Travel Question – How To Adapt Yourself To New Cultures

by Sofia on July 23, 2010 in Weekly Travel Questions

Travel Question – How To Adapt Yourself To New CulturesHow You Can Learn To Adapt Yourself To New Cultures While Traveling

This week we received a question from Patricia.

“Hey Nathan and Sofia. In the post 5 things i love about traveling you wrote that you love meeting new cultures. I like doing this as well but find it hard sometimes to adapt myself to them. do you have any tips?”

Hi Patricia!

Thanks for your question – there are so many amazing things other cultures can teach us, and I think the best way to learn how to adapt yourself to new a new culture is to be curious. If you get curious about them, you will find that you become more open to new ideas and ways of life.

When you’re interested in a culture, take more time to really understand why they are the way they are. I think that by understanding a culture you can adapt to it much quicker.

I also think that if we can get rid of our judgements it becomes much easier. When we see something new and for us ‘odd’ we quickly judge it before even trying to understand it.

Travel Question – How To Adapt Yourself To New CulturesIf there are some things that you simply can’t understand, don’t hesitate about asking someone to explain it to you.

As long as you ask in a nice, respectful way and show them you’re not judging but just asking out of fascination and curiousness, they will be more than happy to share with you.

Finally, take in new cultures with open arms and mind – be open, curious, treat the culture with respect and see what good things you can learn from them!

I hope these tips were helpful and if you have any further questions just leave them in the comments below or send us an e-mail.

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  • Patricia

    Hey guys, thanks for answering this question this helps me understand this a lot better, thanks :)

  • Sofia

    thanks Patricia, glad we could help out :)

  • http://twitter.com/legalnomads Jodi Ettenberg

    I'd also add that it's helpful to read up on the history of a place and its cultural quirks before you go. That way, you have an idea of what to expect and it's not so overwhelming when you find yourself smack in the middle of something completely foreign. It's also a great way of appreciating a new destination.

    -Jodi

  • http://turkishtravelblog.com/ Natalie – Turkish Travel Blog

    Spot on with your answer. I love finding out about new cultures. Being curious and not judgmental also makes you look at life in a different way, so what you give out comes back to you.

    Nine times out of ten, people do not like other cultures but they have never lived that life. I live in Turkey and every week i learn something new depending on where I am and who I meet.

  • Sofia

    Hey Jodi, thanks for your tip! Yeah reading up on the history helps a lot to understand where the people come from and why things are the way they are – it has helped me a lot when traveling :)

  • Sofia

    Hello Natalie! I totally agree, what goes around comes around, if you're open and friendly to people they will be the same towards you. Often we don't like other cultures because we simply don't understand them. I can imagine you face new culture differences all the time. For how long have you lived in there?

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