How to Deal with ‘Travel Douchebags’
By: Lindsay Hogg

Travelling, you are bound to meet tons of different people of different nationalities. Especially if you are alone and staying in hostels, you make new friends everywhere you go. You meet amazing people who you either have memorable days with and never speak to again, or friends from all over the world you will stay in contact with for the rest of your life. The downside to this is you also come across a variety of douchebags.

A Few Examples of these Douchebags are:

‘The Smart Ass’
That person that seems to think they know everything about you as an individual based on where you are from and the stereotypes from that country.

‘ME, ME, ME’
That special someone who thinks you want to hear their whole life story. Nothing you have to say can be close to as important as how they have come to be in this location and how inspiring their life is.

‘I’ve Been Everywhere’
That person who seems to think they know everything about everywhere because they are well travelled. They are obviously well educated in that country’s politics and culture because they may have spent 2 weeks there 4 years ago. As a result of their infinite knowledge, you should take only their advice and not listen to any media outlets – who are all liars!

How do I deal with these douchebags you ask? Besides ignoring them, which is your most mature and effective choice, here are a few ways to deal:

1. Laugh it Off
If a ‘doucher’ is getting all up in your grill, remember you know better and crack them a smile or quaint giggle. This usually hits harder than telling them where to shove it.

2. Put yourself in their shoes
It is rare that someone is a ‘doucher’ for no apparent reason. There must have been some sort of occurrence or influence in their life that has made them that way. Although this is not an excuse, it may help you to believe they were not born a jerk torturing people since the minute they came out of their mother’s womb.

3. Encourage Them
Can’t get away? Stuck with your ‘doucher’? Might as well entertain yourself by encouraging their behaviour. It makes for a good blog entry after!

4. Make up a New Country
It’s super fun to make up a whole new country and identity. You should come from somewhere quite remote, and have realistic facts. Making your imaginary place realistic works best! Seriously… people ACTUALLY fall for this quite often.

5. Call them out on it!
If you have the guts, this can be the best way to ‘deal’. No need to be confrontational, simply tell them straight up how you feel about their ‘douchiness’.