DO know a bit about the culture you are going to.
I will never forget when my 6th grade Spanish teacher told me the most important thing you can remember in the Spanish language is "?Donde esta el bano?" Translation= Where is the bathroom? I used to laugh about that. Today I was driving around and I had to pee really bad! I stopped at a 7 eleven but they didn't have any restrooms. She told me to go to the restaurant next door. In there I asked the woman where the bathrooms were and she looked at me in confusion and said "No speak English." In San Jose, it appears most adults only speak Spanish. All of the children are becoming bilingual in school, but the parents are more behind. I am definately a minority in these parts. So back to the story, I smiled and I was able to ask her in Spanish my question. Its one of the only things I can remember to say and today it was very relieving!
DO put yourself first.
There have been many times on this trip where I was worried about being late, wondering if I could just call the whole thing off, etc. I learned that I needed to put myself first if I wanted to be able to do my job properly. If that means sleeping a little bit longer so I am more energetic to get things done quicker than so be it. If it means taking some breaks instead of working more because you don't feel good and you need the down time, than do it. Everyday that I have been gone has gotten better because I am allowing myself to be myself and put my needs first.
Many of the good tips I want to share require my PC so I can add some pictures and hopefully recordings. I only have a mac laptop with me out here so when I get home tomorrow night I will add some more posts on the topic.
This post is a part of a series. You can read more on the Do's an Don'ts of traveling with anxiety here: Part 1
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