When Sue returned from spending two weeks living and working with the people of a remote village in Laos, she brought back a lot more than memories and a few photographs. Realising she had so much more to give… she quit her job and vowed to return to help them improve their lives in whatever way she could.
After spending time with their parents, learning about the lives of the elephant mahouts in Thailand, 10 year old twins Sam and George went back to school, not just with tales of their incredible adventure but with a completely new understanding about people and life far beyond their cosy existence in the West. Together they persuaded their school and their classmates to hold a charity event to raise funds to help support the mahouts and the elephants they had met. Already, at just 10 years old, the twins have had an insight into a different world that few adults have been privileged to share… who knows what they will achieve in the future?
Arriving to study yoga in India, Rebecca was tired, stressed and feeling both physically and mentally drained. After two weeks learning yoga from experienced Indian teachers, meditating on the banks of the Ganges and Ayurvedic treatments, both mind and body were refreshed and Rebecca was ready to return to work with renewed vitality and a whole new spiritual outlook on life.
My own life took a very different turn, when having seen the difference that could be made by one small hotel in Thailand donating some of its profits towards supporting an orphanage in Bangkok… I returned determined to start Go Differently… a company dedicated to offering real experiences… opportunities to go beyond being simply “another tourist”… and hopefully to help make a real difference to the communities we visit… I didn’t set out to change lives… that just happened along the way.
So what does “meeting the people” really mean? After all, from the time you step off the plane and catch a cab to your hotel… heavens… you’re probably bumping into people ALL the time! If you’re lucky and they speak your language or you’ve made an effort and learnt a few words of theirs, you can even get into conversation with the natives who are more often than not keen to share their knowledge of their culture with interested visitors… but when you head to the hotel bar in the evening and they go home to their families… Can you really say that you have truly MET that person? That you actually know and understand something of their way of life?
Really meeting the people takes a little more effort… but the rewards, as the above examples demonstrate, can be far greater than simply having a more interesting vacation.
So how to achieve it?
The simplest way, unless you have lots of time to spare, is to find a company which specialises in this kind of experience. Very often, but not always, these tend to be smaller companies with a more personal way of relating both to you and to the local people with whom they operate. With the best will in the world, it simply isn’t possible for a large company needing to find accommodation for 100’s of people every week, to be able to send them all to small, remote villages!
Next… decide what kind of experience you’re looking for…
Do you want to learn a new language or perhaps teach your own? Particularly, if you speak good English, there are small communities all over the world eager to spend time talking to, and thereby learning from, natural English speakers.
Do you want to spend time living (maybe even working alongside) the local people? There really is no better way to get a real insight into the culture you’re visiting and if you travel with a responsible company, you can also be sure that the money you pay for your board and lodgings will be helping to support the villagers sustain their ways of life.
Would you like to spend some time volunteering? If so, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that not only will you be meeting the people but also that your visit will be helping to make a real difference.
So… you’ve decided what you want to do and you’ve found a company to help you achieve that. What will help you make the most of your trip?
Learn as much as you can about the culture you’ll be visiting before you go. Ask your travel organisers but also read any relevant books you can get your hands on and do some research on the internet.
Once you arrive, be tolerant of the differences and remember that these are part of the reason you’re there! Immersing yourself in a foreign culture is never easy (no matter how much you think you’ve prepared) but with a little patience, you’ll hopefully soon find that there is much you can learn about yourself and your own life, by experiencing those of others.
Don’t forget that meeting the people can (and should) be a two way process. Be prepared to tell your hosts about your home culture and share your experiences… you may be surprised at how interested they are in what may seem very mundane to you… and may even show you new ways of looking at things yourself.
Whether or not your trip inspires you to change your own life, it’s almost certain that it will be an experience that both you and the people you meet will never forget.
