Communication

Travelling to regions outside one's own social and cultural context can create situations where the flow of daily life and interaction with the community is greatly reduced and impaired due to lack of a common basis for communication. The procurement of food, shelter and other primary needs can be difficult due to language barriers. Even when speaking the same language, local idioms and vocabulary can often lead to incomprehension and misunderstanding.

Unfamiliar forms of non-verbal communication can also be troublesome. Eye movements and gestures can mean quite opposite things in different cultures. Whether just trying to make friends or in a situation of personal security, the traveller requires a certain knowledge of local customs.

Maintaining contact with home for news, reception of packages, transfer of money and a multitude of other purposes can be problematic in foreign countries. Access to postal service, telephones and other forms of communication that permit contact across the globe, vary greatly from one country to another.

Language barriers, inter-cultural communication and communication with home, just a few of the many communication difficulties encountered by the traveller. In the coming months geoNOMAD will provide resources, advice and solutions to help explore the global village.

Further Reading