Today’s lesson: How to Avoid a Scuffle in a Foreign Land. Most people long to travel the world for a glorious adventure, but few would include getting in a scuffle with a local as part of the goal. Although seeing the world is high on many a bucket list, the doing so isn’t quite so easy, due to the time and money required. These barriers to travel are a loss in many ways, one being the lack of experience many of us have in navigating cultures, languages, and customs that aren’t like the ones we know. Many U.S. travelers find themselves at a loss in foreign countries, unable to speak the language and unskilled in deducing situations that are uncomfortable and confusing. Such inexperienced travelers are seen by locals as either silly or irritating, depending on the etiquette breach on display.
In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson recap a tourist debacle in Nepal. The event, while frightening, is a launchpad for discussing the need to travel with deep humility toward people and places you encounter for the first time. Listen in to all this and more, and then continue the conversation on Twitter @PersuasionCAPC or in the CAPC members-only community on Facebook.
Be sure to answer our question of the day: What’s your funniest travel blunder?
Links from the show:
British Tourist Chased by Nepalese Woman Hurling Rocks after Complaining, MSN.com
Theme music by Maiden Name.