I get paid pretty well, earn more the better I am at my job, and get to talk to lots of people about exciting places and events. I also get to chill out at my desk and surf the net when business is slow.
And then there are the perks... on top of the usual four weeks annual leave, we also get an additional week of leave for 'educational' reasons, which in this job, basically means traveling someplace.
Further to that, airlines, hotels, theme parks etc will bend over backwards to keep me happy because they know that if I like their product, I'm more likely to sell it to my customers. As such, whenever I go on holiday I can email a hotel and tell them I'm a travel consultant, and they'll often offer me anywhere up to 50% off, or an upgrade, or both.
And finally, there are so many incentives in place for us just to sell certain products. Many tour companies have schemes whereby I receive a free tour for every five of their tours I sell to a customer... and right now I've sold four of them, so I'm not far off a free holiday!
Oh, and did I mention that my company puts on big dinners with free booze once a month?
@Rocky Road ice cream: Can our foreign correspondents please tell me if Rocky Road Ice Cream is available in the countries you live in? Rick, Mats, Garbs, Trent, Mel, Pete?
Yes, certainly is.
Now, I don't know how true this is, but I'm of the belief that Rocky Road is actually an Australian creation. We have a very famous (in Australia anyway) chocolate company that started its business not far from where I live on a road called Rocky Point Road. And as I understand it, they invented Rocky Road and named it after their address.
Of course, that might be totally false, but I'm sticking with that story until someone proves otherwise.
Hrmm... well, the claim is to an extent generally true; America is a big, big place (third largest country in the world, in terms of landmass, I believe). If I recall correctly, the continental U.S. is actually larger than the entirety of Europe, and our states are often compared in size to other countries.
I suppose the comparison is unfair when compared to European nationals who can easily just catch a train into the next country.
From my own point of view though as an Australian - we have a country that is almost as large as the USA, with almost as diverse a landscape (although definitely not as diverse a culture), which is almost totally isolated (it costs at least $400 to get to New Zealand just across the ditch, let alone the $2500+ it requires to get to Europe or the USA) and yet despite all the setbacks, it's pretty much become a rite of passage for any school or uni leaver to head off for a few months to see the world.
I think this is a very very unfair claim you're making.
The only claim I'm making is that the stereotype I described exists - at least within my own sphere of existence. Whether or not it is true is another thing altogether.
And I agree with what you say - the USA is blessed with a wealth of natural diversity. It's one of the main reasons I'd like to go back and spend a whole lot more time there.
I'm curious - there is a perception that exists that residents of the USA travel a good deal less than those from other nations, and that when they do travel, it's usually domestically.
Is it true? Or totally a misconception?
Basically what I'd like to know is what nationality you are, and how many countries you've visited (feel free to also say how many states you've been to). Your age would probably help too.
Me - I'm Australian, 23 and I've been to 23 countries. Possibly helped by the fact I work as a travel agent.
Australia (NSW, ACT, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia.)
New Zealand
Vanuatu
Canada (British Columbia and New Brunswick)
USA (Michigan, California and Hawaii)
Germany
Singapore
Mexico
Cuba
Greece
Italy
Vatican
France
Switzerland
Spain
Morocco
Egypt
Jordan
Syria
Israel
Turkey
Malaysia
Sultanate of Brunei
I'm not up to much. I think since I last posted here I've managed to get a job (as a travel consultant of all things), I've gone overseas again (this time to Malaysian Borneo and the Sultanate of Brunei) and... I dunno. Not a whole lot otherwise.
Charlie, it's really a matter of what you think you'd prefer.
Italy is ripe with wonderful food, amazing sights and incredible art. Shopping galore etc. It is also quite pricey.
Greece is all about the stunning seaside and the crumbling ruins.
I personally prefer Italy, but it's really a matter of what works best for you.
Anyway, here's my two cents worth:
Rome - all the obvious sights like the Vatican and the Colosseum. Don't miss the Pantheon whatever you do.
Naples - Don't bother. Not a very attractive city... instead, base yourself in Sorrento for the trip out to Capri, or up to Pompeii or any of the Amalfi coast. A stunning coastal area.
Florence - A good place to check out for a few days. The Uffizi Gallery is amazing, as is the statue of David in the Galleria Accademia. Also a very easy place to do a half day trip over to Pisa for the leaning tower.
Venice - I've heard plenty of mixed reviews but in my opinion, it's absolutely stunning (and awesomely expensive). There is nothing to compare it to, but the place is so full of charm and boats and wonder. Whatever you do, make sure you lose yourself in the backstreets - that's where the real joy of Venice lies.
