessary.

Traveling with Tards

I travel a lot. Sometimes for work, sometimes for pleasure, but regardless of the reason, I have found myself flying all over the world this past year. It's been fantastic. I love to travel, because traveling is an adventure. But, there have definitely been some less exciting parts to my trips. I'm thinking particularly about being stuck in confined spaces with annoying people for extensive periods of time. Old people, young people, fat people, infants. Especially infants. You know, the ones that start crying as soon as the plane takes off and don't stop until you've landed. The ones that just so happen to be sitting right in front of you. The ones that make you want to jump out of the plane halfway through the flight. Yep, those are the ones. Or the toddlers who have recently learned how to play soccer and decide to practice on the back of your seat. Also enjoyable.

Even worse than that, however, are the adults who are equally annoying. There's no excuse for their behavior, because they're old enough to control it. But I've discovered that age is not directly correlated to maturity or competence levels. On a recent flight, I sat across the aisle from this guy who was in his mid-20s. Baggy pants, brand name t-shirt, zip up hoodie. Oh, and hand-held video game. As soon as he sat down, he started playing with his toy. And yes, there were sound effects. I don't know that I've ever seen anyone as into a video game as he was. He finally turned it off to answer his cell phone, and then proceed to have a 5 minute conversation with someone who I assume was a lady friend of some sort WHEN WE WERE ALREADY IN THE AIR. Umm, hello? Did you not just hear the multiple announcements about turning off all electronics? Oh, I forgot, all you could hear were the explosion noises coming from your game. What an idiot.

On another recent trip, I sat next to a girl about my age. Cute girl, well-dressed, probably still in college. She seemed nice enough. And then she popped a piece of gum in her mouth and proceeded to chew like her life depended on it. There are not many things in life that annoy me more than obnoxious gum chewing. I was ready to slap that girl in the face so hard that either (1) she would choke to death on her gum or (2) the piece of gum would fly out of her mouth all the way to the other side of the plane. They turned on the approved electronics sign just in time for me to blast music on my ipod. She got lucky.

Just yesterday, I flew from Helsinki to London, and I had to go through customs at Heathrow. It's a rather large airport, and there are always a ton of people there. So I get in line to go through the security check, and I just so happen to get behind this guy who takes it upon himself to walk as slowly as is humanly possible. He had a sort of distinctive walk- the kind where you kick your leg out in front of you before actually taking a step forward. He was walking (and pulling his suitcase) so slowly that I nearly tripped over it several times. I was peeved.

These are just a few examples of the kind of people I've been fortunate enough to experience on my travels. There are many, many more, and I'm sure that my patience will be tested again. But if this is what I have to deal with in order to continue my traveling adventures, then so be it. Just know that if you decide to be an idiot, you will have a blog written about you! 

Making friends in Helsinki

When I found out that I would be visiting Norway again for work, I was determined to take full advantage of my trip. I had already seen Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen on previous work trips, so I figured, why not finish off the Nordic capitals by visiting Reykjavik and Helsinki! Good decision.

I'm now in Helsinki, which means that I can cross this off my list of things to do before I die. Since Europe is expensive, and I'm cheap, I decided that I didn't want to spend my entire paycheck on lodging. Instead, I used this incredible website called Couch Surfers, which is basically a network of travelers around the world who open up their home to others who are traveling. I've done this before, and it was a good experience, so I decided to try it again. I found a lovely girl, Ina, who said she would host me for the weekend.

One of the things that I love about staying with locals is that you get to experience the culture in a way that you wouldn't if you stayed in a hotel. Plus, you get to meet new friends. Helsinki is a nice city on it's own, but it's been so much better having cool people to stay/hang out with. Ina's roommate, Anna, is also really great. We've cooked dinner together two nights in a row and have had some good conversations. Ina even took me to the local flea shop today, and we spent a couple of hours looking for treasures. Not only did we find treasures at the flea market, but we also found treasures in the trash. Now that's creative shopping! I've also gotten to listen to some great Finnish music and have tried Finnish candy. It's been amazing!













So, next time you're contemplating taking a trip to a foreign land, find a friend to stay with!

Runner's Legs

I recently joined a gym!!! This is a big deal for me. I've never been a gym person, and this is my first gym membership ever. I usually just run outside, but I live in Philly now, and Philly gets cold during the winter. I prefer not to cough up blood after my runs.

So I went to the gym after work today to sweat off some calories. I started with a 3 mile run, followed by stretching and some other random exercises. There are so many different machines to choose from, and I don't know how to use all of them, so I get a little overwhelmed at times. Sometimes I pretend to be stretching when I'm really reading the machine instructions. One of the machines that I decided to try works out the butt. This is one of my problem areas. Perfect. You stand with your chest against a pad and push your legs (one at a time) back. Don't forget to clench! As I was mastering this machine, I thought to myself that the guy working out on the machine behind me had quite the view. Whatever. I'm at the gym for a reason, so he can deal. And deal he did!

After a minute, he moved to the machine next to me. I finished up my exercises and started wiping down the machine. He decided to strike up a conversation with me that went something like this:

Guy: Do you run track? 
Me: No. I should, but I don't. 
Guy: Well then you must play sports. 
Me: No. I did when I was in school, but now I work. I sit on my ass all day. 
Guy: (Chuckles) It doesn't look like you sit on your ass all day. 
Me: Gag. 

Did I mention that he was black? HAHAHA.

