Saturday, July 14, 2007

TWQ: Interesting People On Vacation

As I've returned from my cruise, this TWQ (The Weekend Question) centres on those we meet when on vacation.

Can you describe interesting or unusual people you have met on vacation in the past years. List as many as you wish.

My answers are:

Goth Girl: This year, on my cruise, there was a goth girl amongst the passengers. She was in her early twenties, and always wore black, with large boots. She even had a black parasol when it was sunny. I admire her for sticking to her way even though most of the passengers were over 60! She was a very well spoken girl when I chatted to her.

Russian Nurse: When I was ill with a stomach problem on my river cruise between Moscow & St Petersburg a few years ago, I was taken to a nurse who did not speak a word of English. Everything was translated, son she unearthed a box of pills covered in dust and gave me a few to have!

Now it's over to you...

But before I go......

Please note the Universal Translator, which converts the words on this page to French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, Korean and simplified Chinese. Sorry there is no Klingon!

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32 comments:

Diane@Diane's Place said...

Rather than particular interesting people, I tend to run into people I know on vacation, even hundreds of miles away.

I live in Arkansas and I've been to Florida twice, and each time I've run into people from my hometown. In Eureka Springs, Arkansas and Branson, Missouri I've never failed to run into multiple acquaintances when I've been there, and I've visited both places probably a dozen times or more.

Lesson: always assume someone who knows you is watching you and may report your actions to the folks back home! ;o)

Have a great weekend, Captain. :-)

Hugs,

Diane

Amazing Gracie said...

Bonjour, mon capitan! Thanks for your kind words...
We've met some great people on the Hawaiian islands - tour bus guides, business owners, native-born Hawaiians. They are among some of the kindest, most thoughtful, real people we've ever met! Makes us keep wanting to go back...

Anonymous said...

Sadly, I've been working so darn hard, that I don't have anything interesting to share with you.

The last time I went on vacation, it was with my then (not now) significant other, and my family, so I was focussed on them.

:) sorry!

Michele sent me.

sage said...

From my recent trip out west--I was hiking part of the time and met a couple folks on horseback. Although we never said anything about the horses, she was so defensive about them and their poop being bio-degradable (I think she figured since we were backpackers, we hated horses on trails, which is somewhat true).

Another interesting folk was a guy I met in the tickets along the Siever River in Central Utah, I was trying to get a picture of the river and red rock and he came crashing through wanting to get a picture of a rafting group his son was in, this guy drives a truck carrying the mail through Central Utah five days a week and we talked about his challenges in the winter.

Here from Michele's Captain.

sage said...

btw, that universal translator is neat!

Meow (aka Connie) said...

Welcome back, hope the holiday was great.
I'm a bit like Diane, and tend to meet people I know when we go away.
Have a great weekend.
Take care, Meow

Bev Sykes said...

Interesting topic. I may try to make a journal entry out of it. And, I came via Michele, BTW.

kenju said...

We ran into a guy from our beach house area (east coast) in Hawaii one year, while eating shave ice. On a cruise once, we had a lesbian couple seated at our meal table. The "male" of the couple could not be seated for dinner because she didn't have a dress to wear. I felt sad for her. Michele sent me today, Jean-Luc.

Anonymous said...

I can converse with anyone on a vacation. I make friends very easily.
I find most people are interesting when they open up..

Michele sent me to meet you..:)

Fab said...

Yet no Dutch?

Thanks for stopping by so fequently, Captain.

Of the top of my head I cannot think of unusual people. Everyone's always very nice to me abroad. People in Barcelona are very open. They talk to you as if you've known them forever. Let me ponder a while, I'll come back to you.

Linda said...

While visiting the Petersburg National Battlefield outside of Richmond, Virginia several years ago my cousin and I ran into a guy who was touring the place with his buddy. He was from the South and seemed nice enough but he had the arrogant belief that not only did Northerners ever visit or know about the battlefield but especially women from the North would know nothing about the battle that took place there. I managed to handily set him straight on some of his misinformation not only about we women Yankees but also about the battlefield in general!

Like they say, those people who think they know everything are annoying to those of us who really do! At least in this case!

Nancy Wu said...

I met several unusal peoples on the vacations but the one most unusal was the one I met on florida. I dreamed about him the afternoon in an hour snap and I met him the evening. Everything exactly douplicated the dream.

The first time I met him ever. We were from two different worlds with vast age difference. It became a starting point for a weird journey in my life. Adding a rainbow drop with a mystery still.

susan said...

I don't tend to meet interesting people when I'm away. But I am going away with my on line girl friends again in about 5 weeks time. A different hotel this time, but we are going to have a great girly time with us getting nails done, swimming in the hotel pool, and great food.
And even better company. :)

Tawnya Shields said...

Whilst visiting my family up North I met a male witch. For real. He owned a shop called A Year and a Day. This is when one becomes an official witch. Anyway, we chatted for well over and hour and I bought incense and candles. We agree that knew each other in a past life. I hope it wasn't during the Spanish Inquisition!

