For some, a trip of a lifetime will remain a dream for their entire life. They may say that they don’t have the time to take such a trip or that they don’t have the money. In reality, if you make a trip to Italy (or anywhere that you dream about visiting…) a priority, you will have the time and eventually you will have the money. These are often acceptable reasons that no one challenges. When you dig deeper, they are often easier to tell others and yourself than the truth of you are afraid.
International travel scares many people to varying degrees, especially in the 21st century. We can say that we have become a more global community through the internet and other technological advances like cell phones and Skype and Facebook. We might feel as if we can experience another place virtually or digitally and that seems real. It isn’t.
It IS scary sometimes to be outside of your comfort zone. I love to travel, but I also love my home. Part of what I love about travel is that unknown. The area where growth happens is ‘just beyond our comfort zone’. Am I afraid of looking like I don’t know what I am doing or how things happen in a new culture? Absolutely, but if I give myself a little understanding and realize that I can’t know how things work in a different country and just enjoy the moment, something good usually comes from it. An exchange with a store owner or a restaurant worker where we don’t speak each other’s language can produce some really good memories and stories. An attempt at conversation with an elderly woman on a park bench has the possibility to bring a little sunshine to both your days. A missed step in a plan might produce an unplanned, awesome adventure.
In truth, the same trip with the same experiences can produce the best moments or stressful ones. It is often a matter of perspective. If you have the attitude that you are going to enjoy the trip overall, and savor the moments and appreciate the differences….you often will do just that. Even if things do not go as you had planned. If you are worried that something will go awry, that you will look foolish for not understanding every word or that you will be somehow taken advantage of….you will not enjoy the trip to the same degree as the first example. You will miss your trip even while you are on it. That background noise of the ‘what if something bad happens’ will seep into the front of your brain and flood out the ‘what if something amazing happens’ part of the possibility.
Here’s my antidote. Here is what I do. Here is how I answer the negative ‘what if’ voice in my head. Just go. Just do it. Just be in the uncomfortable-ness. Obviously, educate yourself ahead of time. Be safe; don’t go into dangerous areas and avoid volatile situations, just like you would at home. I become okay with not knowing every word or how to act in every situation. I do my homework before leaving to know what the cultural norms are so that I don’t offend anyone with my ignorance. I become okay with things not being like I am used to—-that is a reason to go–to experience how others do things in other parts of the world. Line Forming/What Line? is a fun leap into cultural differences. Dinner time, personal space, driving norms…all of these can be very different and as long as you are safe, just sit back and observe. Become an anthropologist. Instead of judging why something is different, ponder it. Why do they do this differently? What does this culture value that is different than my culture so that it is done differently here? How did this difference come about to exist? Better yet, ask someone from that culture. Don’t be judge-y about it, be curious about it. Learn something. Experience something. Be open to the possibility of something. If you have this dream of ‘someday’ traveling to Italy (or another country) don’t let your fear hold you back.
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