Understanding a culture/country

Dayglowhamster

What's the best way to understand a culture or country when travelling? - not living there, but when you are travelling.

I'm not suggesting we truly can understand but the results of our efforts to try form the base of our opinions, which largely form the base of forums. So I'm interested how other travellers start to learn about the places they visit.

So what's the best way you find to learn about a place?

Please, pretty please with cherries on top, feed my curiosity!

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Dr Funkenstein

I don't really expect to 'understand', to be honest.

I do a little reading beforehand but, mainly, I just go with an open mind, a smile, and the knowledge that I'm going to be totally dumbfounded and surprised.

I sort of take it from there ...

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Dayglowhamster

Uderstanding is a process not a result - it comes a little at a time. I think what interests me is what we try to do to get a little further down the track.

Reading first makes sense, but while dumbfounded - I bet a quid or two you try somehow to understand. How?

Dr Funkenstein

True.

How do I try to understand? Difficult question, now I think about it properly. If I say 'I just try to soak it all up' does that sound like a bit of wishy-washy answer? I expect it does.

One practical thing that I try to do is get off the beaten track a bit - stay with local families if possible, that kind of thing.

I agree with you when you say that understanding is a process not a result. I think that one of the things I do is realise that I'll come home with more questions than answers.

Good question, dayglowhamster - gonna have to ponder over this one a bit more, I think.

bindi

I can't say that I've gotten much from the places alone. My personal India is formed by the people I met along the way, both Indian and foreigners: the women who treated me like their daughter, the Ugandan student living in India who "loved India but hated Indians", the lifestories I heard, the conversations and the everyday life I studied eargerly.
In order to understand, I've tried - and keep trying - to absorb everything that has even a hint of India.

Tomi

I'd say one thing that helps get to know a country is not to be on a tight schedule. Allow time to sit with someone and chat, whether it is fishermen on the beach, fellow travelers, employees, or just people sitting around. If you must catch that bus, and head off to Cochin tomorrow at dawn, you end up missing a lot.

If you take the initiative to approach someone, especially if you walk in nondescript towns or neighborhoods, you run much less the risk of the conversation degenerating into someone trying to sell you something. The conversation can lead to an invitation, etc. It's not at all the same as talking with those young bogus art students in Jaipur who come to you and say they want to be your friends.

If you have time to spare, you can also go back to the same sweet shop or pharmacy a second time; you'll be recognized and it allows you to talk with the people. Don't be afraid to be forward, as most people (at least in India) are very friendly.

Forums like this one are great too. Before my first trip to India, and before Indiamike, I met several NRIs through chat rooms and forums. They were happy to give me their uncles' addresses in Jaisalmer, Alwar, etc., and I was always well received, offered chai, introduced to babies and grandmothers, and got to participate in political and cultural discussions aplenty.

That's a start, and a small effort is required.

DianeN.

The important thing to remember is no one can completely "understand" a culture....not even those who were born and raised there. A person only understands their own perspective on a culture--their experiences and the people that they meet influence that understanding. It is impossible to accurately say "India is_________". or in my case, "Japan is_______" because the possibilities of the blank are huge.

The start of understanding a culture is to keep an open mind, and try not to (though so difficult/impossible) to always see things from our own culturally biased eyeglasses.

DianeN.

I like reading literature/novels written by the inhabitants of a particular culture I'm interested in. More than reading a history book, or a newspaper article--you can get the feel for the people that are carrying out their day to day lives and what they view as important. Of course, fiction is fiction, and it is important to distinguish the fact that most authors take a lot of creative license with their writing...but still, as a window into a culture, it is a good place to start.

Another way--one I try to encourage my students--is to try to eat the food of another culture from time to time. Without actually having to travel anywhere, one can eat their way around the world quite nicely. Especially here in Tokyo where there are thousands and thousands of restaurants from just about any country.

SHIMLA

Get off the tourist trail and spend time in the smaller towns and villages. Try to stay with a local family and observe. Mix freely with the locals and ask questions. One may face language problems in the villages, but will have to get through with broken Hindi, Marathi, etc.

Eat local food, participate in a local festival. Some dishes are specially prepared for festivals and have a significance. Understand the significance.

Doing so in one part of India is not enough. One has to repeat the above in North, South, East, West and Central India. Then again, the culture is different from state to state even within a region. Maharashtrian culture is different from Gujarati. Malayalee culture is different from Tamil, etc.

The study of culture in India will require a lot of effort, time and patience; and even then one will never get the hang of it completely !

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beach

Not able to understand a culture fully is the charm of it. If you know it fully, probably you would be bored.

SHIMLA

beach,

I agree. A little grey area is essential to sustain interest.

Dr Funkenstein

I think that's right, too. Some of my favourite travelling moments have been when I'm shaking my head in disbelief at an aspect of local culture that seems totally alien to me.