At our February 8th meeting, we continued our travels around the world with a stop in South America. The continent of South America is home to nearly 400 million people and consists of 12 countries—Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, and Suriname—plus an overseas department of France called French Guiana.
Our Destination Master, Tym Myers, provided these clue for a destination in South America:
- It is a group of 778 islands in the Southern Hemisphere.
- These islands are East of 60 degrees West longitude (for reference, Miami is also 60 degrees West).
- These islands were discovered in 1690 by British Captain John Strong.
- These islands have two names, one in Spanish and one in English.
- A war was fought by Great Britain during the 20th Century over who had control of these islands (Great Britain won).
- These islands are known for their millions of penguins and their wool industry.
If you guessed the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), you are correct!
Kit Myer presented her Presentation Mastery, Level 1 speech, “They tried to make me fly standby and I say NO, NO, NO!’ Kit shared with us the privilege and the responsibilities of flying standby as a non-revenue passenger. The privilege is afforded to airline employees and their spouses and families. Although the seat is free, Kit revealed that there are expectations. Employee standby passengers need to wait until all other paying passenger are seated and then if there is an available seat, they are allowed to board. If a paying passenger is late for the flight, the non-revenue standby passenger will be asked to leave the plane. Also, non-revenue standby passengers are expected to dress in business attire, no sweat pants or hoodies. What seems like a great perk, can be stressful and can make travel difficult to plan. Non-revenue standby passengers are also subject to equipment or weather delays without any recourse for rebooking. After 25 years of flying non-revenue standby, Kit decided that if she really wants to fly to attend a family event that she did not want to miss, it would be better to purchase a ticket rather than hope that a “free” standby seat would be available.
Our Travel Topics Master, Vernitta Brown, asked us questions about our first travel experience, which places we would like to return to, and the best advice for how not to miss a flight. Jacqueline Campbell, a travel professional who attends our club meetings, shared with us that she provides a checklist for her clients of all the documents they will need when they arrive at the airport. If they have forgotten their passport for an international flight or cruise for example, they will not be able to check-in for their trip. Being prepared is the best advice for how not to miss your flight.
At our next meeting we will continue our travels around the world. Join us as we share our adventures about traveling to Western Europe on Thursday, February 15th from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm. The United Nations defines Western Europe as including these 9 countries—Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, and Switzerland. Be inspired to travel somewhere new. Let’s hear about your adventures at our February 15th meeting. Guests are always welcome to attend our meetings. If you would like to join the club, contact Helen Josephine for an application form.
Register for the meeting: https://tinyurl.com/TravelTalkersZoomLink
RSVP on MeetUp to let us know you are coming to the meeting. Guests are always welcome!
Looking forward to hearing your travel stories! Join us to be inspired to take your next trip.
Helen Josephine,
Travel Talkers Toastmasters
Travel Talkers Toastmasters 
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