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Wanting to go abroad - advice please?
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I have only been abroad once - that was a trip to Berlin with school in 2005. I really want to go abroad again.
As someone who has only been abroad once, are there any places I should / shouldn't go to? I do like the sound of France or maybe Belgium. I like walking, music, sport and science. I would love to go skiing; although my parents aren't that keen on the idea of me skiing due to my disabilities.
I only speak English. I do know a few words in French and Spanish; but not enough to have a conversation or two with someone.
As someone who has only been abroad once, are there any places I should / shouldn't go to? I do like the sound of France or maybe Belgium. I like walking, music, sport and science. I would love to go skiing; although my parents aren't that keen on the idea of me skiing due to my disabilities.
I only speak English. I do know a few words in French and Spanish; but not enough to have a conversation or two with someone.
Post edited by JustV on
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Most places you go to there will be people who speak english especially if they are touristy type so it should not be that hard for you to get along.
I love belgium but not brussels - but a short break to somewhere like brugge, ghent or antwerp could also be good. In general I think city breaks are the best place to start. If you want a seaside experiene then there are quite a few on the med as well.
I don't think that having a disability should preclude you from sking there are quite a few sking companies which offer disability friendly sking so i'd do some research
Having just come back from a weekend in The Netherlands, I would highly recommend it as an easy international trip.
That's what I was thinking too - parents said it was more of a safety thing because I have limited side vision and can't always turn my head without hurting myself in some way.
I did look at some holidays for disabled people - but they were double the cost they charge for non-disabled people - yet, aside from dietary needs and maybe a bit more supervision, I wouldn't need that much more extra help.
I think Austria (?) do have skiing trips for disabled people.
If you can't turn your head without risking hurting yourself, then possibly skiing isn't the best point to be starting international travels with. It's a pretty key action. Having got whiplash on a ski holiday last year, I rapidly learnt I couldn't snow board at all afterwards, and I could only ski because I am a very competent skiier and can compensate by moving my whole body enough to be able to see what's going on around me.
If you're really keen to try skiing, get a lesson on a dry or artificial slope in the UK. If you want to try going abroad, go for something different.
There's nothing wrong with going off exploring though, it depends on how comfortable and confident you are generally. You can get by with English in most countries, especially the touristy places, but knowing a few words to show willingness is always a good thing. IME it's normally a fight to get the shopkeepers to not speak English as they all want to practice it.
You might like the Salzkammergut region of Austria around Salzburg. Plenty of pretty lakes and pretty mountains and pretty villages and good walking. Unlike wyetry I also have a fondness for Brussels.
I kind of admire the Belgians, they still don't have a government after a year
We do have family (and I do have a friend there) in Belgium. However, they are basically strangers to me.
That's ok... I had not seen my family in NZ for... 14 years? (i was young when they came to the uk) so i didn't know them at all but we ended up all getting on so well!
:yes: A lot of staying with people is just about having a safe base and a local phone number. It's reassuring I found, even when I went to Texas and just stayed with friends of a friend.
I found this when I was in Germany. I got by with English; but sometimes it felt as though the locals would've preferred us (it was a school trip) to speak German.
Who'd have thunk it, German people preferring for you to speak to them in German? The horror.
If you don't feel that your language skills are good enough, stay within the UK. Jersey is lovely at this time of year.
huh? Where did I ever say I was running Race for Life? If you bothered to read any of my posts, you'd see I'm walking it.
That's a little unfair, your signature still says you're running it.
Arctic Roll has a point, there are loads of places to go that are English-speaking. One of my friends loves visiting Gibraltar (south of Spain, still British).
To be fair though when i'm away and try and speak the local language 99% of the time the reply will be in english....
It's about showing a bit of willing I think.
in france recently i had a whole conversation with Gilles uncle - him speaking to me in english and me replying in french lol. Both of us wanted to practice.
I think even if they know a bit of english, if you go to another country you should at least learn a few basic phrases and take a phrasebook. Noone expects you to be fluent, but its rude to not even show willing
That's quite rude given that it says in your signature that you're running it...
I totally did that, after being so used to speaking french in Brussels. Very