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	Take Your EQ With You When You Travel Abroad by Susan Dunn Momentum Coaching
Astrology, Tarot, and Self Improvement for the New Age.

Take Your EQ With You When You Travel Abroad
by Susan Dunn

I just got back from a trip to Russia, and someone asked me for my impressions. What did I expect, not expect, etc.

There was a lot to process after this vacation, a river cruise on the waterways of the czars. We flew to Moscow, spending 3 days there, and then set sail up the Volga to St. Petersburg, stopping at villages, towns and islands along the way, where we spent 3 more days.

It wasn't really my first time out of the US, as I speak for cruise lines and have been all over the Caribbean. Thus I was familiar with ship travel, customs, and basic ship procedures.

Beyond Imagining

It wasn't at all like I expected. Nothing ever is. Nothing could've prepared me for the beauty of the country and it's people. People should've been warning me about being overwhelmed by the magnificence!

It reminded me of going to middle school, where other people's fantasies and projections were unrealistic, and also, in some cases, designed to scare me! (The older kids told us there were peepholes in the girls' shower room. Of course there were not!)

Negativity

Among the comments I got beforehand were horror tales about the people, the toilets, the jet lag, the gypsies and pickpockets, the police demanding kickback, the streets not being safe, the impossibility of the language, the horrible food, the unsafe water, and the recent bombing of blah blah by terrorists.

Come to think of it, only one person told me to "look forward to the trip of a lifetime," and that was my pharmacist who also recommended Imodium-D and warned me against drinking lukewarm milk fermented with rye bread. (Not a problem.)

What Precautions Did I Take?

I got my diphtheria booster. I read. I programmed my intuition. I worked on positivity and self-talk.

And What Did I Find?

A superlatively organized tour with Russian guides who were consummate professionals; perfect weather, including getting to experience the "White Nights," (Beliye Nochi); beautiful and friendly people; and very good food. What's not to like about peach nectar every morning??

What Surprised Me The Most?

The wealth of natural resources. The locks. Women swimming in the River in their bras. Women washing clothes in the River. Houses made of wood and painted in bright colors out in the country.

The well-cared for children and dogs. A ship doctor slash masseuse. The number of churches in the country. The number of huge apartment buildings in the cities. How educated the people were. That the women make more money than the men.

The beauty of the folksongs -- "Kalinka," and "Dark Eyes." How comfortable I was with the German way of doing things (Frankfurt airport and Lufthansa) and how much stress it eliminates when rules are stated and then enforced.

That Peter the Great was 7' tall (wink wink). The generosity of the people who gave me many gifts. The beautiful formal gardens everywhere. Young women doing menial labor.

The scale of the buildings, augmented by the tromp l'oeil of painting 'bricks' 3x the normal size.

Uniworld, the tour company, provided a little bit of everything for us -- folk dance and song shows, ballet, fairy tales, a circus, the Metro, an island, a village, a town, Moscow, St. Petersburg, churches, monasteries, bell concerts, a hydrofoil ride, lunch in a Russian restaurant --

I expected parts would be hard, like the 12-hour flight from LA to Frankfurt, and they were, but somehow not as bad as people made them out to be. Certainly worth it!

I was very grateful that my sister (my travel companion) and I get along so well, and look out for each other.

EQ Helps

In retrospect, I had expected to have a lot of new experiences, and was optimistic that my EQ skills such as resilience and flexibility would make it all easier. My expectations were exceeded and the experience did require emotional intelligence.

I was glad I remained open-minded and let myself be delighted and surprised by differences such as the "braided fish" for dinner, the efficiency and intelligence of the staff and their mastery of English, and the eerie way the gypsies begged. (It's a real lesson in nonverbal communication, the hand gestures, the expressions, which the children learn at an early age.)

It was heart-warming that EQ is in fact global, and warm eyes, a soft voice, patience and hugs are a universal language.

We Will Annihilate You

Growing up in the 50's, when we had bomb drills at school requiring us to curl up under out desks because the Russians were going to annihilate us, I arrived with a basic fear of the people I didn't even know I had.

It wasn't even something I was conscious of, but there in the reptilian brain it was -- fear of strange people and the unknown, memories from childhood, Krushchev banging his shoe, his mistranslated, "We will bury you." (What he said in Russian was more like "We'll be here long after you're gone," which is more assertive than aggressive.)

Xenophobia (fear of strangers) is also universal. When meeting Russians, we eyed one another at first, but smiles and words in the other's language, and a slow and obvious approach bridged the gap. When there's fear in the air, don't make any fast movements!

My Impressions

That emotional intelligence helps a lot and is understood worldwide. Expecting things to be different, being change-proficient, having confidence in your personal power, being flexible and resilient, and having various interpersonal skills helps a lot to enrich your experience abroad or at home.

Oh, and how helpful using your intuition is. It's very hard when you're used to drinking water from anywhere, to remember, late at night at tooth-brushing time not to stick that toothbrush under the faucet. Ask your intuition to help keep you safe -- and it does.

And ... don't believe everything you hear!

Go to: Self-Improvement for Gemini, Collecting Facts -- Handling Knowledge, Using Your Mind Effectively, Self-Improvement for Sagittarius, Travel, Understanding Foreign Ideas and Foreign Cultures, New Age Blogs, The Self Improvement Blog, The Reading Room, Articles by Susan Dunn

Susan Dunn, MA, Clinical Psychology, The EQ CoachT, Susan Dunn, MA, cEQc, The EQ Coach™, Susan Dunn. Bringing the power of Emotional Intelligence to YOUR life through coaching, eBooks, and distance learning. Midlife, retirement and transition coaching, career and relationships. Email for free EQ ezine. Want to be a certified EQ Coach? Email for information on this fast, affordable, comprehensive, no-residency program. Products available for licensing to build your practice. Visit the best ebook library on the Internet - EBook Library.

Susan Dunn. Susan is the author of "How to Live Your Life with Emotional Intelligence." I offer coaching around emotional intelligence for career, relationships, resilience (the skill for this decade), transitions, retirement, and personal and professional development. I train managers and coaches to teach EQ. Mailto: sdunn@susandunn.cc for FREE eZines. For free daily tips on how to develop your EQ, send blank email to: EQ4U.

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Sagittarius is the astrology sign that deals specifically with Education, Philosophy, Religion, Ethics, "The Laws You Live By," Higher Knowledge, and Intercultural Experiences. Learn more about Sagittarius.
The information here tells all about Sagittarius Astrology.

Sagittarius Character

I think that a man should not live beyond the age when he begins to deteriorate, when the flame that lighted the brightest moment of his life has weakened.
~ Fidel Castro ~
Born August 13, 1927

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Last updated December 8th, 2009

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