Lingo in Transit

Juste Un Mot: Becoming

November 16, 2020
This post contains affiliate links where I will earn a small commission if you make a purchase through these links and will not cost you anything extra.

I have recently read Michelle Obama’s biography Becoming. She shares her childhood, student years and entering and leaving the White House. What really struck me was her hard working ethics, open mindedness and just how down to earth she is. She is the first first lady’s story that I know and have read about and it was such a joy to read.
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Becoming isn't about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as a forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously towards a better self. The journey doesn't end- Michelle Obama
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Having finished her book recently, it is here in this headspace that I reflect on some of her departing words. In life, we tend to only celebrate the milestones. I think this is a little misguided. Milestones are often in youth and sparingly as we age.

What we should really be celebrating is us. Looking back at who we were and how far we have come in ourselves. Being able to drive your own path to where you want to be and who you want to be. Being able to tweak little things along the way and being open to what life has to offer.

I had life goals that I wanted to do this year but have not been possible due to the pandemic. I would say I felt a little disorientated after being thrown off course. It’s somewhat frustrating as I head into the years of ” buying a home, babies, career growth” that I have such a time pressure to accomplish my current goals before “settling down”. Possibly self inflicted (I am very good at putting pressure on myself). I’m still dreaming of waltzing across continents and exploring and am ready for when we can. But I remain in the same walls that I started my year in and haven’t really left!

After reading Michelle’s book, I stopped feeling so much anxiety and pressure surrounding my goals and am instead, thinking about how I can still achieve and work towards some of my goals in other ways as we sit tight in current pandemic. I’ve continued blogging and trying out different types of blog posts. I’m still trying to learn French (and not so much Spanish this year) am continuing to try and consume information that makes me think better or be a better person. I’ve tried to go for walks almost every day and optimise my sleep routine. I’ve even started my own etsy store selling handmade earrings!

My Etsy Store

So here is a reminder to us all to focus on each of our own personal journey’s. To become the best version of yourself and to remember that even if we can’t do much this year, there is still the option of learning. Learning whatever you may want to better yourself, your brain, your compassion, your knowledge, your body.

What have you been learning this year?
Discovering Seasickness On My Travels

November 7, 2020

Travel is great in that it exposes you to new experiences that you wouldn’t normally have in your everyday life and takes you to all the far flung places of our earth. It is here outside of our comfort zones, that we discover something about ourselves.

I normally don’t take ferries in my day to day life. So on one particular trip, I discovered that I actually get seasick. When I was in Marseille, I booked for a boat trip to the beautiful Calanques. This particular trip occurred when I was in my mid 20s and as with anyone in their 20s, getting sick was the last thing that would cross my mind. The day was perfect, clear blue skies and light winds which was great to get the contrasting shots of the grey rocky formations against a deep blue sky.

The boat (more of a ferry) was decent sized as you could imagine. Filled with tourists and families I eyed an outdoor seat that would allow maximal fresh air and un-interrupted views.

Before we had even reached the Calanques, I wanted to get off the boat and onto land. I really wasn’t feeling so good and didn’t predict that being on a boat would be such a problem and had nothing on me to ease the nausea. Either way, I had to wait until we were back in Marseille to get off.

Upon arriving in the Calanques, the seas were less choppy and we actually stopped within so that everyone had time to enjoy the surroundings and take pictures. I got a slight reprieve and mustered the energy to take my shots, mostly to prove that I had been here. Needless to say, I was so happy to get back to land and like magic, the seasickness was one.

It would find me again in a few years in New Zealand on the ferry crossing the Cook Straits from the North Island to the South Island. I thought to myself that I surely would not get sick on this ferry ride. After all, this ferry was large enough to be carrying cars and caravans across so it had to be quite stable and I would feel little rocking. Boy was I wrong.

Once we left the Wellington area and were left unshielded by any sort of the land, there were huge swells tossing our “huge and heavy” ferry. Again, after not expecting the ferry ride to be such an event, I didn’t have any remedies with me. I tried standing outside looking at the horizon however this only appeared to make things worse getting to see the swells. I found refuge at the back of the boat in the middle until we arrived within the safety of land on the South Island in Picton.

