You have arrived! You are now in the destination you always dreamed of visiting. It’s time to interact with people and places that might be culturally different than your own.
Interactions will often reveal needs, expose fears, and identify preconceived beliefs or understandings. Spend time creating an atmosphere of understanding through patient and thoughtful listening that considers the elements of mercy and truth[1].
When traveling, the culture, customs, and laws of the places you visit can differ in ways that may conflict with your personal beliefs. For example, wearing appropriate clothing, or wearing a head cover, might be objectionable to you. In these instances, you have the option to comply or opt out of that situation. However, refusals and disagreements to honor local customs might be found offensive to your hosts and in certain circumstances even result in legal repercussions for you. Additionally, you might be visiting a place where you are in a position of disadvantage in power, privilege, economics, race, etc. Be prepared to acknowledge and understand these types of situations[2, 3].
Your tour manager and/or tour guides often lived or were raised in the place you are visiting. They will help you foster conversations, interactions, and aid in your reflections[4, 5].
Be present when interacting through active listening and thoughtful questioning. Slow down and take a cleansing deep breath in moments of guilt and discomfort. Be curious and humble[6].
Share your honest feelings and allow space for others to do the same[7, 8].
Acknowledge that cultural interactions and conversations might cause you to feel uncomfortable, and welcome this discomfort as you engage in learning new information and embracing new experiences[9, 10].
You may not reach a point in your interactions where you have agreement with another person on matters such as cultural customs[11, 12].
Consider consuming the local/regional news of the area while you are visiting to gain insights into local culture and observable differences. Your accommodations may provide access to English spoken or subtitled regional televised news as well as regional English language newspapers.
As you travel, you are often exposed to a huge amount of information and confront a wide range of emotions. Consider keeping a journal to help process and record all that you experience during your trip. Jotting down thoughts as you travel or spending a few minutes each evening recording the day’s events might be beneficial. You likely possess a wonderful tool to assist in this endeavor: your cell phone. Often phones are equipped with a notepad function, voice recorder, camera, and video recorder. Any or all of these features can be useful to record important moments as you travel[13].
A person susceptible to ‘wanderlust’ is not so much addicted to movement as committed to transformation.
Pico Iyer, author
