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