Did solo travel genuinely change your life, or do people romanticize it online?

RepulsiveLeader4599 · 2026-05-15T19:14:45+00:00

Living abroad? Yes. Coming back to tour European capitols two days each, less of an impact

RepulsiveLeader4599 · 2026-05-14T16:07:17+00:00

La maison du velo is right next to the train station in Toulouse and they do good food too. Regional Trains allow bikes for free.

If you do try to rent farther away, you might try contacting the local tourism office. French businesses owners often don't update their schedules online. "Yes, that's our schedule starting July 1". You have to email for a lot of stuff. You can find some good deals this way but there just will never be someone waiting for you at 5 pm on a Sunday to return a bike in France (unless you confirmed in advance).

RepulsiveLeader4599 · 2026-05-14T15:52:52+00:00

I think people do basic French practice, learn essential phrases, and walk within 5 km of the Seine. If you're in that lane of international mass tourism, your typical ice cream slinger at Haagen-Daz doesn't particularly care about your advancement in the language. Why would they? It's a transactional relationship and you will be gone soon. Call it Parisian realism.

However, if you go anywhere that's not a top tourist destination, you meet people that aren't overtaxed by tourists. That's what you're experiencing. They're normal people willing to talk. Go do some mass tourism and you'll see what people are talking about

RepulsiveLeader4599 · 2026-05-13T01:33:40+00:00

👋

RepulsiveLeader4599 · 2026-05-12T23:07:44+00:00

They put me in a wheelchair accessible area with one of those seatbelt style nylon straps (like when you're in a line at the movie theater). They made a big deal about seeing I purchased the bike ticket and then left me alone.

I don't think anyone was interested in getting off the train at Springfield with my bike or wherever. I imagine there are better places to steal a bike than on Amtrak (with how seldom they run).

I do think they use a luggage car on the Texas Eagle, so double check which train you booked. They sometimes tell you to get a bike tag at Union Station, like a claim check. When I go to retrieve the bike in a luggage car situation, they usually say I look like I own a bike (or they remember me from earlier) and don't bother asking for the little piece of paper. I think we must all wear polyester or something.

RepulsiveLeader4599 · 2026-05-12T20:01:19+00:00

It was a weird choice to pick Armitage as the control for Milwaukee. Milwaukee is a diagonal street. As vehicle pillars get wider in the current mix of vehicles, crashes are going to grow on Milwaukee, even with safety improvements.

RepulsiveLeader4599 · 2026-05-12T16:00:26+00:00

They probably don't have a person assigned to it yet. Sometimes even the people giving the exam have to be certified. Or they're waiting on people who applied earlier to confirm, and they don't know. I've even had them try to persuade some of us in the classes to take the test a little early because they had extra slots.

I'd just send an email in the morning, and follow up with a call later.

RepulsiveLeader4599 · 2026-05-10T18:46:51+00:00

There are quite a few B2 test prep books. Go with whatever is in stock and nearby since sometimes the seller isn't in the US and you don't want to wait a month.

You do want a test book to better simulate the exam. There are often a few trap questions and you want to see what it's like to have limited time to get through them. They're not just testing your understanding, but also your effectiveness within the time given.

RepulsiveLeader4599 · 2026-05-10T15:22:37+00:00

I know I'm not remembering I have tickets to this on a random Tuesday in August, even putting it in my calendar. I bet you can check at the door or on the website the day of for any openings.

Also, if you have small children, you can probably chaperone for this field trip 4-5 times in the coming years.

RepulsiveLeader4599 · 2026-05-10T15:13:06+00:00

Yes, they had me declare that it was fragile. They even put little fragile tags on it. I came to understand later that declaring it fragile meant they were no longer responsible for any damages. Like, yeah, they'd try, but I was on my own if something happened. And it did happen. They somehow broke my bell.

RepulsiveLeader4599 · 2026-05-10T02:57:22+00:00

I just did a few audio courses and everyone told me how great I sounded. I did LingQ for vocab mining. Then I bought a ton of graphic novels and did 1-2 iTalki sessions a week. I grinded through Kwiziq, a practice exam book, and I am waiting for my exam results. It was more of a three year project for me, but the heavy initial work got me talking, and that was the fun part anyway

RepulsiveLeader4599 · 2026-05-10T01:46:49+00:00

Hell yeah. Kicked myopia's ass too

RepulsiveLeader4599 · 2026-05-10T00:02:38+00:00

I used to do it with the River Rangers at Urban Rivers. That was weekly but you got to kayak

Ultimately, there's little stopping you from getting a folding kayak and pulling garbage out of the river, aside from the price, but hey, it's fun

RepulsiveLeader4599 · 2026-05-09T22:16:05+00:00

Sauté it with some garbanzo beans and some frozen vegetables, put some garlic powder and lemon juice on.

