When traveling abroad, and at times, even within our own country, we will hear different terms for familiar items.  Take for example the word pop versus soda.  Where you live in the United States, determines the usage.  When you are writing, you can give a more authentic flare to your journal by incorporating some of these terms and expressions into the piece.  Below is an excerpt from my travel journal while on a trip to Wales.   Remember, make sure to include enough context clues to assist the reader with deciphering the new vocabulary terms.

 

Sept. 23, 2015                                                                                       Today we are in the Welsh village of Llangollen.  It is the last day of our three day-mini vacation. My poor legs are grateful for the cafe we have found, alongside the old steam trains.  I am knackered from all of our running around and ready to sit down for our meal! The weather has been cold today.  I am thankful I have brought my jumper.  With all the rain, wellies would have been good too, had I known it would be so wet!   With three full meals and several breaks for tea and/or snacks daily, we always seem to be eating when we are in England! I suppose it is one way to dodge the persistent rain, which falls often in the autumn.  Today is no exception.  Once again, we find ourselves standing in a queue, waiting to be served.  Alan is excited, as he has found a place that offers one of his favorite childhood meals, chip butties!  This is basically a french fry sandwich.  Slathered in tomato ketchup, Alan is in his glory.  A unique English custom, if ever there was one!   It is lovely to quietly sit in this station, where Queen Elizabeth once visited. Watching the trains move in and out of the depot, we are all thinking of Dad, and imagining how much he would have enjoyed being here.  We toast him over a pot of tea.  Soon we are warmed both inside and out, our souls and stomachs are both satisfied.

Every day there is something happening in the world.  Sometimes, it is the kind of thing that may have a long term effect on history. Other times it may be shocking. Sometimes it seems insignificant, until many years later.  News is like a long thread that intertwines into the fabric of our lives, perhaps it is more visible in certain parts of the pattern, but it is forever being woven.  Vacation doesn’t move us away from the news.  We may be less or more aware of the events unfolding, depending upon our location at the time.  News and current events can be a great piece of information to include in a travel journal, or in any kind of journal really.  Perhaps future generations will be able to look at your writing, and make those all important connections to history, all because you chose to detail a little about the world at the time.

 

 

 

 

 

                       Volkswagen

For as long as I can remember, I have had a love affair with the German manufactured, Volkswagen.  The first family car that I can remember, was a blue “beetle”, affectionately referred to as a “bug”. As of 2012, Volkswagen was considered the second largest car manufacturer worldwide.  The first car rolled off the assembly line in 1937 and they have had a strong worldwide presence ever since.  I fondly remember my own children playing “slug bug”, a game in which they would strive to be the first to punch  their sibling or friends, if they saw a beetle on the road.  While the beetle was the first of the cars that Volkswagen produced, there were many others which followed.  Each new model strove to better the mileage and emission output.  Eventually our little bug was sold, in exchange for an orange Datsun.  I hadn’t really considered that many of my family would continue to connect strongly to this manufacturer.  However, just recently, while traveling to Denver, my brother and I were watching a car show, where the now classic beetle was being proudly displayed.  The fact that it also happened to be blue, brought back good memories for both of us as we remembered our old car.  I then shared a ride, in my brother’s Volkswagen Jetta.   He educated me on the affiliation that the company also had with Audi, a brand owned by both my mother and her husband.  It was one of those conversations that was casual, a bit of trivia to learn at the time.  Just a couple of weeks later,  on September 21, 2015, I would be traveling in England when the news about Volkswagen broke worldwide.  They were embroiled in a scandal which would cost them billions.   It appears that they had knowingly falsified their emission results, claiming much better efficiency than their cars were actually getting.  Consumer trust was broken.  This wasn’t the first time that this company had seen massive controversy.  In 1998, they had admitted that 15,000 slaves were brought from concentration camps during World War II, to keep the production line moving.  I am sure that Volkswagen will recover.  I am sure that I will continue to enjoy seeing the classic little bugs, which grow fewer each year.  Like many stories that are heard these days, I am sad for the lack of integrity that seems to prevail with society today.  Perhaps the media just allows this to be more obvious now.  Perhaps, as Volkswagen has already demonstrated through history, a lack of integrity has always existed.

Sometimes I find myself using the same descriptive terminology in my journals.  If you have followed my blog for any length of time, you will know I often use the alphabet to set a new goal when I am stumped. Adjectives are words that describe.  Like a comfortable pair of sweatpants, we all favor certain words.  As we try to paint a verbal image for our readers, our writing can become bogged down by the use of the same terminology over and over again.  For this technique, try using the ABC’s to create an ever expanding list of descriptive terminology.  Sometimes I choose a group of words before the trip.  Other times, I may look at my photos and compare them to my list, looking to see if I can use a unique adjective.  By keeping an ever expanding list of adjectives, it may inspire the way you take a photo, write a sentence or otherwise develop your journal entries.  It may help you to seek out interesting people, or document conversations.  Words are powerful triggers.  Here is a list of adjectives, one for each letter.  In the following examples, the photos were taken prior to choosing the adjective.

A-Amazing

B-Barren

As we climbed toward the peak of the mountain, the  brown grass emerged in tufts among the jagged rocks.  I would have considered this land barren, had I not noted the grazing sheep alongside the tracks.

 

 

C-Cheerful

D-Delightful

E-Exclusive

F-Famous

 

G-Gusty

The provided windbreakers were no match for the gusty conditions we found at the base of Niagara Falls.  As we neared the falls, the disposable plastic coats flew up around our ears, offering a veiled view through the thin, red plastic. Our hands were busy, the choice being to save the camera from the misty conditions or get soaked ourselves.  I wonder if this was somehow humorous planning on the part of the boat operators.

 

 

H-Happy

I-Insightful

J-Jovial

K-Knowledgeable

L-Loving

M-Magnificent

N-Nature

O-Original

P-Popular

Q-Quiet

R-Remarkable

S-Stunning

T-Thoughtful

U-Unique

V-Vivacious

W-Welcoming

X-

Y-Youthful

Z-Zany

 

 

 

 

 

 

You’ve just returned from your trip, responsibilities call.  The laundry is piled high, dinner needs to be prepared.  You long for those leisurely moments, which you spent with your journal at that wonderful cafe’ along the river.  You know the journal isn’t complete.  There are still details missing.  You may have pages of hastily scrolled facts, but no substance.   So how do you complete the task?

1.  Every time you journal, reward yourself with a favorite cup of coffee, tea, ice cream, listening to music, a walk, or some other treat.  You’ll soon look forward to picking up your pen!

2.  Find someplace fun to write.  Sit by a river, sip coffee in a cafe’ or wherever inspires you.  You can return to this same spot daily, or make a new adventure by finding a different location to write each day.

3.  Connect writing to routine.  Do you sit down to watch tv each night?  Perhaps try to write for 10 minutes before allowing yourself to turn on the television.

4.  Make an appointment with yourself.  Block out a period of time to write, on the calendar.  Treat this appointment as you would any other and make sure to follow through.

5.  Post to a blog.  Your readers are generally curious about what you are up to, which in turn may provide some incentive for regular posting.

6.  Find a writing buddy.  We all have friends who are working on something…getting in better shape, eating better etc.  Partner with these people.  You write at the same time they are fulfilling a goal.  Check in and praise each other as you complete your goals for the day.

7.  Try not to think of writing as a chore.  Let yourself relive those travel memories for some part of the day, it will be like taking a mini vacation!