What is Digg?142 Comments
- manzplan, on 06/30/2008, -0/+61Leave behind any preconceived notion about the people of the place you are visiting...
- RadioFreeOpium, on 06/30/2008, -0/+571. A Ticket On The Slow Bus
The faster, air conditioned, express bus is always tempting on a hot day, but it will not help you meet the locals.
The easiest way to meet local people when traveling is to surround yourself with them.
The easiest way to meet local people when traveling is to surround yourself with them. There is no better way to do this than taking the absolute cheapest transportation option available.
When you board the overstuffed train or bus, likely you will be seated next to dozens of people eager to have a conversation. Squat down on a bag of rice, stack of rope, or anywhere you can lean, and keep a smile about the whole ordeal.
The people around you will be watching to see how you react to the situation. Staying relaxed and smiling will go a long way towards warming up your new travel companions.
2. Cassette Tapes
Bringing your own music in an MP3 player or portable CD player is a great way to block out the screeching noise of foreign cities, smooth the ride on trying bus or jeep journeys, or pass the time during long transit periods. On the other hand, there is nothing more isolating than a pair of headphones.
Instead, try traveling with one or two classic cassette mix-tapes. When you tire of the cab’s selection of “the coolest American music,” or a jeep driver’s library of Mongolian throat singing tapes, offer the driver one of your own.
You’re not the only one who may be interested in hearing something new.
3. A Deck Of Playing Cards
Every country in the world seems to have at least one game that uses playing cards. Once you claim your spot on the train or in the bus station, instead of hiding behind a book, start to lazily play a game of solitaire. Before you know it there will be a crowd of people eager to join you.
4. Pictures Of Home, Your Friends And Family
P1010238Besides being a great reminder of your friends and family when you are feeling homesick, a few pictures of home are a great way to build a connection with people you meet on the road.
When choosing pictures try to focus on images that capture the relationship you have with the people in the photograph.
Pictures of houses, apartments, cars, and other possessions can appear opulent and ostentatious in other parts of the world, regardless of their status in your hometown or city.
5. A Reservation Through The Hospitality Club.
Organizations like the Hospitality Club, CouchSurfing, the WWOOF program, and forums like the Digihitch Rideboard, are more than just places to find free lodging or a free ride.
The most useful tool for building relationships abroad is language.
These resources are a great way to escape the typical traveler’s circuit and spend an evening, a few days, or even a few weeks with a local, hanging out, sharing an apartment, or even working.
Remember that, in addition to rooms for lodging, the Hospitality Club and CouchSurfing have listings of local people who just want to grab a beer, do some sightseeing, or share their favorite restaurant.
6. A Phrasebook
The most useful tool for building relationships abroad is language - and if you sincerely hope to make friends the few pages at the end of your guidebook will not be enough.
A dedicated phrasebook, with two-way dictionaries and liberal use of native script, can be passed back and forth and be surprisingly useful for conveying meaning.
As a fun challenge, leave the guidebook in the hostel and spend a day navigating with only your phrasebook, or for the dedicated, try to learn a new language in only a few weeks.
Having these six things with you will not magically open a world of friendships, but they are small and light and can make a huge difference when you are trying to break into a foreign social group.
What are your favourite items to pack to share with locals? Share in the comments!
David DeFranza has studied in China, worked in Japan, and wandered all over Asia, Europe and North America. When not traveling he spends his time in New York, or the seacoast of New Hampshire, or where ever his friends offer a couch. - bosssmiley, on 06/30/2008, -1/+46#1 on the list should be SMOKES.
Seriously, almost anywhere in the world (other than maybe LA) offering a cigarette will break the ice. - usrlocalbin, on 06/30/2008, -4/+41Pot?
- Scopitone, on 06/30/2008, -1/+35No condoms?! Amateurs.
- andyboyd, on 06/29/2008, -0/+30I've done a bit of surfing in Indonesia and found that the local kids especially loved getting free t-shirts.
- statix, on 06/30/2008, -2/+32why dont you have a seat right over there...
- upick, on 06/30/2008, -2/+283. A Deck Of Playing Cards
Always handy to have some entertainment~ - horscategorie, on 06/30/2008, -3/+28isn't that all that a hotel room in south dakota is worth?
- shadowspawn, on 06/30/2008, -2/+25#1:) A database connection.
- pagit, on 06/30/2008, -0/+22a pack of smokes, a can of spam, some candy and a sense of humility will get you anywhere in south east Asia.
Ask alot of questions and don't brag - dougvfr750, on 06/30/2008, -1/+21Some candy goes a long way too
- afx1, on 06/30/2008, -0/+19probably wouldn't be much of an ice breaker
- jshare, on 06/30/2008, -0/+19Just trying to speak a few words of the local language will usually get appreciation, and you can get those at the airport/bus/train station
- variablek, on 06/30/2008, -0/+16"Ask alot of questions and don't brag..."
Quoted for truth. Words of wisdom any situation. - judicar, on 06/30/2008, -1/+17Duh, the international currency: chocolate, cigarettes and nylons.
