A lot of people lament the fact that they can’t travel as much as they’d like to, but the fact of the matter is that there are lots of ways to enjoy foreign experiences at home. Hosting a foreign exchange student is one way to immerse yourself in a foreign cultural experience at home. Here are a few others:

> Eat at ethnic restaurants, or hold dinner parties featuring foreign food. Whether you’re craving Indian fare or want to try Ethiopian cuisine, involve other people in your flavorful discovery of foreign food. If you choose to prepare it, you also get to embark on the culturally significant act of cooking the food as well. Drinking your way through beers and wines from abroad is also a fun way to experience a new culture.

> Watch foreign films. Spend an evening catching up with the latest foreign language films, or dive headfirst into a particular culture by immersing yourself in several films from the same destination, whether they’re goofy Bollywood films, emotion-heavy movies from Europe or anime straight from Asia.

> Find a foreign pen pal. You might be surprised to learn how many people are interested in handwritten letters. If you’d like to give snail mail a go, find an overseas pen pal and start writing. Not only is receiving mail fun, but exchanging letters with an overseas pen pal is a great way to learn a lot about a different place for a local’s perspective. PostCrossing is a fun place to start.

> Attend local cultural events. Some communities are better than others when it comes to cultural events, but take advantage of what is offered to you. These might include readings or lectures from visiting guests at the local university and parades celebrating holidays from around the world.

> Learn a foreign language. Have you always wanted to learn German, Spanish or Japanese? Or how about Gaelic, Norwegian or Swahili? Audit a class at the local community college and immerse yourself in a new language for a little taste of what it might sound like somewhere else in the world. Not all languages are available via in-person classes, but there are other options if you’d like to speak a foreign tongue. iTunes has an increasing number of language podcasts available, and programs like Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone offer a wide variety of language options as well.

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How to Take Travel Home | Kaleidoscopic Wandering

Sometimes travel should simply be about you. About making you feel good. About making your body feel better. About clearing your mind and refocusing on your priorities.

Though we can do a lot of these things at home, sometimes it takes a trip—a change of scenery—to reground yourself in healthy habits and routines that emphasize wellness.

It hasn’t been until recently that I’ve given thought to what it means to take a trip focused on health and wellness, and the main thing I’ve realized is this: Everyone’s definition of wellness is different. Being “well” generally means a lack of sickness and positive reflections of health and well being, but how this is achieved is subjective. Vacation packages labeled as “wellness trips” are only as authentic and helpful as the people who decide to take them decide they are.

Nonetheless, if you’re interested in reaching and achieving wellness when you travel, there are some things you can do, places you can go and thoughts you should keep in mind to get the most out of your trip.

FIRST: Define wellness.

What does it mean to be well … to you? Physical health might focus on eating better or running farther. There are destinations designed with healthy eating in mind, and there are tours and programs that are specifically designed to increase your physical health with training sessions and focus on weight loss. If you want to work on your mental health, look into a destination that isn’t fringed with stress. Big, chaotic cities don’t qualify. Instead, seek out a place where you can meditate or that focuses on stretching and yoga. There are also destinations that bring people together to work on issues related to mental and emotional health. Again, it all depends on your definition of wellness. What do YOU want to focus on?

Wellness Options

You can create your own wellness getaway or you can tap into a wellness destination.

If you’re working within a certain budget or want to meld several different things together to create a wellness retreat, then it’s best to tailor your own. This may involve finding a place you find relaxing and then bringing your own yoga mat or workout routine with you. You might want to mix some healthy eating with local trail running capped off with a spa treatment.

If you prefer not to think to much about planning the details of your trip, you might be a good candidate for an all-inclusive resort or vacation package. I recently spent some time at Red Mountain Resort in southern Utah, which combined workout classes, hiking, healthy meals and relaxation opportunities. I wasn’t necessarily interested in everything that was offered even though I was paying for it in some way, but it was also nice to simply arrive and enjoy.