Since these experiences, I have steered away from boating adventures knowing the consequences. I just don’t think my inner ear and stomach can handle it.

Have you discovered that you suffered from seasickness whilst on your travels or when you had least expected? Or any other allergies or ailments that surprised you?
The Palm Oil Conundrum

October 31, 2020

This post contains affiliate links where I will earn a small commission if you make a purchase through these links and will not cost you anything extra.

With trying to do my part for our environment and future, I have recently turned my attention to Orangutans. Orangutans are one of my favourite animals of the world and unfortuntely, their chances of their survival in the wild are slowly diminishing due to habitat loss and the increase in land clearing to make way for palm tree plantations.

Photo by Nazarizal Mohammad on Unsplash

It’s been a long time coming and I really should have started this journey earlier. Better late than never. But as with delving into any topic around sustainability or ethical consumption, it’s not really as simple as googling a recipe. There is alot of information to read about and as an everyday consumer, I’m sometimes left with a hopelessness of not being able to be make any choices because there is no clear winner or the products are overly expensive. There are also many standards and campaigns for companies to be more transparent in their manufacturing and supplying. This can lead to instances where companies don’t have to label their products correctly or appropriately unless it’s mandated by law. It makes the task of being a conscious consumer a little harder.

I thought that I would be easily able to identify palm oil in products by just looking at the label. Upon my research, I was shocked to discover at least another 400 names that palm oil and its derivatives can be listed as and in some countries, simply as ‘vegetable oil’. With Australia’s current labelling law, manufacturers are allowed to label palm oil as vegetable oil.

https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/which-everyday-products-contain-palm-oil

I also found out that palm oil is not solely in foods but also soaps, lipsticks, body wash, butter, snacks and detergents just to name a few. This makes me feel even more guilty that it’s so hard to buy responsibly when there are so many products that contain palm oil.

I decided that the first easy step to take was to look for a substitute for my body wash. It’s something that I use everyday and would be a simple swap. When I go to my local supermarket, I would say that I have about 20 or so different brands to choose from of body soaps/body wash. The largest companies which have majority of the products in this category are also the ones that are the worst rated in terms of their palm oil policy. I’m not surprised.

Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash

You may already be thinking ok ok Sophie, get to the point- which soaps should I be buying that contain no or sustainable palm oil?

I’m glad you asked.

If you’re located in Australia and New Zealand, these are the brands that are using sustainable palm oil:
– Ecostore
– Freshwater Farm Australia
– Organic Care
– Only Good (Palm oil free)
– Ethique (ships world wide and Palm oil free)

To shop some of these products (yes they deliver internationally), Nourished Life have compiled body wash that are palm oil free.

Compared to what is available in our supermarkets, this list is very small. Disappointingly small. I’m looking forward to my next informed body wash purchase.

Have you changed any of your products based on learning about something about them? Can you recommend anymore sustainable palm oil or palm oil free brands?

Juste Un Mot:
– True Cost of Fashion
– Reusing Old Clothing
– Taking a Break
Exploring The Colourful Town of Guanajuato, Mexico

October 24, 2020
The next town on our Mexico trip after a day in San Miguel de Allende was Guanajuato. Guanajuato City is about 1 hour northwest of San Miguel de Allende and is a colourful town dotted in the mountains. The bus terminal is not in the city centre so you will need to catch a cab into town if you come by bus as we did.
- Parroquia de Basílica Colegiata de Nuestra Señora de Guanajuato in the distance
Guanajuato is a major tourist town. It wasn’t just international tourists but a lot of local tourism here too. Compared to Queretaro, this was just like Mexico City again (ok, not that busy). Little did I know that this would be one of my favourite towns on our Mexico trip. We did an orientation walk around town as it was late afternoon by the time we sorted ourselves out and then caught cabs into the city centre as we were staying outside the centre. The streets were filled with people as we also causually walked the bustling streets on our way to the Parroquia de Basílica Colegiata de Nuestra Señora de Guanajuato, this brightly coloured yellow and red church in the middle of town. We then walked some of the back streets where we passed the Universidad de Guanajuato which is a popular spot for photos of the sweeping staircase leading up to the white multistory castle looking building. After wondering the nearby plazas and past the Alhondiga de Granaditas (more on this later), it was time to head back to the hotel as the sun was beginning to set.
- Universidad de Guanajuato
The next day, we had the whole day to explore the town. In the morning we went back into town nice and early and went to Callejon del Beso. The ‘alley of the kiss’ tells a tragic story of young lovers separated by class very a la Romeo and Juliet. If you stand on the 3rd step and kiss, you will be blessed with love for a lifetime together. Or so they say.
- Callejon del beso
We then winded through the steep uphill streets passing coloured doors to get to the Monumento al Pipila which overlooks Guanajuato. Here, you will have a birds eye view of the town below. A furnicular also exists if you are not looking to walk up.

