3 Easy Ways to Experience a Different Culture

Cultures have always fascinated me. One of the main reasons to travel is to experience different cultures. My dream is to become a world traveler and document my journey with photos. I will collect those photos in an album and name it “Around the World Journal”. Maybe even publish it someday… Dreams aside, here are 3 easy ways that you can use to get your culture experience. 

1. Try their food.

Choose a culture or country that you want to know about and find out what kind of cuisine they eat. You can go to a restaurant and enjoy the cultural ambiance, or if you know a friend from that country, you can ask him/her to cook for you. This way you will be able to see the process of preparing the food. I have tried both methods to learn Indian culture. My Indian friends have taken me to an authentic Indian restaurant and they said that it was exactly like restaurants in India. It’s amazing how much you can learn about them from their food!

2. Listen to their music.

You can go with either traditional or modern music, it depends on your interest. Every country has its own music style influenced by culture. So you should definitely listen to some music if you want to learn about their culture.

3. Watch their movies.

Movies are reflections of real life. In my French Language and Culture class, my professor shows French movies every class. She shows only about 10 minutes of the movie but we can always observe so much about French culture.
 

I have one more suggestion but I didn't list it into the “3 easy ways” because it might not be that easy for some people. It is trying on their traditional clothes. Seeing what their clothes are like and actually trying them on is absolutely a wonderful experience. I was lucky to have an opportunity to try on an Indian wedding dress last year and I finally understood why my Indian friends stress so much about their 7-day wedding.

Hope these easy methods can help you learn more about the culture that you are interested in! Have a great Spring break.  

Travel Tips: Right Time and Right Place

Spring break is coming up, so my friends are planning a trip to Virginia. One thing that’s not in favor to us is the price of hotel room. I can’t believe how much they raise the price during Spring break period; it’s almost twice as much as usual! We could probably save 200 dollars if we were going one month before.

Choosing the right time to travel is very important; sometimes it will lower your cost, and other times it will give you a unique experience of the culture.

A few years ago, a friend from America visited me in February. She came around the time of Chinese New Year, and that was definitely not the appropriate time to visit. During the Chinese New Year, most businesses are closed, so there isn't much to do for tourists. Since it’s the time for family gathering, people from every city want to get back home before the New Years Eve, and as a result, the train stations, airports and bus stations are packed with homesick crowds. Tickets are sold out in one second during this time, so if you travel during this time, it might delay your schedule. There isn't much going on except for the New Year customs. And to be involved in this you need to know someone local. Staying in their house and having New Year’s food would be an awesome experience, but as Benjamin Franklin said “Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days”. Although we did host my friend warmly, it would be more convenient if she had visited two weeks later.

On the other hand, France, Trinidad, Brazil and many other countries have their carnivals in February, and they love to have tourists joining to the party. Mardi Gras, French for “fat Tuesday”, is a celebration before Ash Wednesday. It is not hard to tell that food plays a big role in Mardi Gras. Along with delicious food, people also wear costumes and masks to celebrate. It’s one of the biggest carnivals for many countries in Europe and South America.

It is important to do research before you make the decision of when and where to visit. Back to my Spring break planning, hopefully we can find a cheaper hotel…

How about a Trip without a Plan?

Life is what happens while you’re busy planning other things. --- John Lennon

I was looking through the pictures that I took during traveling today. I realized that most of my traveling highlights happen without a plan. The good times and memorable experiences have almost never happened under my planning. So when you travel, just enjoy it and go with the flow guys!

 I hopped on a bus with few friends and ended up climbing down to a 

snorkeling ocean through a lava trail. Absolutely the best experience in Hawaii!

I believe that the most important part in traveling is not what you have seen along the way but what you have experienced and remembered. The ultimate goal to visit a foreign place is to appreciate and acknowledge the culture differences. I enjoy traveling with my own pace, stop and go… I like to stop for more than a picture's time, after all a picture can only remind me of how the place looked like not how I felt about there.

The time has passed 12 am and it's officially 2013 in China, so everyone happy Chinese New Year!