Cultural Capsule

Culture and Language Notes for Learners of English.

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October 26, 2008

Cultural Note 5 - Language On The Road


Here's a very interesting article you should read. Besides practicing your English, it gives seven very effective tips to learn a language while on the road.

Would you add any other tip to the list?


Click here to keep reading the article.

I'd love to hear from you. Add your tips or thoughts to our "comment area".

Cheers from windy Key West.

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October 10, 2008

Saying good bye

Leaving Dry Tortugas after a relaxing day in pristine waters is always the toughest part!

Sent from my iPhone

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October 10, 2008

Dry Tortugas Nowadays

Now Dry Tortugas is a preserved National Park. You can get there by boat. It will take around 2h30m to get there from Key West. You can spend the day there snorkeling or just goofing off at the beach. You can even camp there!

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October 10, 2008

Status change

After the American Civil War, Fort Jefferson became a prison. A place that is now a paradise on earth has once been a living hell with around1500 people living on the Island with little water far from everything and no sewage system. Can you imagine the stinky smell around?

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October 10, 2008

Fort Jefferson

Fort Jefferson is the second biggest Fort in the US. Before it was built, Dry Tortugas was the meeting point for pirates who looted many Galeons
passing by the Gulf of Mexico.

Sent from my iPhone

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October 10, 2008

Arriving on Dry Tortugas

Why the name Dry Tortugas? The island was first reached by Ponce de Leon who called it Tortugas due to the number of sea turtles they found. In fact, they used these turtles as food while sailing.

How about the dry? There was no drinkable water around.

Sent from my iPhone

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October 10, 2008

Leaving to Dry Tortugas

Dry Tortugas is the island where Fort Jefferson is. It was built in the mid 1800's to protect the important ports of the Gulf of Mexico. It then became a military prison.

Sent from my iPhone

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September 21, 2008

Cultural Note 4 - Packing

Dear Learners and readers,

Sorry for my absence for the past two weeks, but I had to evacuate due to hurricane Ike as a preventive measure. We spent some days in Orlando, which was not bad at all. In fact, it was a lot of family fun.

airport (8)

All this trip brought back to my mind the topic that I promised I'd explore on my following post, packing. It still amazes me when I'm at an airport to see how you can easily recognize a Brazilian by the size of his bag and the quantity of bags. No, I'm not the perfect packer. I used to be a lousy packer. However, as I've been traveling a lot lately and here in the US they make a big deal out of the weight of your bag and the number of bags, I decided I'd be better in the art of packing. I think I evolved quite considerably. Well, I'll have to ask my husband about it!

I can now take one small bag for me and one small bag for both of my boys. Depending on the trip, I can have a single bag for the three of us. What do you think? It's an improvement, isn't it? And considering that American airlines companies are now charging for each bag you check in, it can save you a pretty good amount of money to spend with something worth it. I have to confess, though, I still need to watch for the weight. They are very rigorous about it. I can say I'm getting there.

Well, instead of giving you all the tips, I must say that I found this very cool site that will help you out next time you travel nationally or internationally. It's full of nice hints, and I'm sure you'll happily travel lighter than ever with no stress trying to find ways to carry all your bags, look for a porter and be worried about losing bags.

So, access now onebag.com

What was the most interesting and useful tip you got there?
Are you willing to give it a try next time you travel?
Do you have any other tip for effective packing?

I'd love to know if you liked it.

--

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August 26, 2008

Cultural Note 3 - At the Airport, Immigration and Customs

After the Tropical storm Fay, everything seems to be calm again, but now there's Gustav making the forecasters really busy tracking it out. A curiosity about hurricanes: did you know that each of them has a human name in alphabetical order and if one is a woman's name, the other will be masculine? So, we had Fay (F and feminine), now it's Gustav's time (G and masculine).

Just some interesting ramblings...

Now, back to the airport. Here's my sister Justine who commented on our first post about airport issues:

http://carlaarena.posterous.com/airport#comment

Cultural Note 1 - At the Airport - Cultural Capsule via kwout

She's totally right! Check on the departure screens to see if your gate hasn't changed. It's very common, and if you are in a big airport, chances are you'll have to walk a lot, or even get a subway (as it is the case in Atlanta!).

airport (1)

Another thing that I forgot to mention:

When you're on the plane, flying to the US, the flight attendants will hand in two forms for you to fill in, the I-94 for the immigration and the Customs form. Make sure you read everything and fill them out with precise information.

When you get to the immigration, check for the right booth to direct yourself to (Foreigners).

 

 

 

 

Probably, the first question you'll hear from the immigration officer is:

What brings you to the US?

In my case, I always answer that I'm accompanying my husband. In your case, it could be either tourism or business.

He will probably ask you where you are staying, where you are going, etc.

Then, he'll digitalize your finger prints and take a photo of yours.

airport (6)He'll give back your passport with the stamped I-94. Watch out: the I-94 is the most important document in your possession! Make sure you staple it to your passport and when you're returning from your trip, make sure they get yours when you're checking in or boarding.

Time for customs. You'll get your luggage and go through customs. If you're still connecting to another city, you'll replace your luggage at the carousel and go through security check.

Once you've gone through the whole process, you should check the departures screen to look for your flight and gate. Don't even bother to ask the ladies at the Front Desk in the airline companies. They'll tell you to look for the info on the screens!

Next week, I'll talk about luggage issues in the US.

 

 

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August 18, 2008

Cultural Note 2 - Hurricane Season

Next week, I promise to talk about airport issues when traveling to the US, but today I decided to take the opportunity to show you a bit of a reality we don't face in Brazil, the possibility of being in the middle of a hurricane.

Hurricane season happens in summertime here in the US, mainly in the south of the country. The period which is more critical is between June and September of each year, when it's mostly hot.

What does it mean to be in Hurricane Season? Mainly, preparation. We should have non-perishable food supply, water for at least three days, shutters in the windows, removing all movable things from outdoors, and staying in a safe place. We should, also, check the weather forecast to see how things are going and the advice specialists send. Other preventive measures comprise

  • filling our vehicle's fuel tank
  • checking batteries for radios and flashligths and supply of candles
  • putting together a portable disaster survival kit
  • locating the main turnoffs for electricity, water and gas.
  • packaging valuables (jewelry, titles, document, licenses, inventories) for safe keeping in water proof containers.
Right now, Fay is coming our way. It was in Cuba moving towards the US. It's probably not getting here as a hurricane, but as a tropical storm, a strong one, though. We're not supposed to leave our houses, but visitors in Key West were evacuated yesterday from the Island and other Keys.

We're a safe, but I thought you might be interested in learning a bit more of a reality that seemed so distant and now is part of my daily life. I wish I were in sunny Brasilia right now!

Click on the photo below to watch the video I just recorded.


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