10 Things American Travelers Can Do to Make More Foreign Friends in the US
Having more foreign friends here in the states, will greatly reduce ignorance, fear, culture shock, and unexpected mishaps, while traveling abroad.
We will definitely feel more at ease in a foreign land, when we know the ways and lifestyle of another country before we travel.
You can deeply get to know different tribes, food, people, practices, and languages, by constantly intermingling with foreigners, who have migrated to the United States.
Your new diverse friends can be your best direct travel guide, travel buddy, road map, eyes and ears, educational resource, help, and warning.
And we can be the same to them!
How many foreign friends do you have here in the states? If none, or very little, let's change that!
Here are 10 things that you can do to have more foreign friends in the US, that will greatly benefit you BEFORE you travel abroad.
1. Attend Cultural Events
You can attend many free cultural events throughout the whole year!
Indulge in different cultural festivals, music, food, and traditions, while getting educated about past and present rituals.
Network and exchange numbers with the event organizers, vendors, and attendees, to see how you can get involved in their culture on a regular and consistent basis.
2. Join a Cultural Community Center
SOURCE: Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center-Houston,Texas.
Join a variety of Cultural Community Centers!
Most Cultural Community Centers are designed to not only support their own heritage, but to also educate and inform other cultures.
At a Cultural Community Center, you can participate in sports, learn a new language, volunteer, attend workshops, special cultural events and productions, go on cultural tours, and so much more!
As a member, or an ongoing participant at different Cultural Community Centers, you can be sure to make some great friends from all over the world!
3. Join a High School or College Culture Club That is Opposite of Your Own Race
Join a Culture Club, and get educated about the country that you would love to visit!
Befriend a student who has just migrated to the US, and sincerely get to know them, and their family.
4. Regularly Eat at Authentic Ethnic Restaurants
Jamaican Food
(My fave! Curry Chicken, plantains, beans and rice, and cabbage.)
By becoming a regular at an authentic foreign restaurant, (owned by foreigners) you can be sure to meet other regulars, and become great friends with the owner, and staff.
5. Go Out of Your Way to Befriend a Foreigner on the Job
Many people work with someone who is from a different country everyday, but know nothing about their background or family.
Strike up a conversation with a co-worker who is from a different country, by asking about their family history!
6. Host an Exchange Student
Hosting an exchange student involves you inviting a student of another country into your home, through a cultural exchange program.
While helping them understand our American language and culture, you also get an up close, and personal look into their life, country, and culture!
7. Befriend the Owner of a Store or Company that you Regularly go to for Business
Spark up a great conversation with a foreign manager or store owner, by mentioning that you would like to visit and learn the language of their country. Doing so can lead to longtime friendships, and acquaintances.
8. Attend a Cultural Religious Temple
Vietnamese Temple
My first visit to a Vietnamese Temple was very meaningful to me.
The moment I stepped foot on Temple grounds, I was greeted with smiles, and laughter from women and girls of all ages.
They then led me inside, and introduced me to one of the leaders of the Temple.
Although I missed the service, he willingly gave me a tour of the Temple, teaching me Vietnamese history, culture, and traditions!
9. Chat with your Uber Drivers
If you want to hear some cool stories while going to and from your destination, converse with a chatty Uber Driver who is not from the US!
90% of my Uber Drivers are foreigners who seemed to have just moved to the states.
I have heard some very interesting stories about ones life in Cuba, Pakistan, and Nigeria.
Also, it's always fun hearing about their first impression of America!
If they have had a bad experience, maybe you can be the one to change their bad experience into a good one, just through a pleasant conversation.
10. Ask More Questions
If someone approaches me with an unfamiliar accent, I usually make it a point to ask where they are from.
I always make sure that I am smiling, so that they won't think that I am asking to make fun of them, or think that I have a problem with their culture.
I then go on to ask, "How long have you been in the US?"..."Do you like it here?"
"Is your family here as well?"...
Once they sense that my motives are pure, they are very eager to share!
I understand that everyone might not be as friendly when I go out of the country,
Just as some in the US are not so friendly to outsiders-
Still, If I had my way, I would have a friend from every single country!
I used to have next door neighbors from Mexico. Our kids would play together, while we would chat at the dining room table speaking half English, and half Spanish.
They would help me learn more vocabulary words in Spanish, and I would help them with the correct pronunciation of some English words.
Our neighbors often cooked for us, and shared several family and traditional recipes!
I also exchanged languages with another Mexican neighbor while living in California! She would write the Spanish name for flour, sugar, coffee, and rice, on index cards, and tape them to her kitchen canisters, and on several other different items around her home.
She would point to the items, and pronounce them in Spanish, and I would repeat after her, and pronounce the items for her in English.
After my neighbor would repeat after me in English, she would also spell the words out loud in English, and write them all down in her notebook.
Then, we would replace the index cards that she had written in Spanish, with English words.
These are just a couple of examples that I have experienced, interacting and making friends with the most commonly used language!
I have also had a neighbor from Nigeria invite me into her home, to teach me how to make one of West Africa's staple dishes-Jollof Rice!
I can't wait to share more of my cultural insights, experiences, trips, and friends with you!
If you reside in a town with little to no diversity, book a trip to your nearest culturally diverse city or state, get involved in one of the above activities, and make some foreign friends!
Originally Published on 1-21-2019
