There’s a popular saying where I come from; “Anyone who says his father’s farm is the biggest has not seen another person’s father’s farm.” After growing up in a certain place and living life in a certain way for so long, we tend to feel that our “way of life” is “the only way” there is.. The world might be a small village but it’s rife with various cultures and traditions and some of these cultures will leave you dumbfounded. People who travel a lot are accustomed to the culture shock that comes with being in a new place/among new people.
If you travel a lot, absorbing another man’s culture may happen due to proximity or migration, you are bound to experience a bit of shock when you juxtapose that with your culture and this is called culture shock. Maybe you’ve just been struck with wanderlust or you’re planning to relocate, don’t worry. Here are some tips that would help buffer the effects of culture shock as you go about your business of travelling and exploring.
Go prepared
The first step to making sure that you have a smooth transition when you relocate is to keep an open mind and prepare yourself for any shocks, an open mind means that you acknowledge other cultures exist in every clime and it is the heritage of a people.
This mind shift puts you in a more understanding and curious position rather than a rigid or judgemental state. All cultures have their imperfections and aren’t willing to change their tenets because another human hopped on a plane and came to live amongst them. Therefore you have to prepare yourself and the best way to prepare yourself is by doing the next step.
Do a lot of research
Doing a lot of research helps a lot in getting you acclimatized with the culture of the environment you are going to live in. Even if you are not a nerd and would not like to go through the hassles of reading history books, you can simply go on Google and get facts about the community you would be living in and if you don’t have the patience for this you could get a blanket, some popcorn and soda and flick on Youtube for documentaries on the people and culture of the place you would be relocating to.
Look Out For The Familiar
Look out for the familiar or similar bits of the culture in your host country that remind you of your own culture. This can help you connect with the new people and their culture. To do this, you need to avoid the urge to criticize the things you don’t understand or things that may seem strange. Maintain a positive attitude instead and this would help reduce the sting of the culture shocks. If you can’t find any similarities between your culture and theirs, look out for the best part of their culture and celebrate it. It would also give you an acquired sense of belonging.
Get a country guide
The truth is that the books and videos cannot exhaustively provide you with information about a people and their culture and that is why you need a human guide, this necessarily doesn’t have to be an individual, it could be a family that is resident in the area or the local center where you can get a one on one experience of the community, their food, clothes, language, etc.
People are usually happy when strangers are interested in their community and culture and are always happy to teach, so make use of that opportunity and see how it becomes easier for you to blend in.
Go With Your Sense Of Humor
This is a rule of thumb for managing culture shocks. While packing your bags for the trip to that place, do not leave your sense of humor behind. Allow yourself enjoy every bit of the experience; laugh at yourself, don’t take yourself too seriously, laugh at the people but not to their faces, have fun, take pictures, create memories, learn and adapt.
Remember, these tips are meant to make it easier for you to adapt and blend in to the community you find yourself in. Being over-prepared is better than being under-prepared.
Also, remember not to lose your essence and the distinct culture you have because the world is now a global village and the globe would like to get a taste of your culture too.
Are you a travel enthusiast (Hodophile) and you are looking for more interesting travel tips, check out our “Travel and Hospitality” community on Fusion. Click below to get an experience you will never forget.
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