Embracing culture shock opens you up to the world

The best journeys are often those that dismantle travelers' entrenched beliefs, open their eyes to new perspectives and unveil fresh ways of thinking about life.

The cultural shocks involved with encountering unfamiliar landscapes, languages, attitudes and foods can be a jolting therapy, indeed. Often the first few days in a foreign city, with its different smells, sounds, even the sunlight, can be unsettling.

Normal sidewalk crowds may seem threatening, the traffic chaotic and dangerous.

Then there's the frustration of being unable to easily accomplish matters that would be mundane at home. Foreign attitudes about punctuality, politeness or personal hygiene may be annoying.

Unchecked culture shock can be dizzying, debilitating, even paranoia-producing. It can send travelers scurrying to wrap themselves in the safety blanket of their hotel room.

It's also no coincidence that so much of what defines luxury travel these days are amenities designed to shield paying participants from the local culture, or at least present a sanitized, controlled facsimile of it.

Walled compounds, high-rise hotels, all-inclusive resorts and even air-conditioned buses do provide a measure of insulation from the prevailing environment, but at a big price of cultural richness.

There's not a thing wrong with luxury and comfort, unless they blot out all the elements that make a place special, the things that make it different from home. Erase the variation of new experiences, and you eliminate much of the motive for making the often considerable effort of traveling someplace new.

Culture shock can break a trip or make it. One good way to take the sting out of culture shock is to get to know some local residents. Taking the effort to meet people on their own terms and turf can help make your visits more rewarding and your travel memories more lasting.

Here are tips to accomplish that mission. If you have plenty of interest in a place and years of lead time to plan your visit, you might find out about hosting foreign exchange students.

Getting to know a young person is a great way to put a human face on a foreign culture. Furthermore, their parents often reciprocate your hospitality when you visit their country. You might also consider taking part in a home-swap program or joining an organization that arranges home stays around the world, such as Servas or the Friendship Force.

A number of the world's most popular travel destinations have set up "meet the people" programs expressly designed to bring foreign visitors and local residents together.

As Linda Wertheimer explains in her story on page 6 of this week's Travel, the Japanese National Tourist Organization keeps a list of several thousand English-speaking families in 13 cities who will host visitors in their homes.

The "Get in Touch with the Dutch" program provides an evening in the home of a Dutch family. Belgium, Ireland, Israel and Switzerland all have similar programs in place.

The Jamaican "Meet the People" program is one of the world's oldest.

Visitors can sign up in advance or upon arrival at most major hotels. For more information about any of these programs, contact that country's tourist office.

And if you find yourself in a foreign city and would like to meet some of its inhabitants, check with the local tourist office. Chances are good you'll be put in touch with local residents who have volunteered to take part in an informal visitor bureau.

Some of these programs try to pair people by profession, shared hobbies or other interests. Other pairings are more random. The foreign hosts may invite visitors to their home, meet them for dinner at a favorite restaurant or accompany them on sight-seeing excursions. Occasionally, long friendships develop, but in any case, both parties come away with a better understanding of the other.

Even if you don't want to go to those lengths on your trip, you can take steps to make yourself a more accessible guest.

For example, before leaving home, make an effort to learn a little of the language of the land you'll be visiting. It's not necessary to be fluent, but people generally appreciate a traveler's efforts to be polite in their own tongue. "Please" and "thank you" are words that can be translated into every language.

Once in the country, don't follow only the well-trodden tourist trails. Forego large hotels in favor of guest houses and pensions. Shop in smaller local stores. Explore residential neighborhoods, especially in smaller towns, where people are more likely to have the time to chat.

Do what the locals do. Attend a worship service. Go to a sporting event. Visit a fair or carnival. Stroll through the park when it's filled with families. Use local public transportation instead of taking taxis. You can break the ice by asking folks for directions or information, but before trying to engage someone in a long conversation, make sure they have time to talk.

Rather than avoiding culture shock, learn to embrace and enjoy it. Apart from making for magical moments, it will make home look different when you return.