1. The longer one travels, the more one adapts to the culture of travel. In this culture, staying in one place for longer than several weeks is odd, washing ones clothes in a sink is common place, and being unemployed is chic and enviable.
2. Although a traveler “fits” amongst fellow travelers and backpackers, a traveler grows accustom to feeling like a foreigner or stranger in each new country or city. This feeling eventually becomes a normal part of a travelers schema and her/she quickly grows a new identity such as “globe trotting backpacker” or “nomadic beer tester”. While developing a new identity, a traveler always carries with them, perhaps unconsciously, the idea that there is a place in the world where they are not a “foreigner”. A place where they understand the cultural rules and norms. A place where they are not an oddity and where locals do not take their picture as they walk down the street. Problematically, when a traveler returns “home” they often discover that the culture and friends they left behind continued to function in a predictable manner: friends and family members continued going to work, having children, getting married, starting new jobs, graduating from college, etc. The traveler often feels out of sorts as they begin to understand how much traveling has changed the way they think, act, and relate to the world around them.
3. In many cultures, the realities that allow a traveler to spend an extended time period bouncing around the globe, are not admirable or envious when they return home. Thus, being unemployed and not having a home make a traveler feel free and adventurous on the road while at home these very concepts make a traveler appear or feel like a loser or a bum.
4. At least in many Western Countries, traveling abroad is often cheaper than living at home. Thus the traveler who wandered around Asia for $25-$45 a day (living like a king) is forcefully reminded that being a millionaire in Singapore does not exactly help when trying to rent an apartment, pay a cell phone bill, or shop for groceries.

How to Adjust to Culture Shock at Home

To begin with, simply try to relax. Remember that although you may not feel “at home” you do actually understand the spoken and unspoken rules of your home culture. This of course, does not mean that you need to stop doing your laundry in the sink, but at least you will understand when your friends look at you funny.

1. Prepare for Culture Shock: Recognize that re-entry will be difficult and that you cannot simply pick up your life where you left off. If possible, start the job hunt before you return home or consider aligning your return home with the start of a seasonal job. For example, line up a gig working the snow season in Colorado, or the the Cruise Ship season in Alaska. This will give you some time to adjust to “home” culture without the pressures of thinking that you need to go borrow money from the local land shark to buy your next meal.
2. Starting Over Money: Don’t spend every last dollar traveling. Set aside a “starting over” fund (at least $1,000 but probably more) and don’t touch it until you get home. This will make it easier to get established and will relieve some of the pressure while you start a new life.  Having the security deposit and first month of rent for your new apartment is helpful for return.
3. Expect People Not to Care: This is not mean, it is just reality. Your friends and family will be glad to see you and happy that you are not roaming the streets of Istanbul penniless and alone. However, while you were off playing amateur anthropologist, “finding yourself”, or trying to out drink your new Aussie friends under the table, they were going to work, going to school and living their chosen lives. As a result, they will be more or less the same and you will be different. What is more, although they care about you and will be polite, they really do not care how much fun you had hitch hiking your way around Malaysia or mashing potatoes with a spoon in some ill equipped hostel kitchen. They won’t understand and you need to okay with that and stop telling travel stories.
4. Plan Your New Life: Why did you go traveling in the first place? Did you hate your job and needed to see what else the world offered? Did you love your job and took a well deserved sabbatical? Perhaps you just graduated from college and took a gap year before starting your career. Whatever made you want to go see the world in the first place focus on those memories and make the necessary changes as you begin to create a “new old” life for yourself. Perhaps this means aggressively pursuing a career change or going back to school to retool your skills. Whatever this means for you, formulate a plan before you return home so you don’t wake up six months after re-entry angry with fact that you picked up the same crappy life that you had before you left.

Re-entry Culture Shock is a part of traveling the world. If you find yourself feeling lonely and missing the world, go stay at a local hostel for a few nights and get to know the traveling occupants. If that does not help, you can always put off the re-entry problems, apply for a work visa, grab your backpack and hit the road again.

The Bad

The Establishment: If you have been backpacking for any amount of time, you are accustom to doing everything  yourself. They will take your passport (all passports are stamped as a group at each port) and set the schedule of what time you must return to the ship. It is not that the establishment will make the wrong decisions, but they will make decisions that bring them repeat business. That is not you.