Milan - Haven't been there myself, but from what I hear it's a big sprawling city that's good for fashion, Da Vinci's Last Supper and it's cathedral. Otherwise, not necessarily too exciting.
As for Greece...
Athens - A big, dirty, generally grotty city with a shining beacon perched in the middle - the Pantheon. Interesting place to spend a couple of days but there's no need to linger.
Corinth - Not much to see here... a big canal with the occasional ship passing through, a few scattered ruins.
Delphi - Stunning views, quite steep ruins and very worthwhile, as long as you can stomach the bus ride over the sheer cliffs. Amazing sunsets too.
Sparta - Didn't get there but from what I understand there's not a whole lot to see. It's just a little town nowadays.
Mycenae - More interesting ruins, but as with so many, they're good for a few hours exploration tops before it's time to move on.
Crete - Crete itself is massive and there's plenty to see. I'm longing to go back so I can trek the Samaria gorge, which I missed last time. Knossos itself is pretty cool, although like so many of these ruins, it's something to see and do for an hour or two before you've seen it all. Good side trips on Crete would also include Rethymno which is a stunning little Venetian town.
Olympia - Absolutely soaked in wonder. The birthplace of the Olympic games is totally awesome, especially seeing their ancient running track and the area where the ancient Temple of Zeus once stood. The town of Olympia is nothing too exciting, in fact it felt like a ghost town, but still a good place to visit.
Thessaloniki - No idea. Never got there.
Mykonos - My big regret when I was in Greece, and later in Turkey, was never making it to Mykonos or Santorini. Both are supposed to be amazing.
Coming from an Australian perspective here... what is the standard of college rugby in the US?
Obviously it's (probably) an entirely different set of circumstances (particularly based on the responses in this thread) but at 5'3" from my point of view your best and possibly only bet would be as a scrum half. In these parts of the world, wingers are expected to be about 6'4" weighing in at about 100kg. To be a scrum half you need a bit of vision, all the fundamental skills such as passing and kicking and the ability to tackle the big boys when they come steaming down at you.
But then again, that's Aussie rugby for you. Could be an altogether different case in the USA.
Basically my recent Wii playing has been dominated by Guitar Hero 3 and Endless Ocean.
I'm sure you're familiar with the former.
The latter is.. well.. different. I love it to pieces but I don't think it would be everyone's cup of tea. You're a SCUBA diver, and the whole aim of the game is to go out and explore the sea, look at and discover new fishes, find treasures, take photos, and do whatever divers generally do. There's practically no action, it's all very peaceful and in fact I'm yet to find a way to die (if it's even possible... even things like hammerhead sharks are docile.)
Other than that, I've got WarioWare which is fun but is pretty easy to finish... Zelda, which in my opinion is a piece of junk, Wii Play which is the pinnacle of boredom and of course Wii Sports which I still find fun all these many months since it was first released.
Well, I've not passed through the American high school system, but from an Australian point of view it seems like an absolute pile of garbage. (For the sake of the argument I could use 74 of those words with confidence anyway.)
As a student having studied the highest level of high school English available in Australia, and completed a university degree majoring in both Media and English... I think it's fair to say that the vast majority of those words are fairly obtuse at best... and outright unnecessary at worst. Sure, I know what a ziggurat is... but how often do I need to know it when constructing a sentence for general consumption? Try never.
I think it's much more important for high school graduates to know and firmly appreciate the basic principles of grammar, spelling and punctuation than to need to know the meanings of a list of highly irrelevant words.
Well, I WANT to get a tattoo... all that's holding me back is not having a design that I truly adore.
But, for the sake of this thread, I'd be looking for a 50's style hula pinup in a cartoony fashion. Topless, big boobs, little grass skirt, big scary tiki monster looming in the background. She could be riding a giant chameleon.
Well... I just got home from four months out and about, seeing the world. After hitting up France, Switzerland, Spain, Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Israel and Turkey, I have a whole pile of new photos to go up here. And who knows... might even start getting back into the ol' Art Competitions and stuff too.
Anyway! Let's see... starting with a handful straight outta France.
Off the top of my head, VBulletin can be purchased for $180 for a lifetime contract. A domain can be bought for as little as about $12 per year. That's your basis.
As for the server, I can only imagine it would need to be pretty hefty. I run a very small, very insignificant if reasonably active forum, and it chews through bandwidth like nothing else. Considering my forum eats through about 100mb per day with only about 40 active members, I wouldn't even begin to speculate what a forum with 6000 or so would cost. But I can imagine it would be biig.
