3 Quick and Easy Ways to Acclimatise to a New Culture

Travelling is great. You get to see what the world has to offer, from the history that can demonstrate where we have come from to the most incredible sights that display the true beauty of our planet. Experiencing other cultures can also be amazing – there is a lot to be said for developing your ability to see the world through someone else's eyes. It can be a bit daunting too, however, especially if you are not sure how you are meant to behave. You shouldn't let this put you off though, and with our three quick and easy ways to acclimatise to a new culture, you don't have to. Read on and find out how you can make travelling easy on yourself.

1. Do your research

If you want to give yourself the best chance at fitting into a new culture, you should make sure that you do your research. Before you go travelling, really investigate the countries that you will be visiting and try your best to understand what their customs are. To get you started, you could take a look at their national holidays, how they greet each other, as well as how interactions might differ to what you would expect. This way, you are prepared once you get there because you will have a better understanding of what exactly is going on. Choose yourself a good guidebook or two to get started.

2. Deal with homesickness

Nearly £6.5 trillion is spent in the travel and tourism sector each year. That means that plenty of us are travelling to far-flung places, but it also means that there is plenty of homesickness going on. It is easy to miss your home comforts when you are thrown into a new culture and an often completely different way of living. Instead of denying your sadness, it is much better to deal with it – then you can move on and enjoy the rest of your trip. Try making a Skype call home so that you can talk to family or friends about the way you’re feeling. Alternatively, you could spend some time reminding yourself about why you wanted to travel in the first place so that you can begin enjoying it again.

3. Don't rush around

Acclimatising to a different culture is really all about getting to know a place well. When we travel there is usually so much that we want to do that it can be tempting to rush around when we reach our destination, in a bid to fit everything in. If you travel this way, though, you won't really give yourself the time and space that you need to get to grips with your new surroundings and the culture. Instead, embrace slow travel and really get to know your destination. Maybe spend some time people watching, or enjoying a slow cup of coffee. Easing yourself in is really the best way to make sure you don't feel too much of a culture shock.