Most of my work at Frequent Miler is behind-the-scenes work, editing the podcasts, managing the social media, and keeping our web design up-to-date. But having spent nearly a decade as a digital nomad, living out of hotels around the world thanks to miles and points, there are thoughts about the 70 countries I’ve visited, my life as a nomad, or my experience as a well-immersed player 2 that I occasionally think might resonate with some of you. This series gives me a place to put those thoughts, just for anyone up for a little Carrie commentary!
On a recent Ask Us Anything, one viewer asked if there were daily habits or routines we picked up in travel that followed us home. Here’s how they posed the question:
Given the amount of travel and exposure to different cultures that the whole Frequent Miler team has had over the years, what experiences have changed how you live day to day back home? For example, after a trip to Italy, I became very interested in espresso to the point where I bought myself an espresso machine that I now use every morning. Has something similar happened for you all?
First of all, I love questions like this because I love digging a little deeper into the why of travel – the layer underneath the suite upgrades and in-flight showers. And for each of us on the team, curiosity is a huge driving force for why we do all the rest of this points-and-miles stuff. We’re deeply curious about how others live their lives around the world. For me, this question tapped into that feeling perfectly, and it made me think of more answers long after the Ask Us Anything, Live was over. Here are a few of the things that came up for me.
9 weird little habits I picked up from travels abroad
I became way more of a food snob (particularly with Asian cuisine).
Pretentious as it may be, when I order a dish that I love from Southeast Asia and it shows up with inauthentic, westernized ingredients (like bell peppers instead of Thai chili peppers or peanut butter instead of tamarind) I remember how the dish is supposed to taste with the authentic ingredients, and I have a hard time really enjoying it. In many cases these not-quite-right dishes would have suited me just fine before I knew what the real thing was supposed to be like. As they say, ignorance is bliss.
I buy Italian canned tomatoes.
I’ve heard others say this, so I know it’s not just in my head: the tomatoes in Europe genuinely taste better. I’ve read different reasons for why this might be, but whatever the reason, it’s unmistakable. I noticed that even when I make my own tomato sauce from scratch, it still doesn’t taste as good as the canned tomato sauce from Italy. I buy Cento, personally. I know some of my more beer-loving friends feel this way about international beers, too, recognizing a better flavor with German beers for example.
I keep club soda around to make my own carbonated juices.
While traveling in Europe, I loved how ubiquitous carbonated lemonade was. Then in Malta, I really enjoyed the bitter-orange soda “Kinnie“, or the “Apfelschorle” in Germany. At home, mixing club soda with juice is now a staple, especially in the summer. (I find it a little funny that I used to drink carbonated juice to pretend to be a grown-up drinking wine, but childhood-me didn’t realize that the carbonated juice would actually be a more accurate representation of adult-me than the wine it was pretending to be.)
I put a dash through my handwritten “7’s”.
I can’t remember which European country I picked this up from, but it just makes sense. A handwritten 7 can look dangerously close to a two or a 1, so a little line through the stem clears it all up.
I don’t assume “level 1” is the ground floor.
Whether “level 1” refers to the ground floor or the floor above ground floor varies by country, so I’ve found that I’ve gradually lost the base assumption that “level 1” is the ground floor. (And in fact, I have a hard time remembering which version is more prevalent here in the States.)
I pay more attention to Global news.
Even unintentionally, I find myself perking up attention if I hear something on the news that references a place I’ve been. And the more places I go, the more that happens.
I don’t gripe much about the price of gasoline.
My brief time living in Northern Ireland gave me an appreciation for how cheap fuel is in the States compared to much of Europe. It stings when gas prices go up, but the sting is lessened a bit by the memory of prices elsewhere.
I ask people, “What part?” when they tell me where they’re from.
I love it when a person starts speaking about their home country, and I find out I’ve not only been there, but sometimes I’ve been to the specific town or region where they grew up. That’s almost always a fun conversation for both of us.
I think of myself in a global context.
Life here isn’t perfect, of course, but I now recognize some standard elements of life in the United States as the luxuries they are. Hot water on demand, refrigerators in every household, power outages only once or twice a year, waste management systems, free public restrooms, yards… so many things in my daily life would represent a lot of wealth if obtained somewhere else. In fact, there is a calculator that shows you how your income compares to the rest of the world, and it’s quite shocking, actually. As a single individual living in the United States, it would only take an annual, post-tax income of $68,000 to be included in the 1%, globally.
These are the 9 weird little daily habit changes I thought of, but I’m curious how you all might answer this same question: what are the things you’ve adopted as daily habits which you picked up in travel abroad?
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Here are my 9:
1. Similar to the reader, I still use the coffee filter I bought in Vietnam during my first visit a couple of decades ago. Not only it cost half a dollar, that lasts forever. I make Vietnamese style drip every morning, although with less ground coffee.
2. I ride my motorcycle a bit more… in international style and liberally. When dozens of cars are lining up, why should I be polite and join the line up?
3. I hang dry my laundry. People in n America don’t realize how power hogging and damaging garments the dryers are. I use it so rarely, I eventually got rid of it. Many home and condo owners associations still ban this for ‘visual’ reasons, but come on, isn’t it time to be a bit greener and easier on our wallets, at least when one choose to do so? I find hanging laundry outside the sight of life, but it’s just me. I’d find it weird seeing southern European cities and Hong Kong without their laundry hanging dry.
4. I make a point of turning off lights and water (while brushing my teeth, and while not actually taking shower!) when I’m not using. With my habit 3, I pay less than half of what my friends pay for the similar size house for electricity.
5. Just like Carrie, I’ve become conservative when it comes to food, I almost always find the og versions better than fusion or mock versions. For example, at JP run sushi joints, I ask my chefs to paint wasabi between the rice and the topping like mustard in a sandwich, just like in JP. Luckily, I live in a big city, many authentic foods are available.
6. I like small cars with standard transmission for their agility and better fuel efficiency, but it’s getting almost impossible to buy one in n America.
7. Inspired by ‘juice’ vendors on the streets, especially in Latin America, I bought myself a blender to make mine with fruits, water, ice and sugar.
8. I’m hooked on manual washing toilets in much of developing countries and in Gulf countries. It cleans so much better than with tp. Japan has them automatic, while they’re still better than tp, but just like with cars, I prefer manual.
9. I’ve become more street smart. While still not perfect, when I take out my phone on the street, I always look around, make sure I’m not on a path of bikes and scooters, who could snatch my phone away. When on the train or the bus, I pay attention when the doors are open. In crowded places, I put my hands in pockets protecting my valuables (yes, I know, I should get a pair of anti theft pants). When sitting in restaurants with a bag, I make sure it keeps touching me. On the plane, I put my stuff in the overhead opposite side so I can see my stuff all the time, while it isn’t always easy to see if they’re stored right above me.
This post is so gay
Great post Carrie! We need more posts from you on FM 🙂
The only thing that comes to mind immediately are the different foods and drinks I’ve had from around the world that I like to have again whenever I see them on the menu.
Oh is that Grant , highly unlikely she’s going to hang you so why you posting this ?
my mom is Italian and she will ONLY buy Cento tomatoes!
I started drinking Nastro Azzurro beer in Italy / Europe and still drink it in the US
Heard your wop mom also loves it up the crapper?