Through New Eyes

These days it is trendy to be a traveler rather than a tourist. People are looking for meaningful experiences that let them get under the skin of a destination, rather than a whirlwind bus tour that ticks off the major sights. Cultural immersion experiences play a big role in this trend, and the term covers a huge range of experiential travel options allowing you to surround yourself with local culture.

For those with time to spare, popular cultural immersion experiences include volunteer or study abroad programs, where you can live alongside locals while contributing to a project or learning a new skill. Language programs are particularly common, and the longer you stay, the more you learn.

That said, you don’t have to spend weeks or months abroad to immerse yourself in a different culture; you can also do it on a holiday, a daytrip or even over just a few hours. The idea is to share an authentic experience with local people, whether you end up teaching English to Korean students for a year or learning how to cook traditional Mexican meals with a local chef in an afternoon.

Over the last few years, social media increasingly influenced travel trends. With just a few clicks you can find out exactly where that amazing beach is, which hotel your friends stayed at and a whole lot more, depending on how much they like to share. As a result, travel experiences have become a lot more visible and, dare we say, less unique.

Taking their own version of the most famous Instagram shots in a destination is the opposite of what certain travelers believe defines travel. They appreciate a more personal, unique experience that can’t be reduced to a series of photos in famous spots. These travelers drive demand for cultural immersion experiences. It might sound slightly elitist to expect every trip to be so personal and unique, but one can’t deny it’s a trend in an age where personalization rules.

However, cultural immersion goes beyond simply making sure you’ve got some unique photos to show off. It’s a different kind of travel that means not just being somewhere new but seeing things from an altered perspective. When you take the time to see the world through someone else’s eyes, it’s impossible not to feel more empathy for them and appreciate the different context of their lives. As a result, it’s a great way of breaking down stereotypes and improving cultural sensitivity.

There are also myriad benefits in terms of personal growth, which is why cultural immersion experiences are so popular among young students. Working or studying abroad for an extended time forces them away from their comfort zones and into new situations that help to build confidence and resilience. Of course, this applies to any age group.

If you’re interested in learning a new language, cultural immersion is the way to go. Communicating in your target language every day — and perhaps living with a local host family — helps you make rapid progress compared to trying to pick something up during a one-hour class after work. After all, when you are fully immersed, you have to learn if you want to communicate.

Having language skills brings further benefits in terms of establishing meaningful relationships with others and encourages further cultural appreciation. Plus, cultural immersion is a two-way street, so in talking to your new friends you will be able to enlighten them about your own culture. Not only will locals potentially learn about people from around the world, they should also benefit economically if you are careful to travel in an ethical way.

You should consider a number of things before you travel to get the most out of a cultural immersion experience. Making a list of goals you want to achieve through your experience — whether it’s learning to salsa or simply eating a specific delicacy with a local — helps to make your journey a conscious one. At the same time, read up on local customs so you can be culturally sensitive.

In general terms, a good cultural immersion experience is about authenticity, not appropriation. Going to a community festival taking place even if visitors aren’t there is completely different from watching a staged performance of music and dance put on entirely for tourists’ benefit. Food, festivals, clothes and holidays are all likely distorted when tourists are around. It might be difficult to find something completely authentic, but living in a place and hanging out with locals makes it much more likely. Failing that, choose a reputable tour operator if you’re short on time.

When you’re on your trip, it’s important to see things as they are, not as you thought the culture would be. You are there to see the reality of local life, not a tourist-friendly version. It might not all be glamorous, but that’s the point. You’re experiencing the everyday and appreciating subtle cultural nuances by getting into the headspace of a local. No one parties every day, and it’s unlikely ordinary life will conform to your stereotyped preconceptions of a place.

If you want to find a cultural immersion experience, there are a number of ways to do so. Think about niche travel agents who put together bespoke packages for individual clients, or go one step further and use an agency like Trufflepig, which hires “non-guide” guides to show travelers around a destination of their choice. You might find yourself on a food tour of Rome with a local chef or a vineyard tour of Mendoza with a master sommelier. Instead of traveling with a tour guide who does a different itinerary every day, you’ll be spending time with people who really know their stuff.

If you don’t want to book a whole trip, try a portal like Withlocals, which lists local guides in a selection of cities you can browse and book for a cultural immersion experience.

Another option is Eat With, which focuses on culinary experiences like sharing a meal with locals in their homes. You’ll also find a huge selection of experiences on Go Overseas, a company that provides a searchable database even though it doesn’t run any of the trips itself. Or look for local cooking and language schools where you can pick up a new skill.

While all of these businesses can place you in situations of cultural immersion, the result really depends on you and how open you are to new experiences. To truly benefit, you will need to engage with the culture from a new perspective. For example, booking a language course in Brazil doesn’t automatically mean you will come home fluent in Portuguese. To get the most out of your experience, you will have to do homework and actively participate in the language-learning process.

It’s as much about a change of mentality as anything else, so try it on your next trip. Leave the tourist restaurants behind in favor of a local meal, and you might come away with a full belly, a new friend and a different perspective on your destination of choice.