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When visiting place so different from your own, some of the best experiences can come from meeting the locals. It is also an excellent way to learn about a country or city, because no one knows that place better than its inhabitants. I have learned a lot about the situations of certain countries, and the lifestyles, just by speaking to the people who live there. I always end up making loads of friends, and being inspired by their stories. I have also done a fair share of humanitarian work abroad (you can read about my work with Syrian refugees here). In this blog post, I will go through some of my experiences meeting people in the Middle East, and will give tips on how to connect with and photograph locals. HOW TO CONNECT WITH LOCALS 1) Step away from the touristic places In most tourist spots, you will find everything is superficial and not authentic. If you're like me, and want to really understand a place, head somewhere off-the-beaten path! Small towns and suburban areas are often perfect places to meet locals. Whenever I travel, we always wind up renting a car and driving a lot so a lot of my best encounters have come from those frequent drives. To try and find the best cultural spots, I often read other travelers' blog posts and talk to people who have recently visited that place to see what their experiences were like and what they recommend. If I'm still unsure of where to go, I ask the staff at our hotel. They are usually super helpful and have good tips. 2) Book an organized tour I would definitely recommend going on authentic sightseeing tours, which allow you to see many aspects of a place while being accompanied by an experienced guide. However, I never do humanitarian work on organized tours where you just pay money to volunteer abroad. I always organize everything by myself and personally partner with organizations to support them. Palestine's West Bank is undoubtedly one of the most problematic areas of the world, so having a guide with us helped us connect with many people and learn about the situation in its entirety. Our guide Yamen, from Green Olive Tours, was fantastic and really allowed us to see what we wanted to. He took us all around Bethlehem, from the Banksy Wall to Aida Refugee Camp, and heaps of places in between, where we met many people. 3) Bring gifts Not only will bringing gifts with you make you popular with the locals, but it will allow you to give back. Before visiting, I did some research and learned that many families at Aida Camp were living in poverty, so I brought small toys, candy and T-shirts with me to hand out the the kids there. I handed out shirts from an amazing company, InspireHerNow . They make beautiful shirts with inspirational phrases to empower girls and women. They were the perfect gift for refugee girls, who often feel forgotten, like the world doesn't care about them. All the girls at Aida Refugee Camp loved the shirts. I would totally recommend InspireHerNow to anyone looking for a T-Shirt for themselves or a female figure in their lives. Yamen helped me locate the neediest families, and then I went through with the distribution. Seeing their joy is always my favorite part! I gave a group of kids a blow-up ball and they hung out with me for a while, chatting and showing us around. Then, they met up with us again in about 20 minutes with their blown up ball and big smiles. 4) Learn some words and phrases in their language If you have plans to visit a country and meet its people, it's a good idea to know how to say "Hello", "What's your name?", "How old are you?" (if you are speaking to a child) and "My name is ---" in their language. This will help you make friends! You can watch videos on Youtube to learn how to say those things and write the translations on your phone. Using your Notes is helpful because you can access it even if when you don't have Wifi. Also, if you are on a tour with a local guide, he or she will probably be able to translate for you a bit. In my case, I was able to directly speak to people in the Middle East. My own roots lie in Tunisia, a country in close proximity to the Middle East that shares the same ethnic group, language and cultures, so I speak Arabic myself. It was sometimes a struggle with certain words, because of the different dialects, but we figured things out. If all else fails, just speak human! You'd be amazed how much you can understand someone even without using words. Facial expressions, hand gestures and laughs go a long way. HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH PEOPLE WHILE TRAVELING Kids are usually my main focus in photos. Their eyes alone tell immeasurable stories, and often they portray both a childlike innocence and maturity beyond their years all at once. They are also a lot of fun to get to know and play with. I usually start off by talking to the kids and introducing myself, and then asking them if they want to take a photo. Most will agree, but sometimes they do not want their photos taken. It is important to respect their wishes. Sometimes kids will run up to me or my dad when they see our camera and ask for their photo taken. Or they will ask for a photo with me, which I always find pretty sweet. During my trip to the Middle East, I always carried a backpack with my camera, phone, water and a bag of lollipops. Everywhere I went, I would meet new kids and hand lollipops out to them. They loved them, and a lot of the pictures after that featured the kids and their lollipops. I call it "My Lollipop Series" haha CANDID PHOTOS Sometimes, a moment is just too good to disrupt. Or too far for me to catch up and snap. So I just take a candid shot. These are often some of my favorite photos. If I'm taking someone's photo without their permission, I refrain from posting it to respect their privacy. The only candid shots I do post are photos where the subjects' faces are not showing. Traveling brings us together and shows us that there are no boundaries to friendship. Regardless of race or religion, we are all one. The best way to understand this, and to get to know the culture and traditions of a country is by speaking to the people. Next time I am in Jordan and Palestine, I know I will be welcomed with open arms again, as I now have friends in nearly every street corner and neighborhood. Thanks for reading!
Let me know what you think. Was that helpful? Or do you have any of your own tips to share? Feel free to leave a comment down below.
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AuthorYasmine is NYC born, world raised storyteller who shares the stories of the people and places of the world. Categories
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February 2022
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