Ports of Call: Remember, a cruise ship is a business. As a business, the cruise ship makes most of their money selling peripherals (shore excursions, drinks, massages, etc.) Therefore, many ports of call, especially on a repositioning cruise, are not exactly set up for independent exploration. This is not to say that a port cannot be explored on foot, but rather that most ports are chosen by their proximity to attractions that are alluring to most cruisies. For example, the boat may dock at a boring city in Australia that is the perfect location to take 3 hour boat trips to the Great Barrier Reef or a full day excursion to the rain forest. Although it is possible (and much more economical) to plan your own adventures, the cruise excursions are the easiest as they will pick you up and drop you off. These excursions are also the most expensive way to see a destination as everyone is looking for their cut (the cruise ship, the bus driver, the tour operator etc.).

The People: People are not always pleasant. Repositioning cruises tend to attract retired and semi-retired people who are accustom to speaking their mind (no matter how offensive) and having their way. Develop a thick skin, be assertive and don’t forget to laugh at the drama. It is not worth the emotional energy to become outraged at the people who think your a decade older (or younger) than your actual age, the people who think you work on the ship (and order a drink or ask for more towels to be delivered to one of the swimming pools), or those who think bashing another culture (i.e. let me tell you why I hate the French) is socially acceptable.

The Ugly

Closed Economy: Many things on a cruise ship are included in the cost of the cruise. However, the items that are not (drinks, certain activities, etc.) are rather expensive. As good capitalists, cruise ships recognize that they are running a monopoly. From beer to shore excursions, a cruise ship will charge prices that make even airport vendors cringe.

The People: Cruisies are like teenage girls at a college frat party. They are eager to impress everyone they meet with their travel qualifications while, at the same time, being slightly insecure about their travel experience. This leads to more country dropping and one upmanship than a male jr. high school locker room.

“I did Italy and Greece last year in 16 days. I liked it so much, that I booked a 60 day cruise for next spring to do Africa.  After we enjoy the safari animals while we do Africa, we might cruise to Antarctica for the March of the Penguins shore excursion?  Our friend Evona did it and she loved it, you should see her pictures.  Not as good as my photos, but you know she tries, I even put all my cruise shots on flicker.  So you just did Brazil?”

This is a classic example of country (or continent) dropping. It also demonstrates the cruisies tendency to utilize different conjugations of the verb to do to describe their travels.

“I did the Mediterranean last year”. “I am going to do Alaska in the fall”. I am doing South America next year.”

Most backpackers know that an individual could spend 2 years traveling the Mediterranean without developing a comprehensive knowledge of the region. To say that you did a country or region in such a short amount of time simultaneously demonstrates a shocking combination of ignorance and arrogance. Needless to say, be prepared for a number of pissing contests.

Final Word

Before you get on a cruise ship, here is what you need to know

• If you want to drink, sneak your wine and liquor on board. Some companies have policies that prohibit this but the astronomical cost of a beer should provide you with sufficient motivation to overcome these restrictions.
• Always have cash with you. Some ports you stop at may not have ATMs or businesses that cash travelers’ checks. The cruise ship can sell you money, but they will charge you a processing fee upwards of (30%). Even loan sharks are not so cut throat.
• If you don’t know how to handle older people, take a plane.
• Cruise ships are not designed for backpackers. Get over it and adapt.
• Don’t take part in the country dropping pissing contests.  If someone asks, share a travel experience that you have enjoyed.
• Remember that at the end of the cruise you get to keep traveling and many of the people you have met will be  going back to their lives. Be sensitive.
• Think of the cruise ship as a ferry. Your job is to get from one place to another while preserving the majority of your travel budget so you can get back to traveling. Don’t get drawn into spending a bunch of money at the bar or on shore excursions.
• Be prepared for awkward personal questions.  i.e. How can you afford this? How old are you? What do your parents think? Do you miss your family? Old people are curious and more willing to ask questions than most people. Try to remember than they are simply curious, not judgmental.
• Get your visas before getting on the ship. You need visas for every port where the ship will stop. Buy them yourself or pay loan shark style prices for the ship to do it for you.

Now go forth backpackers, fully armed with cruise ship knowledge, and enjoy!

View Image Gallery

© nomadbackpackers.com -  All rights reserved 2009

Backpackers be warned. Although, a repositioning cruise (a cruise that starts in one port and ends in another) may be an excellent and cost effective way to move from one destination to another there are several things you should know.

The Good

Eating Olympics: If you have been on the road for several months, your inner hobbit is likely grumbling about all of those days in Europe where you skipped a meal or lived on cheap pasta or bread and cheese. (I have an external hobbit. Natalie likes to eat 6-8 meals a day so every time I skip a meal, she skips 2.5.) Any cruise ship will allow you to eat like a gluttonous hobbit and you get a well deserved break for washing all of those dishes and making daily runs to the grocery store.

