[15:49] <bcurtiswx> i got sponsorship :) woot woot
[16:05] <maco> grats!
[16:12] <bcurtiswx> thx, now I have to study up on how overseas travel is.. since this will be my first time
[16:13] <maco> bring a book but make sure to sleep on the plane
[16:13] <maco> i recommend trying to force yourself to sleep on the plane at the time that would be bedtime in your target country
[16:14] <maco> (this worked well for me for barcelona. i went to sleep when it was like midnight or 1am spanish time so it shifted my clock)
[16:18] <bcurtiswx> maco, how will my passport experience be at the airport.  Is it just hand them the passport and be on my way, or is there like 1 million questions?
[16:18] <maco> "why are you coming here?" "business" "ok"
[16:18] <maco> (valid answers are business or tourism)
[16:19] <maco> the worst part is waiting in line
[16:19] <bcurtiswx> does this all happen when i GET there?
[16:19] <maco> yes
[16:19] <maco> passport lines getting back into the US tend to be forever long
[16:19] <maco> passport lines getting into european countries seem to be a lot easier :P
[16:20] <bcurtiswx> so it'll be like any other day flying there, until i get there..
[16:20] <maco> at which point, just make sure you have your passport in your carry on!
[16:21] <bcurtiswx> what about me being English and others being... well.. whatever the native language in Hungary is
[16:21] <maco> english is the language of tourism
[16:21] <maco> all the airports ive been to in europe, they had everything in $native and english
[16:22] <maco> (and thatd be hungarian, which is, btw, one of the hardest languages there is. 17 cases iirc, so ya know...3x as hard as latin)
[16:22] <maco> (and unrelated to practically every other language)
[16:22] <bcurtiswx> lol, OK
[16:23] <maco> its "language family" consists of it, finnish, and estonian
[16:23] <maco> so i think they're used to foreigners being totally clueless
[16:24] <maco> (whereas i think the italians are used to americans like me who smash spanish into being workable)
[16:24] <bcurtiswx> what about getting to the Hotel? and getting my keys and such for the Hotel... will i need to fight non-english people at the counter?
[16:25] <bcurtiswx> oh and phones, what should I get?
[16:25] <maco> people will be listing their flight info on the ubuntu wiki. you'll probably want to share a cab with another ubuntu person. if you can say the hotel name, you're fine
[16:26] <maco> i usually consider a week in europe to be an excuse to avoid phones :P
[16:26] <bcurtiswx> well, emergencies?
[16:26] <maco> a GSM phone will work, but if you use your american SIM itll be expensive. you can get prepaid SIMs there
[16:26] <maco> ive never bothered
[16:27] <maco> i have Verizon, so my phone's CDMA and can't work in europe, period
[16:27] <bcurtiswx> yes, i have VZ too
[16:27] <maco> verizon will allow you to rent an international phone
[16:27] <maco> i remember my dad did that when we went to europe for two weeks
[16:28] <bcurtiswx> im assuming a tracphone would be cheaper than that tho
[16:28] <maco> guess my attitude is:  if i have an emergency in europe, what the hell are my american friends going to do about it? and i dont have #s to call here, so...??
[16:29] <maco> as far as just keeping in touch with your fiance... skype/IM
[16:30] <bcurtiswx> yeah, im guessing the hotel will have free internet for the Ubuntu people
[16:30] <maco> oh i guess you should know that the emergency phone number for (afaik) everywhere not-USA is 999 (not 911)
[16:30] <maco> yep, thats always part of the deal
[16:31] <bcurtiswx> will the room i stay in have that? or should I only expect it in the conference area?
[16:31] <bcurtiswx> like the US hotels do
[16:31] <maco> oooh wait nope. in the EU it's 112
[16:31] <maco> not sure about in rooms. hotel lobby tends to have free wifi negotiated for our week
[16:32] <maco> i *think* in dallas it was free-in-lobby and also free-in-room-outside-of-9-to-5 to keep people from going back to their room during sessions
[17:45] <bcurtiswx> maco, thx.  Do I need to get some hungarian currency?
[17:45] <maco> austria uses euro, so i imagine hungary does too
[17:46] <bcurtiswx> what meals (if any) are provided?
[17:47] <maco> breakfast if you wake up early enough and lunch
[17:47] <maco> afterward you can submit a reimbursement request for taxis + dinner
[17:47] <maco> they'll tell you what the per diem is
[17:47] <maco> you need receipts for taxi to/from hotel
[17:47] <maco> the per diem (to cover dinner, possibly public transit to/from restaurant) is honour-system
[17:48] <maco> i think it was $27/day in orlando
[17:48] <bcurtiswx> that you won't make it pricey... yeah.. i know how that is
[17:48] <maco> so you could claim $27 each day whether youd spent it or not, which...ya know...
[17:49] <bcurtiswx> why not...
[17:49] <bcurtiswx> i always do when i travel domestically
[17:49] <maco> i actually didnt fill in reimbursement forms for any of the UDSes i went to
[17:49] <maco> i figured i wouldve eaten dinner regardless
[18:01]  * bcurtiswx wonders how many euros i'd need
[18:07] <maco> i tookd 250€ when i went to barcelona
[18:08] <maco> it was Travelex's smallest number that you could get and be able to return leftovers with no fees
[18:08] <maco> i used most of it, though i still have a small stash of euros in my drawer
[18:08] <maco> wait thats not right
[18:08] <maco> i took $250-worth of euro
[18:09] <maco> so like 200€
[18:13] <bcurtiswx> lol, OK
[18:14] <maco> at the time that was probably more like 150€
[18:14] <maco> yay exchange rates
[18:18] <bcurtiswx> who's the most fun to hang out with?
[18:19] <maco> i usually hang out with the kubuntu team
[18:20] <maco> i tried hanging out with the kernel team the first time i went to uds, but... i get a bit much of a "little girl, go away" vibe from someone on there, and many of them are a bit crass...
[18:20] <bcurtiswx> I'd say I'd hang out with the Desktop Team, but im sure that won't happen
[18:22] <bcurtiswx> at least I've talked with om26er abotu hanging out