Travel Talkers Toastmasters

Travel for celebrations and holidays was the theme of our December 15 meeting. Tym Myers was our Travel Topics Master and he asked us about travel for a last minute celebration, travel for a “destination” celebration, travel interrupted by a local celebration and travel plans for a “dream” celebration. Travel for destination weddings is becoming a popular option but it is also fun to gather a few friends for a last minute getaway to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, or retirement.

Our Destination Master for the meeting was Avis Russell. Her destination is an island country in the West Indies on the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary of the Atlantic Ocean. Her other clues were the official language is English, but the French were the first to settle on the island and 95% of the population speak “Patwa”, French Creole. The colors of the flag are aquamarine, black and gold. The national bird is the parrot, the national plant is bamboo and the national tree is the Calabash. The country became an independent nation in 1979 and is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. If you guessed Santa Lucia, you are correct!

The speaker at our meeting was Kit. She gave her Icebreaker speech about her first international trip after she graduated from High School. Her speech title, “If I buy you a Bug, would you consider staying home?” was the question her father asked her a week before she was scheduled to board her flight for her study abroad adventure in Europe. Without hesitation, she chose the option to go on with her plans to stay for a year in Europe living with a family. She was ready for her adventure. She had been planning for a study abroad trip since 6th grade. She had studied French for 5 years and German for 3 years to increase her chances of getting the European country she wanted. The friends she made on that trip have lasted a lifetime. Kit told us that her love of travel continues to be an important force in her life.

Join us for our first meeting of 2023 on January 5 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm Pacific (-8 UTC). The meeting theme is “New Year Travel.” If you have travel plans in the New Year, we would love to hear about them at the meeting.

Register for the meeting: https://tinyurl.com/TravelTalkersZoomLink

Looking forward to hearing your Travel Stories!

Helen Josephine,

Travel Talkers Toastmasters

December weather is making us think about warm sand beaches and beautiful island paradise vacations. It’s time to start planning our Island Getaway! Our speaker at the December 8th meeting was Avis Russell. She prepared a panel discussion with a question and answer session to dig deeper into the meeting theme of “Island Getaways.” Her panel, “The Art of Being a Tourist,” included Kit Myers, Vernitta Brown and Helen Josephine. Each panelist presented on an island travel vacation. Kit talked about the local fresh fruit and sightseeing on the Hawaiian Islands. Vernitta “island hopped” in the Bahamas to swim with the pigs. Helen detailed the transportation options on Vancouver Island–ferries, water taxis and seaplanes.

The Destination Master for the meeting was Tym. He chose an international city for his mystery destination. His clues were: the city is in the southern hemisphere in the 5th largest country in the World, it is the 21st largest city in the World and hosted the World Cup, the Rolling Stones played a concert on the beach to just over a million people, it has a famous statue and it is the home of the Samba. If you guessed Rio de Janeiro, you are correct!

Join us for our next meeting on December 15 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm Pacific (-8 UTC). The meeting theme is “Celebrations.” Toastmaster, Elma; Destination Master, Avis; Speaker, Kit; Travel Topics Master, Tym.

Register for the meeting: https://tinyurl.com/TravelTalkersZoomLink

Looking forward to hearing your Travel Stories!

Helen Josephine,

Travel Talkers Toastmasters

Some of us travel for business, some travel for pleasure and some are able to combine both to explore new destinations. Megan Burns, the Table Topics Master for the December 1st meeting, used the meeting theme, “Business or Pleasure,” to encourage us to explore the intersection of business and personal travel. She asked where we have travelled for business and what made that location unique or memorable. She also wanted to know about our experiences in an unfamiliar place and how the people we met in the hotel or in the area help us learn about the local customs or special events. She asked if we preferred to include our personal vacation time before or after the required business part of our trips. And finally she wanted to know what we do or bring from home to make our extended stays in a hotel for business more comfortable and feel more like home.

Our speaker at the meeting was Sherella Sturrup from the BFM Diplomats Toastmasters in Nassau. Her speech, “The Importance of a Vacation” was filled with facts and medical advice about the physical and mental health benefits of taking a vacation. She reminded us that we all need to slow down and take that much needed break on a regular basis to recharge ourselves. Thank you Sherella for sharing your speech with us!

The Destination Master for the meeting was Vernitta. She chose a state in the United States for her mystery destination. Her clues were: the state is bordered by 5 other states, the state is famous for its hot dogs, the state is known for fashion and art, and is home to the rich and famous. The state also has a famous statue. If you guessed the state of New York, you are correct!

Join us for our next meeting on December 8 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm Pacific (-8 UTC). The meeting theme is “Island Getaways” Toastmaster, Helen; Destination Master, Tym; Speaker, Avis; Travel Topics Master, Vernitta.

Register for the meeting: https://tinyurl.com/TravelTalkersZoomLink

Looking forward to hearing your Travel Stories!

Helen Josephine,

Travel Talkers Toastmasters

Our meeting on November 17 was all about Family Travel. The Travel Topics session was led by Avis and she used the theme of our meeting in her questions. She asked us about family travel with children, special family vacation trips, our favorite destinations, family travel tips and family cruise ideas. We learned from Tym that if you and your family are traveling as airline employees, you are expected to wait politely for all the other passengers to board and you are expected to dress in business attire, even though your final destination is a ski trip to Steamboat Springs and all the other passengers are dressed for the slopes. As a child, Meghan’s favorite trip memory was the “kid’s” van on a road trip to Lake Mead for a Houseboat Vacation. She remembered the houseboat on the lake as hot and not too much fun, but the trip in the van with all the kids playing games and singing songs was the best part of the vacation.

Our Destination Master for the meeting was Kit. Her entertaining style and historic details had us all wondering what country she had picked as the mystery destination. The graphic she created included several important clues including a picture of the flag, details about what the country is known for (chocolate, diamonds and lace) and where it is located.

Did you guess it correctly? The country is Belgium. After hearing Kit’s presentation, I want to make a trip.

Vernitta presented a fun speech, “Hop, hop, hop to the Islands of the Bahamas” about Island hopping in the Bahamas. Our first hop was to Inagua Island, one of the best places in the Bahamas to see flamingos at the Inagua National Park. Inagua Island is home to over 80,000 Caribbean flamingos. Then we hopped over to Cat Island to catch crabs and have a feast. Finally, we hopped to Crooked Island to enjoy the beautiful beaches and underwater views of the fish. Island hopping sounded like a great way to enjoy the beauty and animal life of the Bahamas. Let’s go!

Join us for our next meeting on December 1st from 6:30pm to 7:30pm Pacific (-8 UTC). The meeting theme is “Business or Pleasure?” Toastmaster, Helen; Destination Master, Vernitta; Speaker, Sherella; Travel Topics Master, Meghan.

Register for the meeting: https://tinyurl.com/TravelTalkersZoomLink

Looking forward to hearing your Travel Stories!

Helen Josephine,

Travel Talkers Toastmasters

Several of our regular attendees at Travel Talkers were not able to attend or attended the meeting late due to delays caused by Hurricane Nicole. Travel delays can be due to weather, equipment, staffing or some unnamed snafu. We’ve learned to be flexible and stay calm in the face of flight delays, lost luggage, missing travel documents and cancelled connecting flights.

During the Travel Topics section of the meeting, Vernitta asked us to respond to real or imagined travel delays. Meghan said if her vacation flight to Hawaii was delayed, she would head to the airline lounge and have a drink to start her vacation early. She cautioned us, however, not to party too much at the airport since you don’t want to miss your flight once it is finally ready to take off.

Shanthi and her daughter had one last connection with change of planes before they could get home after a 12-hour international flight with a connection on the East Coast before their final destination in the Midwest. When they entered the boarding area, they were told the flight was oversold and they could not get on the plane even though they had tickets and boarding passes. The airline was compensating travelers with hotel and travel vouchers and a seat on a flight the next day, but Shanthi just wanted to get home. Luckily there was a couple on the flight who were willing to give up their seats and take the hotel and travel vouchers offered so that Shanthi and her daughter could make the flight. They boarded the plane minutes before take off.

Our Destination Master, Shanthi stumped us with these clues clues about the mystery country:
1. The second least populated nation.
2. The second-fastest-growing economy in the world.
3. Tourism started in 1974.
4. Plastic bags have been banned since 1999.
5. The first country in the world to ban the production and sale of tobacco products in 2010.
6. The only country in the world to officially measure national happiness.
7. 72% of the country is covered by forest – Carbon negative country.
8. The economy is based on agriculture, forestry, tourism and the sale of hydroelectric power (with the major river valleys).
9. The average altitude is 2438m above sea level.
With these clues could you guess the name of the country?

If Bhutan sounds like a perfect place to visit, do your research first. Passport holders of countries other than India, Bangladesh, and the Maldives must visit Bhutan on a guided tour and visitors are limited. However, these requirements may be changing, https://www.tourism.gov.bt/.

Our featured speaker for the meeting was Elma. Her speech, “COVID-19: My Perspective” was about the benefits she experienced when all the Toastmasters Clubs moved to online meetings hosted on Zoom and other platforms. This gave her the opportunity to attend clubs around the world and network with other Toastmasters. She gained new confidence and took on leadership roles at the club and district level. I met Elma at a meeting of the Intercontinental Toastmasters Club, an internationally focused advanced club which meets on Friday 10:30 PM Eastern/7:30 PM Pacific/Saturday 3:30 AM UTC /8:00 AM IST. We are fortunate to have Elma attending Travel Talkers. She has invited her colleagues from the BFM Diplomats Toastmasters Club in Nassau, Bahamas to join our meetings. We enjoy their perspectives and travel stories.

Join us for our next meeting on November 17 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm Pacific (-8 UTC). The meeting theme is “Family Travel” Toastmaster, Helen; Destination Master, Kit; Speaker, Vernitta; Travel Topics Master, Elma.

Register for the meeting: https://tinyurl.com/TravelTalkersZoomLink

Looking forward to hearing your Travel Stories!

Helen Josephine,

Travel Talkers Toastmasters