- MinervaDreaming, on 06/30/2008, -1/+17How could they forget the most important item? Never leave home without a towel.
- snowbones, on 06/30/2008, -3/+17they forgot "pepper-spray"
- KingGorilla, on 06/30/2008, -1/+15Everybody loves free t-shirts. Anyone watch that episode of Pinky and The Brain
- GothAlice, on 06/30/2008, -1/+15Uh… candy is actually a very useful item. In some locations children flock to travelers, running in the street next alongside a vehicle. Candy for the children will make you an instant hit with /everyone/ in the town.
- evilesttoast, on 06/30/2008, -0/+14I don't know if you should be giving candy to kids who you dont know well, might make you look like a pedophile
- BossKey, on 06/30/2008, -0/+13Pack a lighter, even if you don't smoke. I can't count how many times in France a cutie walked up to me with a cigarette and asked for a light, and it's just lame to not be able to offer one.
- jjpertusch, on 06/30/2008, -0/+12too true. i got half off the price of a hotel room in south dakota with a cigarette and a slice of pizza.
- pagit, on 06/30/2008, -1/+12as long as you are canadian
- BossKey, on 06/30/2008, -1/+12"Joey, have you ever...been to a Turkish prison?"
- sassyt, on 06/30/2008, -0/+11So true! Travel with an open mind for an optimal experience...
- jezsik, on 06/30/2008, -0/+10Huh! That's why I took up drinking.
Of course, instead of getting stinker with ever smoke, I get smarter and better looking with every beer. - greenroom628, on 06/29/2008, -0/+9i've brought post cards from home on surf trips and the kids dug those, too.
- ChzPlz, on 06/30/2008, -4/+13A Canadian flag on your backpack still does wonders.
- GothAlice, on 06/30/2008, -0/+9In Panama marijuana possession, let alone sale, is a serious crime. If caught you will spend some serious time in a very serious prison. Where they feed you maggoty rice and fetid water.
Not /always/ the best ice breaker. Always read up on local laws. - GothAlice, on 06/30/2008, -1/+10Crazy as it sounds, socialization is exactly why I picked up smoking. Smokers tend to be far more up to interaction than any random sampling of the public.
- jezsik, on 06/30/2008, -2/+10I guess you have to be Canadian to understand why it's so important to not be identified as an American.
- kyeetza, on 06/30/2008, -0/+8"A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value - you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft down the slow heavy river Moth; wet it for use in hand-to- hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindboggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you - daft as a bush, but very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.
More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitch hiker) discovers that a hitch hiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitch hiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitch hiker might accidentally have "lost". What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is is clearly a man to be reckoned with." - DuffyDirect, on 06/30/2008, -0/+8No... it won't...
- protodon, on 06/30/2008, -0/+8How about no flags?
- DibsOnThePirate, on 06/30/2008, -1/+7and a football! ("soccer ball")
- AdamSnow, on 06/30/2008, -0/+6I have found in my world travels, that they know I'm Canadian before they would even have a chance to look for a flag, or hear me speak...
The local people will treat you not because of a flag on your shirt but how you act and treat their environment, people and culture... - variablek, on 06/30/2008, -0/+6agreed, but don't bring pot into a country, buy it there, and from someone you trust. sharing a joint with locals or other travelers in your hostel is one of best ice-breakers ever. hands down.
- earnjam, on 06/30/2008, -2/+8A web server that doesn't collapse under the Digg effect...
- JohnnyRad, on 06/30/2008, -0/+5we used stickers as currency in costa rica a few times on surf trips. also a good idea if you go to costa rica, is to just pack old shirts you don't really care about - then after you wear em enough, give them to the locals. you're backpack will get lighter and your heart will get fuller. yes fuller.
- BillionWishlist, on 06/30/2008, -0/+5wish i had this list when I went to cambodia!
- kolop1, on 06/30/2008, -2/+7Guns and Ammo.
- GothAlice, on 06/30/2008, -0/+5Your logic, as usual, is impeccable. Have you been drinking? :P
- feliks2, on 06/30/2008, -0/+5Yeah, gotta make sure you look good. Oh... wait...what?
- CedEx, on 06/30/2008, -0/+5The two you met were probably Americans who were trying desperately not to be identified as American.
Going out of your way to demonstrate that you're not American is advice often given by American travelers as a matter of fact.
http://www.cnn.com/TRAVEL/NEWS/9904/07/travel.conc ...
Even Americans don't want to be Americans when traveling. - aquireworth, on 06/30/2008, -0/+5That sounds like the definition of hell to me ;)
- cathpah, on 06/30/2008, -0/+5reminds me of a time in rural indonesia last year where I heard the same celine dion "greatest hits" (can that even be possible?) tape absolutely BLARING over the half dead speakers for 14 hours.
- aquireworth, on 06/30/2008, -1/+5Cassette Tapes - brilliant idea! There have definitely been a few times when they would have been handy and saved me a headache from the squealing music of the cab driver.
- arjie, on 06/30/2008, -0/+4Well, real men don't use condoms. This time I went to the Virgin Islands, and...
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