There is no shortcut when it comes to travelling. Preparation alone entails booking your flights, reserving your accommodation, and purchasing comprehensive travel insurance, among others. By the time you leave your house for the airport, you would probably think that it would all be rainbows and smiles from there. You are in for a surprise because not all cultures are the same, and there will eventually be room for culture shock. However, there are just some individuals in this world who welcome change with open arms. If you are one of them, then you would probably be in for some reverse culture shock. Here are some of its symptoms.

You Are Beginning to Speak in Tongues

You have just arrived in Peru but you immediately pick up common expressions such as: “Qué tal?” to greet your friend as he approaches you; “Gracias” to show him your gratitude for agreeing to meet you at the airport; and “Adiós” as you bid him goodbye moving on to your next destination. Whether you learned these beforehand or just absorbed them through a simple conversation on the plane, it is a sign that you are quite adept in adapting a culture other than your own.

You Become a Tour Guide, Sort of

You know your way around the London underground and would spontaneously give suggestions on which best route combination to take to get to the Buckingham Palace. You have learned to love checking online schedules for trains leaving Paris’ Gare du Nord. In short, you have become an instant expert on that city, and you could not be any happier sharing your wisdom.

You Follow the Norms

It’s rush hour at the Taipei metro; you fall in line at the escalator. As a tourist, you know that you could be more lax in breaking the rules because the locals would be more forgiving. Instead, you learn to adapt and even convince others to follow your example.

You Almost Forget About Your Online Life

Admit it. You are one of those contacts on Facebook who would be updating their wall with a photo in front of a new landmark every day. Guess what, this would probably not be the case once the travel bug bites you really hard. As you discover more places and get more akin to new cultures, your mind would be in total bliss and the last thing you would think of doing is logging in to report your whereabouts.

Your Taste Buds Have Never Been Happier

You start to abhor the convenience of eating at a familiar fast food chain. You could not explain how you have developed this fascination for fermented duck eggs as you feast on “Balut” in Manila. Your taste buds are adventurous, but your stomach might not be as daring. It would be a great idea to have comprehensive travel insurance at hand, just in case your gastronomic feast leads you with an upset stomach in a hospital emergency room.