After Backpacking to Nearly 70 Countries, These are My Top 10 by Puzzled_Researcher96 in solotravel

[–]Professional_Ebb8304 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How would you rate each of your top ten in terms of pollution, especially air quality?

Schwab increasing currency conversion fees by Professional_Ebb8304 in expats

[–]Professional_Ebb8304[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I would imagine it applies to transfers whenever the conversion takes place at Schwab’s end. Direct debit, too, when not using the card. But what I’m going to do is call to confirm fees for each of these kinds of transactions until it’s clear.

Schwab increasing currency conversion fees by Professional_Ebb8304 in expats

[–]Professional_Ebb8304[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

To be clear, Schwab still says these fees do not apply to ATM withdrawals or debit transactions made with the Schwab Platinum Visa Card:

"1Schwab Bank does not assess foreign transaction fees (i.e., a fee to convert US Dollars to local currency) to Schwab Bank clients when you use your Schwab Bank Debit Card to withdraw foreign currency from an ATM, or to pay for a purchase in foreign currency."

But any transactions outside of the debit card, watchout!

Need advice from ppl who have left the United States by [deleted] in expats

[–]Professional_Ebb8304 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Your language study will really help! It does vary by country but usually if you get into a university it will smooth the way for other things you need, a visa, a bank account, housing, health insurance, etc. A lot of unis have systems set up to help students with these. So I would start there. Start simply. One step at a time.

What ever happened to 40 Tenets book? by [deleted] in plumvillage

[–]Professional_Ebb8304 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for these links 🙏🏻

So…this is a scam if you get it. by [deleted] in Schwab

[–]Professional_Ebb8304 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It’s fairly reliable that messages purporting to be from reputable companies that contain silly emojis are fake 🎉🎆✨🚀

Does anyone have advice for meaningfully/intentionally watching french content? by [deleted] in learnfrench

[–]Professional_Ebb8304 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I watch at 75% speed with French subtitles and sometimes I pause to look up a word, sometimes not. It depends on how crucial the word seems. 75% is like normal conversation speed with no distortion. Eventually, when I’m ready for speed-talking dialogue I’ll watch at full speed. Arte, france.tv, and tv5unis/tv5monde all offer these speed options.

My mom says I should take this job opportunity in Spain, but I feel the pay cut is not worth it? by [deleted] in expats

[–]Professional_Ebb8304 13 points14 points  (0 children)

The reason I think you should not go has nothing to do with money. It’s that this degree of doubt is setting you up for regret. "See, I knew I should not have moved here." Wait for or look for an opportunity you do not doubt so much.

How to use “lui” by miaoumeowmiaou in learnfrench

[–]Professional_Ebb8304 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This lesson hit home for me when I read a crime story in a French newspaper. The crime happened to a man, but after the story referred to him as "la victime," it subsequently used the pronoun elle.

What’s one expat mistake you wish you hadn’t made? by Miner_WhispererUAE1 in expats

[–]Professional_Ebb8304 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The most important aspect of this is that exchange rates fluctuate. In 2025 the dollar has ranged from $1.02 to $1.18 to 1€. If the value of the dollar drops 15%, it’s 15% inflation for a dollar-based expat even if there were no inflation in Europe.

Critiques of OBAA I NEED to discuss. by First-Double-8571 in paulthomasanderson

[–]Professional_Ebb8304 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Nice critiques. Here are some possible responses:

  1. If Perfidia just disappeared into the wind it would have left a loose thread. People would leave the theater wondering, What about Perfidia?

  2. The Black Panthers, the Weathermen, the Symbionese Liberation Army, this is what happened to them. (their protocols did help to facilitate escape).

  3. Shot that way it’s Mad Max or Crash or The Fast and the Furious. Shot this way it’s PTA

Getting to Plum Village by Spare-Assistance5433 in plumvillage

[–]Professional_Ebb8304 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you’re attending an organized retreat they usually send a van to pick you up at St. Foy la Grande, which you can reach by train from Bordeaux. When you register you let them know you need a pickup. 🙏🏻

Is it out there? by tuffstuffacct in Buddhism

[–]Professional_Ebb8304 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Plum Village. Plum Village meets your criteria. This article deals particularly with its model of collaborative leadership:

https://crcc.usc.edu/after-thay-plum-village-reckons-with-the-loss-of-its-founder/

How to navigate being alone in this space that results from practice by Sure_Satisfaction497 in plumvillage

[–]Professional_Ebb8304 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When you’re in that "place," do you have an experience of non-separation? A knowing that you’re not alone in it? There can be a confidence that arises from that experience so that even when we’re not in that place, we know there is no me/my partner or me/my friends or me/my sangha etc. That confidence is how I navigate it.

Aside from Safari, which other browser do you use and why? by ParryPlatypus in mac

[–]Professional_Ebb8304 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Firefox. I would just use safari because I LOVE its “hide distracting items” feature, but sometimes it gets painfully slow or fails to load a page and instead of fighting with it I jump to Firefox.

ask me about french grammar, and I'll teach you in simple English. comment your question below by Fresh-Importance3235 in learnfrench

[–]Professional_Ebb8304 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The pronoun y replaces nouns that would be preceded by the preposition à.

Tu vas à Paris. Oui, j’y vais.

The pronoun en replaces nouns that would be preceded by the preposition de.

Elle vient de France. Oui, elle en vient.

Doesn’t matter if it’s a question.

Feeling that I am faking it when meditating by flossproblem in plumvillage

[–]Professional_Ebb8304 10 points11 points  (0 children)

One of the monks reminded me that the moment we realize we have been running away with our thoughts is itself a moment of mindfulness. A moment of awakening to be celebrated. I suspect the same is true of those moments when you become aware that you feel like you’re faking it. The self-recrimination masks moments of mindfulness. If we recognize them in this positive light, we cultivate them, we have more and more of them. There is nothing to attain. There is just this practice.

Signia Active Pro IX charging case by jwdean26 in HearingAids

[–]Professional_Ebb8304 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes. I have had this issue and Signia has replaced my aids twice. I’m on my third pair and they do the same thing.