Lingo in Transit

Travel, Languages and Life

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  • Book Corner: Why We Sleep

    Book Corner: Why We Sleep

    This past week, I finished one of the most stressful books that I have ever read. Why we sleep by Matthew Walker.

    This non-fiction book goes through the biological basis of why we sleep taking us through from baby to adulthood. It delves into what a lack of sleep can do to your body and mind and various psycological experiments that have occurred for the scientific world to come to these conclusions. The most striking findings for me was about sleep deprivation and it’s impacts on your cardiovascular health. Cardiovascular diseases are one of the top health concerns for many developed countries including Australia. Progressively shorter sleep is associated with a 45% increase in risk of developing and/or dying from coronary heart disease within 7-25 years from the study. This study is quoted to have included over 500,000 participants from a range of ages and ethnicities.

    Even just one night with a loss of an hour or 2 of sleep, can impact on your blood pressure (in a bad way). Yikes!

    As you can imagine, reading this book before I went to bed caused me all sorts of anxiety hoping that I would have a good sleep for 8 hours or increase my risk of all these bad repercussions for my body immediately.

    The next part of the book talks about dreaming, why we dream and some sleep disorders. I’ve never really into dream analysis or keeping dream diaries however abnormal functioning of the brain has always fascinated me.

    The final part of the book looks at how the modern world has impacted on our sleep. From the invention of light, screens and pills. As well as how society is set up and how sleep fits into how our society is today. This was interesting but doesn’t surprise me when societies do not take into considering the research (on any topic) but provides food for more though about how a better society might be like.

    Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

    I mostly get my solid 7-8 hours of sleep a night and I do prioritise it and have learnt to over time. I do sometimes have the tendancy to get really worked up about something in the hours before bed so do get the occasional nights where I can’t fall asleep as I’m ruminated over something (that doesn’t need ruminated at that time of the day!).

    How is your sleep?




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  • Home Again

    Home Again

    As I write this, it is the 2nd week of lockdowns here in Sydney. Today, we had 50 new cases. The most cases in a 24 hour period since this start of this delta wave. There are unofficial whispers that it is likely this lockdown will be extended. We still have until the 16th to see if we can get it under control but I am not hopeful.

    Photo by Manki Kim on Unsplash

    I’ve been working from home full time for 3 weeks now and yesterday I managed to wear my thermal inside only realising just before lunch.

    Despite the past year, I still love being home. Whenever I need a break from work, I can inspect my indoor plants and my many avocado seeds that I’m trying to root. I don’t know what I expect to do with all these seeds that do root and grow. It’s just nice to see them grow. I like to move the soil around to ensure there is not too much dampness and this year learnt how to get rid of these small white bugs with a vinegar, dishwashing liquid and water concoction. It seemed to have worked very well.

    I had a trip to the library before lockdown began and also got my hands on a sudoku puzzle book. I really thought I would devour the books more quickly but feel like I’m subconsciously pacing myself. I don’t really need to, I have a handful of my own half unfinished books on the shelf.

    Add to this my 110 day learning streak on Duolingo and all the other general cleaning, I still find it hard to find the time to fit all my home activities in!

  • Pictorial #3

    Pictorial #3

    A few pictures from the past few months before winter really hit.

  • Environmentally Friendly Swaps That I Like (And Those I Don’t)

    Environmentally Friendly Swaps That I Like (And Those I Don’t)

    Whilst slowly (very slowly) trying to make better swaps for the existing items that I’m using, I wanted to summarise where I’m currently at and what I’ve been really liking and what hasn’t worked. I feel that there is overwhelming pressure to like environmentally friendly products and this guilt for not using or buying these products. Plus not to mention all those glass pasta sauce jars that I can’t fit in my drawer anymore and feel bad about recycling because who really knows if they are actually being recycled.

    LIKE

    • Toxin (ish) free deodorents.

    The QV one is aluminium free and fragrance free but while I like it, I don’t love it so won’t be repurchasing. Plus, it’s in a plastic roller bottle. I’m really liking the No Pong, an Australian natural brand that is bicarb based. It comes in these cute reuseable tins and can be bought in a pack. I still sweat in these but I’m now thinking sweat glands were made to sweat.

    • Wooden toothbrush

    I actually got this one at the local supermarket now that they finally stock them (thank you Colgate). They are price friendly and do the job. I find price point fairly important in influencing me to make the swap. The downside of these is that they can’t stand in a traditional toothbrush holder as the handle will get mouldy so instead, I need to dry it flat.

    • Re-usable water bottle
    Photo by Luis Quintero on Unsplash

    I always carry one in my bag everywhere and have used my current so much that the picture on the bottle has now completely rubbed off. After going through a handful of bottles, I’ve got a very good idea of what I want in a bottle.

    Things that I look for in a reusable bottle:
    – Size. Not too big and not too small.
    – Neck. The neck of the bottle must be big enough to get a sponge and water bottle brush cleaner in. This is a non negotiable for me. There are too many that don’t fit this criteria which makes washing so hard.
    – Material. I want a glass one but haven’t found one yet that meets all the boxes. I know many plastics are cleaner now than they use to be but I think I still would prefer the idea of drinking from a glass bottle.

    DISLIKE

    • Beeswax wraps

    I’ve tried these wraps but don’t find them very user friendly. They don’t cling to the bowls so more often than not, I place it flat on the bowl and forget about even trying to wrap the bowl. I can’t see what is inside and whatever is under it tends to just stay hidden in the fridge for too long. Now, I’m trying to just keep food in tupperware containers instead and still have cling wrap on hand.

    • Shampoo bars
    Photo by FitNish Media on Unsplash

    I’ve tried and not liked shampoo bars. I find them very fiddly to use and don’t have the room really to host more bars in the shower. It might also be that particular formulation but I don’t like what it does to my hair and how my hair is post shower. For the moment, still sticking to bottled shampoo and conditioner.

    What are some environmentally friendly swaps that have worked for you and what ones haven’t?

  • Travel Dreams

    Travel Dreams

    Dreaming has been difficult in the past year. One dream I’ve always had for the past decade was to travel.

    I wanted to see the world.

    I wanted to be walking through the highest peaks and lowest troughs of the world.

    I wanted to see all the animals and wonders of the world that I’d only seen through books and pictures.

    I wanted to eat delicious food from all corners of the earth and visit all the places that have existed since the dawn of time.

    I wanted to make new friends and see old ones.

    Photo by Peter Fogden on Unsplash

    This dream drove me to learn another language so that this dream could be made easier.

    This dream drove me to start this blog.

    This dream drove me to remain open hearted to all. Because we’re all the same.

    This dream made me brave.

    This dream taught me how to be alone and love it.

    This dream made me realise what is really important in life. Spoiler alert, it wasn’t emails.

    I’ve got other dreams but none of them as big as this one.

    Photo by Randy Tarampi on Unsplash

    And now, this dream is still in hibernation.

    Waiting until the wind changes.

    Until we meet again.

    .

    Have you had any dreams impacted on in the past year?

  • Should I Use Duolingo To Learn Languages?

    Should I Use Duolingo To Learn Languages?

    Duolingo is a well known language learning app/website that has over 300 million users and 38 languages. But with all the fans, there is an equal number of people who are against using Duolingo. Why does the little green owl have so many haters?

    I’ve been on Duolingo since 2014 and have an embarassing amount of points. I’ve seen some upgrades throughout the years and addition of new languages. It’s been a great free tool for me to scratch that curiosity itch of trying out what learning Swedish is like. And Danish, Norweigen, Mandarin, Spanish, German, Russian, Japanese and Arabic. Here are my thoughts on the disadvantages and advantages of using Duolingo.

    Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

    Disadvantages of Using Duolingo:

    • Alphabet

      For languages that don’t have a latin alphabet, starting as a brand new learner is really really hard. Here is a snip below of the very very first lesson of Hebrew. It’s almost expectant that you have some knowledge of the Hebrew alphabet. Maybe some learners would like this, but not me! I’ve found it incredibly hard to learn the basics by skipping any introduction of letters. For me, this learnings makes more sense for those who may have studied Hebrew in the past elsewhere and are using Duolingo as a refresher. Or someone who wants to revise their existing Hebrew knowledge.

      This example is the same for the ones that I had personally tried before, Mandarin, Japanese and Russian.
    • More skewed towards sentences

      You will notice that at the beginning of each topic module that you will get more questions about learning new vocabulary. But as you complete lessons, there is less and less of this and more focus on sentence structure and grammar recall. Depending on what you’re after, this might be really helpful and what you need. But from my experience, recall of random words that you might use is equally important and I don’t think Duolingo does this well.

    • Rules, what rules

      Depending on what your native tongue is and what language you are learning, you might find that it is not comprehensive enough to learn the grammar and small nuances. There are some instructions on grammar but not enough for build the foundations of a language like you would from a textbook or formal lessons.

    Advantages of Using Duolingo:

    • Fun

      Duolingo has done great at creating different levels of competition. Firstly, with yourself. You are able to build yourself a ‘streak’. For example, a 7 day streak of using Duolingo for language practise. The more days you can add to your streak, the more additional points you can get. And it’s addictive.

      If you’re more competitive, you can sign up with friends and/or family and challenge each other. If that’s not enough, there are now ‘leagues’ which is a pool of users in your particular language and you battle it out for the top 20 positions to move into the next league. Being the 1st every week in your league, ooof, now that is a challenge.
    • Stories

      There’s now a stories tab that is an audio and comprehension led way that can accompany your language learning journey. These are short stories that are narrated and also provide some interaction. This is the most “listening” available on Duolingo and didn’t existed in the first initial years.
    • Revision

      It’s a quick and fun way to revise a language that you’ve learnt or are learning. You can spend as little or as much time as you want and if you have the app, can revise anywhere.

    So should you use Duolingo? Depending on where you are on the language learning journey, maybe it will help to supplement your learning or maybe not. What has been your experience with using Duolingo?

  • 5 Things I Want To Do Better As A Blogger

    5 Things I Want To Do Better As A Blogger

    I had previously written about the lessons that I have learnt from my first year of blogging. There’s always room for improvement and I’ve been thinking about how I could be better, for my blog but mostly for myself and this little internet space of mine. There’ something about the thrill of a personal challenge.

    Photo by hannah grace on Unsplash
    1. Take more photos

      Whenever I’m travelling, I always think that I’ve taken enough photos but when I’m putting blog posts together, it has become clear that I don’t take enough photos. I very often forget to take photos of food because I don’t want to be one of those people who are taking food pictures or stopping others from eating so they can take a food photo. I get so embarassed even taking 1 food picture for fear of being seen as one of those people.

      I don’t like the idea of capturing everything as well which adds to my problem. Some things are just better lived in in the moment than half lived in and trying to film it for a later date. Such a catch 22. Such a blogger problem.

    2. Write more

      I’ve recently gone through a period of no motivation again. I’m slowly starting to think that if I write more often and get the gears moving, it might be easier to keep writing. Even with my many drafts, I feel that if I slowly chip away at posts, perhaps it’ll be easier. After all, practise makes perfect and habit changes must start small.
    Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

    3. Write more of what I want

    I’ve mentioned this before but I’m still mentally blocking myself because of my pre-conceived ideas on what a “niched blogger” should be. It bugs me to no end! Hopefully with wish #2, I will be able to write more broadly about more posts that still fit into the umbrella of travel, languages and life. Let’s face it, these topics are very very broad. It’s just all in my head.

    4. Twitter

    Of all the social medias, I quite like twitter but it’s even more nichey (is that even a word?) than blogs. Twitter feels like the party that you get invited to but you don’t know anyone. Some people are super friendly, others are all about boasting, others are there but not there and some are awkard (like myself). I wonder if there is a correlation on how well you can do vs how outgoing you are.

    But in saying that, I know that social media has the word social for a reason. It can be time consuming but I think I can manage 10 minutes here and there to be more social.

    It’s the only social media platform that brings in readers to my blog so maybe I can put in a little more effort.

    Photo by Chris J. Davis on Unsplash

    5. Time for engagement

    I love to read what other people write and find this blogging community really supportive and friendly. I would like to make more time to engage and also even find new blogs to read. I think I can do this if I try for small chucks of time throughout the week rather than maybe once a week.

    What are some of the areas of things that you want to improve on as a blogger?



