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30 Habits American Tourists Should Avoid When Visiting Other Countries
In order to get those lasting memories, broaden your horizons and grow as a person in many ways, when traveling, you will have to get out of your comfort zone. It’s part of the deal, really.
New customs, different lifestyles, and never-before-seen societal norms may indeed feel challenging for you as a visitor, but it’s all worth the stories you will make when traveling abroad. Some cultural differences when traveling are more testing than others, so you want to gather as much information about the country you’re visiting as possible.
Or, ask the locals! This illuminating Ask Reddit thread may also help, as it has non-Americans sharing things they “wish Americans knew before visiting their country.” From not patting koalas in Australia to not buying bottled water in Iceland, there’s a lot to learn from!
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#3
We don't tip here. You are making it worse for all of us. The servers get payed according to their skill level, many above the minium wage. But they are startign to get [cranky] when lockals don't tip them for their mediocre service.
#4
Be careful what you're saying in a public place. We all speak English. We all understand you.
#6
I’m from Kazakhstan. Eating horse is part of our culture. The same way you do not offend people in France when they eat frogs, they same way please don’t offend Kazakhs when they eat meat. We led a nomadic lifestyle and since in the steppes you could not farm, cattle was the main source of food. During the Great Purge in Kazakhstan cattle was taken away from us , in Russian’s attempt to progress our agriculture. It didn’t work and many tried to migrate, but failed due to dehydration and starvation. Over a million Kazakhs died during that period. That’s 40% of the population, it made as a minority group in our own country up until 1990’s. You do not have to eat it nor is anyone forcing you to, but making rude remarks on it is uncalled for especially since now the majority of youth understand Russian, Kazakh and English.
#7
Don't buy bottled water. Well, maybe buy one and then just refill it at literally every bathroom sink you come across and the quality will be just as good. (Iceland)
#8
Don't ask why we use the Russian alphabet in Bulgaria - we don't! If anything, the Russians use the Bulgarian alphabet - Cyrillic was invented in medieval Bulgaria centuries before Russia was even on the map.
#11
if you are visiting East Europe and you are black don't mind the weird looks. People are not racist. They are suprised because some of them haven't ever seen a non-white person
#12
To answer for any fellow study abroad kids going to New Zealand, them calling you a "c**t" is endearing, not offensive. I'm tiny so not one to pick a fight with a giant Maori guy calling me a good c**t, but some of my a*****e college cohorts apparently took offense to it and didn't understand the context at all. NZ is the coolest place in the world, to the point where you have to fight to get citizenship there. If a Kiwi is saying "g'daye ya c**t" you're in good standing. I remember having old ladies at gas stations calling me a cheeky c**t, it's a totally different word out in the middle of nowhere.
#14
Paris isn't France, France isn't Paris. Don't think you know France if you only went to Paris. Most of the country is really different.
#15
It's Ed-in-BRUH, not "Ed-in-Burrow" Also, it's sweet that you are coming to Scotland to 'connect with your ancestors' and stuff, well, I think it is, but a lot of Scots you'll speak to will be thinking *"here we go again"* if you talk about it to them, *especially* if you actually describe yourself as "Scottish". And your "clan tartan" is not really...well, real. Tartans being associated with specific families and clans is a Victorian fabrication, since they loved Romanticising about that era. Don't buy into it that much.
#16
Amsterdam =/= Holland =/= the Netherlands. Get out of Amsterdam, there are many places that are much nicer than that touristic hellhole. Don't call the country Holland, it's called the Netherlands.
#17
It's nothing personal, but Norwegians aren't as into hugging as you guys. Sometimes you come off a bit molesty to us, clearly without meaning to in any way. We like you. We'll like you better if you vaguely shrug in our general direction, rather than go for actual physical contact. High fives are fine.
#18
Germany is more than just Bratwurst and Lederhosen. That's just f*****g Bavaria. German culture is so much more...
#19
German/Brit in Germany here, assuming that it doesn't just have to be one thing, based on personal experience with Americans here: 1. No, the Second World War is not the first and foremost thing on our minds. Yes, we're grateful for the sacrifice that American soldiers made in WWII. No, we are not grateful to you personally for being vaguely related to one of these soldiers (or just being American), Our gratitude is limited to those who participated in the Omaha Beach raids (anyone old enough to have done that is probably not fit enough to make the trip to Germany these days). 2. Not everyone here speaks English, and of those that do, not everyone speaks enough English to tell you what you what. Speaking slower might help, shouting won't. You'll make a lot of friends simply by making an effort to speak German, even if your pronunication is a bit laughable. 3. We do have freedom of speech for the most part. The only major prior restraint is against public advocacy of National Socialism. If you're going to do that, we don't want you here anyway. We also have a flag code, and it's largely the same as the American one. Freedom of speech doesn't mean that we tolerate [jerks]. Don't be one. 4. Bielefeld doesn't exist. Don't let anyone else convince you otherwise. If you believe that you happen to be in Bielefeld, you have been subjected to hallucinatory mind control.
#20
You can’t do Scottish accents. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve seen Braveheart, no American has ever been able to do a convincing Scottish accent.
#22
Canadians don’t apologize all the time because we’re afraid of you. We apologize all the time because we’re polite. Also not all of us say *’aboot’ becuz weer kenaydien, eh*? The people on the East coast only *kind of* sound like that, and only on the East coast. Literally no one here talks like Cheech & Chong.
#23
Asking for bull fighting or flamenco dances in Barcelona is like expecting every citizen of Texas to wear Eskimo robes. Yes, same country, but we have no f*****g clue about those things.
#24
I'm from Sweden, please take your shoes off before you enter someones home. Edit: I've gotten a lot of comments saying that not all Americans do this. I know, but enough do it for me to notice, it doesn't seem all that uncommon.
#25
Don't invite someone over / for drinks / for dinner and then expect them not to come. If you make an invitation, it's a promise to keep it as well Edit: what I mean is that when someone says for example 'let's have drinks on Friday' without actually meaning it. Where I come from (Finland) if I would say this to someone, we would actually get in touch again later that week or latest on Friday and decide on the time & place. From American perspective, it seems to be just something that is said out of courtesy, without meaning the plan will actually take place
#26
I’m from Taiwan and I once met a student from the University of Miami. He’s come here as an exchange student for one year and I took him sightseeing around Taipei. Our first stop was Taipei 101 (one of the tallest buildings in the world) and when we passed by a supermarket, he saw some electric toothbrushes and he said to me: “I didn’t know you’d brush your teeth here.” I almost forgot, he also gave another Taiwanese student an English name since he didn’t have one. Reminded me of Robinson Crusoe and Friday...
#28
MADAGASCAR IS AN INHABITED ISLAND WITH ACTUAL HUMANS...not just fricken lemurs. We're kinda like the opposite of Australia in the sense we still have very unique animals but most of them are not deadly. Edit: can't English despite it being my first language Edit: my bad for making the stigma about Australia. Just like Madagascar, there's a lot more to it than its animals, who btw aren't all dangerous.
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