Tag: social norms

Ten Gestures That Are Innocent In The U.S. But Offensive In Other Countries

When travel to a different country, many people try to follow the rule of “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” They may learn as many of the social norms of the country as they can, and familiarize themselves in what’s considered appropriate behavior and what’s not, with the hope that they’re not looked down upon and/or don’t perpetuate the more negative stereotype of Americans.

Unfortunately, there are several gestures often used in the U.S. that can be horrible to do in some other countries. And it’s one thing to make sure you, for example, don’t blow your nose in public in Japan, but quite another to stop using a hand gesture that you possibly have habitually used all your life. For example…

Continue reading “Ten Gestures That Are Innocent In The U.S. But Offensive In Other Countries”

What’s Up With All The Brazilian Tour Groups At Walt Disney World? (& Some Advice About Them)

A daily part of tourism in ANY tourist area is tour groups. Whether the groups are from another state, another country or the church in the next town over, they arrive by the busload and give lots of money to the hotel and restaurant industries and, in the case of Central Florida, the theme park industry.

Although tour groups come to Orlando from a lot of places (Argentina, Peru, Paraguay, Uruguay, Asian countries, etc), the group that tends to gather the most reactions are the ones from Brazil. Those groups tend to be kids (girls more often than boys) in their mid-teens, they travel in groups of 25 or more and tend to have the same shirts, knapsacks, etc. They speak Portuguese, which sounds a bit like a cross between Spanish and Italian, but is not exactly the same.

Continue reading “What’s Up With All The Brazilian Tour Groups At Walt Disney World? (& Some Advice About Them)”

If What Happened During Air Travel Was The Same In Real Life, Here’s How Awful it Would Be

Every place you encounter has “social norms,” which are the behavioral rules that it’s assumed (or at least hoped) people will follow. Each place has its own sets of social norms, so the things you’re supposed to do, say and act at, let’s say, jury duty, are not the same as those if you’re at a baseball game.

Social norms also vary from country to country (here are some examples I bet you didn’t know about) and knowing and following those social norms while you’re there (i.e. not blowing your nose in public in Japan) shows you have respect for that country, its people and its social norms.

But just as blowing your nose in public in Japan would be looked at oddly, there are other examples where the social norms of one aspect of traveling would be totally crazy in another. Take a look…

Continue reading “If What Happened During Air Travel Was The Same In Real Life, Here’s How Awful it Would Be”

Learning The Social Norms Of A Foreign Country Before You Visit (& A Bunch Of Examples You Might Not Know)

There is little more eye-opening than traveling to another country. With just one or a few more plane rides, your surroundings suddenly change from the familiar to things you may have never experienced before – the language, the money, the architecture, the food, and – this is a biggie – the social norms.

It’s so easy to make a social faux pas when you’re in a foreign country. And yes, of course, the “locals” are going to immediately know you’re “not from there” (it’s more than going to a country where the people’s skin may be a different color than yours – I’m talking about how Americans can be identified by their dress and demeanor, just as I can point out British tourists all over Orlando without hearing them say a word) and might give you a pass if you make a social mistake. But I, for one, would rather fit in when it comes to social norms, if I can. Here are a few things you may or may not have known about how they do things in:
Continue reading “Learning The Social Norms Of A Foreign Country Before You Visit (& A Bunch Of Examples You Might Not Know)”

Our Weekly Recap: 8/13/17 – 8/19/17

Hi y’all and WOO HOO, it’s SATURDAY! Here’s a quick recap of our posts from the past week:

Joe wrote about:

Sharon wrote about:

Like this post? We have plenty more just like it and would love if you decided to hang around and clicked the button on the top of this page to follow our blog and get emailed notifications of when we post (it’s usually just once or twice a day). Whether you’ve read our posts before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!