  • Finding Yourself In Your Travels

    Finding Yourself In Your Travels

    I have to admit, I never really understood the notion that people travel to find themselves. Finding themselves like they had lost parts that could be found. I know myself I stubbornly thought. But the more thought about it, the more I started to change my mind on this.

    Maybe we don’t consciously make a note that we are going to travel to find ourselves but I think the decision to want to travel is also the decision to expose ourselves to new things that could change us.

    Now I think we all travel to find ourselves.

    Travelling presents us with more opportunities to make connections either big or small. I recently read a book chapter in Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life about order and chaos and about that sweet spot on the border, where you have one foot planted in security and order and the other in adventure and possibility. For me, this is where I find myself when I travel. On the border of order and chaos.

    All our lives no matter where we live contains chaos and order. Perhaps more of one than the other depending on where you live, what you do and the cards you’ve been dealt. But we all experience it. Is it this human connection that we seem to find on travels, untethered from the day to day grind, that adds to this feeling?

    Photo by Dariusz Sankowski on Unsplash

    By finding the new in life, we edit ourselves. We edit our thoughts, perceptions and actions. Maybe even spiritually and ‘humanly’. We might find a part of another culture that seeems to resonate more with you than what you’ve known. Or a language, dish, person or even place.

    You discover parts of yourself that you never knew existed because you have never been exposed to it before. We only know and think based on our experiences in life. And each of us come from such different places with different societal or cultural values. Getting out from where we’ve always known, it an opportunity to see the world from a different pair of eyes. To learn to become another version of ourselves.

    And as such, this gives our perceptions of the world to be shaken up whether good or bad. You don’t know what you don’t know. Travel gives us an opportunity to seek.

    Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

    Through travel, we are able to edit our lives and drive it to where we want. Or at least get ideas on where we want to drive ourselves to. Maybe we don’t know where we want to drive ourselves to yet but we are able to get closer to that idea. It can change how you act or react.

    And maybe it’s not all about finding but rather life presenting itself to you in different forms. Appreciating new dance and music. New foods. New people. Or pleasing colour combinations that you have never seen (or seen but not appreciated).

    Through all this, it’s the chance to find ourselves.

    What do you think? Does everyone travel to find themselves?

  • 5 Things I Learnt From Minimalism

    5 Things I Learnt From Minimalism

    When I started looking into minimalism about 7 years ago, I thought it was about owning 1 pair of jeans, 2 pairs of shoes and getting rid of all the clothes that you haven’t worn in the past 12 months. I studied capsule wardrobes and looked into mine with confusion on how I could make mine work.

    I’ve consumed podcasts, KonMari-ed my way through my wardrobe (not very well because everything seems to spark joy) and read books.

    But I’ve gotten to the point where I finally understand.

    Photo by Sarah Brown on Unsplash

    As the years went on, it went from wanting to be a minimalist to now wanting to live that lifestyle. Not just simply to walk into a very neat and tidy home, but to think about consumption as a whole and not just limited to clothes. And then it took me down the path of what makes me happy in life?

    1. Minimalism doesn’t mean owning less of everything

      I use to think that it was about quantitating items. Much like capsule wardrobes, there was a magic formula and guide about how much you should have. 5 shirts, 2 pair of jeans and 3 pairs of shoes. It quickly became clear that this is not the case.

      With anything in life, it needs to work for your life.

      If you’re out on your feet at work everyday, maybe you need more comfy every day shoes compared to someone who isn’t. Maybe owning many colourful socks makes you really happy. Maybe having a wardrobe of only black and white doesn’t speak to you.

      Minimalism can be applied to people (lols), time, ideas, food etc. It’s about peeling away all the excess that doesn’t make your life better and maybe even makes your life worse.

      Minimalism can be tailored for all of our different circumstances and should be.

    2. Minimalism will last if there is a change in value

      Perhaps you just wanted a more functional wardrobe or more time but there is a value change behind this.

      Why do you want a more functional wardrobe or more time?

      By asking yourself ‘why’, you’ll be able to get down to the real motivation and reason behind why you want to do something. This will show you how important you want this change to occur in your life because now, you have a few reasons on why making this change in your life might be beneficial.

