Vanya Wryter Consulting Services

Tag: travel

  • I Was Part of a Famous, Historical Moment

    I Was Part of a Famous, Historical Moment

    Many people have heard of the tragedy of the Titanic. I was pretty much right there, experiencing the life and death of the passengers. Let me explain.

    I found myself on the dock where the Titanic was waiting for passengers to board. It was part of a museum display, and it was like traveling back in time to 1912 because we were each handed an identity card. I wasn’t a museum visitor anymore. I was a Titanic passenger, and the card told me my name and who I was. I was a famous actress traveling in first class. And by the end of my journey, I would find out if I survived.

    I could feel myself transported back in time when I walked into the famous room with the staircase and clock. I saw menus that described what I ate as a first-class passenger, and I walked through some of the rooms on the historical ship.

    Then, near the end of my journey, I touched a piece of ice that was at the same temperature as on that fateful night when the ship sank.

    In one display room, I read letters written by people who had traveled on the ship (and sent mail before that night). Some people weren’t even supposed to be on that ship but circumstances put them there. Sometimes, one small decision can have severe consequences.

    Finally, at the end of our tour, we disembarked from the ship. Along one wall, we saw a list of the names of all the passengers. I eagerly scanned the names until I found mine. I was alive! Then I searched for my friend’s name. He was a rich businessman, also traveling in first class. He didn’t make it. It was chilling to think this was once a real person. I felt sad that we had both boarded the ship and only I had made it.

    I reminded myself it was just a museum exhibit, but it truly had brought that moment in history alive.

    Daily writing prompt
    What major historical events do you remember?
    View all responses
  • Follow Your Guiding Star

    Follow Your Guiding Star

    “All men have stars, but they are not the same things for different people. For some, who are travelers, the stars are guides. For others they are no more than little lights in the sky. For others, who are scholars, they are problems… But all these stars are silent. You alone will have stars as no one else has them.”

    Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

    Reposting this blog from a couple years back. What star guides you today, and where does it lead you?

  • Would you return to the past if you could?

    Would you return to the past if you could?

    If you could return to the past, what moment would you revisit or redo? I learned that returning to the past didn’t necessarily mean revisiting yesterday. It could also mean precious time with family, an opportunity that I wouldn’t have had if I hadn’t won a prize.

    Daily writing prompt
    Where would you go on a shopping spree?
    View all responses

    “Where are we, Mom?” The building we were in was large and spacious, but unlike anything I’d seen before. And everything about it was wrong.

    “A shopping mall, honey.” 

    “No, it can’t be. We won a shopping spree at a new mall. I showed you the e-message. We get fifteen minutes to grab whatever we want. But look at this place! No holograms! And look at that! People are everywhere, walking into stores. And the stores aren’t projections! This is ridiculous! I would never bring your granddaughter here. Mom, let’s go. I don’t know how we’re going to shop in a place like this.”

    “This place–” Mom glanced at me with the mischievous excitement of a child. “This is what shopping malls looked like when I was a teenager! Look over there, at the food court! That’s where I’d hang out with my friends—”

    “At the mall?” I almost gasped. I would never let my daughter Keeva hang out at a mall. I wanted to give my opinion about “hanging out” at such a place but Mom had grabbed my arm and was pulling us into this archaic shopping mall.

    “–this was before we had cellphones and… what do you call it now? Dash-calls? We actually hung out in person, face to face. We would ride our bikes here or take the bus. We bought hamburgers and shakes. Hot dogs. Then we went window shopping. I mean literal window shopping, not like what you do these days where your house phone generates an image and you just stare at holographics and buy stuff. Even when you were growing up, it was already getting bad with social media. Whatever happened to talking to real people?”

    Mom picked up a sweater from a rack at a store entrance. “Such a beautiful sweater!” she said, handing it to me.

    I was shocked at how heavy it was. I mean, it was a real sweater and I was touching it before buying it. This felt criminal.

    “I miss this,” said Mom. “Holographic shopping is not the same.” She smiled at another shopper entering the store. “Hello!” she said.

    I glanced down in embarrassment. Ugh. She was talking to a complete stranger. I picked up the tag to check the material. “Fifty dollars! I exclaimed. “This must be a secondhand sweater for that low price!”

    “Three hundred dollars is too much for a sweater.” Mom sighed. “How do people afford anything these days?” She draped the sweater over her arm.

