Advice for Business Trips...

As I prepare to return to Ireland for a short time (yay!) I thought I would share some musings which first came to light on my favourite forum, boards.ie.

These are my findings on how to travel with your job. Bear in mind it is a different experience to a holiday. You will find you are often too tired or have too little time to get to know any of the language or culture. I've found the following helps.



1) There are a small number of phrases which you can survive on a business trip to any country with. They are:

Hello

Goodbye!

Please

Thank you

Beer?

Chicken

Chips

Steak

(Whatever name of a drink you like which is not alcoholic)

Try not to get too good at pronouncing these words as it may prompt an embarrassing silence when the waitress/ barman/ whatever asks you something outside of these ten words in the local tongue. It is best to appear endearingly poor at the native language, so the other party will want to help you!

If you're someone who doesn't like to experiment with the ol' outdoors, this here is enough to survive indefinitely on a companies expenses sheet in a hotel.

Seriously though dude, get out more.

2) You will no doubt have both CNN and BBC world service in your hotel room. Do not watch these on the first day as you will need them later when you're bored to tears and they have a short shelf life. Especially CNN, swishy graphics can make your head hurt.

3) MP3 players are your friend. Load up on podcasts you like before you go. The doomPod and my little travel speaker system are pretty worn out by this stage. Large gig music players might seem expensive but if you're going to be away on your own alot, they're a deity send. Believe it or not, other countries radio stations are just as crap as your own.

There's actually something kind of reassuring about that.

4) Try and find a pub which is nice and quiet but not touristy, and get on with the bar staff quick. It is a known fact that hotel rooms get smaller the longer you spend in them and you will need a home away from home. There's a significant chance it will be dark when you get home so wandering round may not be the best option if you are in unfamiliar territory.

(Who am I kidding, I've had the most fun of the whole trip doing this!)

5) DVD boxsets have hours of entertainment in a small container. Good option. I myself have endeavoured to become an expert in Japanese Transformers cartoons. Mastaaaah- Force!

6) No where is perfect. Try to remember that when the grass seems greener. Stay anywhere too long and you'll start seeing the nasty side to it. For example, Germany has many awesome things going for it, but I am beginning to miss people smiling instead of looking away when you catch their eye (which I am sure is where this "Germans are humourless" rubbish comes from).

7) Do something with your weekends. Explore. Find an outlet. Whatever you do, don't get so drunk you waste the day. Otherwise the entire trip will become an exhausting, grey, endless sludge (I am not saying don't drink though. There's no alcohol like foreign alcohol).

8) Resist the natural urge to become ridiculously patriotic. To be sure, begorrah. I'm told I am not the only one who suddenly feels very Irish when abroad. I think it's a form of homesickness.

9) The more English in the menu, the worse the quality of the food. Unfortunately. If there's not many people but tourists in your establishment there's generally a reason the locals are not using it.

10) If your trip is over 1 month, either insist on a flat while you are abroad or a weekend home. Most cities are done in a month.


...I hope this is of help to some of you!