El Pipila is a local hero of Guanajuato. At the beginning of the War of Independance, the Spanish barricaded themselves in the Alhondiga de Granaditas which was fortress of sorts with an interior courtyard that was used as a grain warehouse in town. With the advantage of having high small windowns, the Spanish were positioned to have the upper hand against the insurgents until a wooden door was noticed.
Cue Pipila. Armed with a torch (known as the torch of liberty) and wooden slab as a shield, he set the door alight allowing the insurgents to storm inside.
- View from El Pipila
- El Pipila
On our way back down to the city centre, I couldn’t help but notice how colourful this town really was! There were murals leading us back down to town and coloured houses lined every street we stuck our heads into. No colour was left out and the palette of a spilled pantone truck. There were plenty of craft stores lining the streets both up where the El Pipila was and down in the centre with the neoclassical Teatro Juarez looking over us and plenty of people leisurely strolling this laid back city.

We then went to find a chocolate store called Xocola-T which sells handmade chocolate. Located at Callejon Baratillo 15, we marvelled over the available flavours and settled for blocks of chocolate with nopal (cactus) and also tried single squares of chocolate with tequila and another with chapulines (crushed grasshoppers). I highly recommend stopping by this local store!

After lunch, we went into the Alhondiga de Granaditas. After all, this was the centre of the independance battle in Guanajuato. There was a queue to get in but it went by quickly. There was a great mural detailing the history of the city. When we went, there was a temporary exhibition of the history of Mexico with small figurines depicting each scene. This was great to bring together the history that we had been hearing about on our trip and see this in a timeline. There was a hall of heros which paid tribute to the independent freedom fighters of Mexico including Miguel Hidalgo, José María Morelos and Ignacio Allende.
- Alhondiga de Granaditas
Next on our list that we wanted to see was the Museum of Mummies (Museo de las mommias) which was on the complete other side of town from El Pipila. The walk was about 20-30 mins following the main street Calle Tepetata across town. The buildings quickly changed from coloured to sand and we seemed to be in the rough end of town walking uphill steadily. It was still quite safe as there’s still a lot of people around. We took a “short cut” which brought us through some back streets and found a very scenic view of the city centre behind us. As you get closer to the site, you can just follow all the other tourists.

The line was enormous and the waiting time was estimated to be 2 hours to get inside! Not keen to wait this long to get in, defeated and hot, we slowly made our way back into town to have some ice cream instead.

When wondering the streets, you may be approached by someone dressed as though they’ve come out of the medieval times. They are known as the Callejoneadas Guanajuato, students of music who give night tours telling the stories (and playing music) of the town. This is only available in Spanish but would be an amazing experience to see Guanajuato by night.

Have you been to Guanajuato and what would you recommend?
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Other Mexico related blog posts:
Top 8 things to do in Mexico City
My first impression of Mexico
Day trip from Mexico City to Teotihuacan
Day Trip to Bernal
A day in Queretaro
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Tales of Travel Souvenirs: Frida Kahlo

October 22, 2020

This post contains affiliate links where I will earn a small commission if you make a purchase through these links and will not cost you anything extra.

I bought this magnet from the Casa Azul in Mexico City. It was the late home of Frida Kahlo which is now a museum (free vitual tour in the link). It’s not very big but a very popular tourist stop in the suburbs of Mexico City. When everything is back to normal, remember to book your tickets in advance as all tickets are time stamped. The route through the home is one way and contains many of Frida’s personal items. There’s a store inside as well as another display on the other side of the courtyard with Frida’s outfits and and explanation of her wardrobe.