Although on a slightly morbid note, I do find myself thinking '32 is the most the US has had? wow!' As I seem to recall the Port Arthur massacre (in Australia) was worse.
lemme check...yes. 35 killed, 37 wounded.
I hate to vaguely politicize such tragic events, but I think there's something important that has been said in this thread and I'd like to emphasise it. The Port Arthur Massacre, as heinous as it was, resulted in one single positive - the opening of massive debate about gun control in Australia. As a result, gun laws were drastically tightened to the extent that all semi-automatic and automatic weapons are now completely banned in the country (except in the military.)
One would hope that similar public debate in the USA could result from this latest tragedy.
I get paid pretty well, earn more the better I am at my job, and get to talk to lots of people about exciting places and events. I also get to chill out at my desk and surf the net when business is slow.
And then there are the perks... on top of the usual four weeks annual leave, we also get an additional week of leave for 'educational' reasons, which in this job, basically means traveling someplace.
Further to that, airlines, hotels, theme parks etc will bend over backwards to keep me happy because they know that if I like their product, I'm more likely to sell it to my customers. As such, whenever I go on holiday I can email a hotel and tell them I'm a travel consultant, and they'll often offer me anywhere up to 50% off, or an upgrade, or both.
And finally, there are so many incentives in place for us just to sell certain products. Many tour companies have schemes whereby I receive a free tour for every five of their tours I sell to a customer... and right now I've sold four of them, so I'm not far off a free holiday!
Oh, and did I mention that my company puts on big dinners with free booze once a month?
Ah, bliss.
Yes, certainly is.
Now, I don't know how true this is, but I'm of the belief that Rocky Road is actually an Australian creation. We have a very famous (in Australia anyway) chocolate company that started its business not far from where I live on a road called Rocky Point Road. And as I understand it, they invented Rocky Road and named it after their address.
Of course, that might be totally false, but I'm sticking with that story until someone proves otherwise.
I suppose the comparison is unfair when compared to European nationals who can easily just catch a train into the next country.
From my own point of view though as an Australian - we have a country that is almost as large as the USA, with almost as diverse a landscape (although definitely not as diverse a culture), which is almost totally isolated (it costs at least $400 to get to New Zealand just across the ditch, let alone the $2500+ it requires to get to Europe or the USA) and yet despite all the setbacks, it's pretty much become a rite of passage for any school or uni leaver to head off for a few months to see the world.
The only claim I'm making is that the stereotype I described exists - at least within my own sphere of existence. Whether or not it is true is another thing altogether.
And I agree with what you say - the USA is blessed with a wealth of natural diversity. It's one of the main reasons I'd like to go back and spend a whole lot more time there.
Is it true? Or totally a misconception?
Basically what I'd like to know is what nationality you are, and how many countries you've visited (feel free to also say how many states you've been to). Your age would probably help too.
Me - I'm Australian, 23 and I've been to 23 countries. Possibly helped by the fact I work as a travel agent.
Australia (NSW, ACT, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia.)
New Zealand
Vanuatu
Canada (British Columbia and New Brunswick)
USA (Michigan, California and Hawaii)
Germany
Singapore
Mexico
Cuba
Greece
Italy
Vatican
France
Switzerland
Spain
Morocco
Egypt
Jordan
Syria
Israel
Turkey
Malaysia
Sultanate of Brunei
Yes, I do still exist.
What's happening?
I'm not up to much. I think since I last posted here I've managed to get a job (as a travel consultant of all things), I've gone overseas again (this time to Malaysian Borneo and the Sultanate of Brunei) and... I dunno. Not a whole lot otherwise.
Cheerio.
Italy is ripe with wonderful food, amazing sights and incredible art. Shopping galore etc. It is also quite pricey.
Greece is all about the stunning seaside and the crumbling ruins.
I personally prefer Italy, but it's really a matter of what works best for you.
Anyway, here's my two cents worth:
Rome - all the obvious sights like the Vatican and the Colosseum. Don't miss the Pantheon whatever you do.
Naples - Don't bother. Not a very attractive city... instead, base yourself in Sorrento for the trip out to Capri, or up to Pompeii or any of the Amalfi coast. A stunning coastal area.
Florence - A good place to check out for a few days. The Uffizi Gallery is amazing, as is the statue of David in the Galleria Accademia. Also a very easy place to do a half day trip over to Pisa for the leaning tower.
