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Did
you speak any French before living there?
I
spent about three months studying French while waiting for the visa in
my hometown, in Israel. It was easy enough to get by without French at
first, though. All you have to remember is say "Bonjour, excusez
moi monsieur/madame" and then you switch to English. You would be
surprised how helpful the French can be.
What
has traveling/living abroad brought you?
That’s
a tough question. Time passes really quickly— it was only yesterday
that I set my foot for the first time in Australia at the age of 19. I
am 37 now…
You’ve traveled quite a bit. Do you have any favorite places,
good stories?
There
are places that only exist in my mind such as the good times I had as
a diving/water-sports instructor in the Hayman Island resort in Australia.
As for real
places, I would probably enjoy going back to Perth in Western Australia
and Kyoto, Japan. Tel Aviv in Israel is also a great destination for short
visits.
I could tell
you these two stories:
Tal rides
from Prague to Tel Aviv to Java—Europe/Asia and,
Tal rides a donkey by the temple Khazne ("Indiana Jones—The
Last Crusade") on a full moon in Petra, Jordan.
But I don’t
want to bore your readers.
Where do you want to go next?
I want to
go to Hawaii, but I guess I will have to settle for a place where I can
legally find a reasonably paid job—Australia is always my backup,
but if I could get a job back in Kyoto, …
What
advice would you give someone who wants to go abroad?
Be interested
in the people, culture and language—learn at least a little of the
language before going or while on the road.
When backpacking,
stay away from your own kind—e.g. if you are an American, try to
hang with the Australians, Germans, etc. If they are really cool—nationality
does not matter.
For a longer
stay in a particular country, a good way to start is by joining a language
school—you will learn the language and make some other foreign friends
at the same time.
If you are
the president of the United States please note—you don't need to
go to a language school if you are going to Ireland.
Would
you like to add anything?
I am going
to an indoor climbing gym about once a week—got my Petzl kit.
Helene
Goupil is the editor of InsideOut Travel Magazine. Write
Tal at tal@shalif.com
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