Ever wondered why a routine task such as travel grocery shopping becomes an adventure when abroad? The answer can be found in the fascinating realm of neuroplasticity. Have you ever found yourself loving the aisles of foreign shops while dreading the same activity back home? Let’s find out why.
In this post, we’ll explore these topics:
- Why you enjoy mundane things when traveling,
- Why you should visit local grocery stores abroad,
- What neuroplasticity has to do with it,
- And how we can use this knowledge to our benefit.
The Sweetness of The Simple
When we think of travel highlights, our minds often gravitate toward the glamorous highlights—guided tours, restaurant feasts, and adrenaline-pumping activities like skydiving.
However, there are a lot of things to do during a trip that don’t require a lot of money, but that often end up making up some of our finest memories. I’m talking about walking around aimlessly, sitting in a bus or train, or going to the supermarket… things we’d usually brush off as unimportant and even boring experiences in our everyday life. Abroad, routine tasks transform into enjoyable and profound experiences, no longer mere means to an end.
Discover how these ordinary tasks become sources of enjoyment and enlightenment when encountered in a foreign land.
Introduction to Neuroplasticity
To understand what happens when the mundane becomes engaging, we have to understand neuroplasticity.
Our neurons use connections between each other to communicate. The more we think a certain thought, the stronger these neural connections become. You can think of the networks as a ski slope, each thought leaving a track. With repetition, these grooves deepen, creating a feedback loop that makes it easier for us to revisit familiar mental paths.
Breaking Routine and Cognitive Reshaping
When we get put into a new environment, it is as if a thin layer of snow covered the slope and evened out the difference between undriven and overused mental tracks.
Getting out of your comfort zone and into new waters challenges your brain to reframe and rewire. Thrown out of the normal loop of things, new perspectives on the mundane form.
Rediscovering Wonder Through Travel
After repeating the same things in the same places for long, our brains desensitize, going on autopilot due to predictability. We get used to overlooking many things, learning they aren’t important, and we can save our attention for other things.
This changes when we go traveling. Where our brains would usually filter simulation out, we are now forced to be aware of even the small things. Simple choices, like selecting from 15 unfamiliar water brands, become conscious decisions.
The heightened sensitivity as a tourist on a trip reignites our awareness of the seemingly ordinary aspects of life. It opens our eyes to the very normal, “boring” things, gaining us newfound appreciation.
Can you remember how exciting the grocery store was as a child? This sense of wonder comes back when everything is as new and unknown to us as it was when we were young.
Travel Grocery Shopping: A Gateway to Cultural Immersion and Local Connections
Beyond taking us out of our normal routines in a profound way, there are many other things that explains the enjoyment of roaming in foreign stores. Supermarkets provide an immediate immersion into the culture, allowing us to gain insights from the array of common goods and groceries. Whether it’s an aisle dominated by an unfamiliar brand or the vibrant display of local produce, these elements reveal many things about the city or country we would not have learned otherwise.
Cultural norms, national economy, and even history are reflected in common ingredients, prices, and values of imported and local groceries.
Moreover, the supermarket is a great way to connect with the locals. These hubs witness everyday tasks, especially in smaller stores frequented by neighbors. Here, one can authentically observe life unfold, with clerks recognizing newcomers, providing opportunities for interesting conversations.
Few public places let you feel the authentic pulse of daily living such as supermarkets.
Remembering the Perspective of a Tourist
As we return from our travels and go about our routines, we often find that our perspective stays changed. The stark contrast between our experiences abroad and our familiar routines gives rise to what is commonly known as ‘reverse culture shock.’ Suddenly, the aspects we considered ordinary stand out vividly, as if seeing our hometown through the eyes of a foreigner.
Embracing the perspective of a tourist offers the opportunity to rediscover the joy in mundane and “boring” aspects of life.
Final Thoughts
In this article, we went through what causes the feeling of profoundness in the small things when abroad. With this knowledge, we can remind ourselves to step out of autopilot and appreciate the small things when at home by seeing them from a tourist’s perspective.
Searching out new experiences, people, cultures, and languages doesn’t only affect our perspective on the mundane, but every aspect of our cognition. It is a gift that will keep on giving throughout your whole life.
Travel literally changes your brain – tell me, what travel has shifted your perspective the most? Share in the comments below!
Love,
Jules ☾𖤓
