Tips For Learning Culture on Your Travel

Visits to museums, national monuments and archeological ruins can indeed show you a lot about a place’s culture but they are not really enough for you to truly “experience” the native culture.  You will learn more by immersing yourself in the day to day life of the locals to see the beautiful rituals and traditions that they might have.  Here are just some of the things you can do that:

Don’t rush

Take your time in absorbing all the things around you.  Do not be limited by your “must see” and “must do” lists.  When you allow yourself to move around slowly, you will be amazed to discover more wonderful things about the place you are visiting and its native culture. Sit casually at a regular cafe while you drink your morning coffee and watch people.  Take your time around the grocery to see what kinds of food they have.  Walk leisurely and notice the culture that lurks around you.

Rent an apartment

Hotels will not let you see the day to day life of the natives.  But when you rent your own apartment, you will learn how they cook, how they shop, the materials they use to wash the dishes and clean the bathroom and lots more.

Walk, walk, walk

You can see a lot of things you will not normally see while aboard a motorized vehicle.  One good way to explore the place you are visiting is to walk leisurely and stop at various places that catch your interest.  Go inside a store that sells local crafts.  Take a peek at bustling restaurants.  Sit in a bench and listen to the hustle and bustle of people.

Mingle with the locals

But instead of doing all the talking, encourage the local people to talk so that you can really listen to them and learn as much as you can.  Don’t hog the whole conversation by telling them how you were back home.  This will not only let you miss an opportunity to learn more about the culture but this may actually turn off the people you are talking to.

Join local events and festivals

These festivals are a great way to explore the native culture because they normally have foundations on the religion of the locals including their history, rituals and even agricultural cycles.  You will also get to experience the best things that the place has to offer from local foods to crafts.

Eat at the local eateries or restaurants

Do not seek comfort food and eat in fast food restaurants that you may have been used to back home like McDonald’s and Starbucks.  Explore the local cuisine by seeking out local eateries and restaurants.  Go to a place where a lot of local folks eat so you can discover real great-tasting (and often very affordable) food.  

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