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Welcome to Cheryl's Travel Blueprint! I’m a former Spanish teacher turned travel advisor, passionate about curating unforgettable experiences. My expertise lies in European adventures (with a special love for Spain), cruising, and all-inclusive Caribbean getaways. I specialize in creating tailored trips for families, multi-generational groups, and teachers—whether they’re traveling solo, with colleagues, or leading student groups.
In this podcast, we celebrate the joy of travel, uncover hidden gems, share practical tips and tricks, and embrace the spirit of adventure. Each episode features inspiring conversations with fascinating guests from all walks of life as they share their unique travel stories, lessons, and favorite destinations. Whether you're planning your next getaway or simply love to dream about the possibilities, this is your place to explore the world from wherever you are.
Let’s embark on this journey together! 🌍✈️
An elderly woman falls in the street. A group of monks rush over to help, and they start laughing. If you saw that, what would you think? Because your answer says more about your culture than theirs. If you've ever worried about doing the wrong thing when you travel, or misreading a moment in a culture, make sure you're subscribed, because this is one of those conversations that just might change how you see the world and yourself. Travel doesn't just show you new places. It shows you yourself, but not in the way you expect. It holds up a mirror, not to your appearance, but to your assumptions. Because culture, culture is like water. You don't notice it when you're in it, but the second you step into a different current, you feel everything. We are all conditioned in how we communicate, how we handle conflict, how we express emotion, what we think is polite and what we think is rude. And the wild part is that those definitions are not universal. They're local. And this is something that really came into focus during a recent conversation I had with a guest. We were talking about how culture shapes behavior, often in ways we don't even realize until we're standing right up in the middle of it. And she shared a perspective that honestly stopped me for a second because it challenged something so instinctive, something most of us would never question. Take a listen to this. If you look at how people approach disagreements and confrontation. This is handled very differently culture by culture. For example, in Thailand, in many Buddhist countries, showing impatience is the rudest thing you can do. And you go to Eastern Europe, that is not the case. It is not considered rude to show impatience. And so I think a lot of people are surprised by reactions. If you're in Thailand and you're with a bunch of Buddhist monks that own but an orange robe and do nothing but meditate all day and do good things for people, the way they approach what we might see as, you know, I'll just say it with an example because it's easier. Let's say an elderly woman is crossing the street and falls. My natural reaction here would be to run over. Oh my goodness, let me help get you back up. A Buddhist monk will run over. They're not really supposed to help, although in this situation, you're not supposed to touch people of opposite sex if you're a Thai Buddhist monk. But they would help in this situation. But they would laugh because they've been conditioned not to show a negative emotion. And if you don't know that going into it, you might think, well, gosh, that's rude. But their philosophy is very different. It's about kind of spreading joy and not negativity. And that you'd still go over and help them, but you would be laughing as you got them out. So there are surprises like that in every country in terms of how they approach situations. But if you don't know the reason behind it, it might seem rude or weird or odd. In a similar vein, the reason that a Thai Buddhist monk is not supposed to touch someone of the opposite sex is not because they're considered better or above or superior. It's because their whole philosophy is to avoid suffering. And their philosophy is, where does suffering come from? If you are attached to something or someone and something happens to them, that is the greatest pain. If you're a parent and has a child and something happens to the child, that's the greatest pain. So a way of avoiding that is not having children. Doesn't mean they don't love children. So a way of avoiding, hey, if I'm married to a man, and something happens to that man, then I've caused suffering for myself. So a way of avoiding it is not getting married, just serving society. So you might hear, don't touch someone of the opposite sex, even on the shoulder, as, hey, it's sexist. Well, hold on, back up. Let's look at why that's there, just to understand it. You don't have to agree with it, just to learn, just to learn. So a lot of surprises in that area, I think. And that right there, that's the moment. Because if you didn't know the context behind that, you might walk away from that situation thinking that was rude or that was inappropriate. That didn't feel right. But what you're actually seeing is a completely different philosophy in action. It's not about ignoring the situation. It's not about a lack of care. It's about how care is expressed and how emotion is managed and how meaning is assigned. Because in that moment, they're not reacting the way the way we would. They're responding the way they've been taught. And this is where travel really starts to stretch you, because it asks you to do something that's not always comfortable. It asks you to pause your judgment long enough to understand before you decide. And this shows up in smaller everyday ways too. In the U . S. , we value personal space. In places like Italy or Spain, people may stand closer, speak with much more animation. It's connection for them, not intrusion. -Transcribe with Cockatoo free version