Travelling overseas must be exciting especially when it is your first time. However, you must also be ready to deal with culture shock while travelling abroad. Culture shock is a situation when you feel disoriented due to facing new culture in new place you visit. When you are subjected to unfamiliar culture, it is normal to experience culture shock. In fact, lots of people who study abroad experience this situation. However, it is something that can be dealt. Therefore, you just need to know what to do in order to give yourself time to adjust and don’t offend the local due to your culture shock.
Tips to overcome culture shock while travelling abroad
Visiting new places in new country can be overwhelming especially for the first-timers. It is worse when you travel alone. You will mostly feel lonely and afraid to face many new things. However, it will get better in times. You will not suffer from culture shock anymore once you have adapted to the new environment. In order to deal with your culture shock, here are some tips for you:
- Prepare yourself by being an open-minded person even before you set off to your destination. If you are closed-off from the beginning, it will be harder for you to adjust. Instead of being standoffish, it is better to embrace the differences. Do not think differences as bad things. Throw away your judgmental state and be more understanding to the differences appears in the new place you arrive in.
- Another way to overcome culture shock while travelling abroad is to be eager to learn. Instead of judging new cultures, you can learn to understand more about them. Surely there must be something you can learn so you can grow even more. Learning and understanding cultural difference will help you to see the world in new point of view. You will also be able to build your true self through some discoveries you find during your travel.
- Familiarize yourself to the new cultures. The more you eager to learn new culture, the easier you overcome culture shock. To familiarize yourself, it is recommended that you eat at local dine and interact with the local. Do not hesitate to ask about everything around. Local cuisine is the best excuse for you to get close to the local.
- Try to learn the local language. You can learn some short phrases you can use when you interact with the locals. You can learn the most basic greetings. Surely the local will appreciate your eagerness to know more about them. You don’t have to be fluent and just make sure to catch simple phrases which are easy to say.
- Remind yourself a reason as to why you visit the country at the first place. By remembering your reason, you will focus on achieving your goal and overcome culture shock while travelling abroad at the same time. Remind yourself that new experience like this is priceless and it will be a waste if you cannot enjoy your time during your travel.
