CuseFaninVT
2023-24 Iggy Winner Leading Rebounder
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- Feb 27, 2012
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Just curious if anyone has traveled and ended up going outside their comfort zones and how it turned out.
I'll start.
I worked consulting for a military contractor doing some Air Force work one time on the island of Terciera, one of the Azores that is part of Portugal. It was my first international gig, so I had some trepidation I guess, but mostly, I was pretty excited about it. We were doing a solid waste assessment (literally picking up garbage bags from around the base and sorting and weighing the contents - glamorous stuff). Luckily, I was traveling with guys who weren't afraid to head off post for dinner. It's a fairly small island with many small towns. I was there a week and a half, so we had the weekend free, and me and one other guy enjoyed ourselves including hitting a festival which included some fantastic street food and a 'bullfight' which was really just 8 really big dudes on the ends of rope around a bulls neck making sure the bull didn't actually kill someone.
The one night I'm thinking of though was spent in a small restaurant in one of the towns away from the main town near the base. We got in the car and drove, and just liked the looks of the place because it had a great view. Three of us went in, not knowing a single word of Portugese. Turns out the staff there (waiter, chef, and helper I believe) didn't know much English either. So we just waved our arms indicating he should bring us whatever he thought appropriate. And pointed to a wine that looked good. Three bottles later we finished one of the best meals I've ever had. And I'm fairly sure I spent somewhere around 20 bucks that night. I can't remember each dish, but none were anything less than great. Man that was fun.
I love moments like that. Unexpected and memorable.
I'll start.
I worked consulting for a military contractor doing some Air Force work one time on the island of Terciera, one of the Azores that is part of Portugal. It was my first international gig, so I had some trepidation I guess, but mostly, I was pretty excited about it. We were doing a solid waste assessment (literally picking up garbage bags from around the base and sorting and weighing the contents - glamorous stuff). Luckily, I was traveling with guys who weren't afraid to head off post for dinner. It's a fairly small island with many small towns. I was there a week and a half, so we had the weekend free, and me and one other guy enjoyed ourselves including hitting a festival which included some fantastic street food and a 'bullfight' which was really just 8 really big dudes on the ends of rope around a bulls neck making sure the bull didn't actually kill someone.
The one night I'm thinking of though was spent in a small restaurant in one of the towns away from the main town near the base. We got in the car and drove, and just liked the looks of the place because it had a great view. Three of us went in, not knowing a single word of Portugese. Turns out the staff there (waiter, chef, and helper I believe) didn't know much English either. So we just waved our arms indicating he should bring us whatever he thought appropriate. And pointed to a wine that looked good. Three bottles later we finished one of the best meals I've ever had. And I'm fairly sure I spent somewhere around 20 bucks that night. I can't remember each dish, but none were anything less than great. Man that was fun.
I love moments like that. Unexpected and memorable.