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Living in a foreign land is so much fun. Apart from enjoying the new sceneries, there is a lot to learn from a foreign culture, language and the locals themselves. However, it isn’t always so easy to communicate with them, especially because of language barriers, work, and time.
Fortunately, there are tons of technologies out there that make it easier to communicate with locals and learn more about the country you now live in. In this article, we will be looking at some of these technologies and how they can help you.
Social media is still one of the most important ways of connecting with friends and even strangers. Thankfully, this includes the locals. On social media platforms like Facebook, you could easily find groups for members of each community. You can join these groups and interact with them.
Twitter allows you to search trends, based on the location you are in. This means you can easily learn more about the community you are in, while also interacting with those discussing it. Who knows, you may make new friends this way.
Geotagging has improved a lot of interactions across social media platforms, from Instagram, where you can see posts from users who checked in at locations close to you. Also, Snapchat, where you can see users close to you on a map. It is now easier than ever to reach out to locals around you and form a beautiful relationship that can help you explore and enjoy the place more.
Language apps don’t help you connect with locals right there on the platform. However, they help you learn the local language faster, which means that you can more confidently communicate with locals and have fun with them. Locals always love it when foreigners speak their language, even if not fluently.
Guess what, not speaking the language fluently may even be a fun way to start a conversation amidst laughter, and you may get locals who may be interested in teaching you the language for free. Memrise and Duolingo are good examples of language apps you can try out.
Review sites are great places to learn about what locals think of local businesses and sites. As a foreigner in a new land, it is easy to get tricked by the locals, as you can end up paying for poor services. But by learning from what locals are already saying, you can save yourself a lot of stress by understanding how the locals view different services.
Local websites and forums have tons of information that could be beneficial to any expat. By exploring them and engaging in the forum, you can learn a lot about the peculiarities of the place, the culture, and the people. Armed with this information, you can easily communicate with the locals, understand them better and express yourself more effectively.
Traditional media channels are also a great way to improve how you communicate with the locals, especially if you are already learning the local language. By watching the local TV channels and listening to the local radio services, you can listen to how locals pronounce words and how sentences are formed.
This way, you can practice what you’ve learned on language apps more effectively.
Desperate times usually require desperate measures, and this is also true with communicating with locals. If you don’t understand the language yet and you want to communicate with the locals, an emergency go-to service like Google Translate and Bing Translator can come to the rescue.
There are also devices advertised as having the ability to translate languages in real-time when spoken to. While this may not be the ideal situation, who can blame you, eh?
Generally, locals love seeing foreigners putting effort into learning their language. That means that they don’t have to struggle to communicate with you. Meeting locals halfway will improve the quality of your stay and wholesome experiences you will never forget.
