Neus Flores
“Euro Summer” seems to be the headline of summer 2024, with an influx of trends and people #scouting around Europe.´
Public relations B. A. Lauren Lanning gives us her personal #perspective on this experience.
This Euro Summer #trend offers a unique opportunity to delve into places that are #socially and #culturally different to one another. Here’s how your adventures abroad can make you a more #competent and #confident individual:
Travel immersion: a definition
Immersive travel is the #intentional #engagement with a destination’s history, culture, food, and people. It emphasizes #authentic #experiences and participating in the local way of life rather than viewing from the sidelines as a #tourist. This form of travel is not only beneficial for the traveler, but also brings #economic #benefits to the host region. It preserves and promotes #culture, local #businesses, and strengthens global relations by cultivating #understanding among travelers.
Adaptability & flexibility: navigating challenges
Travel helps stimulate a #growth #mindset and continuously pushes you out of your #comfort #zone.
It encourages breaking routines and #adapting to the new norms around you. Immersing yourself in different routines and #customs can significantly enhance your adaptability and flexibility, which are essential components of #self-efficacy—the belief in your ability to succeed in various situations. As you navigate these #challenges, you develop resilience and confidence in handling unfamiliar circumstances.
Variants across dialects
As you travel, you will likely encounter small differences in dialect, such as the differences between the #Catalan language, #Andalusian Spanish, and other Spanish dialects in Spain. This is just one #example of how you can take a short journey and undercover a whole different regional language and way of life. Understanding these #variations deepens your understanding of #linguistic #diversity and its impact on the cognitive processes, social interactions, and cultural #identity of those who inhabit it. There are differences in the way of life everywhere you go. A small way to appreciate that, is by identifying and #understanding these differences.
Exploring Cultural Diversity
Everyone grows up surrounded by different norms, viewpoints, and people. Through travel, first hand exposure to different cultures broadens these #worldviews and helps enhance #compassion. I know for me that travel has distilled a sense of #commonality between me and every new person and place I have met- revealing the #interconnection between societies. These experiences help cultivate a deeper understanding of #global cultures and encourage an appreciation for #diversity.
Through immersive experiences I have found #passions and #education in the #unknown. However, you don’t need to travel far to grow your understanding of other cultures. Finding commonalities and differences among people in your immediate environment can also offer rich #learning experiences. But, if you are looking to step out of your comfort zone, practice enriching and immersive travel rather than sticking to the #safety net of traditional tourism.
As the summer comes to a close, here are some #tips for your future travels:
1- #Learn and #practice the social norms of the people and places around you.
2- Undercover the #small #differences in #dialects throughout different regions of the same native language.
3- #Research some #history of the location prior to your visit.
4- #Interact with people, and learn to #love the unknown!
Text author: Lauren Lanning
Edited and published for the Washington Morning by Neus Flores
Read other interesting cultural articles here.
