This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Duke chapter.
“Please be a traveler, not a tourist. Try new things, meet new people, and look beyond what’s right in front of you. Those are the keys to understanding the amazing world we live in.” –Andrew Zimmean
As I’ve spent the past 8 weeks exploring Europe and Africa, I’ve learned a great deal about the importance of having the proper frame of mind during travels. Here are my four greatest pieces of advice:
- Keep your feet on the ground. It is so easy to get to a place and feel that because you have such a short time there, you need to do everything. Sometimes this works. It doesn’t work, however, when it involves a great deal of transportation in between places. Make sure that when you arrive somewhere you focus your energy on the place you currently are as opposed to focusing on what is coming next. And never spend more time traveling somewhere than you actually get to spend there. Soak in the place you are NOW. Truly allow the place to embed itself within your memory, as opposed to being recorded as one big blur.
- Avoid being labeled as egocentric. In other words, try to separate yourself from your own culture and make a conscious effort to go out of your way to learn the other culture. This is specifically important in terms of language. If it’s a foreign-speaking country, learn a couple of important phrases like “Hello,” “Thank you,” “Excuse me,” and “Have a nice day” before you go. You will feel infinitely more connected to a place if you can converse with its people.
- Just because an experience is uncomfortable does not necisarily mean it’s a bad experience. Culture shock is often the most rewarding part of traveling because it places you far enough out of your comfort zone to learn or feel something you would not have been able to without that direct experience. Sometimes the most rewarding experiences are those that bring you an emotional or intellectual dilemma.
- Do not assume you can figure out the culture of a country by comparing it to your own. Cultures stem from a unique mixture of different traditions and ideas. They did not originate from one source and pick and choose specific factors, everything evolved together and is interconnected in other parts of society.