Frida Kahlo magnet

Frida Kahlo is infamous for her unibrow, flower crowns and choice of traditional Tehuana dresses. She’s depicted by these in modern art works of her. As I read about her life prior to my trip to Mexico and then after as well, it’s been interesting to learn that her choice of appearance was no accident. The Tehuana are a matriarchal society with famed embroidery techniques and are well known in Mexico for their independent and proud indigenous women.

https://integralatampost.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/image_article/manual_uploaded/Tehuana-Woman-2.jpg

https://www.fridakahlo.org/self-portrait-with-necklace-of-thorns.jsp

Her surrealism works are filled with metaphors and changes throughout her life to reflect her inner world. Academically destined to become a doctor, this journey was brought to a halt when a bus accident occurred. She wore corsets for most of her adult life for ongoing back pain. She had a bad run in with her health- polio, vertebraes displaced and then later amputation of a leg due to gangrene, an abortion and appendectomy.
She married Diego Rivera (another Mexican artist) but their relationship was riddled with affairs and they ended divorcing.

To me, she is a poster woman for strength. Despite her ill-fortuned health, she continued doing what she loved, was unapologetically herself and stood up for what she believed. She was also politically active, bisexual and an international woman. Given she was alive in the early 20th century, she was really quite progressive for her time.

For the definite lovers, how about this 1000 piece puzzle which features her paintings as well?

https://fave.co/38mSzfC

Mexico Blog Posts
– Day trip From Mexico City from Teotihuacan
– My First Impression of Mexico
– A Day in Queretaro, Mexico
– Mexican Food: Cactus (Nopal)
Juste Un Mot: Taking a break

October 10, 2020

By the time this blog posts gets published, I would have taken 3 days off work this year since Christmas last year. I had changed jobs when the pandemic hit so have still been trying to accumulate annual leave days although at Christmas- there will be forced shut down of the office.

Enjoying one of the coastal walks in Sydney

But it has come the time to have a break. I just need it. There are so many things I want to do other than work. I’m still baffled at the whole working life. Spending 30 something hours a week working, then minus the amount of hours you’re sleeping. This leaves you with roughly 1/2 of the weeks hours left for yourself. Some of this time is spent preparing for work (ironing, food prepping, commute time and personal organisation for the week). Which leaves you with even fewer time to spend! If anyone has any hacks to maximise the hours available for leisure- please let me know your tips and tricks.

One of the best work advice I have heard is to leave work on time because no-one will ever tell you to. Work will keep giving you work. I’ve held this advice close to my heart and can separate my life from work quite well. If a patient is not dying, it can wait until tomorrow I say.

Spring blooms

It’s strange having a whole day (or 3) to do whatever you want. I always try to spend more time outdoors as it’s nice to be moving and not sitting all day. I’ve had time to tend to my belongings- rearranging and decluttering. Sifting through the unwanted papers and junk drawers. I’ve had time to read at leisure, work on my other hobbies and dance like no-ones watching. There were times when I felt like I had to “make the most of my time off” which is something that I get on weekends too. Whilst it makes me ensure I have scheduled walks or city exploration time- I also feel this pressure to do as much as possible and everything when I should be resting but when I don’t have plans, it really irks me. Does anyone else get this?

There’s so much I want to learn and read about and so little time. I need more time to spend on my language learning. More time to read about world events and causes I’m interested in supporting but don’t know how. More time to see nature’s gifts. These make me feel more human and connected. Not sending emails and meeting key performance indicators.

Finding old papers from my schooling days

Sending you all calmness and wonder.
Reflecting on my First Solo Trip- Finland

October 3, 2020
My first solo trip was a while ago now and it was filled with utter excitement. It was to Finland. At this stage of my life, that side of the world had yet to bleep onto my radar. What made it even more exciting was that it would be the last month of winter when I would arrive. I had never even lived anywhere where it snowed and had only seen snow once before arriving so was almost jumping out of my skin at the chance to live in snow.

Suomenlinna

Researching for my trip, it opened my mind and lit this hunger to want to see and know more about the world. To see landscape and city scapes that I haven’t seen or wouldn’t think exists. I wanted to learn how the others lived (gosh, I really sound like an alien but I promise that I’m not). How society works and the values of another country. Painted buildings are not common here but is such a beautiful treat. It makes the streets feel more alive and unique.

