Foreign Perspectives

Archive for the ‘Society’ Category

If you’re a blogger you certainly should because growing numbers of your colleagues are in jail in China.

Have you ever called for the government to change? That’s what Guo Qizhen did and he’s been in jail for the last year because of it with no real prospect of release before the Olympics are over.

Many bloggers will have their little rant now and again about something annoying that their government has gotten up to. That’s OK in a democratic society but try it somewhere like China and you can easily end up in jail.

Run a political blog? Not an option in China unless it’s one that consistently supports the government.

So, if you value freedom of expression, make a point of saying so now and again.

As we move out of the Summer, the number of opportunities available on the pay per post sites is increasing quite rapidly as indeed is the range to choose from.

Surprisingly, included among this increased number is a large number of tourist/travel related ones which is perfect for me as they’re by far the easiest ones to write and they fit well into the overall theme of this blog too. However, it gets better because a number of them are in areas which I’m developing for our Whole Earth Guide ie people are paying me to write stuff that I’d be writing anyway!

What would be really nice is if I could get some of these folk paying for individual posts to sponsor the guide but perhaps that’ll come in due course. After all, I’ve only just started the first phase of promotion for the guide.

It used to be pretty handy living here and learning Spanish. After all, we’re just 30 miles or so from Spain and we get a lot of guests from Barcelona so it’s obviously easy to get a lot of practice in, isn’t it?

Well, no actually, it isn’t. Up until about 18 months ago it certainly used to be but the Catalans have become a whole lot more militant about their language since then. The immediately obvious impact of that was that since around then brochures in shops are only available in Catalan instead of being in Spanish too as they were previously. Similarly all signs are only in Catalan these days.

In the last 12 months we’ve found that the Catalans quite simply refuse to serve us in shops if we speak Spanish. I think that’s because we come across as residents of the area and therefore they expect us to speak Catalan. However, that’s not possible for us because even though we live in French Catalonia the French have all but stamped out that language.

Recently we even had a Catalan guest who insisted on speaking in very bad English rather than Spanish so we expect that it will get worse in the coming years.

It’s getting quite difficult for us because although we get a lot of guests from Barcelona, not all of them are Catalan and neither do all of them speak or read English yet all of them speak and read Spanish (or Castillian as the Catalans call it). Therefore we acknowledge reservations from Spain in Spanish.

Will they eventually become as militant as the Basques? Who knows, but it certainly seems to be heading that way.

Loads of people go on last minute holidays and do it very successfully but some of those people just aren’t organised enough to take a last minute break which becomes particularly obvious when they reach us.

Last minute holidays require you to be even more on the ball than normal as there’s usually not enough time to allow for any problems that you’ve not considered. Now, this usually doesn’t matter on a city break as you can get away with taking just your passport, credit card and plane ticket but if you’re aiming for somewhere outside a city or going for more than a few days you need to put a bit more thought into it.

The first thing you need to be clear on is how you are going to get from the airport to your accommodation. Many of the airports used by discount airlines are tiny and not fully operational when late night flights arrive. If you’ve hired a car, check that the car hire office will actually be open when you arrive and indeed up to about an hour after your flight is due as it can take that long to retrieve your baggage and get through customs & immigration. You might think that this will be OK as they wouldn’t take the booking if they weren’t open. Not so: car hire companies in Perpignan all accept bookings for times up to 11pm yet they are all closed by 6pm!

Check that the accommodation you’ve booked is open when you’re planning on arriving too. The majority of hotels don’t have 24 hour reception and if your arrival time is going to be after they close then you usually won’t get in (very small hotels often operate a grace period after official closing time but don’t bank on that). Tell the hotel what flight you are arriving on as some will check for actual flight arrival times and may allow for delays. Phone the hotel as soon as you know you are going to be delayed: don’t wait until you get off the plane to say that you’re four hours late, particularly if that means you’ll not be arriving ’til after 10pm.

If you’re going to arrive on Saturday or Sunday and plan on using public transport to get around, check that it operates at the weekend. In France, it’s commonplace for there to be no public transport operating on Sundays. If you’re going to use a taxi, try asking the hotel what the price is likely to be to avoid nasty surprises.

If you get off the plane really late and can’t face travelling to the accommodation that you’ve booked, don’t forget that you will almost certainly be charged for it anyway. Any cancellations usually need to be made at least 24 hours in advance to avoid “no show” charges. Even with that, any booking fee you’ve paid is never refunded.

If your flight arrives in France after 8pm, make sure that you have eaten something before you get off the plane because, outside the large cities, you won’t be able to get anything to eat in France.

Don’t forget to pack the really essential things that you will need during your stay. It’s not always easy to buy the likes of contact lens solutions and whatnot if you’re in a strange country. The electricity supply around Europe is the same but the plugs are different so buy an adaptor if you haven’t already got one (they’re usually much cheaper in your departure airport than they are at your destination).

Even if you’re not intending to drive, take your driving license.

Take Mastercard and Visa as not everywhere accepts both. It’s useful to have an American Express card as they can be replaced abroad if lost/stolen whereas Mastercard and Visa usually can’t be, despite what the respective companies will tell you.

Finally, don’t depend on the ATM at the airport working when you arrive, particularly if you’re arriving in a small airport at the weekend. Bring some cash in the local currency (around EUR 100 is enough).

The first reaction was “I don’t wanna go to the dentist again” but he’s settled down now that he knows the tooth fairy is on her way.

Don’t you think that first teeth are terribly tiny when they come out? They don’t look quite so small when they’re in the mouth but are ever so small when they come out in your hand.

Anyway, first of many to drop out…