What do you usually do on your vacations? Do you ever travel or do you have “staycations” instead?
Everyone knows that “staycations” or staying at home in your city during your vacations is good to relax, wake up late, or to go to museums or the cinema. But being honest, staycations are not as fun as traveling.
Traveling is a great way to create nice memories, meet people, increase social networks, learn about other cultures and lifestyles, and even a new language. It also offers the chance to try different kind of food and know about the behavior and traditions of the place you visit.
It doesn’t matter if you travel through your country or around the world, it is sure that you will learn something about the place and the people who live there. Sometimes people with other traditions and practices behave very differently from the people in your community and it is hard to understand why, but you just need to open your mind to other cultures and lifestyles, and most important, show respect.
Culture shock?
Culture shock means having a hard time to understand and feeling confused in an unfamiliar situation in which people behave differently than in your country. It is common to experience this when you travel: first you are excited about the place; but then, you start feeling anxious and want to go back home because you don’t get why people do this or that. Fortunately, you can adapt to the place and people’s behavior, so probably later you would like to live there.
The following are examples of culture shock:
❖ If you go to Europe, let’s say Portugal, and you want to have lunch at 4:00 pm because in Mexico people have lunch at around that time, all restaurants in Portugal will be closed until dinner. Portuguese people have lunch early, so at 3:00 pm all places close. Do not get angry and adapt your lunch time to the place you’re visiting!
❖ In Spain, they have a “siesta” time that lasts from 2-5 pm. It means that most companies close for three hours. Then, as a tourist maybe you want to get something, for example batteries or a snack from a store at 3 pm and surprise, surprise, it is closed. So, you have to wait until 5 pm when Spaniards go back to work. They are not lazy, it is just that Mediterraneans have another lifestyle.
❖ A place where you can feel a little nervous is Tanzania, in the African continent. There, people do something that can stress you out... They stare at people for a long time, yes, they stare straight into your eyes for a log time. For most people, this is intimidating because in many cultures it is not ok to do that. However, Tanzanians don’t consider staring as something rude. Then, do not get nervous when you go there and people stare at you.
❖ Finally, check your smartphone and find the “manner mode” button you need to press when you go to Japan. Yes, the “manner mode” means to silent your phone once you are in the public transportation. Japanese don’t like this! It is not ok for them to disturb other people with the beep of your incoming messages or calls. So, be careful with the noise you make!
As a conclusion, traveling is an awesome experience and you can learn a lot about other people. It is true that you can have a culture shock, but please keep an open mind and remember that R-E-S-P-E-C-T is the key of a great traveling time!