Just Make Sure You Don't Marry Anyone Over There

For the past year, I've been working as a consultant for a Norwegian NGO. Since they're based in Norway and I'm based in the US, I've been doing a bit of traveling back and forth for meetings and such. In fact, I'm about to take my third trip to Norway since I began this job last January. In addition to being stoked that I have a job in this economy, I'm even more excited that I've been able to travel. Traveling is one of my favorite things in life.

I've really learned to take advantage of travel opportunities whenever possible. For example, on my first work trip to Norway, I decided that I would leave on a Friday instead of a Sunday so that I could have the weekend to explore. The office is in Kristiansand (southernmost part of NO), but I had to fly through Oslo (the capital), so I booked myself a hostel and spent 2 full days seeing the city. It was glorious (despite the frigid temperatures). On my next trip to Norway, I spent bookend weekends in Stockholm and Copenhagen. Even more enjoyable. For this upcoming trip, I'm visiting Reykjavik on the first weekend, followed by Helsinki on the following weekend.

My grandparents try to keep up with with my travels. They always ask me about work and where I'm going next. My grandma makes sure to write down the different places that I'm going so that she'll know where I am in case she needs to reach me. Whenever I get back from a trip, I show them a slide show of pictures that I've taken. Lots of grandparents might worry about their grandchildren traveling alone internationally, and mine are no exception. I get the typical concerns about traveling alone as a woman and advice about not talking to strangers and always carrying pepper spray. But the warning that I get most frequently from my grandmother is this: "Don't go off and get married over there. It would be difficult for us to come and see you."

I love this. I know she's joking, but there's always a hint of seriousness in her tone, which makes it even better. Hey grandma, I'm nearly 24, have been living here in the US for 18 years, and am marriage material, but I haven't received any proposals yet. Do you really think I'm going to get a 2 karat rock on a 10-day stint in Europe? Highly unlikely. So I always tell her she has nothing to worry about, which seems to alleviate her worry until the next time around. But if I ever meet a handsome European man with a great accent and an even better taste in sparkling stones, my grandparents will just have to get over the distance.

Fun Fall Recipes: Pumpkin Stuffed French Toast

I'm well-aware of the fact that fall is over, but I figured I'd post one more "fall" recipe that will warm both your belly and your soul. I was obsessed with pumpkin this fall. Pumpkin bread, pumpkin spiced lattes, pumpkin seeds. So I decided to explore another pumpkin flavored treat: pumpkin stuffed french toast. It seemed like a simple concept, so I made up the recipe myself. 

1. Purchase a loaf of thick french bread or Challa bread. Cut it into about 1 inch slices. 

2. Carefully cut a slit about halfway through the slices. You may want to carve out a little bit of the inside. This is where the filling will go.

3. In a medium bowl, mix 3 tablespoons softened cream cheese, 3 tablespoons canned pumpkin, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (you can substitute cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves) and 3 teaspoons sugar. Blend together well.

4. Using a small spoon, carefully insert filling into bread slices. You might have a little excess on the outside.

 5. Fill all the slices until you are out of the pumpkin mix.

6. In another medium size bowl, scramble 6-7 eggs. You can add a couple tablespoons of milk and a teaspoon of vanilla if you'd like.

7. Dip the bread slices into the egg mixture to coat the entire piece. Then place in a lightly greased frying pan. Cook for about a minute on each side, or until they are cooked through.

8. Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm.

Voila!

Who Wouldn't Want to Live in Detroit?

My family moved from southern California to Detroit over four years ago. And when I say Detroit, I don't mean that we live on 8 Mile and Gratiot. We live in the suburbs, about an hour north of downtown. However, since the majority of people in the world would have no idea where Shelby Township is, I claim the greater Detroit area as home. I was strongly opposed to the move, even though I was already in college and out of the house. I mean, Michigan? Really? In addition to being far, far away from all of my friends and family, I was sure of the fact that there wouldn't be much to do here.

But was I ever wrong! I've never been here for more than a couple months at a time, mostly for college breaks and now for holidays. But the more time I spend here, the more I realize what a gem it really is. Michigan, and more specifically, Detroit, offers a plethora of opportunities to live life to the fullest. From fine dining to a variety cultural experiences, Detroit offers countless incentives to visit or to call it home. Here are a few that I've come up with:

• If you're into sports, we have several choices for you. Although all are winning teams, the Lions and Pistons top the charts every year.
• Michigan's fantastic weather draws people year-round. Humid in the summer, sub-zero in winter- who wouldn't want to take advantage of it?
• Rome has the Colloseum and Paris has the Eiffel Tower, but Detroit has the abandoned Ford and GM plants. These unique architectural masterpieces are difficult to come by these days. 
• If you consider yourself to be a culinary connoisseur, there are plenty of opportunities for fine dining, like Buffalo Wild Wings and White Castle.
• In case you get bored driving, you can enjoy entertaining road signs like, "Use caution and allow snow plows room to groom" or "In ice and snow, take it slow."
• Enjoy winter sports? You'll have plenty of opportunities to go cross-country skiing or ice fishing during our extra-long winters, which last from October to April.
• There are a wide variety of cultural experiences available on 8 Mile Road or in Arabic Town.
• If you're a linguist, you will thoroughly enjoy refining your accent, placing particular emphasis on A's and O's.         
• You can enjoy Detroit's landscape on the many scenic detours that have been created due to constant road construction.                                                                                                                          

So, if you're ever looking for a lovely spot for your next vacation or move, consider Detroit. You won't be disappointed!