Venice - I've heard plenty of mixed reviews but in my opinion, it's absolutely stunning (and awesomely expensive). There is nothing to compare it to, but the place is so full of charm and boats and wonder. Whatever you do, make sure you lose yourself in the backstreets - that's where the real joy of Venice lies.
Milan - Haven't been there myself, but from what I hear it's a big sprawling city that's good for fashion, Da Vinci's Last Supper and it's cathedral. Otherwise, not necessarily too exciting.
As for Greece...
Athens - A big, dirty, generally grotty city with a shining beacon perched in the middle - the Pantheon. Interesting place to spend a couple of days but there's no need to linger.
Corinth - Not much to see here... a big canal with the occasional ship passing through, a few scattered ruins.
Delphi - Stunning views, quite steep ruins and very worthwhile, as long as you can stomach the bus ride over the sheer cliffs. Amazing sunsets too.
Sparta - Didn't get there but from what I understand there's not a whole lot to see. It's just a little town nowadays.
Mycenae - More interesting ruins, but as with so many, they're good for a few hours exploration tops before it's time to move on.
Crete - Crete itself is massive and there's plenty to see. I'm longing to go back so I can trek the Samaria gorge, which I missed last time. Knossos itself is pretty cool, although like so many of these ruins, it's something to see and do for an hour or two before you've seen it all. Good side trips on Crete would also include Rethymno which is a stunning little Venetian town.
Olympia - Absolutely soaked in wonder. The birthplace of the Olympic games is totally awesome, especially seeing their ancient running track and the area where the ancient Temple of Zeus once stood. The town of Olympia is nothing too exciting, in fact it felt like a ghost town, but still a good place to visit.
Thessaloniki - No idea. Never got there.
Mykonos - My big regret when I was in Greece, and later in Turkey, was never making it to Mykonos or Santorini. Both are supposed to be amazing.
Obviously it's (probably) an entirely different set of circumstances (particularly based on the responses in this thread) but at 5'3" from my point of view your best and possibly only bet would be as a scrum half. In these parts of the world, wingers are expected to be about 6'4" weighing in at about 100kg. To be a scrum half you need a bit of vision, all the fundamental skills such as passing and kicking and the ability to tackle the big boys when they come steaming down at you.
But then again, that's Aussie rugby for you. Could be an altogether different case in the USA.
I'm sure you're familiar with the former.
The latter is.. well.. different. I love it to pieces but I don't think it would be everyone's cup of tea. You're a SCUBA diver, and the whole aim of the game is to go out and explore the sea, look at and discover new fishes, find treasures, take photos, and do whatever divers generally do. There's practically no action, it's all very peaceful and in fact I'm yet to find a way to die (if it's even possible... even things like hammerhead sharks are docile.)
Other than that, I've got WarioWare which is fun but is pretty easy to finish... Zelda, which in my opinion is a piece of junk, Wii Play which is the pinnacle of boredom and of course Wii Sports which I still find fun all these many months since it was first released.
As a student having studied the highest level of high school English available in Australia, and completed a university degree majoring in both Media and English... I think it's fair to say that the vast majority of those words are fairly obtuse at best... and outright unnecessary at worst. Sure, I know what a ziggurat is... but how often do I need to know it when constructing a sentence for general consumption? Try never.
I think it's much more important for high school graduates to know and firmly appreciate the basic principles of grammar, spelling and punctuation than to need to know the meanings of a list of highly irrelevant words.
But, for the sake of this thread, I'd be looking for a 50's style hula pinup in a cartoony fashion. Topless, big boobs, little grass skirt, big scary tiki monster looming in the background. She could be riding a giant chameleon.
Anyway! Let's see... starting with a handful straight outta France.
As for the server, I can only imagine it would need to be pretty hefty. I run a very small, very insignificant if reasonably active forum, and it chews through bandwidth like nothing else. Considering my forum eats through about 100mb per day with only about 40 active members, I wouldn't even begin to speculate what a forum with 6000 or so would cost. But I can imagine it would be biig.
I hate to vaguely politicize such tragic events, but I think there's something important that has been said in this thread and I'd like to emphasise it. The Port Arthur Massacre, as heinous as it was, resulted in one single positive - the opening of massive debate about gun control in Australia. As a result, gun laws were drastically tightened to the extent that all semi-automatic and automatic weapons are now completely banned in the country (except in the military.)
One would hope that similar public debate in the USA could result from this latest tragedy.
My heart goes out to all the victims.