Good morning everyone and welcome back to the Breakroom! I hope you have all had an excellent week because as of writing this I really cannot complain. I took a couple days off, the days I did work flew by and didn’t have anything too crazy to them. Overall, a simple workweek that has been very lax. But what has been going on outside of work was that my husband was away from Saturday to Thursday down in Missouri partaking in an audition with Lanza (a professional haircare brand) to become an educator with them (that is in addition to his current stylist position). After days of training, homework, tests, and a few tears he is proud to say he has passed and is officially with the educator program. In fact, his entire class he was with passed, so there is some major celebrating for them all to do. What is perhaps most interesting about the timing of this is that his business trip aligns with this week’s Breakdown of “Business Trip.”
That’s right, there is travel going on at the office this week so allow me to set the scene and give you the details.
Michael has been asked to meet with a potential client outside of the United States because corporate was in need of someone to send on the trip. David Wallace thought of Michael because he thought it might ease some of the disappointment that happened with Holly. Naturally, Michael is over the moon with this assignment because an international business trip is the peak of class and success. In preparation for this trip, he insisted on conducting an office meeting so he can go over the importance of cultural customs. It was here that we find out his international trip is up to Winnipeg, where their customs are not all too different than our own (aside from the universal healthcare and manners). Michael also wanted to give us a few examples of foreign customs. In Morocco, he claims you should bring a small gift when meeting someone for the first time. This one actually checks out and they do take gift giving very seriously so I have to tip my hat off to Michael on knowing this one. He then claims that in Japan, one should commit suicide to escape embarrassment. I believe he is referring to seppuku, a form of suicide in which you disembowel yourself. This was most commonly associated with samurai where it could be an option to kill yourself honorably such as if you were captured by an enemy, but was also used as a capital punishment. For those who need to hear it, this is not commonly in practice so this is no longer an active custom. Finally, Michael says that in Italy it is customary to wash your hands after using the bathroom. I can confirm that Michael is not a fan of washing his hands after using the bathroom, he doesn’t see the need always. But I cannot confirm why he associates Italy with handwashing over other countries, perhaps Italy comes off as extra clean or posh in his mind.
I can confirm that what Michael is trying to do is accurate if you are planning on traveling out of the country. Each country has their own set customs and culture, and it is very important to be aware of them so you do not accidentally do a cultural faux pas. In addition, it also helps you understand how certain systems work and you do not assume they are being rude to you. For example, having been to France I can tell you their waitstaff at restaurants act very differently than they do here in the United States. Here, your waiter will loop back to your table every five minutes to consistently check up on you. In France, they do not do this and it can actually be a chore to flag them down. So when dining out, get your order in because there is a good chance they will not be back until it is time to settle the bill. Speaking of the bill, tipping is by no means a normal act in most other countries, including those around Europe. The waitstaff are paid a proper wage and do not expect to receive any sort of tip. In my research on tipping, I found it was described that it was not uncommon to perhaps leave the change and an extra euro or two. Essentially it was often described as simply enough for a drink at the end of their shift, but no where near the 20% or greater that they recommend here in the States.
But Michael was not going by himself, he decided to bring along Andy as his translator because he knows French and then Oscar is his numbers guy. Oscar was less than pleased, I cannot imagine Winnipeg is high on his travel list. I do find it amusing that Andy was able to talk his way into being translator, given that I did not hear Andy speak any sort of advanced French. Additionally, although Winnipeg does have a large French-speaking population, they are considered bilingual and English has equal status. While we should not assume others in a foreign country will speak English, in this case I would have said it would’ve been safe to say Michael did not need any sort of translator.
Although Michael started off the trip in high spirits but by the time he returned from it all, he was simply miserable. I think he has been bottling up a lot of emotions of Holly and he thought this trip was going to prove to himself that he didn’t need her and didn’t miss her, but it was simply a distraction. He was able to successfully close the sale and clinch us a major international account, but even that couldn’t cheer him up again.
Obviously, there was a lot more going on but I decided that because this is a business trip, we are going to follow along with of the tips and terms that they used to hopefully help with your own trip.
Per Diem
Michael told David that he was planning on using the $100 he was given by the company to buy a sweater while in Canada. He is reminded that this is his per diem and is meant for his food, which he was going to use other money for. But David is right, per diem is a daily allowance given to the employee to cover certain costs which is usually lodging (if the reservations were not made by the company), food, and incidental charges. This is not meant to be used for your personal souvenirs.
