Making friends in Burma
- Carry something to share. Stop by the local market and buy a half kilo (a little over a pound) of an easy to share food. I recommend oranges or dried fruit. Throughout the day, offer some to the people around you. Even if they don’t accept, it’s a great way to break the ice.
- Learn these 5 phrases in the local language: hello, thank you, delicious, beautiful, fun.Locals are often flattered by your attempt to speak their tongue. Strike up a conversation with someone, even with just these few words and hand signals, you can have a great exchange.
- Always accept a meal, even if it is something as unusual as insects or as odd smelling as durian. As a vegetarian, this gets a little trickier. Typically, if I let people know, they will offer me something else. But there have been occasions when I’ve made exceptions, such as the time that a grandmother hand fed me chicken as part of a ritual in Thailand, or a woman in Cambodia insisted (I couldn’t refuse her more than three times!) that I try the red ant rice salad. It was delicious.
- Support small local businesses. One of my favorite ways to meet women in southeast Asia is to get my hair done. I try to find a small shop located in someone’s house where I get my hair washed (usually with a great scalp massage), conditioned and dryed, all for just a couple of dollars. I spend time chatting with the other customers, playing with the kids and appreciating the attention. Also, try smaller guest houses, locally owned restaurants and small boutiques or shops.
- Smile!! A smile is something that translates across almost all boundaries. Be open, respectful and gracious and others will respond in kind.
What are some ways that you’ve met locals while on the road?
My best suggestion for getting a great local experience is to get on couchsurfing. You don’t need to stay at someone’s house the premise is a cultural exchange so often it can just be coffee.
In Lima Peru I just met up with a girl my age who took me and two other couchsurfers out for a walking tour of Lima and then we went back to one of her friend’s house and she taught us how to make pisco sours.
Now that is how you meet locals.
Hi Ayngelina,
I totally agree that Couchsurfing is a great resource as well! However, when I was traveling in some of the more rural areas of Southeast Asia, the local people there didn’t have reliable internet access, nor would many of them even be aware of a site like that.
I’ve had great experiences meeting locals more organically as well as arranging something via the internet.
Cheers!
I definitely agree with Ayngelina’s suggestion about Couchsurfing! Great way to meet people in many parts of the world–although not all!
Great tips–especially just smiling (even though it can be misconstrued in several cultures, so I’d be careful!). Love the buying-something-to-share one!
Hi Christine,
I know I’ve read that in some parts of the world smiling doesn’t mean the same thing, but I’ve never run into that. Have you? I’d be very interested to hear from anyone who has had an opposite reaction or experience around this.
All my long term traveling has been in Asia and since Thailand is the Land of Smiles, it was not an issue!
Smiling never hurts! Studies of cultures across the world have shown that people express and recognize the same facial expressions everywhere, even places that are cut off from the rest of the world. And no one is going to accept fruit from you or offer you a meal if you’re grimacing.
Thank god! If I had to stop smiling, I’d be in huge trouble!!
Great article! I’m curious to hear what you think about clothing. Might sound like a girly issue but as you probably know in many cultures wearing certain pieces of clothing, even if it is just your trusty shorts, can be seen as distasteful but as a traveler is it more accepting? Does what you wear, in your opinion, really play an important part when wanting to meet and photograph locals especially when it comes to locals in the rural areas?
That’s a great question. Yes, I think that erring on the side of conservatism while traveling is best. In Thailand, for example, you should not enter a temple with bare shoulders or short shorts. In fact, at the Grand Palace in Bangkok, they loan travelers a sarong or scarf if their clothing is not appropriate.
In the hot climates, I tend to wear lightweight long pants (that I can roll up) and t-shirts with a thin cotton shirt over them. That way I am covered up, still cool and protected from insects. I think it makes me more approachable than wearing something that is considered racey.
This was a great read! Thanks for tips! Lookin forward to incorporate them when I get the chance to travel
Thanks Manali!! It’s always great to make new friends no matter where you are. Actually, sometimes I think it’s easier to do when you are traveling