[originaltext] For many fellow travelers, " experiencing another culture" mea

For many fellow travelers, " experiencing another culture" means something far different from visiting museums, archeological ruins, and national monuments. While trying to visit the Pyramids and Colosseums of the world, these ancient icons do little in the way of illuminating the culture in another country. It is precisely everyday life — modern, messy, and adaptable — that often interests me most.
   I’ve heard other travelers say it as well: I want to experience other cultures. However, how does one go about doing so? After nearly a decade of living abroad as a traveler, I’ve come up with a few ideas about what makes me feel most immersed in different worlds.
   1)Move Slowly: I recommend spending more time in one place rather than checking as many off the proverbial list as possible. Having nothing in particular to do often reveals much more about a place and culture than following an all-encompassing itinerary.
   2)The Food Market: What people eat explains a great deal about a society, the landscape, the environment of a country, the aesthetics, the rituals, as well as the general outlook on life. A traditional dish at a restaurant sometimes hardly begins to explain how a grandma goes about compiling the ingredients to make it (unless grandma is the cook).
   3)Public Transportation: It’s in the very name, "public transportation". Traveling like the local public will without doubt provide more exposure than renting a car, traveling with tour agencies, or always taking a taxi.
   4)Walk and Wander: Motorized transportation doesn’t always allow for the curious nip into an odd alleyway, the quick browse through a store with a quirky window display; these peeks are often where there is a whole different life to discover. Think about taking the subway in New York. First of all, getting out of the subway in each borough or even sections of boroughs offers up a different cuisine, style of architecture, and crowd wondering the streets. Like New York City, much of the world is pedestrian-friendly. In between subway stops, life bustles. I’ve discovered amazing markets, parks, ruins, beaches, and people simply due to being willing to get lost walking.
   5)Listen to Locals: I put an emphasis on listening here because people often say they want to "talk to locals," and for a cultural immersion experience, it’s more relevant to listen, and to learn more about where you are. Speaking about your life "back in" wherever you come from may create a distance from the people who are hosting you.
   6)Festivals or Events: These even seem outright cultural. Usually, festivals are founded upon local religion, rituals, history, or agricultural cycles. People are out to enjoy themselves and embrace all traditions of a place.
   7)Street Stalls: The best representation of local culture will be found at the street stalls and Hole-in-the-Walls. The street food rocked my world, pushcarts peddling fifty-cent samplers. I was standing in line every other block, and everything was so good. It’s an easy enough concept: Look for crowded places and long lines because, where people are willing to wait, something good and unique is sure to be available. Everywhere has its classic spots, usually a little well-worn but rarely licensed.
   Experiencing a culture, at least for me, is rarely about visiting museums or the tallest buildings in town. It’s about finding those moments when I’m completely at ease doing something, as if I’m at "home," while not even realizing how I got there. In general, that involves human interaction and just as often occurs around eating and drinking — both a ritual and a necessity wherever we’re from. Learning to share those moments, or at least see them from another perspective, makes me feel truly connected to my current location.