Traveling can be a touchy subject sometimes. My husband & I travel much more than any of our relatives and I travel more than most of the people I work with. The situation is financial for the most part. Some people truly have no interest in traveling but for the people close to me since it is a financial problem I'm hesitant to even bring it up since I don't want to appear to be bragging. I love to travel so much I think it would be very hard to listen to other people talk about their travels when I know I would probably never go. My friends and relative are very gracious about our travels but I do think you have to be sensitive to other people's situations.

Nano has made very good points about real education. That by role modeling you can, through travel with your children, make the page learning come alive. BUT, do not expect that your children will be world travelers- just because you enjoy travel and have encouraged it. My oldest two children are in their 30's and highly successful people, but do not travel outside of business at all anymore. They have chosen a different way and enjoy going to a not so distant lake and boating / swimming / jet skiing / fishing etc. as their family vacation experience. Now I will have to take my granddaughters and grandsons to Paris and Rome someday. <BR> <BR>Just as the last poster said, it doesn't hurt to be understanding of those who don't like any travel experiences. My sister says it feels like every day is a test, and that it just makes her extremely anxious when she travels. She is a very kind and sweet person who very seldom chides, yet she told me last month that she thought my enthusiasm over my trips and big sigh when I heard her yet again "cancel" plans- made her feel bad as they were too judgmental. Maybe she is right. The irony is that SHE is the one married to a United employee and has free air fare that she has used one time I know of in the last 15 years. <BR> <BR>My youngest are apt to take off for anything, like I am. They are more into history than the others and I do think if you study the past at all that it really enhances travel desire.

This topic brings back a memory I have about someone else in the travel business who should look for a different career like Deeanna's. I used to be a travel agent and have changed my career completely but my love is still travel and my husband and I continue to travel at least once a year, msotly to Europe. When I went to visit the staff at my old travel agency after my 5th trip to Spain and France they actually asked me what I found to do after so many times there. We have explored in these 5 times only small pockets of Catalonia and there's so much left to do. The question left me shaking my head and suggesting to my ex-boss that she had been sleeping when hiring that particular agent. One other staff member noted that she didn't like France cause there was too much "dog doo doo" on the ground there. I told her she was obviously looking in the wrong direction. Up and forward would have given her a much different perspective. Needless to say I don;t book my trips there! <BR>Regards, <BR>Lynn

topping

before- "Now where are you going to?" You must have a rich relative giving you trips. (NOT) <BR> <BR>after- "What did you want to go there for, you could have done that at !*&#^$% <BR>right here!" <BR>

My first trip abroad was to the USSR in the "Evil Empire" days, at the tender age of 19. Boy, did I get the comments on that! "Aren't you afraaaayid?" "They're going to keep you there!" (as if) and my all time favorite, "Why would (she) want to go to a godless country?" It was, of course, an absolutely terrific trip with some of the greatest cultural encounters imaginable. People are funny!

It's not so much the before questions that get to me as the after I return scenario. People will stop by and ask if I had a nice trip. I say it was great and have my mouth open to tell them about it, and they say, "Well, while you were gone . . ." and proceed to fill me in on the latest office or neighborhood gossip. It used to leave me with my mouth still open, but now I just chuckle inside and think, "Poor things."

My wife and I travel every chance we get. Life is very short. We travel now because we have our health and have the opportunity. Fortunately we have a close group of friends who also want to travel. If there was anything I ever wanted to pass on to my two daughters - it was the love of travel. We were very successful because they love to travel as much as we do. I get the "must be nice" line all the time. Travel is a priority with us. We find a way to do it, even if it means not spending money on other things that are not so much of a priority. Last comment - my wife and I took a Spanish class before out first trip to Spain to at least learn some basics. My mother said "Why in the world would you learn to speak Spanish, they should spead English to you".

I often get the comment "you should see your own country (Australia) first", which really annoys me. Travelling overseas is often hard work - my friend and I are up and walking from about 0800 to 1900 or later, with stops for lunch and coffee only on most days. It's a long way from just about anywhere here too.

I didn't realize I had been asked this question several times before and while in Scotland until you reminded me. Blank stares progressed to total confusion when I told them I was going for a sun worship festival.

