Behave Appropriately – How to Avoid Etiquette Snafus

Appropriate Etiquette While Traveling

To behave appropriately in a foreign country is of utmost importance. Cultural difference is a topic every traveler should research and immerse themselves in prior to visiting somewhere new and foreign. If you don’t want to bring on unnecessary trouble, it’s 100% your responsibility to make sure you adhere to the spoken, and sometimes unspoken, rules of the country and culture you’re visiting.

I had a college professor who told us about a trip she and her husband took to Naples. She was wearing a lot of loud jewelry and while walking at night to a party, she and her husband were robbed and beaten quite badly. As the robbers fled they shouted back, “Stupid Americans. What did you expect to happen when you walk down the street wearing all that jewelry?”

I don’t want to be judgy, but . . .What were they thinking?

Don’t make yourself a target. It’s important to BLEND in. Don’t give pickpockets or street gangs a reason to attack you. Do your best NOT to look like a rich American, regardless if you are rich, or American. 

Behave Appropriately on Public Transportation

Shhh . . . Be Nice and Quiet

Americans love to drive and we take our cars everywhere. However, in many places you’ll visit outside the United States you’ll find that the majority of people, including tourists, rely on public transportation to get around.

We American’s are jovial, fun-loving people but it’s incredibly rude for us, as tourists, to get on public transportation and be loud and obnoxious. The locals and commuters you’ll see on public transportation are living their regular lives, reading, studying or sleeping. If you choose to loudly draw attention to yourself, everyone will find you and your behavior annoying.

Worse, you make yourself a target for those who are up to no good.

Chatting quietly is fine, but being loud and annoying isn’t. Let’s all vow not to irritate the locals.

Minding your manners while taking public transportation is a good place to start. 

Make the Elbow Bump the New Normal

Once the Covid-19 pandemic is over I vote that we never shake hands again. An elbow bump looks hip and cool and it’s much more sanitary. Plus I don’t think our elbows are very effective germ collectors.

That being said, pay attention to how locals greet one another and follow their example (and maybe carry some hand sanitizer). 

Warning: Important Cultural Diffence

Some cultures use their left hand to conduct “unsavory business” and their right hand is for “clean business”. In these cultures, it’s incredibly offensive to use your left hand for anything that should be clean, especially eating. 

We Are Accidentally Offensive

Innocent Ways We Accidentally Offend

• Some cultures find it offensive to point, give a thumbs up or flash the “rock on” sign

• Many cultures find it offensive when we wear our shoes indoors or blow our noses in public

• American clothing choices can be shocking to some cultures, especially in the Middle East

• Citizens of Central and South Americans find it incredibly offensive when we refer to ourselves as “Americans” (which obviously I am very guilty of, apologies friends to the south!)

The list of how we offend other cultures goes on and on. Be mindful that something seemingly minor may be incredibly offensive to others. Be quick to apologize if you find yourself on the wrong side of a cultural misunderstanding. 

I encourage you to do your research before your trip to avoid any offensive cultural snafus. 

Watch What You Say!

Language is dynamic and some of our words sound incredibly offensive in other languages, and vice versa. Our American word Face in French means Rear End. The German word Ausfahrt means Exit . . . and you’ll see the word Ausfahrt more than any other word in Germany. 

It’s okay to giggle at these differences but it’s not okay to put them down or degrade them in any way. You may not fully understand the culture you’re visiting, but you should make every effort to embrace the differences.

The USA is Great, But We Aren’t Always the Best

We are very arrogant in our “America is the best” belief.  I promise if you keep an open mind you’ll discover that some cultures and countries do things WAY better than we do, and that’s okay. 

I once traveled with someone who complained about every little itty bitty thing on our trip. Each statement began with, “Can you believe how they do this?” or “Can you believe how they do that?” or “Look how gross they are,” and “Can you believe how weird they are?”

I find cultural differences fascinating. As you can imagine, traveling with this person was exhausting. 

