Every time I travel abroad alone, I always get to meet fellow travelers from all over the world. Some stay in touch even after their trips, chatting occasionally, while others I only meet once, but I still think of them when flipping through my travel photos. The place where I’ve made the most international friends is probably Taiwan, which I visit at least once a year. Actually, making new friends on the road isn’t difficult — the hard part is whether you have the courage to take the first step.
A reader once messaged me about a similar topic. He said that because his foreign language skills weren’t great, he was afraid of being laughed at if he spoke up. Even when traveling alone, he always kept to himself, sitting on the sidelines watching others chat but never daring to join the conversation.
Language is just one of the ways to communicate. It doesn’t matter if you speak well or not — as long as the person you’re talking to understands, that’s enough. After all, there are countless languages around the world, and everyday expressions can be completely different. How can we expect everyone to speak a single language fluently? If everyone refused to communicate with others just because they weren’t fluent or spoke with an accent, wouldn’t we all end up living in our own little worlds forever?
Take me, for example. I’ve also chatted with many new friends on the road who didn’t speak English as their first language. Although there were some communication barriers, we managed to supplement with body language, gesturing and talking animatedly, and still had a great time. Would we laugh at someone who came to our hometown and tried hard to communicate in our local language just because their pronunciation wasn’t perfect or their expressions weren’t clear? Would we refuse to talk to them?
Many times, the “wall” is built by ourselves. Psychological fear can’t be easily broken by a few words from others, so in the end, it’s up to us to figure it out. As long as you bravely take that first step, you might realize that the worries you thought were huge are actually trivial. The world is so big — isn’t it a waste not to explore it?
Isn’t challenging the unknown future exactly the kind of spirit a traveler should have?
p.s. In the 86-day solo travel log, I’ll only write about the day’s itinerary. Those who want detailed accounts will have to wait until I’m back in Hong Kong to read the full version.
Itinerary:
Birmingham cathedral
Bullring shopping centre
St. martin in Bullring
Birmingham markets
New Street
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An 86-Day European Plan for One:
Day 1 Boarding the plane. A journey that began with tears
Day 2 Edinburgh. A freezing first impression
Day 3 Edinburgh. The terrifying aftermath of jet lag
Day 4 Edinburgh. Artistic explorations at the city center museums
Day 5 Glasgow. A park walk without sunset
Day 6 Glasgow. What does solo female travel even mean?
Day 7 The Highlands. A trip to zero-degree Highlands
Day 8 Stirling. The fool who trusted the map too much
Day 9 Manchester. An industrial city with morning rain and afternoon sunshine
Day 10 Manchester. So what if I’m short?
Day 11 Manchester. Still defeated by the cold virus
Day 12 Manchester. Romance doesn’t happen like that
Day 13 Galway. An overnight journey that exhausted me
Day 14 Galway. Don’t use cultural differences as an excuse
Day 15 Dublin. The green capital of Ireland
Day 16 Dublin. Deer everywhere
Day 17 Dublin. A trip where I forgot the date
Day 18 Lake District. Fellow travelers from Hong Kong abroad
Day 19 Lake District. Endless hiking
Day 20 Lake District. Cherishing conversations with the locals
Day 21 Leeds. The quirky girl who turned a battlefield into a marketplace
Day 22 York. Fulfilling a promise made four years ago
Day 23 Liverpool. Have you ever had moments of doubt?
Day 24 Liverpool. A different kind of rainy-day culture
Day 25 Liverpool. Experiencing it with the calmest heart
Day 26 Birmingham. Falling in love with a new attitude to slow travel
Day 27 Birmingham. Language communication between travelers