I'm Australian and my husband is American (yes we met whilst I was travelling). I have really noticed that when we mention our travels the Australians are really interested and have usually travelled themselves whilst our American side, really isn't interested in travelling anywhere. <BR> <BR>My husband thinks that its the old "We have everything right here in good ole USA - why would we want to be bothered going there" sydrome. <BR> <BR>Generally, I do find that Australians are travellers (I know that I was also encouraged to travel) yet Americans not so much .... <BR> <BR>This is VERY general - just my observation from my family..... <BR>

Some of my post above got lost in the ether, so here it is again.... <BR> <BR>I often get the comment "you should see your own country (Australia) first", which really annoys me. Travelling overseas is often hard work - my friend and I are up and walking from about 0800 to 1900 or later, with stops for lunch and coffee only on most days. It's a long way from just about anywhere here too. There are loads of tours of Australia and New Zealand that cater for older tourists and that's just when I'll be doing them, when I'm too old to do my own thing. There won't be the stress of long flights and they will be more affordable for the pensioner I will then be!

the strongest comment i got was from someone at my destination. it was a cold, rainy day in glasgow when a shopclerk looked at me and said, 'u're from hawaii and u came HERE?!' well, guess what's exotic to someone from hawaii!

Two scenarios, both of which just happened to me in the past 3 weeks. <BR> <BR>Told a girlfriend that my husband had just gotten back from Palau. Dead silence. Then she says "but we haven't had snow for ages!". Not kidding. But the only trip she has been on was in the '70 when she folloew Donny Osmond to Las Vegas! <BR> <BR>Then, I told my Mother-in-Law's friend that we were going to Austria & France this summer. She is a travel agent. Her response was "Austria! Why! They don't want YOU there!". She said this because we are Jewish. My stomach actually rolled over on this one. I had to get up and leave the room. But the worst part is that I almost started to believe her. My husband turned absolutely as white as a sheet and was ready to cancel that part of the trip. So, we are still going, but now we will have it stuck somewhere in the archives of our brains that we are not welcome. May not be true, but wow, the damage done by one insensitive comment. Hopefully, we will be pleasantly surprised.

Oh Ellen, your story made my eyes fill with tears. You will have a wonderful visit to Austria. How insenstive can people be?

I've never had a negative response when talking about my upcoming/most recent trip. I live in a large city, but make it back to my tiny hometown very often. People there are always very interested in my travels. <BR> <BR>The one thing that does annoy me, and I get it both in the city and in my hometown--I often travel to Northern Ireland, and everyone always asks, "Aren't you scared to go there? Isn't it dangerous?" If I happened to be a member of a paramilitary group or sold drugs, yes it would be dangerous. But I know people don't believe me when I tell them that Belfast is SO much safer than any city in the US. There's very little non-Troubles-related crime, and I've never felt uncomfortable walking in the city alone at night. <BR> <BR>On a related topic, I went into the post office to mail a package to Northern Ireland, and I had neglected to write "U.K." under N.I. on the address. The postal clerk asked me what country I was sending to, I said "the United Kingdom". She informed me that Northern Ireland wasn't in the U.K. (wishful thinking)! I assure her it was, but it took quite a while before she would believe me. Somehow, my package did make it through in the end.

This year my husband and I (with our two daughters) flew to Paris for thanksgiving. We spent five days; took only one vacation day and my oldest only missed one day of school. I got some great comments, like "it must be great to be a ble to go to Paris for the weekend." You know what, airfare for the 4 of us only cost me $1050 and the hotels were charging low season rates. It would have cost me much more to go to Disneyland with the kids at the same time. I guess its just a matter of what's important to show your children: EPCOT or the Louvre.

I work in a large facility and most of the people there know I love to travel. Recently one of the girls asked me where I was going on my next trip. When I responded, "to Bermuda", she wanted to know if I was scared. When I asked, of what? She responded, "What if you never come out of the Bermuda Triangle?" <BR> <BR>She honestly seemed surprised to see me when I returned!

15 minutes ago I got the 'France? Why don't you go to Hawaii or Disneyland?' from a co-worker

<BR>They are not travellers!