Embrace the Differences, You’ll Have More Fun

Instead of searching for flaws in other cultures, let’s embrace our differences. In fact, if you poke around long enough you might recognize that the basis of many of your own personal beliefs were brought to the United States from foreign countries.

The United States is the baby in the world. Very recently our predecessors brought their varied belief systems and cultures from these “foreign” places which were adopted into the American melting pot. If you dig deep enough you’ll find that we aren’t so different from the other. 

If you don’t believe me, go to London. You’ll feel like you’re visiting your super strange cousin.

If you worry you might have a low tolerance for culture shock, I’d suggest making your first trip to Germany, France, London, Australia, Canada or Cancun. Keep your eyes open, you’ll be surprised at what you see.

Other Cultures Are Awesome

Mexican Families Are Inspiring

Family is everything in Mexico and I love watching Mexican families interact. No one owns special, expensive strollers, small kids are carried everywhere by grown-ups. On nights and weekends, you’ll see large Mexican families gathered together and enjoying local attractions, or together selling food and drinks at parks and other hotspots. You’ll see friends gathered together everywhere and enjoying inexpensive food and drink. In Mexico, if you stop and observe, you’ll see love and family togetherness everywhere.

Chinese Kids Are Adorable

In China, little kids under the age of three will not pay attention to anyone but their immediate family, even if there’s a stranger with blue eyes and blonde hair who’s waving at them like a crazy person. These little kids are raised to have no interest in anyone outside of their immediate family, which to me seems crazy! I meet a lot of little kids and they’re all very interested in the world around them. The little kids in China are not and I find this cultural aspect fascinating. 

Prudishness is an American Thing

Prudishness towards nudity is totally an American thing. I suggest you convince yourself that you’re comfortable changing in front of other people and, at times, briefly wandering around without clothes on. There are a lot of really interesting opportunities and experiences you’ll miss out on if you can’t get comfortable in your own skin. We always try to visit a Turkish Bath or local Hot Spring when we’re traveling around the world. Clothing rules vary depending on where you go and these memorable opportunities are difficult to enjoy if you’re hypersensitive to everyone’s nakedness, including your own. American’s are weird about nakedness, the rest of the world isn’t. We need to stop being weird.

Learn To Eat By Yourself

Speaking of weird behaviors, learn to eat by yourself. I know for a fact that literally no one cares that you’re eating alone. I’m a flight attendant and I spend huge amounts of time by myself. When I’m hungry, I eat, whether it’s in an airplane galley, a hotel bed, at an airport club or restaurant or my favorite hole-in-the-wall in any American city. 

Do you really think I’m going to miss out on The Taco Stand in San Diego if my crew doesn’t want to go with me? Absolutely not! In fact, I’ll sit outside all by myself in front of the whole wide world and enjoy the sun while I eat my carne asada fries. If I waited to eat until I had a friend who was also hungry, I’d probably starve to death. Eating alone is normal and the sooner you embrace this mentality the better.

Please Listen to This Advice

While You Travel, Behave Appropriately

Do whatever you can to keep yourself and your travel companions safe. Don’t draw attention to yourself by going overboard on your appearance or being loud and obnoxious. Don’t get drunk or high. Don’t put yourself in uncomfortable situations or go to unsafe places at dumb times. If you go against this simple advice, you’re courting trouble. 

Take the time to research before your trip. Make sure you understand the cultural oddities of the place you’re visiting. Instead of defying the differences, immerse yourself in a new culture. There’s no better experience or opportunity than getting to “be” from somewhere else, even if it’s only for a week. 

When a stranger comes up to you and starts blabbering at you in a foreign language, congratulations, you’ve found success!

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I’d love to hear about your travel experiences, good and bad. We’ll all be better travelers if we learn from one another. 

The Art of Travel (TAOT) ~ Written by Kylie, these awesome photos came from Unsplash.