Private Room: Thin mattresses, loud neighbors, and snoring bunk mates are an annoying part of budget travel (not to mention streaking down the hall at 2:00am to use the bathroom). Most days, the overall good experiences of travel allows me to put a thick coating of white wash over these small annoyances, but sometimes I really miss a quiet room and a hot shower. Even if you are sleeping below the waterline, a cruise ship will consistently provide a clean comfortable bed and your own hot shower.

The Ocean: The ocean is an enthralling and beautiful mistress. Try as you might, you will never grow tired of her seductive beauty.

Free Stuff: Especially on “days at sea” (days when your the ship is not in a port) the daily itinerary (it will be delivered to your room) is full of everything from bingo to Texas Hold’em tournaments. Be adventurous and go to odd activities such as the Art Auctions. It may be a bit stiff, but you can usually get free Champagne out of the deal. Remember, you cannot really afford to buy anything on the ship so take advantage of the free stuff.

The People: Cruise ships are filled with interesting and adventurous people. Take the opportunity to talk to the people you meet about places they have traveled. Although you may disagree with them about how to travel, their experiences could help to guide you towards or away from a destination.

Check back in a couple of days for the Bad and the Ugly parts of cruise ships, as well as the nomad backpackers’ final word on what you need to know before getting on a repositioning cruise.

View Image Gallery

© nomadbackpackers.com -  All rights reserved 2009

The concept of ‘Van-Dwelling’ presents another example of my  changing mindset.  I first heard of van dwelling while living in the States and even considered what my life would look like if Justin and I lived in a van.  No matter how much I thought about living in a vehicle (before I started backpacking), it always seemed rather bohemian or hippie.

That’s not me!  I could never do that!  Where would I shower?

However, meeting someone who has been living out of their van for more than a year, now seems normal.  I’ve even considered living out of a van for a year or more myself.

If I flew to Australia, bought a camper van, and worked as a free-lance barista, I could travel across Australia for virtually nothing and be able to sell the van before I ended my caffeinated Aussie adventure.

A few weeks ago, I realized I was changing.  Me, the person I am and have been for years.  Travel is changing me.  In my old life, one trip to the grocery store per week used to be plenty.  I used to feel defeated during the week if I needed to make a separate trip to the grocery store for an item or two.  Now, daily trips to the grocery store or market seem normal.  I do not have a refrigerator in my backpack, and the nomadic life tends to daily put me in new locations.  Thus,  my kitchen (and refrigerator) are also continually changing.  Most days it is impossible to buy food for more than a few meals at a time.  The ventures to the market become tedious, but I am unwilling to carry a cooler (although I have been tempted to buy a small one).  The most difficult sacrifice is being unable to sneak into the freezer for a few spoonfuls of ice cream.  I used to do this rather frequently, with great pleasure, before I traded in that life for a backpack and the world.

The ‘backpacker paradigm shift’ is occurring.  I am not completely positive how long this new way of thinking will last, but so far I like it!  Backpacking has been refreshing.  Now I meet friendly couples that invite me to park our Subaru for the night and camp out on their property.  As a bonus I also meet their vegetarian neighbors who are leading a sustainable lifestyle with an acre of avocado trees they planted themselves (15 years ago).  Cliff and Paula gave me a plastic grocery bag with 20 huge avocados.  Could life get any better?

Well, it’s not always perfect.  You should see some of the bathrooms I have used along our journey and even they don’t compare with my time studying in China.  I know the worst bathrooms are yet to come as we travel to Asia.

As I backpack my outlook on life will continue to evolve.  I am not sure what stereotypes or opinions I have tightly held onto will be challenged next.  But until then, I will learn to accept the unpleasant, and even drink the burnt coffee.

View Image Gallery

© nomadbackpackers.com -  All rights reserved 2009

Living and working half a world away while my dad was fighting cancer was difficult. Although both my parents agreed that the situation was not serious enough for Natalie and I to return to the States, I often felt guilty about continuing my travels while my dad was fighting for his life. I imagine most people feel helpless when a friend or family member becomes seriously ill and I was no different. Even knowing there was nothing I could do, I wanted to physically be present for both of my parents. Skype calls were helpful but they were no substitute for physical proximity. After discussing the situation with both my parents and Natalie and I decided to continue traveling – even though I felt like a selfish jerk. As it turns out, I think I made the right decision but the situation brings up an interesting topic.

