The “Cranky Yank”, aka Dan Prescher, is definitely cranky but also passionate about the places he and his wife, Suzan Haskins, have chosen to reside during their 10 years of ex-pat life. Crankiness, passion and “old-fashioned” common sense make this blog worthwhile whether you are serious about relocation or fantasizing from the family armchair in the den. You will find some gems.

Day Sixteen28 February 2010Location RomeHotel Hotel ApolloThe 16th day of our trip started late and finished early. We ended up sleeping quite late into the morning and rising slowly as by this point we were both running on empty. Just about every day of the trip had been jampacked full of activities and our motivation was definitely waning. Given that we had no actual agenda for Rome we thou

Day Seventeen1 March 2010Location RomeHotel Hotel ApolloOur final day in Rome dawned and once again we were in no hurry to start the day. Even though this was our final day in Rome we felt we had seen most of the sights that we had come to see and only had one major sight to visit Vatican City.You canrsquot come to Rome and not visit Vatican City. The sovereign city and home of the Pope s

Day Eighteen2 March 2010Location Rome London Miami and OrlandoHotel Hotel Apollo Pop Century Resort Walt Disney WorldNote No Photo's this day as we were just stuck on flights all day long. Sorry Folks I would like to start this blog by saying that I awoke early in order to prepare for our departure but unfortunately I cannot. I was unable to get more than an hourrsquos sleep during the

I remembered exploring the Royal Botanical Garden of Edinburgh several years ago and talked about it to Mark. He agreed to visit there on 18 May. The weather forecast sounded unsettled so we carried umbrellas. The extensive roadworks for tram lines caused a lot of chaos to traffic and public transport. We walked further on Hanover Street to catch the bus for the Botanical Garden. Mark found the s

I recently returned from a servicelearning trip to Jamaica courtesy of a program led through the place I work Preston Collegea residential college ie super special dormitory at USC. The following entries are from that trip. We spent 9 days in Jamaica mostly working at a local high school. Hope you enjoyWe got to the Charlotte airport today at an ungodly hour pre700 a.m. after c

It's 630 in the morning and I've been up for over 2 12 hours Darn jet lag. I've been watching videos about English Grammar trying to freshen up my skills before training starts tomorrow. So this is the deal If you fail the basic knowledge and skills test you are not hired and therefore unemployed in a foreign country with no money to buy a ticket home. Ha ha let's hope this does NOT happen

Today was our first full day in Jamaica. We woke up around 1000 a.m. to partake in the hotel breakfast. I for some reason got the traditional breakfast rather than the fullon Jamaican one but I suppose it's probably because I know we'll be getting real Jamaican food all week at our homestays. I must say though the coffee was awesome. Hopefully I'll get some more while I'm here...After

I am really excited about my upcoming trip to Pamplona Spain. I have been there a couple time to participate in the Running of the Bulls during San Fermin. The last time I went it was one the best times of my life. Everything about Pamplona is cool especially the people and food. I also found great deals about hotels apartments and bull fighting tickets at httpwww.PamplonaHousing.com. T

Let me just say that my day started out with a surpriseNescafe. Yes in a land of delicious coffee my day begins with instant. I'm not completely surprised though. The same thing happened to me in Peru.Anyway I really just begin with that anecdote because I wanted a more interesting title than Petersfield Day II. So there we go.This morning my host mom woke us up at 700 a.m. for bre

Rapa Nui is an island that is shaped like a triangle in each corner of the triangle there is an extinct volcano. The whole island covers around 120 square kilometres. The only urban area on the island is Hanga Roa and almost all 4500 inhabitants of the island live there.Rapa Nui is about 2000km far from its nearest neigbour island which would be Pitcairn. In addition it is about 3700km to the

942 p.m. Only 942 p.m. I thought I got in the shower at 942... hmmmm...Two kids stole my only two pens today. I'm using Jessica's now Today began with another early rise and breakfastdumplings and... some salty beefy meet . Helped Miss Marjorie make sandwiches for lunch.After breakfast we carpooled to Petersfield High School a school just across the road from the AOC. We were lost

Today i woke up to the uh uh feeling. I did not want to actually get out of bed not quite sure why normally i think ooo yay the sooner i get out of bed the sooner i can get back into it for my nap D but not this morning. Surprising too since it was a beautifully sunny day but anyway i finally got up about 20 min after my first alarm which is also rare for me to use the snooze and got ready

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From this title some might think I'm going to refer to some Jamaican incident that occurred while here like some misrecognition of Patois which everyone here speaks and all of us can barely understand if at allfor more info on Jamaican Patois visit here or here. Indeed I'm not. You just get two for one today friendsI failed to write in my journal on March 9 so lucky you you get to

My family and I took a cruise to Egypt and I HIGHLY recommend that if you want a taste of the country. Here is a link to a video I made httpwww.youtube.comwatchvUAwgqg4Jnk We took Nascotours tour company by bus from the Alexandria port to Cairo. I would recommend a bus tour because they offer protection and we needed it from the street vendors. Our tour guide was very informative. Also

These are some photos I took in the Clear Creek area in Bath County Kentucky which is about 45 minutes from Lexington KY.

The city of Varanasi is still referred to as 'Kashi' the name it has always had. The name Varanasi is a more recent one if you consider the fact that the name 'Kashi'is mentioned in the Rig Veda taking us back to more than a few thousand years.The name 'Varanasi' is believed to have its origins in the presence of the two rivers Varuna and Assi or Asi which flow through this region. Locally Va

A lot of travelers are often heard complaining that there is nothing more to Varanasi than the temples and the river Ganga. And for those who are less bothered about their 'spiritual awakening' the city may tend to become a sort of spiritual overdose. Fortunately though the region around Varanasi is rich in natural beauty and offers a welcome break.Wildlife enthusiasts and nature lovers need no

1 Varanasi Ghats The ghats on the banks of the river Ganges are the soul of Varanasi. The ghats are virtually the kaleidoscope of belief customs and traditions that constitute the philiosphy that is Varanasi. There are 84 ghats in number huge rectangular stairs that lead to the river edge. Some of them were built as early as the 12 century while others have a more recent origin..2 Kashi Vish