BootsnAll Travel Community

...you go to ask a simple question and something like "cuanto es are-wa, fa'amolemole?" comes out.

...When you go shopping and your first response is when told the price of an item is "it's too expensive" in one of a dozen languages. Then the horror when you start to haggle them down and realise that is the price and you can't even convert the exchange rate back to your currency. That's the price!!! Oh My God. That IS too expensive I could get that for $5 in <insert Country Here>.

...When none of your clothes require ironing. And none of them are white (at least not anymore..!)

....When your friends refuse to discuss travel plans with you because every week you discover somewhere new and exciting to fixate on.

...When moving into a house you need to give a months notice to move back out of seems like a very large commitment.

...When you don't need to actually have your passport in view to complete passport number, place of issue, date of issue and date of expiry on an advance passenger information form.

...When your bank has given up on cancelling your card because of suspicious transactions in strange locations and then you have to try and prove that a charge for a £300 hotel room in Cairo wasn't actually you this time!

...When Shampoo can double as body wash can double as laundry detergent can double as dish-washing liquid.

When you hear people talk about how hard and expensive it is to travel and you think "huh?"

When you've realized the bull$hit train of working & buying crap is the biggest joke in the world and you really believe it.

oh yeah, and when you are congratulated by the check in airline guy about how small your bag is.

When you refuse to buy stuff (espeically clothing, CDs etc) because you can get the same in ... for a tenth of the price. AND you want to bargain like a demon for whatever it is...
And you speak in a revised simplified English... while wishing you couldn't understand the mundane converstations around you
And have a huge urge to bow to people you meet...

you put some bottled water in a cup to brush your teeth...then realize you're at home and don't have to do this anymore.

...and, in addition to above, you can brush your teeth and rinse your mouth with the teensiest amount of clean water imaginable.

...when you've been to more places in a country than citizens of that country.

...when you have to call your credit card company from Kathmandu to say, 'It's me, it's really me, please unlock my card.'

...when you can score contraband alcohol in Pakistan during Ramadan!!

- When you suddenly find yourself at home having a craving for Happy Cow cheese.

- When you are disappointed that nobody has sweetened condensed milk for your coffee at the convenience stores back home.

- When you're American and know the difference between Vegemite and Marmite.

- The people in your dreams all speak a language you don't understand. (Yes, seriously...)

- You forget where you are in the middle of the day and have to look for clues briefly to figure it out.

When you wake up in your own bed and have to think for a minute before you remember where the hell you are...I can't wait for that confusion in about 2 weeks! (That's a fortnight, for our British friends.)

When you come home and start sorting out all the boxes and items you left in storage and cant even remember buying them. It feels like christmas!!