Travel Immersion Theory

When I go somewhere new there’s always invisible baggage that I bring with me. I’m not talking about the stuff I’m carrying on my back, but the baggage inside of my head and back home. My phone calls and messages to my friends every day. Listening to music that reminds me of home. Relationships on pause waiting to be started again. Even meeting people from eastern, developed countries.

This mental baggage and the daydreams of back home are quickly overlooked. We don’t consider how these things could affect our experience and our daily lives.

People from the same culture tend to stick together. It happens silently and most people don’t even realize it. While on exchange in Hong Kong, I’ve noticed many separate groups of friends that form. There’s an exchange group from Europe. One from America. Even one solely from Texas. It’s so easy to stick with people from back home, those with a similar culture. Even among the full-time students, there are different groups. Koreans, Malaysians, Mainland Chinese, Hong Kongers, etc. I have yet to see a couple of Mainland Chinese students (grown up in China, but speak English) chatting up and having lunch with a couple of exchange students from Europe or America. It just doesn’t happen (except on the school’s admissions website).

When traveling, it’s so easy to find people from back home to be with (not necessarily logistically, but emotionally). It’s so easy to go to a hostel in China where everyone speaks perfect English. American English. You and your new friends can talk about how much you miss chipotle and boba back home. When you come back from these countries, you can boast about how you went to such a different country. Say that you now feel cultured and your mind has opened up in all new ways. And that’s partially true. But if spent most of your time inside a bubble of people from home (or similar backgrounds), speaking English, staying at western hotels/hostels, messaging your friends back home every day, how much have your really immersed yourself?

With the connectivity in our modern world, we think we are global and our cultural barriers have completely dissolved. Most places seem to have “opened-up”. In any single developed city, there are people from all over the world. Any University will boast about the diversity of its student population and infusion of ideas. We all seem to believe that cultural barriers have dissolved, but is this really true?

Personally, I’m a culprit as well. I sometimes struggle to talk to locals. Often it’s a language barrier, sometimes I’m too tired and don’t want to make the extra effort. However, there’s a couple of ways that I’ve found of pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and into immersion.

Learn the local language.
Even just showing an interest in learning it will make others interested in you.
Travel alone.
Or with a small group. Avoid only talking to your friends. Avoid only making friends from bac home.

Go to the small places in between the big ones were people are living, not just sightseeing.
Stop asking your phone to solve all your problems
Ask local people you meet for directions, restaurant recommendations, and what places to visit in the area.
Stop using your money to solve all your problems.
Take local transportation. Walk to places. Take the slow train. Get creative. Try Couchsurfing with local people (never actually done this)
Limit what you post on social media.
Don’t rush it.
Don’t set a time limit on when you visit a place. Don’t buy return-tickets. Take your time to take in a place for as long as you want.
Say your goodbyes before leaving home.
Tell those you care about you’ll be coming back. But when you’re gone, you’re gone.

I definitely did not do most of these things while traveling this past semester. Some of these are very difficult to do emotionally. In the overall scheme of things, they might not be the best option. However, in the traveling sense, I believe these are the best ways to really immerse yourself.

One thought on “Travel Immersion Theory”

  1. Hey Manuel
    Very good theory and very well said. This really helped me reflect on all my past trips and what I can do better to really indulge in the experience of being in a completely different culture. Thanks and keep these types of posts coming 👍🏼

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