It’s normal to see the world through a certain grid. Not only is this true in relation to one culture seeing another, but in terms of personality, and even profession. An accountant backpacking through Europe might make excel sheets to minimize cost while maximizing the things to do. This person wants to make sure they get the most bang for their buck and they might see each excursion, ticket, and hotel stay based on profit or loss. Someone who studied History might be willing to spend countless hours exploring ancient ruins or going on guided tours all in an attempt to understand where it all comes from. This person may go deep, rather than wide. They might forsake the many modern cities for the one small town with “character” as they seek greater understanding. For myself, I studied Psychology. Naturally, that means I want to know the locals and understand their culture from their perspective. It also means that I think a great deal about what’s happening within myself, and those I’m traveling with, as a result of travel itself. I’ve found that in traveling, like in relationships, there are some typical stages of development.
The first is the “everything is awesome stage.” This is when you fall in love with the uniqueness of a new culture or place. It’s common in this stage to compare your new surroundings with your home country. Each time you do this new place wins in every way. In a relationship this would be the romantic dating phase, when all his or her little idiosyncrasies are cute and adorable.
Then comes the inevitable “whiplash stage” that results from seeing the less than ideal aspects of the culture or relationship. It’s common for people at this point to go to the opposite extreme into a pessimistic there’s-no-hope way of thinking. This is culture shock. The all too often reply to new information in this stage, “that’s just wrong.” In a relationship, this is when the honeymoon period wears off and you wonder for the first time what you’ve gotten yourself into.
To get to the third phase you may have to hang in there, but eventually you will emerge into the “hopeful realist stage.” You’ve experienced the positive and negative points. While you still see black and white you’re now much more familiar and comfortable with the grey. It’s not right or wrong; it’s usually just different. In a relationship you’ve learned to not judge too quickly and to choose your battles carefully. You now accept based on who that person is rather than how close they are to what you want them to be.
So it seems that travel has a lot in common with friendships, and like Mark Twain said, “Travel is fatal to prejudice.” As you expose yourself to different people you start to value them and in the process you learn to accept them for who they are.
Stephen
Co-Developer of the Lepak Game