It was the first time I was in a completely foreign grocery store. I found the largest grocery store in the basement level of Stockmann’s in the city centre. Aside from not being able to read anything, I wondered around looking for fruits and vegetables that I had never seen before feeling like Alice in Wonderland.

Cranberries! Little did I know, that these were not for snacking on and why dried cranberries coated in sugar are so much more popular instead…. Cloudberry jam and sea buckthorn jam went into my basket to bring home for the family to try. So did the assorted liquorice lollies. There was also a bakery. Here, I slowly eyed each shelf trying to guess what they were and here it was where I first found out about Piirakka. It was the first time I found out that you weigh out your own fruits and vegetables and print off a sticker for it before you go to the cash register. That was unheard of here but they have started this in some main supermarket chains where you can buy dry fruit and nuts.

Grocery stores became and are still one of my favourite destinations when in a new country.
- Finnish liquorice gifted to me
It was the first time I found out that the coldness is no barrier. Sydney tends to hibernate throughout winter. Yet life continues and winter is embraced elsewhere and almost revelled in. I went for walks on snow covered streets, under clear blue skies and on frozen lakes. I heard for the first time ice breaking as our ferry crossed it. I found out that everyone still goes about their business even when the temperature was below 0 degrees (people exercising outdoors?!). I went with a Canadian to the outdoor ice rink at the Central Station one evening after work where there were still others enjoying the winter night and it was so refreshing. The Canadian who doesn’t really ice skate and the Australian who likes to ice skate.

I saw a library that looked like a museum for the first time. Library shelves here don’t tend to go from floor to ceiling here and I hadn’t seen one that had interiors as beautiful as this.

It was the first time I noticed building differences. As we have more warm to hot days in Australia, our houses and apartments are quite ventilated meaning it can get quite cold indoors in winter. You always have to have a jumper on in winter inside. I found out that underfloor heating is THE BEST and that I could be inside in a t-shirt and be completely fine. The windows were double glassed and sometimes I needed to open it because the room was too hot despite it being below 0 degrees. I would stare out the window at night as it snowed with a huge grin on my face.

I found out about wearing stockings under your jeans and double socks were some of the best ways to keep warm. You’re not cold- you’re just not wearing the right things.
- Listening to ice breaking on a ferry
Beauty. I learnt that there is so much beauty in the world that you don’t get to see when you’re at home. So many sounds, flavours and colours. There’s so much out there.

Related Posts:
– My first time visiting Helsinki
– Day trip to Suomelinna in pictures
Mexican Food: Cactus (Nopales)

September 26, 2020
When I recently wrote about my day trip from Queretaro to Bernal, I got a lot of interest about cactus as food. So here is a post dedicated to nopal! There are over 600 varieties of cactus in Mexico and the prickly pear cactus is commonly known as nopal which is eaten. The Mexican flag even features the prickly pear cactus!

It can be prepared as a side salad, mixed into a meal, sprinkled onto of tacos, turned into jam, juice, tea and even stuffed. During my trip to Mexico, I had it as side salad, on top of tlayuda and even tried chocolate with nopales in it (from Xocola-t Boutique in Guanajuato). I’m sure you will come across nopales at some point on your trip in Mexico.

nopal relleno

We had spotted it being stuffed as above roasting and I also saw the paddles being sold at the markets.

To see how it is prepared from cactus to bowl of food- I have found a lovely video from the channel De Mi Rancho A Tu Cocina below (all in Spanish but still great to watch).

Nopales also boosts some great health benefits which include:
– lowering cholesterol
– regulating blood sugar
– contains antioxidants
– anti inflammatory
– high amount of fibre
– can be used to treat wounds, bites and cuts.

The humble cactus has now transcended to not only being eaten but could perhaps pave the way to a sustainable future. Researchers at the University of Valle de Atemajac in Zapopan, Mexico have used nopal cactus as a raw material to make non-toxic and biodegradable plastic.