      To make these changes, you need new habits and habits are more likely to stick and be easier to keep if there is a value change behind your decision making. This is why you need to identify the “why/s”.

      It could be as simple as wanting to be a better consumer. Whatever your reason for making a change in your life, back it up with reasons why you want to make a change.

    Photo by Ross Findon on Unsplash

    3. Minimalism is a tool to free up your life

    Less things means less time cleaning, worrying, obsessing, maintaining and having to declutter. It’s setting the boundaries that you want to or didn’t know you needed it to. It can also mean having more fresh space, air, good vibes, calm vibes and/or both good and calm vibes.

    It means that you will have more time to do other things that are more meaningful (or not) but having less means having more of your life back.

    4. Minimalism can change your relationship with life

    This point relates to the previous point. Once you have got rid of the excess of your life, it’s time to re-evaulate.

    It’s time to fill it with activities that you love but didn’t have time for.

    It’s time to spend more time with those that you care about.

    It’s time to go back to basics and daydream, exercise and look after yourself.

    5. Things last for a long time (really long time)

    How long did you take to wear out a t-shirt or jeans? When was the last time you unsubscribed from all the marketing emails? Out of all the people on your phone, how many do you regular contact?

    When left untouched and un-noticed, things just sit there. For years. Collecting dust, using up valuable space or creating clutter in real life and mentally. Minimalism allowed me to become more active in my life and begin to notice how long things actually last for. This feeds a loop of not wanting more of anything because I like what I have and appreciate what I have. I want to take more care in bringing in new items otherwise they just add to the stuff that will sit there for years.

    Photo by Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash

    Have you embraced or thought about minimalism? Is it a lifestyle that is attractive to you?

  • I Can’t Stomach It On My Travels

    I Can’t Stomach It On My Travels

    Travel is not all about seeing new places, eating interesting foods and meeting new people. As with all the good things in life, it also comes with the bad things in life. Stomach bugs.

    I had previously written about how I discovered seasickness on my travels and the time I got eaten alive by mosquitoes in the Alps. Here, I want to take you on the wild adventures of stomach bugs.

    Those of us with sensitive stomachs, travel prep is a mixed bag of excitement and also some thoughts of “here we go again”. It’s the fear of having to move towns or cities whilst ill, being stuck on public transport or simply finding yourself in a foreign country and knowing that it’s going to be harder to seek help or medication.

    Let’s start off with the tale of Delhi belly. I was a young lass when I went to India (in my early 20s). Delhi belly is a thing for a reason. Although this bug didn’t affect me when I was physically in Delhi, a few days later on our trip around cities in Northern India, it hit. The only thing I could eat was plain rice and luckily there was plenty. Fortunately, my stomach wasn’t agreeable right after I ate so toilet adventures were not had. The bug passed in a few days and there were no other symptoms and I was back on the curry for breakfast train again. With all the delicious food available, you don’t want to have too many days off.

    • Amber Fort In Jaipur

    Next trip, I blame the 3 flights in 24 hours to get me to Prague. I really think it’s something to do with the air travel that gets me sick immediately once I reach my destination. I was on my first grocery shop only a few hundred metres from my airbnb and wasn’t feeling so good. I made it a quick trip and ate the blueberries I had gotten once I got back to my room. And those blueberries came right back up again. Luckily, I was in my room so went to bed and slept it off. Did not get sick again for the entire trip. Weird!

    • John Lennon Wall in Prague

    Another ‘just got off the plane’ sickness. I’d landed in Mexico City and aside from jetlag, was ready for my first tacos. The next morning, I was eating a banana in the hotel room when I started to feel alittle off. The banana didn’t stay in my stomach for long. The most painful part was that I had already booked tickets to the Frida Kahlo museum later that day. These tickets need to be booked weeks in advance so there was no way, I was letting this pass. Morning activities were cancelled whilst I slept some more. By afternoon, I had some strength and travelled on the metro and walked stopping to catch my breath and potentially throw up on some gorgeous street trees. I made it, without fertilising any trees along the way and got to enjoy the museum and gardens with some resting in between. I was fine the next day (bizarre!).

    • First tacos in Mexico City

    Have you had your fair share of stomach bugs on any of your trips?