Being away from home can be tough... I’ve been away for almost 2 months now. Although it doesn’t seem like so long, I think the fact that I was gone over the holidays just kinda made it feel like I’ve been away for longer. My position is obviously a tough one as I’m here solo so I definitely have to milk my social skills and make some friends here otherwise I’d be a very bitter lonely traveller. Now I can’t really give many tips apart from being social and getting rid of your shyness, but I can definitely offer you some advice on what NOT to do if you want to integrateinto society.
YOU WILL NEVER INTEGRATE INTO ANOTHER SOCIETY IF YOU’RE ALWAYS IN CONSTANT CONTACT WITH BACK HOME.
Now don’t get me wrong, it’s cool and all to be on facebook or whatever your social network fancy is to keep in touch. You’ll only make your homesickness worse if you’re constantly chatting up, calling, skyping everyone from back home. I’m not advocating cutting your friends and family off, but if you’re talking to them daily I think that you’re overdoing it. Once or maybe twice a week at most is probably the best solution. As much as you will get homesick on some days, DO NOT clutch your smartphone and start skyping or facebooking back home. Instead you should be concentrating on making connections and expanding your social network LOCALLY. Unless you do that you will be alone and it’ll just be a vicious cycle where you’re constantly calling people from back home instead of making friends and conquering the lonely traveller blues.
YOU WILL NEVER INTEGRATE INTO ANOTHER SOCIETY IF YOU STAY IN A BACKPACKERS HOSTEL
Hostels definitely are a great place for a solo traveller like myself to stay as they kinda force you to be social and get out there and be with people. However here in Australia you will NOT meet many Australians while staying in a backpacker hostel. My current hostel is pretty much a European outpost here in Melbourne. I’ve mentioned in previous posts about the amount of French and Irish out here, and while most are great people... I didn’t come to Australia to meet French or Irish... I also love my neighborhood but as well it seems like all the nightlife is dominated by backpackers. Almost like a sort of foreigner ghetto. Once you get out of this sort of ghetto you’ll have a much easier time integrating yourself into your new society and culture.
YOU WILL NEVER INTEGRATE INTO A NEW SOCIETY IF YOU STICK WITH YOUR OWN
It’s great running into fellow Canadians. I love to have a quick chat about the happenings from back home. But as tempting as it is, you didn’t fly half way across the world to stick to your own. If you did you just wasted a lot of money and time! For example the French here really tend to stick to their own and keep things in their own language. Between each other they will stick with French and not attempt to socialize with those around them who might not understand them. You see this with many foreign cultures here. Best advice I have is just get out there and create a diverse social network. Don’t just gather and lament about your motherland, if you want to do that then just fly home!
While the advice in here does seem harsh, it is the best advice that I can giver to you in terms of killing the lonely travellers blues. On top of that, if you’re looking for the true local experience, you won’t get that living in a foreigner ghetto surrounded by any culture but the local one. The best bet is to try and balance everything such as contact with your friends and family back home as well as your social network locally. Don’t fall into the traps I’ve outlined in this article as they’re a sure road to the solo traveller blues!
YOU WILL NEVER INTEGRATE INTO ANOTHER SOCIETY IF YOU’RE ALWAYS IN CONSTANT CONTACT WITH BACK HOME.
Now don’t get me wrong, it’s cool and all to be on facebook or whatever your social network fancy is to keep in touch. You’ll only make your homesickness worse if you’re constantly chatting up, calling, skyping everyone from back home. I’m not advocating cutting your friends and family off, but if you’re talking to them daily I think that you’re overdoing it. Once or maybe twice a week at most is probably the best solution. As much as you will get homesick on some days, DO NOT clutch your smartphone and start skyping or facebooking back home. Instead you should be concentrating on making connections and expanding your social network LOCALLY. Unless you do that you will be alone and it’ll just be a vicious cycle where you’re constantly calling people from back home instead of making friends and conquering the lonely traveller blues.
YOU WILL NEVER INTEGRATE INTO ANOTHER SOCIETY IF YOU STAY IN A BACKPACKERS HOSTEL
Hostels definitely are a great place for a solo traveller like myself to stay as they kinda force you to be social and get out there and be with people. However here in Australia you will NOT meet many Australians while staying in a backpacker hostel. My current hostel is pretty much a European outpost here in Melbourne. I’ve mentioned in previous posts about the amount of French and Irish out here, and while most are great people... I didn’t come to Australia to meet French or Irish... I also love my neighborhood but as well it seems like all the nightlife is dominated by backpackers. Almost like a sort of foreigner ghetto. Once you get out of this sort of ghetto you’ll have a much easier time integrating yourself into your new society and culture.
YOU WILL NEVER INTEGRATE INTO A NEW SOCIETY IF YOU STICK WITH YOUR OWN
It’s great running into fellow Canadians. I love to have a quick chat about the happenings from back home. But as tempting as it is, you didn’t fly half way across the world to stick to your own. If you did you just wasted a lot of money and time! For example the French here really tend to stick to their own and keep things in their own language. Between each other they will stick with French and not attempt to socialize with those around them who might not understand them. You see this with many foreign cultures here. Best advice I have is just get out there and create a diverse social network. Don’t just gather and lament about your motherland, if you want to do that then just fly home!
While the advice in here does seem harsh, it is the best advice that I can giver to you in terms of killing the lonely travellers blues. On top of that, if you’re looking for the true local experience, you won’t get that living in a foreigner ghetto surrounded by any culture but the local one. The best bet is to try and balance everything such as contact with your friends and family back home as well as your social network locally. Don’t fall into the traps I’ve outlined in this article as they’re a sure road to the solo traveller blues!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Leave a comment (please try and keep it clean)