A Mexican company called Desserto is turning nopal cactus into vegan leather. Cactus paddles are cut, mashed and dried before non toxic chemicals are added and this vegan leather can be used to make bags, shoes and furniture.

Would you try it? Have you tried and what is your favourite way of eating it? What do you think of the humble cactus now?

Other Mexico related posts you might like:
Like trying new foods on your trips? Click here to read more.
Day Trip From Prague To The Spa Town of Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic

September 23, 2020

Lingo in Transit

Karlovy Vary (or Carlsbad) is approximatelya 2 hour drive west of Prague. It’s known as a spa town and I’d seen pretty pictures of that town so that was enough to get me to book a day trip out. I went with Prague Sightseeing Tour (booked through Viator) for the 10 hour day trip.

It’s a scenic drive out of Prague past hops plantations and fields of green and forest on each side. We passed through the Moser glass factory to learn about glass blowing before setting foot in the Old Town of Karlovy Vary.

One of the first things you will notice is that there are small kiosks selling really weird looking cups where you drink from the handle. With the town sitting on a number of hot springs, there are drinking fountains across the town where you can use your new niche cup to taste the assorted mineral…

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Reusing Old Clothing

September 19, 2020
Fashion allows for another form of self expression. I like having choices and free styling. I haven’t been influenced too much on trends although get so annoyed when I want to buy something but it’s not being sold anywhere because it’s not trendy at the time.

In my last post on sustainability, I wrote about what started my interest in ethical fashion. Since then, I’ve tried to learn more and work on my own fashion consumption. As with life, this is a learning journey. There is new information all the time and I’ve come across now something call Circular Fashion. It’s essentially about producing ethically, using and then using some more before throwing it away. I’m sure people have been reducing and reusing for centuries for economical reasons which is just not the model for fast fashion.

https://goodonyou.eco/what-is-circular-fashion/

I grew up in a family and culture of reusing and not wasting. It wasn’t until the dot.com life came in and all of a sudden there were more ways for advertisements to enter all our lives. I grew up in the dot.com world so am unsure of how the world prior was or looked like. So, this consuming lifestyle slowly crept its way in as a teen (hello, marketable age group). It wasn’t until my early 20s that I started seeing information about ethical fashion.

Despite writing about ethical fashion and purposeful consumption, I’m sure I can do better and I know there’s still much to learn. I think that’s the lesson for all of us. There are many ways to want to live better and we shouldn’t be so harsh on ourselves and one another. We are all learning.

So what did I do with my new found knowledge?
- Reduce
  I started to buy less so that I could wear the life of my existing clothes. Clothes that were just gathering dust and could be of better use to someone else were donated or sold. My family and I often exchange clothing when one of us tires from it.
- Reuse
  There are some pieces of clothing that I still wear today from another life. I have a black winter coat that still gets repeated wear every winter. I got this as an early teen! It still fits and looks almost as new.
  
  My mum likes to occasionally whip out a shirt or coat that she says she got before I was born. Clothes of the good times past seem to have been made better and from better materials to allow the test of time.
  
  I’ve also become an occasional thrift store buyer (which I know is a privilege in itself). I haven’t found any in Sydney that I particularly like yet but I have a favourite in Melbourne (which I so hope survives these times, fingers crossed). Whenever I had a work trip there, I would make sure I made time to have a browse.
- Long time love
  I became a lot more selective of what I needed and more purposeful when purchasing. This changes throughout life. When I landed my first corporate role, I needed clothes to fit my role. I became really selective as I thought (and still do) that corporate clothes were so boring. So I had a total of 3 skirts, 2 pair of pants and a handful of shirts rotating for years. I was a serial outfit repeater and proud. In the past 2 years, I started to move away from corporate attire (boriinng) to more dual purpose items that I could also get wear of on my non working days or to parties even. And then COVID came along and I’m not sure I even need non active wear anymore. Ha!
- Double reuse?
  There then comes a time when bigger holes start to appear or the constant washing has meant that item of clothing has seen better days. This is when they get torn up and used as wiping clothes! They work particularly well for wet wiping down fly screens.
How do you reuse your old clothing? Would love to try out some new ways to reuse my reused….

Juste Un Mot:
– The Palm Oil Conundrum
– True Cost of Fashion
– Taking a break