21.
England here. If someone asks ‘you alright?’ Or ‘alright mate?’, this is not an invitation to explain how you are doing in any sort of detail. The only acceptable answers are ‘yeh mate, you?’ And ‘not bad, yourself?’ Anything else is just weird.
22.
India
There’s lots of little cultural taboos. But one thing I can remember right now is, never refer to someone older than you by their name. If you are young (below 20-ish), you can refer to middle-aged and older people as ‘Aunty’ and ‘Uncle’, or ‘Sir’ and ‘Ma’am’. It gets slightly confusing when you are around 20 (like I am) and the person is in their late twenties or early thirties. But yeah. Never call someone older by their name.
DO NOT DRINK THE TAP WATER.
23.
When going to a friend’s house and the family offers you have dinner with them, it is impolite to say no.
Also, they would insist that you stay over in case you’ve had too much a lambanog and will give you the next best mattress they have.
Before you leave, accept the leftover they give should you be hungry on your way back home.
Filipino hospitality at its essence.
24.
been hearing a lot of northern Europeans talking about bike lanes, so: In America, if you rent a bike, you should be aware that even if the bike lane is painted onto the street in a rainbow pattern with flashing neon lights, nobody gives a s**t. You are not safe in the bike lane.
25.
Portuguese here:
Speak in spanish with us and you will get punched in the throat
26.
Germany:
our waiters usually earn above minimum wage, so you never tip more than 15%, normally 10% for small amounts and a bit less for larger bills.
on the escalator, if you want to stand, stand on the right side and let others pass left.
if you rent a bike, don’t drive like your own granny, drive fast and if you want to pause, get off the bike lane. Also, don’t walk on our f**king bike lanes, they are clearly marked (blue signs with a white bike and mostly red paint on the bike lane). If you approach a tram or bus stop, brake and let people get on and off the train.
queue from the right at things like a burger joint so that passer-byes are not blocked. At museums, trains or the airport, queue frontally.
yes, it is common to encounter nude people of all ages in the sauna or at some lakes or even at some few parks in the city. Don’t stare and for god’s sake don’t comment on this.
not everyone here is from Bavaria or thinks Bavaria is great. Likewise, not everyone loves beer and sausages.
and don’t mention the war, k?
27.
Iceland
Don’t drive offroad. Because the tracks will stay for long time in the land.
28.
Thailand
When you meet someone you have not seen for a while , they will make a comment about your weight .. Heavier or Skinner .. they’re not trying to be offensive .. it’s just how they are ..
We’re pretty much the least homophobic place on earth , two dude who are stright like to make gay lover jokes to each other..
You can pay the policemen to get out of minor traffic stuff.
Feet are consider very dirty .. and head is very important .. dont mix them up , ie : dont put your shoes on any shelve that taller than your head.
You dont have to tip a lot when dine out ,
If you’re a tourist .. expect to pay way more than local when buying something .. a lot of business charges 3x the amount of service for tourist especially westerners. Bring a local with you to haggle!
29.
Mexico. When eating in a taquería, you’ll find that the tacos are small but cheap (and also that they don’t resemble anything you gringos would name a taco). You don’t immediately order all the tacos you plan to eat. You order the tacos you’ll eat in ten minutes. That way you get them right out of the fire. You need to put lime and onion, and several sauces on them to make them live to their full potential. Then you order again. Don’t worry about counting; your waiter will keep track. When you pay and leave, just leave the tip on the table. Tipping is completely up to you, depends on the quality of the service and the usual amount is 10% because we don’t let our servers starve.
Also, and this is very important: three things are sacred here: the Flag, the Virgin and the Football Selection. Even if you are talking with a malinchista, atheist, obese man who doesn’t care about the three, you are not allowed to insult them. EVER. We can, we’re Mexican and we can s**t on anything Mexican if we want. If you do it, you’re on your own. What Miley Cyrus did to our flag, done anywhere else by anyone else is enough to get you brutally murdered and the records missing. Do not touch our three sacred things. EXCEPTION: if your Selection is playing against ours you can s**t on it up to six hours after the match started, and only of you win. The exception does not apply if you’re talking to an angry drunk man.
30.
I live in Singapore. Where I’m at, such as fast food restaurants and food courts, there’s a common practice known as “chopeing”, where one can “chope”, or reserve a table by placing a packet of tissues on the table. Tourists who have no idea of this usually take the table obliviously and gets dirty looks from the local who “choped” the table.
