{"id":1308,"date":"2012-05-08T17:00:02","date_gmt":"2012-05-08T21:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/?p=1308"},"modified":"2012-11-29T21:57:09","modified_gmt":"2012-11-30T01:57:09","slug":"educational-travel-tip-tuesday-breaking-the-ice-in-a-new-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/educational-travel-tip-tuesday-breaking-the-ice-in-a-new-country","title":{"rendered":"Educational Travel Tip Tuesday: Break the ice abroad"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Breaking<\/strong><\/p>\n

When on an educational tour what\u2019s one of the <\/em>best ways to learn about another culture? Try simply chatting with the locals. We know, sometimes breaking the ice can be a tad awkward. So, here are a few suggestions on how to open up dialogue, and perhaps, make a friend along the way.<\/p>\n

1. Show your pearly whites<\/strong><\/p>\n

So you don\u2019t speak the language of your host country? Not to worry because you do speak the language of the world. (Translation: a wide smile and a friendly face!) Smiling is welcoming particularly in European countries such as France, Germany and Spain because it suggests that you want to initiate conversation. And in many places good eye contact connects people. Yet in Japan and Peru, keeping a straight face and eye contact to a minimum is more respectful.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

2. Small talk, big pay off<\/strong><\/p>\n

Learning the basics of a language (like \u201chello\u201d and \u201cgoodbye,\u201d \u201cplease\u201d and \u201cthank you,\u201d and \u201cwhere’s the bathroom\u201d) is a must to get by. But go for bonus points and learn how to strike up conversation with a compliment. Try, \u201cthat’s delicious\u201d at a caf\u00e9 or, \u201cwhat a beautiful basket\u201d while browsing at the market. Or comment, \u201chow cute\u201d when passing a walker\u2019s dog. Any might solicit a friendly response. But beware: in some parts of the world, like in Africa or in the Middle East, a compliment obliges a person to give you the object of desire. So think twice about those niceties!<\/p>\n

3. Show and tell<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another great way to gain favour when visiting a different country is to actively share and exchange ideas. For example, when you approach a local, be willing (and prepared) to tell stories or show how things differ in Canada. You might show Canadian coins or offer a few home brand snacks that might not be common where you\u2019re going. And, carry a few photos from back home along, too. That way, there\u2019ll be something to share from both sides so that you can learn as <\/em>well as teach while you\u2019re travelling!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When on an educational tour what\u2019s one of the best ways to learn about another culture? Try simply chatting with the locals. We know, sometimes breaking the ice can be a tad awkward. So, here are a few suggestions on how to open up dialogue, and perhaps, make a friend along the way. 1. Show Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,173,63,172],"tags":[58,257,317,318,258,12,316],"class_list":["post-1308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-explorica-news","category-parents","category-students","category-teachers","tag-educational-travel","tag-educational-travel-tip-tuesdays","tag-meet-locals-when-you-travel","tag-school-travel-tip-ideas","tag-travel-advice","tag-travel-tips","tag-travel-tips-for-students"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1308"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1308\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1604,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1308\/revisions\/1604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}