I'll admit it. I am prone to traveling and leaving my appreciation of what I've just encountered to the (usually long) plane ride home. I've made a point of it, recently, to stop while I am at my destination and really take it all in and value it in its entirety - the people that surround me, going about their daily lives, as well as the setting and scenery.

I tended to create my personal trips like a mom of a large family might make a stop at the grocery store – having a list of all I want to accomplish and ordering it in such a way that no moment is wasted, no step is unnecessary, with no time for idleness. Generally speaking, I would arrange for a final day that is my “catch-all” day, in case my meticulous planning in the prior days did not fully pan out and I missed seeing or doing some item I had in my itinerary.

What I failed to understand is that, while I was very thorough and always ensured I accomplished everything I wanted to, I missed the key part of travel – that is, becoming saturated in a culture different from my own. To really experience culture, one must drop out of the fast lane of life and take a few moments to relish in the ordinary, find intrigue in the mundane. When abroad, it may mean spending a few hours in a coffee shop listening to residents talk about the local music scene. It might be going to a hole-in-the-wall diner and sitting at the counter to talk to the cook. Perhaps it is going to a local dive bar, instead of the fancy or well-known bar, and grabbing a pint with the home folk.

Stopping to chat with or share a drink with the people who live that reality that you are visiting allows you to experience life their way, if only for a brief period of time. It allows you to move past the tourism crowd into those who travel. It broadens your perspective on material goods, politics, and socio-economic status, and gives you something to think about on that (usually long) plane ride home.

So, next trip you take, whether it be within the US or abroad, take a few hours to experience the culture, won’t you?