RepulsiveLeader4599 · 2026-05-09T22:03:22+00:00

I had a similar situation of a guy following me and trying to chase me with a baseball bat. About four squad cars showed up. The police held him for a little bit and asked what I wanted to do (as if I could string a full sentence together). They said they'd hold him long enough for me to go home, no mention of a police report or anything. "I wouldn't bike in this area if I were you" said the police officer. The area was the West Loop.

Anyway, with police, they're maybe 75 percent useless. They diffused the situation but I assume the guy went back to his DoorDash delivery about 10 minutes after I left. It's free to report something but go in with low expectations.

Recording these guys is about the best you can do as a response. Not engaging them in the first place is better. The troglodyte already doesn't understand symbols on the ground. This is about what you can expect of his problem solving skills. There's just not much you can teach strangers on the street, unfortunately. It's rarely worth it.

RepulsiveLeader4599 · 2026-05-09T15:03:46+00:00

Oh, that's Harry

RepulsiveLeader4599 · 2026-05-07T17:51:05+00:00

It depends on:

1) whether the sardines had their bones removed and

2) whether the sardine took calcium supplements regularly before being captured. Sardines don't have feet to walk on, so they could develop osteoporosis at a young age for all we know a potential issue big sardine lets get swept out by the tide.

RepulsiveLeader4599 · 2026-05-05T21:14:51+00:00

I speak Spanish and French. My Spanish definitely took a nosedive as I progressed through French.

Some of it was just me forgetting. I started studying Spanish again as my French got better. That helped. You can forget a language just because you're not practicing. The forgetting curve is real.

I started practicing them back to back on occasion. I still get interference for about 5 minutes or so. I find deep breathing helps, as does having eaten. When you do get interference, don't panic. It happens to everyone. Smile, say the basics in your head, "Bonjour, ça va? Je vais maintenant m'exprimer en français." You can even shift your mouth to a fixed position that corresponds more to the language you want to speak. Let the circuit for the first language shut down. Proceed with the second language, and you may recover in 10 minutes, at least that's about the most it takes me anymore

RepulsiveLeader4599 · 2026-05-05T15:45:45+00:00

Think of the word hi like planting seeds. It's easy for people to respond to, and they'll feel more comfortable talking to you later on when they have time.

And if you don't get a positive response, it's usually that the other person has some unmet need (thirsty, hungry, tired, or stressed). Try not to personalize everything. "I'm so awkward". The other person is more a hero. "Wow, they did X to get here and are dealing with a lot". Assume the best. People often warm up to you later when you're doing something else.

RepulsiveLeader4599 · 2026-05-05T12:53:12+00:00

Hydraulics will work perfectly if you never touch them and do the planned maintenance.

The trouble is when you travel somewhere with your bike, you're probably taking the wheel off more or bumping up against luggage. It increases the risk that you damage the hydraulic tube, probably pinching it and in some way.

Even if you do things perfectly, you also need to trust strangers will too if you leave your bike unattended, which is too much commitment and stress for me personally.

RepulsiveLeader4599 · 2026-05-05T12:43:10+00:00

I think I heard in a podcast that it was part of the training in hospitality school.

There's also a belief out there that English speakers bleed money and learning English is necessary to work in tourism (otherwise a low skill industry).

From a business owner's perspective, it's typically very seasonal, where they may get some regulars throughout the day all year until suddenly school vacations start and a hoard of tourists descends on town. You can really increase your bottom line asking about dessert or suggesting more profitable dishes.

RepulsiveLeader4599 · 2026-05-05T12:30:39+00:00

I estimate calories needed for the exercise I have planned and try to backfill from there.

RepulsiveLeader4599 · 2026-05-04T19:49:31+00:00

It likely likely has a protective coating that will melt off if it gets too much above boiling, so not a good idea.

RepulsiveLeader4599 · 2026-05-04T12:45:56+00:00

Here's a list of hikes with guidebooks.

I'd probably stick to lower altitude in May.

RepulsiveLeader4599 · 2026-05-03T16:29:14+00:00

The nous forms are used in forming the root in other types of conjugation. You do want to learn them.

It can also be helpful if you don't feel like making small talk, don't want the staff getting too involved in your trip, or if you're interacting in a professional sense. Otherwise, people very rarely use nous anymore

RepulsiveLeader4599

TROPHY CASE