Tags
Abroad, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Things We Learned, Tips for Traveling Abroad, Traveling Abroad
This is third and final part of our 3 part series on Things We Learned While Traveling Abroad for a Year. If you missed them, here’s Part 1 and Part 2.
23. Your appearance immediately sets expectations. Run with it.
Posin’ in Xi’an, China.
A buddy of mine and I were recently comparing our experiences in Seoul, South Korea. In my experience, almost no one spoke English in Seoul. In his, pretty much everyone did. The difference? He’s 6’2” and white as the day is long. I’m 5’10” and half Chinese – a look that makes me indefinably ethnic at home, but probably Chinese in Korea. People were expecting him to speak English, so they did so preemptively. With me, they weren’t quite sure where to start.
Conversely, I’d be willing to bet that I received better treatment in Paris because I looked like a fumbling young Japanese tourist to most French people.
24. Asians are everywhere.
A Chinese tour group in Yellowstone.
Thanks in large part to Chinese and Japanese tour groups, Asians are everywhere. Other ethnic groups, not so much.
25. And Sexpats are all over Asia.
Yay, sexpats, bleh.
It’s especially bad in Thailand, but you see them all over Southeast Asia. Pretty revolting, stuff, actually.
26. Sometimes it’s worth it to pay for a room with a view.
Bora Bora was totally worth the cost.
In Paris, we rented an apartment with a view of Sucre Coeur. In Tokyo, we got a room facing Mt. Fuji. In Bora Bora, we had a room facing the volcano. I never used to be a stop-and-admire-the-view kind of guy, but there’s something to be said for waking up and immediately feeling like you’re in an exotic, amazing place.