    “We should get a wall TV before our fifteen minutes are up.” I pointed at the tech store. “Keeva is crazy about those. They drape on your wall like a poster, and you can peel them off and put them on a different wall.”

    But once we were outside the tech store, I stood with my mouth open, my mind searching through dusty memories for the correct word. “Mom, they’re… they’re flatscreen TVs. You’ve got to… to mount them on something. I haven’t seen one of these since I was a kid!”

    “I want a hamburger,” said Mom, starting toward the food court without waiting for me. 

    I hung back, unsure what to do as I took in the sight of all the food vendors. The most shocking part was each stall was staffed by what looked like real people. I was horrified. Was I supposed to tell someone what I wanted to order? What happened to pressing buttons on a menu? 

    “Two hamburgers and two shakes, please,” said Mom with a smile. “We’re on a shopping spree so that should be on the house.” She took the tray, scanned the tables, found an empty one, and sat down. She seemed perfectly at home here.

    I turned my watch to take a photo to send to Keeva via dash-call. My watch beeped. Our fifteen minutes were up, and we had only gotten food and a sweater. Keeva had expected me to return home with something spectacular. 

    “You young people spend too much time with your tech,” said Mom, offering me a burger. Put away that app and let’s talk—just like in the old days. Enjoy life like it was when you could touch and smell everything. Honey, there are some things money cannot buy.”

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  • Food is a great example of mixing cultures

    Food is a great example of mixing cultures

    The other day, I had Korean food. Asian food doesn’t usually have cheese, but in North America, they have cheese in their food options. For example, Japanese sushi has a cream cheese roll, which has cream cheese in it. This ingredient is not typical for Asian cuisine. Many Asians are lactose intolerant, so cheese products aren’t popular.

    I tried a Korean special platter that had rice, green onion, egg, bulgogi, corn, and melted cheese in separate sections on a metal pan that was heated by elements on the table. The platter was enough to share for three people. The cheese is unusual for Asian cuisine. The melted texture reminded me of pizza.  

    The AAA beef “box sushi” (for lack of a better word) reminded me of Japanese cuisine. However, the Korean version had a slightly different flavor than the Japanese one. It was my first time trying out both dishes, but I liked them.

    To me, these dishes were a great example of how cuisines from around the world and cuisines from different cultures blend together to create something tasty.

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  • Would you prefer a long boring life or a short adventurous one?

    Would you prefer a long boring life or a short adventurous one?

    Facing a pack of wolves while on a hike, climbing up a mountain in subzero temperatures, chasing dangerous criminals, investing in the stock market… these are all examples of a lifestyle a writer would prefer to experience from behind a laptop. The question of lifestyle preferences is what got me thinking: would you prefer a long, boring life or a short, adventurous one?

    Daily writing prompt
    What bores you?
    View all responses

    The answer to that question, of course, depends on the answer to another question: what bores you? As you know, I’m a writer, so I get excited over a new book to read, and I’m happy when I have the perfect cup of tea to enjoy during a quiet afternoon. I prefer to read about other people’s adventures exploring the Amazon Rainforest, crossing the North Sea, or discovering who (or what) lives in that haunted house across the street.

    There is a line in the movie Troy which I don’t remember word for word, but it goes something like this: Achilles’s mother says if he doesn’t fight at Troy, he can have a family and his children and grandchildren will remember him for a few generations before his name disappears. He can have a long, predictable life. If he fights at Troy, he will die young but he will be remembered for thousands of years as a gallant soldier and hero.

    Some people want to take risks to do what they love, such as climbing Mount Everest, traveling to risky destinations around the world, or participating in risky sports.

    Some people can’t take risks or do whatever they want because they have children, a spouse, or aging parents who depend on them. Sometimes the choice is ours, and sometimes it isn’t, depending on our life situation. People with responsibilities need to play it safe. They can’t risk their savings on cryptocurrency or invest thousands of dollars in a new startup company.

    What one person thinks of as a boring life, another person does not. We don’t know what challenges another person is facing, such as disabilities that are invisible to us. Or a long-term illness. That reclusive neighbor who is always at home might be dealing with trauma, and it is a huge achievement just to go out with a few friends.

    Some lives are cut short as a result of an accident or illness. But if they had a good life and they fought a good fight to keep going, it’s still a great life. Sometimes you don’t get to choose.

    So is it better to live a long, boring life or a short and adventurous one? This would depend on what you want out of life. What is boring to you? What is fulfilling to you? Either choice is good. If you can look back on your life with a smile, then you’ve done well.

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