Akwaaba friends, I just got back from my vacation in Florida and North Carolina, loads of inspiration to share with you over the next few weeks! 💡 1 Idea - The danger of “social comfort zone” in traveling It’s easy to fall into our “social comfort zone” when we travel in a group.
To me, what makes a good traveling partner is: (1) Be willing to do anything with me (even that is crazy), (2) Able to listen attentively & speak kindly and (3) Very respectful of each other's money, time and energy.
wow i needed this these days. gần đây em cũng có cảm giác mình từ một người rất thích bắt chuyện ngẫu hứng với người lạ, tự dưng lại trở thành một người somehow 'boring'... (?) giờ em mới nhận ra là do em quen đi với bạn nhiều quá, em dần trở nên comfy hơn với những nơi lạ nhưng cùng lúc, lại comfy với việc không cần bắt chuyện với người lạ nữa - cái đáng lẽ là niềm vui chính của việc ra ngoài đi chơi. không biết nó nghe có conflicting không :D anw ty!
it's what happened to me em :)) my friends and I reflected after our trip and we all agreed on this. that's why I wrote this piece. It's good that you're aware of this now :D
Besides, it is fun to share that I am super into talking to local people in every I visit. At first, people looked at me suspiciously. Well, with some minutes smiling, expressing my gratitude to come here and show my pure curiorsity for something, they all shared with me a lot. Most of them also gave me heartfelt hugs before we said goodbye to each other. I believe that quality conversation and kindness makes us human.
Your story reminds me of my own story. It was the first time I went to VNU-HCM's dormitory. With a huge eagerness to make new friends, to be better at communication, and to discover how people here live their student life, I struck up a conversation with anyone I met whenever I have a chance to talk (it means me and that person stay long enough to have a chat, waiting at a bus stop for example). You know what, all these people just looked at me like a weird creature and replied to me in a very defensive way (I swear I was not being rude :((). Gradually, I haven't tried talking to strangers anymore. I always wish that someday, a random stranger will come to me and start a conversation as I did before. How boring my society is, in my poor experience!
hi! i'd like to share my thoughts because i also faced the same situations as both the one that got approached and the approacher :D i think for most people nowadays, having strangers striking up conversations, you know, 'intentional' ones, not just 'asking for directions' - ones that we all are more familiar with, is still somewhat a bizarre thing to experience. most people are just flustered or shy which could be why they respond to unexpected interactions with someone they just met in a defensive way. basically, it's just humans being humans with their defense mechanisms. to be completely honest with you, even though i'm a self-proclaimed extrovert who love talking to new people, more than half of the time a stranger tried to talk to me could still result to me being skeptical of them and therefore, can't immediately talk much as i would've wanted. and it goes both ways, when i approach people, for sure there would still be ones that can't react as friendly as i wish.
but hey, that has never stopped me from befriending people. because there are still people who are like you, who'd love to have strangers striking up convos with them. and that's how i made friends. you just do it naturally. if it works, it works. if it doesn't, it doesn't.
in short, stop caring about what the others think and just live the way you want to live. that's what helped me the most. i hope my story brighten you up, even if just a little bit :D
Glad you quoted Nadal--he is a favorite. As for a traveling companion they should be naturally curious, willing to try new things, open minded, willing to compromise, easy to talk with but okay with quiet, sensitive to culture and manners-- a sense of humor is a wonderful addition.
To me, what makes a good traveling partner is: (1) Be willing to do anything with me (even that is crazy), (2) Able to listen attentively & speak kindly and (3) Very respectful of each other's money, time and energy.
Love that last bit!
wow i needed this these days. gần đây em cũng có cảm giác mình từ một người rất thích bắt chuyện ngẫu hứng với người lạ, tự dưng lại trở thành một người somehow 'boring'... (?) giờ em mới nhận ra là do em quen đi với bạn nhiều quá, em dần trở nên comfy hơn với những nơi lạ nhưng cùng lúc, lại comfy với việc không cần bắt chuyện với người lạ nữa - cái đáng lẽ là niềm vui chính của việc ra ngoài đi chơi. không biết nó nghe có conflicting không :D anw ty!
it's what happened to me em :)) my friends and I reflected after our trip and we all agreed on this. that's why I wrote this piece. It's good that you're aware of this now :D
Besides, it is fun to share that I am super into talking to local people in every I visit. At first, people looked at me suspiciously. Well, with some minutes smiling, expressing my gratitude to come here and show my pure curiorsity for something, they all shared with me a lot. Most of them also gave me heartfelt hugs before we said goodbye to each other. I believe that quality conversation and kindness makes us human.
Your story reminds me of my own story. It was the first time I went to VNU-HCM's dormitory. With a huge eagerness to make new friends, to be better at communication, and to discover how people here live their student life, I struck up a conversation with anyone I met whenever I have a chance to talk (it means me and that person stay long enough to have a chat, waiting at a bus stop for example). You know what, all these people just looked at me like a weird creature and replied to me in a very defensive way (I swear I was not being rude :((). Gradually, I haven't tried talking to strangers anymore. I always wish that someday, a random stranger will come to me and start a conversation as I did before. How boring my society is, in my poor experience!
hi! i'd like to share my thoughts because i also faced the same situations as both the one that got approached and the approacher :D i think for most people nowadays, having strangers striking up conversations, you know, 'intentional' ones, not just 'asking for directions' - ones that we all are more familiar with, is still somewhat a bizarre thing to experience. most people are just flustered or shy which could be why they respond to unexpected interactions with someone they just met in a defensive way. basically, it's just humans being humans with their defense mechanisms. to be completely honest with you, even though i'm a self-proclaimed extrovert who love talking to new people, more than half of the time a stranger tried to talk to me could still result to me being skeptical of them and therefore, can't immediately talk much as i would've wanted. and it goes both ways, when i approach people, for sure there would still be ones that can't react as friendly as i wish.
but hey, that has never stopped me from befriending people. because there are still people who are like you, who'd love to have strangers striking up convos with them. and that's how i made friends. you just do it naturally. if it works, it works. if it doesn't, it doesn't.
in short, stop caring about what the others think and just live the way you want to live. that's what helped me the most. i hope my story brighten you up, even if just a little bit :D
Yo bro I appreciate your perspective a lot. Thanks.
Glad you quoted Nadal--he is a favorite. As for a traveling companion they should be naturally curious, willing to try new things, open minded, willing to compromise, easy to talk with but okay with quiet, sensitive to culture and manners-- a sense of humor is a wonderful addition.