The reasons for going on a backpacking trip will vary with each individual. Some will unfortunately just go to party and take pictures in front of famous landmarks. This article is for those who, hopefully, are going on a backpacking trip to experience different cultures.
Webster defines cultures as..."the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations; the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; also: the characteristic features of everyday existence (as diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time."
Your backpacking trip will allow you to view Europe in a truly authentic way. You will have opportunities to view the culture of the areas you visit in a very personal way. You can truly see how people live in other parts of the world face to face. These tips are intended to get you to thinking about how you can get the maximum experience and create life-long memories while visiting a "foreign" country.
Tip #1: Keep An Open Mind
Just because you have your idea of what to expect from watching television or movies, don't believe that or the media. Keep an open mind and expect to have a positive experience wherever you go. A lot of people will have preconceived ideas of how people in a foreign country will act. Please do not do this. Just because people dress differently, talk differently, or do something that you would never do doesn't mean that it is wrong. For example, is it acceptable to put cream in your tea? You may not like your tea with cream, but many English people would not drink it any other way. That is just the way they have learned to drink tea in their culture. Take notes of things you notice that are different from what is normal for you. You will gather a nice collection of differences to share when you return.
Tip #2: Have Respect for the Local Language
Though English is referred to as the International Business language, not all people in the world speak English. It is so easy to let this be an annoyance, when it could so easily be a great experience in communication. On my first backpacking trip I took along some help. Fodor's.com is a great location to get some needed help before you begin your backpacking trip.
Being able to speak the language in a foreign country is a great way to connect with local culture.
Fodor's has partnered with the experts at Living Language to provide you with Language for Travelers. This fun, easy, and effective method for learning key phrases will help you prepare for your backpacking trip, whether you're reactivating a language you studied a long time ago or you're starting from scratch. Here's how to get started:
Listen and hear over 150 words and phrases from key categories.
Print out a free PDF of essential vocabulary to take on your trip.
Learn more about the language and culture of your destination.
Print out a free PDF of essential vocabulary to take on your trip.
Learn more about the language and culture of your destination.
This is a free service and the more you are able to learn, the more fun you will have communicating with people in different countries. You will also gain a great respect for the language and the culture of the countries you visit.
Tip #3: Be a People Watcher
Resting on a park bench is not only good as a break from walking, but it will give you an opportunity to watch the locals. Many times on our backpacking trips to Europe, we would play a game called "Tourist or Local". As different people would pass by we would watch until they were out of hearing range and then say either "tourist" or "local". Of course we would not go up to the person and actually ask them, but after a short time, we noticed it was easy to tell the locals from the tourists. Okay, I admit, if they wore a camera around their neck it was an instant give away. When in Vienna, you must visit "The Ring" which is the main street that goes around central Vienna. They have people dressed in 18th century attire handing out brochures for Mozart concerts. They are trained to only hand them to tourists. My son and I would leave our backpacks at the hostel and go to "The Ring" and try to walk toward the center of town without being handed a brochure. When we accomplished that, we felt that we were understanding a bit more about how people view other people. It was fun learning to "fit in".
Tip #4: Keep a Journal
Years after your backpacking trip to Europe, you will try to remember everything you did on the trip. For me, I do not have the best memory, so my journal of the individual trips is something I treasure. Keeping a journal can consume a lot of your time. It is hard to journal while walking, it is difficult to remember everything you did when you finally get some down time, but it is so worth the effort. You will be so very glad that you kept a journal. As you add entries into your journal it will give you time to reflect on the things done on that day.
My journals were a habit I developed over time. It is important to have a consistent time that you log in your journal each day. Most of my logging was done just before retiring at night. A lot was done on trains and in buses or subways. I did not have an iPad, just an "old-fashioned" spiral notebook. After returning home, I would make it one of my first priorities to enter my journal into my computer and enjoy re-tracing our experiences. We would upload pictures from places visited and paste them in the day of the journal when the event occurred. You will notice that from trip to trip, your journal will become more of a habit to do. Also, it really helped in planning for the next backpacking trip. Notes were kept as to things we didn't get to do that we would really want to do "the next time"; places to revisit; our favorite restaurants or our favorite local food items, etc.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7095812
