How to be travel sensitive!

I thought this might be an appropriate post as we are nearing the holidays in parts of the world. In this holiday spirit which arouses in all of us a need to share and give, I have written a post about being travel sensitive while considering your options to give back!

One of the things that has been top of mind for me when I travel is the need to be culturally and environmentally sensitive.

True it may be a cultural shock traveling to a new country and the information overload is all too real when all we want to do is relax, enjoy and learn about a new place.

But trust me, a little bit of sensitivity goes a long way in building a relationship that will help you experience the country you are visiting in new and beautiful ways. 

Although, you may need to balance your appreciation of the history of the country with your own emotional balance, especially as you learn that every (or almost every) single city on this planet has had some conflict, loss, and pain. Because of this, I will of course also share with you some tips that have helped me to stay stable most of the time!

No, I am not perfect. But let's give this a shot shall we??

How to be travel sensitive:

I frequently find that many people travel to countries to volunteer and help out. I've been there and felt the need to help out whenever and wherever I can. 

Being from India, I can tell you that this is not wrong but there are ways to do it that can leave a positive impact instead of setting off a butterfly effect on the city residents, who may feel you are stereotyping them.

How can you approach your new city with sensitivity?

1. Taking photos

Ask the person whose photo you'd like to take for permission. This is a given.

Let them pose in ways that show their true identity and make them feel happiest. But also balance these photos with photos of people and parts of the city that are as or more modern than that your own home city.

When you talk about what you learned, remember, if you are surprised, you may have been prejudiced about their growth and intelligence.

Try to appreciate them as intellectuals and mentors. Trust me, I learned a lot this way and am indebted to those who taught me.

2. Donating money

If you want to offer your help, take out a day to talk to local NGOs and see what will benefit them. Or book an appointment with a local family after asking their permission to visit them and see what you can offer them.

You may be able to link them to local NGOs or giving them tangible products that will help them. Remember, they may not have time to meet you but you can always find a lot of NGOs online that you can verify as credible. 

This will show that you have a plan to execute your caring instead of adopting short-term solutions and feeling bad about being unable to help. You may also want to contact friends and family about the organization's needs.

Do your research though before donating! Not everything and everyone are as they seem.

3. Volunteering

Do your research before volunteering too. Research the negative effects instead of the positive.

If you volunteer at an orphanage for a short period of time, it will affect the children emotionally and not in a good way when you leave. If you volunteer with animals, too many short-term hands in the pot may not help them stay wild, which may be key to their survival. 

Remember that some organizations may not even allow you to interact with their clients because of your short-term involvement, so ask yourself are you ready to sit in an office and just prepare an annual report for them.

Are you willing to pay them to volunteer with them? Will you walk away frustrated if they are not as organized as you think they should be. After all, they are front-line in serving their clients.

Also ask yourself - are you going to walk away thinking that you helped them? Instead, you may want your goal to be filling an ad-hoc gap the organization has - did they advertise for a short-term gap they need to fill with expertise only you have and can provide?

There are many local volunteers who may be able to contribute so consider what is different that only you can offer. If there's nothing, you may want to just connect the organization with a local expert who can help.

4. Acting local

If someone offers to do your hair, wear local clothes, or eat local food, you may want to consider, first ask yourself whether you're exoticizing their culture and building stereotypes in your head about how it looks and feels, or are you learning something new that you will appreciate and share with others.

Recognize that what you are experiencing may not be daily life in the country or city you are visiting. You may have restricted yourself to the tourist hubs. The food you are coming across may be cooked in many different ways by different people, just like at home. The clothes may be worn because of weather or personality, not just because of tradition, and many youth in that country may be wearing western clothes.

Also consider whether what you are eating or wearing or doing has a religious significance that you may want to understand before any misinterpretations.

Remember to experience the culture you're visiting in it's variety and recognize that it is as modern and as historical as your own.

5. Following instructions

Practice attentive listening and observing. I am sure the readers here already do this, but a reminder never hurt, right?

There are large signs in most places about how you can respect the local culture - no footwear in temples in India; no climbing rocks that the indigenous mark as respectful or dangerous; no approaching wild animals.

Don't know the language, ask your guide or another tourist there.

Still not sure? Err on the side of caution and stay on your side of the fence or follow the trails. Do not venture off as it may damage the local flora, scare the fauna, or it may be a sacred place that should not be affected.

Tip - Research the place you're visiting to understand it's cultural significance in advance.

6. Leave the city cleaner or as clean

Do not leave behind garbage!

In fact, when you camp in the wild, rake the place to leave it as it was before.

Use biodegradable toiletries. You're visiting someone else's home - their city - it may already be suffering from pollution, so try your best to not add to it even if it's a tiny bit more costly for you.

Plus, some places may need you to throw your used toilet paper in a dustbin instead of flushing them down the toilet. Read the sign posted on the toilet doors.

And don't forget to take some time to rest in a public park or at an open festival; lie on the beach by the sea; sit on a mountain, in the desert sand, or by an old fort and listen to the wind; and just breathe it all in! 

The Believer

You may have read about her in one of my earlier posts, but I felt that my mention of her was too short and her impact quite large. So a post dedicated to her was necessary.

Who is Nimisha? 

She isn't famous or well-known. A regular woman you might say. But it is the regular women with the stories that connect to us the most, I feel. I hope you agree....

So, where did I leave off in my last brief mention about Nimisha? Ah yes, we were sitting in her car driving towards a get-together of sorts. I was there to learn more about her work and its impact after all. 

As we were driving, she pointed to a loud argument under the expressway, which by the way I likely hadn't noticed or accepted as part and parcel of life in India. Not her. She asked if she should turn back to help them. I said yes. A quick u-turn, smooth parking, and she was right in the middle of it all. Listening to each side intently, nodding her head, taking a moment to speak. 

Minutes go by, and the end result? Smiles and a dissipation of the argument. When she returned to the car, I asked her whether she would return the next day and whether she thought she had made a difference. A practical person, she responded that she may not have. 

Nimisha....

A person who is confident in her love for herself. Refers to her childhood with a lightness, and describes herself as an adorable, attention-seeking child. Close to 40, and confesses to her unconditional love for her sister and brother. 

With a father who was a good businessman and an entrepreneur, she was always interested in starting a business venture and applying her creativity to develop and grow it. However, circumstances did not allow this as she came from a patriarchical family. 

She was still very close to her father and instead built her background in child development and psychology.... Her teaching career began with her offering tutoring to children outside school hours and although she wanted to open a formal coaching class, she couldn't help worry about those who would not be able to afford the classes. 

She never started the coaching business but instead began volunteering at a school for the visually impaired and was shocked to find no blackboard. Lol. Then, moved to a school for the hearing impaired and then an orphanage, finally ending at Jumbish, an NGO which ran a public school. A life-long teacher, this is where her heart finally fit in.

The need to help others has permeated through to other aspects of her life too!

In fact, she has even written a biography about someone she met with cancer who wanted others to learn from his experience and avoid chewing an Indian tobacco equivalent called panmasala which is known to cause cancer. The book, Achanak, was impactful and led to many quitting the habit.

Nimisha's favorite quote is a prayer:

Tera tujko arpan kya laage mera...

I have nothing of my own

Everything is given to me

So every day she practices to give all back to nature and the world. And although she has no advice for others based on her experiences, she hopes that the work she does passes on the message automatically. Her words, "My life will be my message". 

Is your life your message? I hope it is, even if it is just for yourself!