Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Vacation vs. Home: Reflecting on Some Differences

I made a watercolor pie chart of how I spend my time at home vs. how I spent my time on vacation in Ireland.  The main difference seems to be in the amount of time I spend doing laundry - LOL! I also spend a lot more time watching Euro football and much less time watching Henry play football. In Ireland, I had to devote more time to work than I do at home because I taught every day for two hours and had to prepare for the classes. I was not on the computer as much and didn't watch television (except for the football matches), and I got to do a lot more sight seeing.
This got me thinking about one of the big differences between being on vacation for a month and being home - on vacation, we live with much more limited "stuff." We have about 10 days worth of clothes, shared bathroom supplies, two towels per person per week (Clara goes through 3-4 towels a day at home, which translates to the big difference in the amount of laundry) and a much more limited pantry. Plus, we have no TV in the flat (although people entertain themselves with ipads and computers).  Did we feel deprived? Not really. It's actually kindof nice to live simply. It makes me wonder how much we should purge stuff once we get home.
I also thought this would be a good opportunity to share a little bit about the work I have been doing in Ireland. I've been teaching a class on international negotiation skills to a group of U.S. law students who have chosen to come to Ireland for three weeks. Many of them will be going on to Prague for another three week session. In addition to classes, we've done a variety of sight seeing trips.
Here's a picture of my students and me in front of the Irish Parliament Building:
A very respectable group, aren't they? Except that they have a habit of wanting to get a "jumping picture." So, I took one of them jumping in front of the Parliament Building:
The best part of the picture may be the man in the window who has a really bemused expression on his face.  Thanks for sharing my vacation with me so far. 
I'm curious whether any of these observations resonate with you? What do you learn about yourself and your habits when you're on vacation? Are you able to translate them to changes at home?
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9 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 4, 2012 at 10:15 PM

    Thank you for sharing your vacation with us Rinda. We are going on our first holiday for a while, in September, and I am looking forward to a completely different way of life for a few days.

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  2. helenaJuly 5, 2012 at 1:20 AM

    So true - living on a small wardrobe when away has made me curb my clothes buying habit when at home.

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  3. CheriJuly 5, 2012 at 3:58 AM

    I always get annoyed that my younger girls go through a towel a day each unless I pick them up off the floor and hang them... I would go INSANE with one child using 3 or 4 a day! Seriously!

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  4. ElizabethJuly 5, 2012 at 5:39 AM

    Love the jumping photo! On vacation I always have the best of intentions to journal each evening abut what we did during the day. That lasts for may two nights and then I say I'll do it in the morning. Never happens. So in my vacation journal, I have two or three days of each place we visit. How lame is that?

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  5. AlisonJuly 5, 2012 at 6:44 AM

    Love the pics.....you are so right about how limited a wardrobe you can survive on when necessary! Hope you're enjoying Barca
    Alison xx

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  6. JimjamsJuly 5, 2012 at 1:31 PM

    Love the jumping shot - what fun!
    Erm ... HOW does Clara use 3-4 towels a day??? Isn't a towel used to dry something clean (body/hair)? We get a clean towel a week here - if you don't hang it up to dry it's damp when you next need it!!!

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  7. KarenJuly 5, 2012 at 6:01 PM

    I've really enjoyed your vacation posts. I like the challenge of planning a limited wardrobe, definitely read more and use the computer less, and spend a lot more personal time with family when I'm on vacation. I love every minute of it, but I don't have an urge to purge when I get home.

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  8. GingerJuly 5, 2012 at 6:36 PM

    Great photos Rinda :) I'm happy to hear you are having a wonderful time :)

    While on vacation I can definitely do without a tv. However, when we were in Jamaica earlier this year, I loved having my netbook with me, which allowed me to read the Hunger Games trilogy!!

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  9. ComfyMom~StaceyJuly 6, 2012 at 11:48 AM

    We only go on vacation to see my folks or Great Wolf Lodge so I have never been without a tv and unlimited towels since the last time I went camping in 2008. I tend to walk more on vacations but it's easy to do that at my folk's place

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