We’ve all been on a trip where things just did not go the way we had hoped. Rachel and Patrice turn to some special guests for some great schadenfreude material — adventures of travel mishaps! Oh yeah, and the guests are our moms. They share some fantastic stories of missed planes, stolen bags, lost luggage, grounded flights, and more! They also offer us a wise perspective on how to deal with these situations, both practically and emotionally. Then we hear from Cindy, the CEO of a Credit Union, to give us some great financial advice on taking care of your credit cards and dealing with your financial institution to make sure you have a smooth trip! Finally, a big thanks to Emilio, who submitted not one, but two lost in translation stories — one within his own language! To submit your Lost in Translation moment, send us a voice memo to languagenerdsdoearth@gmail.com, or write us on our contact form.

This week in Language News, native English speakers are the worst communicators when it comes to communicating with non-native speakers. This is bad news — it sometimes costs companies from native-English speaking countries big deals! Check out the article from the BBC: http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20161028-native-english-speakers-are-the-worlds-worst-communicators

As promised, here’s a cheat sheet for what to do in case of a mishap when you’re traveling:

1. Missed flight – if you’re going to miss your flight, first call the airline. A lot of airlines have a “flat tire rule”– if you show up within 2 hours of your missed flight, you might be able to fly standby on the next one (this varies a lot with the airline company) – especially tricky with more than one leg
2. Cancelled flight – in the case of a weather delay, you’re on your own and the airline won’t help you out. If it’s a mechanical failure, you might get a meal/hotel voucher. Keep all your receipts for money you spend in case of a cancelled flight, in case you can get reimbursed later
3. Lost ID/Passport – If you lose your ID or purse, report to local police, and file a claim with travel insurance. For a passport you need to get to an embassy/consulate to fill out paperwork, pay a fee, get you picture taken, and wait a couple hours to days to get it, depending on where you are
4. Lost luggage – keep your luggage tag, obviously – also have distinctive luggage. If your airline loses the luggage, you usually have a 24-hour timeline on filing a lost luggage claim
5. Rental car breakdown – call the rental car agency about getting service sent to your location. Make sure to ask the rental agency questions about their services before you pay: find out about roadside assistance, whether or not you need to pay for any repairs, etc.
6. Lost/stolen credit card: call the issuing bank/credit card company, store phone & account numbers separately. Also obviously call the authorities.
7. Lost/stolen phone: if you’re going overseas, it’s a good idea to download an app that will help track the phone using a GPS. If you’re not sure where it is and think it may not be stolen, temporarily suspend your service
8. Overbooked hotel: hotels aren’t required to give you a room even if you’ve made a reservation, but if they overbook, they’ll often give you a room in a comparable hotel. This is a pretty common practice, even in foreign countries
9. Stuff stolen from hotel room: In most cases, hotel owners aren’t responsible for anything taken from hotel room or room safe. Always let your travel insurance and local authorities know. Simplest advice: don’t carry irreplaceable items with you

For more information, check out this article from the oyster.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS