6 days ago
21 New Habits After Visiting Another Country
While the act of traveling to another country is considered a luxury, people who are lucky enough to experience another culture may adopt certain habits and bring them back to their home country long after their vacation is over. So when I saw Reddit user Motor-Department3009 ask the r/travel subreddit: "What's something you adopted into your lifestyle after visiting another country?" I wanted to share their responses just in case you wanted to add some of their habits to your routine as well. Here's what they said below.
"I joke with my partner that one of the most expensive parts of our trip to Japan was the bidet we bought when we got home."
—Hudson11177
"Individual comforters/duvets for my spouse and me. This is like a 30+ year habit now. Saved my sanity and probably his life."
"I embraced the moka pot as my coffee method after visiting Italy. 🇮🇹 ☕️"
—Budget-Option6301
"I stayed at a Sikh temple (gurdwara) in India for a few days, and it really taught me to value the food on my table, as cliché as that may sound. Sikh temples usually give out food for free, and there were a bunch of interesting customs that I wasn't used to before. Like when you're receiving the food from the volunteers, you need to accept the bread with two hands instead of one, because doing it with one is seen as greedy, whereas with two, it's seen as thankful. So in general, I just try to be thankful for my food whenever I'm about to eat."
"I grew up in one of those weird, American families that allowed shoes inside, and after staying a few months in Japan, I now wear slippers in my apartment and have slippers for guests, too!"
—wontheday"I've straight-up built a Genkan [Japanese entryway] into my house. I love the naturally understandable barrier with all the shoes and sandals neatly lined up. I don't need a sign that says 'take your shoes off here,' it's just blindingly obvious, and eliminates any potential cultural awkwardness of 'so do I keep my shoes on or...'Architecturally, it's literally just a single step up, but it makes a huge difference in how the house-entering experience feels. Somehow that single change in elevation makes a big psychological difference."—rirez
"I've always been very pro-transit/anti-car ideologically speaking, but spending a week in the Netherlands really pushed me into finally getting a bike. I live in Canada, which is as car-centric as the US, and coming home to constant gridlocked traffic (because a million of us are all trying to go in the same direction at the same time and we're apparently allergic to building trains!!) was so depressing. I was like, 'What are we doing here, man?' So I got myself a cute bike!"
"I visited Iceland and was intrigued by all the authors there despite the country's relatively small status. I learned that books are a cherished part of their culture and they celebrate Christmas book flood or Yule book flood (Jólabókaflóðið) every year. A book catalogue with all the new books is sent to families, and apparently, it accounts for something like 80% of the book sales for the year. We have been celebrating it every Christmas since! My family gifts books to each other on Christmas Eve, and we read them that night with hot chocolate and cookies."
—Salty-Percentage8128
"One of my earlier trips, a friend got food poisoning in Thailand. He couldn't go out, obviously. What to do? In America, I had gone to a few afternoon movies alone, but I don't think I'd ever gone out alone at night. Anyway, that night was the first time I went out alone to have drinks and socialize. I've always met up with friends or gone out with friends before. I had the best time alone. I realized when I was with my friend, we were kind of discussing American stuff, and it was mostly about being a cool friend and accommodating him. That night, I met people from Australia, then talked to some bartenders all night. Then sang with a Filipino band at a hotel. It was probably the most memorable night of the trip."
"Not as life-changing as most other replies, I now drink tea. Never did before, but black tea and rooibos tea are my favorites now."
—Antigone2023"I picked up a lot of habits after five years living in the UK, but a strong opinion about tea is the biggest! I was already a tea drinker before, but mostly Asian-style teas. Now, I NEED a proper brew every morning and other types on the weekends and afternoons."—DrMoneybeard
"I became friendlier. I've found, while traveling, especially where I'm visibly a tourist, many people greet me. It's generally a simple hello or good afternoon, sometimes just eye contact and a smile. I loved it and it always makes me feel welcome. I realized people don't do that as frequently at home, and I've set out to change that."
"The French way of making meals a bit fancy. We set a table every night for dinner, placemats, cloth napkins, and a vase with fresh flowers. My 15-year-old and 11-year-old have become major foodies, and we all look forward to this ritual. Everyone helps with either cooking, setting, or cleaning up. Going on five years or more like this."
—SumGoodMtnJuju"After returning from Italy, I started using a tablecloth, lighting candles, and a little table lamp, and playing background music during a meal. It makes it feel special!"—missmeganbee
"After living in London for four years, I developed a penchant for buying books secondhand. So much cheaper, and I love the idea of someone else having held and enjoyed the book before me."
"Cooking with chopsticks."
—cornsnowflake"Awww, yes, I'm glad chopsticks are getting the recognition they deserve when it comes to not just eating but other uses! I'm from Hong Kong and grew up always cooking with chopsticks. You can stir, pick out individual ingredients, and flip over things in the frying pan — it's amazing!Not sure if you know about this already, but we have some extra-long chopsticks that we use for cooking only! It's very helpful for staying farther away from the potential oil sizzling out!"—hohomei
"I spent a month in Prague three years ago, and the only TV channel in English was BBC. I get most of my news from BBC now."
"After a month in Copenhagen, I started doing the whole hygge thing. I bought a ton of candles, got a cozy throw blanket, and now, I just make my apartment a super comfy little sanctuary."
—brattishbeautyy"I am Danish, and I always felt like hygge is in part our way of dealing with the dark Danish winters, where we get maybe six hours of sunlight, but obscured by the sun. Warm lighting, cozy blankets, and candles are a way to embrace the terrible winters. It is one of the reasons Christmas feels so special to me despite being a non-religious adult."—Muffin278
"Wearing a backpack on the front of my body when getting on a crowded train or bus. People wear their huge backpacks on their backs on public transport, and it drives me crazy. I wish my city would do a campaign about it like Japan did."
"Living in a variety of LATAM [Latin American] countries as a North American made me revisit the value I place on family. I've been way more intentional about maintaining communication with my family after seeing how important it is in LATAM."
—yTuMamaTambien405
"Vietnamese coffee became my everyday coffee."
"I make a lot more food from scratch. My stomach is so much happier in Europe, and my theory is it's the lack of overly processed foods. So I took up baking breads, occasionally make my own pasta, and try to buy flour that hasn't been exposed to certain pesticides that are outlawed in Europe. I don't care if it's just the placebo effect, I love having a happy tummy."
—ecofriendlyblonde
"I've been to Iraq, Egypt, and Jordan. I've noticed something beautiful that many Arabs do — they place their hand on their heart when thanking someone, often after a handshake. I loved it! I've adopted the gesture myself and now practice it regularly. The people most impressed by it are usually the ones who understand its cultural meaning. But even beyond that, I love how sincere it feels — like the thanks are truly coming from the heart, which, in most cases, they are."
"After visiting Jamaica, jerk chicken has become a regular meal in our family. After living in Nigeria for a few years, we began calling our father 'Baba.'"
—HMSSpeedy1801
Have you traveled somewhere far and adopted new habits from the country you visited? If so, tell us where you've traveled and what new habits you do at home in the comments or anonymously in the Google form below:
