Connecting with Locals: 2007
Good travel requires connecting with people. Get creative: bring a Frisbee, look up a bridge club, assume a fake last name and get out a phone book. Connecting with locals puts a shine into your travel memories. How do you make sure you connect with the locals in your travels?
Read the Distillation: Connecting with Locals, 2005
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Witch burning
We arrived in Laarne, Belgium, which is near Gent, the last night of our vacation. I had reserved a bed and breakfast in the village so we could enjoy Gent but still be close to the airport. We arrived and found the town was CLOSED--all the roads were blocked--we couldn't get to the B&B and the people we found couldn't speak English to help us. We finally found someone at a restaurant and he informed us that the town was closed for a Witch burning (a recreation of course). We found our B&B, went to the witch burning (it was the 400th anniversary of the event) and enjoyed the people, music, dancing and fireworks. A local man explained the whole event to us. It was a great end to a great vacation in Holland and Belgium.
Julie
Provo, Utah USA Tue 09/04/2007
Italian Spirit
Just recieved an email from my son whom is traveling in Europe with his girlfriend and two other friends from school. They went out of their way to meet and try and talk with a young Italian guy on their train trip from Venice to Florence. In Bolonga, his girlfriend left her passport and train tickets (a lesson to make sure your always actually wearing your moneybelt when on the trains)as they transfered trains. This young man went out of his way to actually get off his train, and chase them down in the staion to give her back her passport and tickets. What a wonderful gesture this gentlemen displayed. He saved their trip! Unless they are playing the US team, I'm always rooting for Italia from now on in football!!! Molto Grazie!!
Tim
Orlando, FL USA Sat 06/16/2007
Staying with Family
The best way to conect with the locals is by staying with your family. Whenever I travel I always make it a point to stay with my family. Everyday I can explore the town. This works well in the US and abroad. The family knowes where the best restairant is, where the best theater is, the best museums to go to and their hours. If you send an email you may be invited to a relatives hourse for a day where you can swim with the locals in the community pool, share a dinner together and have a good time. It is also nice to stay at the home of your relatives as you can truely relax and unwind. Be sure to offer to buy groceries,help with the chores etc. You will feel like a temporary local meeting friends and seeing the sights as if you lived in the city.
Rick has empjasized to try and contact as many family members as possi ble as it adds to the travel experience. Just imagine being abel to spend a week at your relative's house midway through a trip staying at hotels. It's a luxry that won't cost you much and you can taste the local foods as well.
Daniel <email>
Saratoga, CA USA Sun 06/10/2007
making jokes, making friends
On a train from Cologne to Amsterdam, my friends and I, some American college kids, had to sit in the aisles because it was a busy holiday weekend. A few middle-aged couples on holiday were in the seats surrounding us. Since my friends and I had to keep standing up to let people pass, I leaned over to the gentleman in the seat next to me and said "es ist wie eine katholische Messe!" ("it's like a Catholic mass!"). Apparently that was hilaaaarious...my joke was a hit! We ended up playing a game with them where we tried to name a town in Germany that began with each letter of the alphabet. We laughed all the way to Amsterdam. Amazing what one little joke can do!
Lori <email>
Winston-Salem, NC USA Wed 05/02/2007
French
Neither my high school French nor the dim memory of my mother's side of the family speaking Quebecois French was much help in Paris; so I alternated 2 badly accented expressions that got us through our wonderful week: 'Je ne parle pas Francais; je tue Francais' and 'Votre pauvre oreilles!'. (I don't speak French; I kill French, and Your poor ears!) These at one point turned a distant waiter into an old pal and we left calling 'l'ange de nourriture.' (the angel of food).
Carla
San Francisco, CA USA Sun 03/18/2007
speaking about Karneval with locals
Being in a town in Germany still celebrating Karneval can be a rewarding experience. For instance, I was able to ask a couple in Stuttgart, dressed in clownlike outfits visiting a local pub/snackbar, how they celebrated Karneval, or if they called it in Fasching which is the other word in German. For instance in Cologne one says "Kölle Alaaf!". In Stuttgart on the other hand, they say "Stuttgart Nari Naro!". No matter what part of Germany Karneval or Fasching is celebrated, it seems that the band "Die Höhner" are the best known performers nationwide. We even compared the songs from that group - our favorite somehow was "Die Karawane zieht weiter, der Sultan häät Doosch" (the caravan goes on further, the Sultan is thirsty). This is one of the times to forget whether one is from Germany, Austria, France, Spain, or even the USA. As they say in Cologne during Karneval "Mir sin alle Kölle"
Josh Hanz <email>
Frisco, TX USA Sat 03/10/2007