Travelling to a different country is surely exciting. It can bring lots of new experiences and insights about the world that can add more value to your life. However, to enjoy such experiences, you need to step out of your comfort zone and be ready to explore and embrace the lifestyle and culture of different countries.
To ease you into it, here are some helpful tips that can help you to deal with culture shock while travelling abroad:
Before the Trip
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Accept That There are Going to be Differences
One of the most basic and the most important method to deal with culture shock is to acknowledge and accept that people around the world live starkly different lives and have a history, culture, tradition and belief that are different from the ones you grew up with.
For instance, people in the US are offended if you don’t tip the waiter while eating out, whereas in South American countries like Argentina, being on time for a party is considered rude, while leaving a plate completely empty after a meal is unacceptable in Taiwan.
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Study the Culture Beforehand
Doing your research about the lifestyle patterns of the people of country where you’re travelling is crucial to prepare yourself for tackling with the cultural differences. Look for blogs, articles and videos about the place and note down the important points you need to remember before landing there.
For instance, in East-Asian countries like Japan and South Korea, bowing your head a little while greeting others is considered an act of respect. Also, try to talk to someone who had already been there before and try to learn from their experiences.
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Learn the Basics of the Local Language
It’s important to learn about the basics of the local languages spoken in the country you would be traveling to. While it calls for some amount of time and efforts on your part, it will surely make your trip that much smoother.
Go beyond the isolated words like hello, thank you or goodbyes and make sure to learn to speak few basic phrases in order to ensure that you can communicate with the local people if required.
During the Trip
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Embrace the Differences
So by the time your flight has taken off, you would have already read dozens of blogs about the tradition and popular culture in the country you’re travelling and have learnt from the experiences of people who have already been there.
While all these preparations will help, you need to be alert and humble when your flight lands at the destination. Remember that now you’re on a foreign land. Be open minded and ready to embrace the differences. Reading about them and experiencing them can be a different ball-game altogether.
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Get Involved with the Local Community
The one fact on which every travel expert will agree is that you should effectively communicate with the local people and get involved with them in order to know about their cultural differences and deal with it. A small pep-talk with the hotel manager or the shop owners is a good way to start a conversation and engage with them.
Not only it will empower you to make new friends in a foreign country, but also it will help you to gain new experiences that you’ll cherish for the lifetime.
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Keep Learning
Even after you’ve reached your destination, don’t refrain yourself from learning more about the country and its traditions. Keep reading the blogs, interacting with the people and observing the cultural patterns to gain more insights about the foreign traditions. These experiences will not only help you to deal with the culture shocks but will also enable you to enhance your knowledge.
Apart from the above tips, staying vigilant and unprejudiced will help you immensely for tackling the culture shock and make your trip much more enjoyable. If you’re ready to embrace new experiences and go with an open mind, there’s hardly anything that can scandalize you.
Additionally, it’s prudent to arm yourself with a travel insurance policy to provide yourself adequate protection during the foreign trip and make your travel adventures much smoother. Whether it’s a cancelled flight, lost baggage, lost passport or a medical emergency, a travel insurance will cover you financially for all such travel contingencies and arrange for an immediate aid during times of distress.