Traveling to a different place is an exciting adventure that everyone should get to experience in their lifetime. Travel opens up opportunities to experience new environments, people, foods, and learn the history and culture of a place. International travel can sometimes feel daunting, especially if you’re going to a country that doesn’t speak in your native language. Despite this, traveling to new places challenges us to grow and adapt to different environments, learn how to trust ourselves as we navigate a foreign city, and allows us to experience and enjoy the amazing people and cultures that our world has to offer. Whether you’re a first-time traveler or are embarking on your hundredth trip, remember these few things you should do every time you travel.
1. Explore Locally
Making sure you hit all the famous landmarks is usually a given on a travel itinerary. However, making time to learn about the city in which you’re staying can give you a rich experience that is sometimes missed by going solely to tourist attractions. Lots of cities outside the U.S. are very pedestrian-friendly, so take the opportunity to walk around, learn the neighborhoods and local stores, and get a feel for the place. By walking around, you may come across some unexpected surprises that aren’t on the beaten track, like stunning street art, beautiful architecture, a great hole-in-the-wall restaurant, or a perfect cup of coffee. If you’re staying for a while in one city, consider taking a day trip to explore just outside or around the city to a nearby town or landmark. Sometimes, the most popular and recommended tourist spots can overshadow the smaller, yet just as impressive, attractions of neighboring locations. By planning a day trip excursion, you can learn, see, and experience more than what the travel magazines highlight.
2. Eat Locally
Along with walking around and exploring your travel destination, push your comfort zone by eating some local foods! Food is a fantastic way to experience a different culture and will make your trip even more memorable by making an effort to eat something that’s unlike the comfortable, familiar foods that you can eat at home. Food is a great way to authentically know a culture through its cuisine, so ask some locals for their recommendations. If the country or city you’re visiting is known for a special delicacy, make sure to go seek it out! Food can tell a story about the history of a place and is often a source of pride for local people, as recipes are passed down through generations. Although the local dishes might be very different than what you’re used to, at least give it a try – you may really enjoy foods that you didn’t think you’d find appealing.
3. Buy Locally
We all want to buy trinkets and gifts to memorialize our trip somewhere and memories of these adventures make the item special, a token of our time away discovering new and interesting things. It is a huge help to local businesses if tourists visit and buy from local stores, rather than buying from large, commercial gift stores or stopping by the last-minute gift stores at the airport. A locally made and sold item is much more meaningful and generally better quality, and your purchase subsequently helps support the local business people that are making a living for themselves. Buying local extends beyond mementos, though. Eating locally helps independently-owned restaurants, as well as the businesses and farmers that supply them. Using a local tour guide to show you around helps support that individual and their company, while also giving you a much richer experience on your trip. Locals can give you an in-depth understanding of the place’s history, recommend their favorite eatery, and tell you about the hidden gems of the city that are a must-see.
4. Learn the Language
If you’re going to a non-English speaking country, it’s useful to know some words in the local language. Now, you don’t have to go buy Rosetta Stone or take a course in learning the language of the place you’re going to. But words like “Yes, please,” “No,” “Thank you,” “Good Morning,” and other important phrases can make your time in a new environment a little easier. Occasionally, you’ll catch a local off-guard by your knowledge of a local greeting or by thanking them in their native tongue, which can start a conversation or friendship with someone new! Even if you’re not a master of language, most people will appreciate that a foreign traveler is making the effort to speak in the local language.
5. Learn Something New
Use your trip as an opportunity to push yourself out of your comfort zone and learn something you might not discover at home. Whether it’s something new about yourself, the place that you’re visiting, if you try a new food (even if you didn’t like it), you should try to discover something new every day. Visiting a new place should be an exciting, enjoyable, and memorable experience, but it can also help you grow as a person by learning how to get yourself acquainted in a different environment.
6. Document Your Experience
Find some way to document what you do on your trip, so you can look back and recall in finer detail all the things you did, what you ate, how you felt, and how much you loved traveling. Take photos, write a blog, keep a journal – even if it’s just bullet points of the highlights of your day, those memories will be easier to remember if you have a record of them. You can also keep track of what you really enjoyed and what you discovered, so you can make recommendations to friends or family that may travel to the same place. Reading through a journal or looking back on trip photos can also give you a boost of happiness if you need a pick-me-up when you finally return to your home life and everyday routine.
