Australia - Mother Nature's answer to human egocentrism

Sunny November day in Queensland 2006. Lovely drive to Rose Bay and King's Beach, a long and beautiful stretch of sand and sea. Low tide here, means LOW tide - miles of sand. A large sign in the car park reads "Swimming is Prohibited! Estuarine Crocodiles inhabit the area". We saw only 2 other people walking this gorgeous beach. Australia must be Mother Nature's way of knocking humans off of our high horse. We are not invincible. We must respect our fellow creatures.

Getting out of your comfort zone - the best exercise ever!

One of the most rewarding aspects of international travel is getting to know the people. When getting to know the local people also means learning and speaking their language the experience is even more profound. For so many Americans, English is our only language. Unfortunately, other languages were not taught to most of us in school. I was lucky enough to take 2 years of Spanish in high school. That was a long time ago! So now, I brush up on my language skills before heading to a Spanish speaking country. It truly makes a difference in connecting with local people, understanding their culture and trying to converse in their native language. I may not have perfect grammar and don't have a large vocabulary, but challenging my brain to think in two languages is great exercise!