Travel fun
We're back! And we survived, all of us, a huge trip. Some observations regarding international travel:
*Five-year-olds can find the "how to jump down the inflatable ramp when your plan lands gently and in one piece in an emergency" pamphlet endlessly interesting. I think #1 spent almost as much time with this information as she did with books.
*Our kids are great plane sleepers. I, on the other hand, must concentrate with all my might to keep the plane afloat. So I don't get much sleep (duh--don't want that plane to crash).
*I am embarrassingly, oh-so-Americanly monolingual. Europe is so not. I know a few phrases from my stint in college German, and usefully used it to ask, "Sprechen sie English?" Each time, I could use my own language and someone else had to adjust. I loved the multi-lingual announcements in Zurich and Frankfurt, and we were likewise amused at the airport workers shouting at arriving passengers in English when we arrived in Philadelphia. Our favorite: "Please make sure to have your boarding pass with your passport. If someone near you doesn't understand what I'm saying, please make sure they do." Um, okay.
*Swiss health care is reasonably priced. At least for treating a double ear infection (#1). A doctor visit, antibiotics, ear drops, and nasal spray came to about $55.
*Another language observation: There is something downright funny about Disney experienced via French. Blanch-neige et les Sept Nains just doesn't have the same ring as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, does it? But another sign of English's inroads as an international second language: the "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience" ride/show was in English. If you spoke French, you had to listen via headphones. In your. own. country.
*We have officially consumed enough (very good) cheese to meet our family's per-capita consumption for the year, thanks.
*Jet lag is miserable coming home. Yes, I made mac n cheese for two kids, two early a.m.s in a row. As in 3:30. Yawwwn.
*Five-year-olds can find the "how to jump down the inflatable ramp when your plan lands gently and in one piece in an emergency" pamphlet endlessly interesting. I think #1 spent almost as much time with this information as she did with books.
*Our kids are great plane sleepers. I, on the other hand, must concentrate with all my might to keep the plane afloat. So I don't get much sleep (duh--don't want that plane to crash).
*I am embarrassingly, oh-so-Americanly monolingual. Europe is so not. I know a few phrases from my stint in college German, and usefully used it to ask, "Sprechen sie English?" Each time, I could use my own language and someone else had to adjust. I loved the multi-lingual announcements in Zurich and Frankfurt, and we were likewise amused at the airport workers shouting at arriving passengers in English when we arrived in Philadelphia. Our favorite: "Please make sure to have your boarding pass with your passport. If someone near you doesn't understand what I'm saying, please make sure they do." Um, okay.
*Swiss health care is reasonably priced. At least for treating a double ear infection (#1). A doctor visit, antibiotics, ear drops, and nasal spray came to about $55.
*Another language observation: There is something downright funny about Disney experienced via French. Blanch-neige et les Sept Nains just doesn't have the same ring as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, does it? But another sign of English's inroads as an international second language: the "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience" ride/show was in English. If you spoke French, you had to listen via headphones. In your. own. country.
*We have officially consumed enough (very good) cheese to meet our family's per-capita consumption for the year, thanks.
*Jet lag is miserable coming home. Yes, I made mac n cheese for two kids, two early a.m.s in a row. As in 3:30. Yawwwn.
posted by prrrof at 11:20 AM
1 Comments:
Yay, you're back!! Glad all are well (right??) and on the mend. And thanks for keeping the plane afloat. I had no idea.
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