Extra luggage for souvenirs
Michael is checking two pieces of luggage (that are empty) in order to be used to bring back souvenirs. This is not a bad hack as people often back their luggage and forget that they need extra room to accommodate anything they buy at their destination. But Michael bringing two of them was certainly excessive, and these were large suitcases so he would never fill them up. Additionally, this tip is usually for vacations while Michael was going there for one night for a business trip. Now what we did our first year to France was we specifically decided we would buy a piece of luggage while in France to then use to accommodate our gifts. This way we get a new piece of luggage, and we don’t have to worry about checking it on the way over. That really only works if you could use a new suitcase, but if you could do with a new one then this absolutely works as a tip.
Money Belt
Michael is wearing his money belt to carry his money and passport, essentially it is just a fanny pack. These are often used when traveling abroad to keep your belongings close to you, but they are usually a pretty clear sign that the person is a tourist. I will say, Michael really did not need a money belt because those are usually seen by people vacationing in Europe or maybe Asia in areas that have high pickpocketing risks around tourist attractions. What we prefer to do is we got sling bags like this because they are more stylish and can come with anti-theft design. Plus, personal bags are very popular in Europe so you do blend in a bit more, and these days it is not a bad idea to try to hide the fact that we are from the States when abroad.
Egg Salad Sandwiches
Oscar was kind enough to make egg salad sandwiches for Andy and Michael to eat while on the flight. Michael was appalled and was going to get an in-flight meal, only to find out they do not meals on such short flights (it was perhaps two hours). That is pretty common, my husband’s flights ranged from 1 to 2 hours each way and they didn’t even take the time to offer snacks, and we use Delta which is typically pretty generous with what they offer. The good news is, food is able to brought on your carry on, but obviously there are various rules. If the item is liquid, it must follow the TSA liquids guidelines, otherwise there are various other rules pertaining to specific types of food, and those can change depending on the locations involved with travel. While carrying a snack on board is usually safe, double check the guidelines to be safe1. That being said, I am with Michael that of all the sandwiches he could have done, why did Oscar choose egg salad? Please stick with food that doesn’t have a heavy small associated to it, for the sake of your fellow passengers.
Entertainment
Michael was offered a DVD player while in business class and then Andy brought his own. Many airplanes have built in screens and films to use, but it doesn’t hurt to have your own entertainment in case they do not, or for waiting times associated with layovers or getting to the airport early. My husband was set up with a crochet project, video game, and a Kindle which had episodes of the The Office already downloaded to watching offline (including this one).
Concierge
Some hotels offer a concierge which can help with reservations, tickets, or simply directing you around town. Michael was excited to meet one, but I believe he got a couple of words mixed up. He describes a concierge as being like a geisha, a woman trained in the fine arts and sensuality. He likely is getting this mixed up with a courtesan, a prostitute to upper class clientele. Think Nicole Kidman’s character from Moulin Rouge! as I would imagine that was where Michael first heard it. Do not treat the concierge like a prostitute, that could be an example of a faux pas like I mentioned earlier.
And that everyone was today’s Breakdown. Having traveled myself I was excited to help breakdown some of this aspects associated with travel, but I could absolutely do a larger post on my personal tips and tricks not mentioned in this episode. Do you have any tips or simply advice you can provide for your fellow readers for those going on a business trip or international travel? Please leave a comment!
And again, major congratulations to my husband and his fellow colleagues for passing their exams to become Lanza educators. It is a great example that shows advancing in one’s career doesn’t necessarily have to be a change to your primary job, as they are still remaining stylists with no change, but this is now an added role and title they are brining into their lives and careers
I hope you all have a fantastic weekend, are you traveling anywhere? Here’s hoping my advice helped you out and now you realize that concierge is not what you thought they were. As always, I’ll be sure to say to you around the Breakroom.
- Romano, A. (2025, January 17). A Complete Guide to Every Food You Can (and Cannot) Fly With. Lesiure+Travel. Retrieved May 1, 2025, from https://www.travelandleisure.com/food-drink/souvenir-foods-you-can-and-can-not-take-through-tsa ↩︎
