International Travel Tips
A Few Things to Watch Out For

Travel is often more than just getting from A to B, so these international travel tips might help ease your way into a new culture or protect you from its sharpest differences when you first arrive in a foreign land.

Learn the language
Whether you're in the country for a week or a year, learn a few words. How to learn a language? No need to go overboard. Even 'please' or 'thank you' will send a signal that you care and that you respect your host country. If you're staying longer than a few weeks, consider taking a few classes. Even if you mangle the language, people will be thrilled you tried. I tried to learn some Thai when I lived in Bangkok. Although the only effect was to propel my Thai friends into hilarity, they still appreciated the effort.

Notice the social mores around you
Things like clothes and manners can take on a much larger meaning overseas. Halter tops and shorts may be commonplace at home but overseas they may attract a lot of unwanted male attention. When in doubt, look around you and do as local women do.

Be open
Things will be different from home, so be prepared. Some will be better, some will be worse. The food may be unfamiliar, and you may be almost invisible as a woman in some societies. Take it in stride. If what you want is a carbon copy of what you left behind, maybe you shouldn't be on the road.

Change your sense of time
This is one of the most important international travel tips you'll come across. Western societies place a great premium on time and punctuality. Most other societies don't. If you can't adapt, you may become awfully frustrated. In a moment may mean tomorrow, and tomorrow could mean next week. In Madrid I'd invited friends for dinner once. By 11pm I finally went to bed. They appeared well after midnight, chipper and hungry!

Tread your politics lightly
Imagine trying to talk politics with Chinese in Tibet or a government employee in Burma. Whatever your beliefs, you'll be communicating different value sets. If you're an activist or a political scientist, there will be some merit in this type of discussion. But for the average backpacking woman, it can lead to frustration. Just be prepared for it and remember, there's always more than one way to see things.

Stay away from negative expats
One of the best international travel tips I can give you is to stay positive. Foreigners who live in a country long-term can develop negative attitudes that compare their new home to their old one. Rather than enjoying the great local coffee, they'll bemoan the lack of a Starbucks. Don't get sucked into negativism - discovery is what travel is about.

Remember how little you know
Those of us who come from economically well-off countries may have a tendency to think we know what's best for the rest of the world. Travel light. Leave that piece of baggage at home.

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