Many people are uneasy about extended travel because of the “what if” factor. Even after a backpacker becomes mentally comfortable with quitting their job, selling their car, and putting their stuff into storage, the long term impact of their absence from their home community continues to generate an almost endless stream of “what ifs”. What if my best friend gets married? What if someone dies while I am out of the country? What if my dad gets cancer? The what if questions are not excuses, but rather represent the mental preparation or conditioning a long term budget traveler must endure in order to begin and continue traveling.

Natalie and I went through a series of what if questions that left us feeling exhausted and paralyzed in the face of possible future tragedies and catastrophes. What if my nieces get kidnapped? What if the United States is attacked? What if our bank collapses and we are stranded in East Timor with no money? Eventually we decided to make our decisions based on what actually occurred while we were traveling. This was the right decision but it did not prepare me for my dad’s cancer diagnoses. I am not sure any mental preparation would have prepared me for that.

It is difficult to tell if continuing to travel was the right decision. During the months of chemo and radiation, and especially during the 3 weeks my dad was in the hospital, I was irritable, distracted and on edge. It was difficult for me to focus on where I was at because my thoughts were always wandering back to Detroit. Perhaps it was selfish. Then again, there was nothing I could have accomplished in Detroit (except for emotional support and physical assistance) and both my parents and I learned to deal with difficult situations in a long distance situation. In my mind anyway, the verdict is still out. Either I am a savvy traveler capable of understanding the difficult situations at home and making the right decisions, or I am just another selfish 20 something chasing my own passions and forgoing anything else. I believe strong arguments could be made for both view points.

View Image Gallery

© nomadbackpackers.com -  All rights reserved 2009

Currently, I am cruising on the Coral Sea towards the Great Barrier Reef.  I am surrounded by water.  It’s everywhere I look.  In fact, some days cruising at sea causes the inability to view any land in the distance.  Although I am surrounded by fantastic blue H2O, none of it is drinkable, as it is salty ocean water.

Growing up in Michigan, surrounded by the Great Lakes which are full of abundant fresh water, I didn’t realize what a treasure truly surrounded me.  The Great Lakes contain roughly 22% of the world’s fresh surface water.  Not everyone has that much fresh water readily accessible.

This years theme for World Water Day is “Shared Water – Shared Opportunities”, with a special focus on transboundary waters.  Through better transboundary water practices we are able to create mutual respect and trust between countries.  Because fresh water sources are a hot commodity, it is important to share and literally keep the peaceful waters flowing.

Although World Water Day occurs only once a year, people are daily facing water crisis all around the world.  So, tonight when you brush your teeth or even the next time you go to the bathroom, be grateful for the water right at your finger tips.  And tell someone what today is, in efforts to spread awareness.  Otherwise it will just get flushed down the toilet and forgotten.

View Image Gallery

© nomadbackpackers.com -  All rights reserved 2009

Often backpackers and budget travelers use traditional transport methods because popular wisdom dictates that it saves money. Flights are expensive. Buses are cheap. Never rent a car. Hitchhike when possible. Walk everywhere. Although popular wisdom on the backpacker trail is helpful, it pays (both in experiences and expenses) to investigate other possibilities.

To that end, today, we embark on a 17 day repositioning cruise from Sydney to Singapore. Although this sounds like an expensive way to move from Australia to South East Asia, we discovered, thanks in no small part to the recession, that last minute cruise tickets are only slightly more expensive in this instance than flights. Admittedly, I feel a bit awkward about using a luxury relocation cruise as a glorified ferry in order to get to South East Asia and the non conformist in me is slightly appalled at the idea of getting on a cruise ship. Whatever my personal reasons, spending 16 days on the slow boat to Singapore beats airport security lines any day.

Okay, so a cruise ship is a rather posh non traditional transport option but I am also interested in less comfortable, but possibly more exhilarating, forms of transportation. I am looking forward to riding on an elephant in Thailand, crewing a yacht across the Pacific, riding a camel in the desert, and driving a motorcycle across China. Some of these options won’t work out (Natalie is not very keen on the motorcycle idea) but moving from one place to another utilizing different modes of transport can lead to exciting adventures.

When your traveling, try to avoid getting stuck in the same old transport ruts. Trust me, there will always be another bus. Alternative forms of transport are not for those on a strict time table however, so if you need to get somewhere in a hurry take a plane. Then again, being in a hurry while traveling will often cause you to miss the very things you left home to pursue. Slow down. Take your time and use transportation to enhance the journey instead of simply a way start it.

View Image Gallery

© nomadbackpackers.com -  All rights reserved 2009