Style of travel

There are some ways of traveling that are more suited to wellness than others. Embracing slow travel is one way to turn an ordinary vacation into one focused on wellness. Zipping in and out of a place just to squeeze in a single yoga class isn’t relaxing … it’s stressful. Slow down. Breathe. Relax. Enjoy. Be in the moment.

Think about what you’re bringing with you on your trip. We have the ability to travel with baggage—both physical and mental—but don’t let it weigh you down. If you need to travel to relieve something on your mind, that’s one thing, but don’t let a heavy bag keep you from staying focused on the moment.

Traveling for wellness purposes—regardless of how you define the word—is a good reason to travel. It’s okay to want to focus on you and not on the sites or the restaurants or the local culture around you. Travel isn’t a selfish thing to do, and taking a trip in order to feel better is something that many people are embracing and even more should consider. You owe it to yourself to do the same.

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Destination: Wellness Travel | Kaleidoscopic Wandering

Let’s face it: Travel can be exhausting and because it can take a lot of effort, it puts stress on the body. Increased levels of stress can be good in small doses, but constant, high-stress situations leave the immune system weak, and the chances for getting sick increase.

The last thing you want to do on your well-deserved vacation is suffer through a sore throat or deal with a runny nose. You don’t have to … if you proactively do things to stay healthy when you travel:

Eat well. By all means, you should indulge in a flaky pastry for breakfast in Paris, enjoy the street food in Morocco and melt into the rich cheeses of Switzerland, but try to keep at least a small amount of nutritional balance in your diet. Seek out fruits and vegetables that provide the nutrients and vitamins your body needs to ward of germs and stay healthy, and don’t eat a lot of food just because it’s placed in front of you. If you have a long day of travel or are away from a city center, carry a healthy snack with you so you don’t overindulge once dinnertime rolls around.

Drink lots of water. Hydration is important regardless of what the temperature is outside. I always carry my own water bottle and refill it at every opportunity possible. In places where travelers need to buy safely bottled drinking water, make sure you have more than you think you’ll need. Buy an extra bottle to carry with you (even if it is a bit bulky) or buy a massive bottle instead of one that just holds 16 ounces. Drinking water keeps your body flushed of toxins, helps recovery from hangovers and can help mitigate the effects of altitude sickness. It’s especially important to drink lots of water if you experience bouts of diarrhea.

Work out. This one is probably pretty easy for most people considering the fact that a lot of transportation is likely done on foot or bike, especially in cities. If you consistently work out at home, though, and walking isn’t doing it for you, there are other options. I also pack my running shoes and can usually manage to squeeze in a few miles of jogging every day. A lot of hotels and resorts have on-site gyms (though you may need to pay a small fee), but you can also look into purchasing a day pass at a local fitness center.

Breathe. Just because you’re traveling doesn’t mean you have to go, go, go all the time. In fact, taking the time to meditate, do yoga and just relax are important in maintaining optimal health. If you don’t find it too bulky, consider packing a yoga mat with you so that every morning or evening you have a place to stretch and reflect.

Get enough sleep. Jet lag is a killer for many travelers. You want to do one thing, your body wants to do something else and, quite frankly, everything just gets a whole lot worse from there. From the moment you step onto the plane (or get in the car or find your seat on the train), you need to listen to your body about what it needs for sleep. It is tempting to stay up late and get up early to make the most of your time when you travel, and it’s okay to stretch your days just a bit more, but don’t overdue it. The body heals itself while you sleep, so give it the time it needs to do its job properly.

Keep your vaccinations up-to-date. Stay current with your vaccinations so there’s no chance of contracting something you never anticipated. Likewise with malaria medication. If you know there is a potential medical threat where you’re going, then act prudently to protect your body from any unintended illnesses that could lay you up for days on end.

Top photo courtesy of my sister.

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How to Stay Healthy When You Travel | Kaleidoscopic Wandering