My second person was a Native American of the Blackfoot tribe. Again I was in a spiritual shop looking for some stones. I have to feel them and if they call out I choose it. He saw me and was impressed that as a white person I was so in touch with nature. We talked and shared stories. He was so full of information. I could have talked to him for many more hours.

The most strange though was when I first visited Las Vegas many moons ago. I met a dude that looked like Michael Jackson and had spray painted himself gold!OMG!!

I always attract the strangest people. I guess like attracts like. :o)~

craziequeen said...

I haven't vacationed as such for years now, but while on holiday in Tunisia we were put on the same table as a chap who spent every meal pumping me for sensitive information on Eurofighter (now Tyhoon) when he found out where I worked.

It was so bad, we organised our day so we could avoid them at every meal.

cq

Bobkat said...

Sorry, not been on holiday much in the last few years so no-one comes to mind! In New York, the taxi driver spent the whole time complaining about tourists who had more than one bag nad we had two!

Bobkat said...

Oops - Michele sent me to say hi!

Jean-Luc Picard said...

Your stories are so interesting. Some people will close themselves off while on vacation, but if we open up, there are fascinating people to talk to.

Charles Caldwell said...

Yes, the earliest person I remember was Amy. I met her when I was about six years old in Treasure Cay, Bahamas. I was there with my family aboard our sailboat for Christmas 1968. We had little crushes on each other. Amy & I exchanged letters for about two years and then lost touch. I always wonder where she is today.

Michele sent me!

Anonymous said...

Your story of the Russian nurse reminded me of the last time I went to Mexico. I had an allergic reaction to an over the counter cold medication, and started to go into anaphylactic shock. I flew out of my room to find the hotel doctor. I was directed to a tiny office which housed a tiny nurse.

I tried explaining my situation, but she didn't seem to understand. All the while, my throat was becoming narrower and narrower. She dialed a number on her phone, and the hotel doctor answered. He was deep sea fishing. He explained that the nurse didn't speak much English, but that he would tell her give me an injection to alleviate the symptoms -- or I could just wait it out and they would subside on their own. I opted to "wait it out".

The Mistress of the Dark said...

Graeme Edge from The Moody Blues, but I was on vacation for a Moody Blues concert.

Unknown said...

I had met this great couple on my honeymoon we had taken one of those days trip to Capri from Rome and so on our bus we met these two older than us couple who were just amazing they were both teachers but the difference was that they were traveling teachers, who would go to places like Kazakhstan and teach English. I forgot the name of the program. After the tour we went out for pizzas with them and the next time they were off on some project they stopped over and we took them out.

craziequeen said...

TWQ (la question de week-end) - hehehe....been playing with your universal translator :-) Shame there's no Klingon....

Michele's new improved Meet and Greet sent me to say hi :-)
We didn't tend to mix with other people on holidays, but there are always a few 'interesting' characters kicking around hotels.....

cq

Unknown said...

Good Afternoon to you Captian ;)

I once met a member of the cast of a TV program staying at the same apartments we where which was interesting.

I once met a greek diplomat who had brought his english family to meet his parents and driven from England to Greece to bring his father a new car.

Also a lovely woman who rescued cats as when the tourist season was over the locals on the island culled them she ran a bar during the summer and a cat sanctuary ;)

Michele Sent me ;)

Lois Lane said...

Does Ticky Dick count??
It sounds like you are vacationing with some of my family members. ;)

Anonymous said...

Funny you asked as we just have had a visit in our vacation house in Sweden and they left this report - I call them both interesting and unusual:-)

Shannon akaMonty said...

I haven't had a vacation in far too long...*sigh*...but since blogging, I've found that when I DO take a few days away I want to arrange my schedule to meet blog-friends.

Believe me when I say that they're ALL interesting (and some quite...eccentric) characters!

Hello, Michele sent me!

Miss Trashahassee said...

I never meet anybody interesting on vacation. It's just not fair.

BFF,
Miss T

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

yes captain, we have met many interesting people on crusieships. i loved a lunch one day with an enitre large family of italians that spoke not one word of english, and i, of course, speak three words of italian, we had the most lovely time making each other understand with signs and acting and laughing, it was marvelous! plus we had chocolate for dessert!

smiles, bee

Anonymous said...

I have gone on one cruise ship. The most interesting person that I met was named Caesar, and he was the head waiter for our table in the banquet room. He was from Peru, and he told us quite a bit about what it is like to work on a cruise ship for months at a time.
One time in Medicine Hat, Alberta, I spent an afternoon chatting with a teenager who was hitch-hiking across Canada. He was making his way depending solely on 'the universe' to help him out.Here we call that lazy or irresponsible, but in Tibet holy men wander about depending on begging to get by and they are respected for their lack of material attachments.

Jean-Luc Picard said...

You can all tell wonderful stories! That's the good thing about vacations; coming across people you normally wouldn't.

Panthergirl said...

This is an easy one for me.

On our honeymoon (2nd marriage), we met another couple and played darts with them until the wee hours. Finally, the other husband turned to me and said "Where have you been all my life?"

Can you say.... AWKWARD???