Travel Trips

It is Summer. Some people go to the trips abroad. Will you do it? If so, it's nice to know that the way you behave in your country may be rude in another culture. It is a good idea to think about the sort of things that may cause problems before you travel!

Shirts and shoes

In many Eastern countries clothes should cover your body. Shorts and sleeveless shirts show too much. But in Rio de Janeiro nobody notices if you walk to the beach in tiny bikini or swimming trunks, so don`t forger to wear lots of sun cream.

Some people who come from Afghan and Saudi Arabia use cloth to cover their hair.

The traditional dress for an Indian woman is a sari - a large piece of cloth that can be wrapped around the body in various styles. Traditional clothing for Indian men includes a knee - length shirt. It's usually worn over loose trousers.

Traditional African costume varies widely across the continent, although there are some similarities. Tunics or kaftans (long shirts, usually to the floor) are popular clothing for men, worn with loose trousers. Women may wear toga-inspired garments, wrapped around their bodies. Bright coloured fabrics and beaded jewellery are popular.

In Japan, you should take off your shoes when you enter someone`s home, so always wear clean socks. Hmm, but not in Thailand, where they think that wearing socks is dirty and unpleasant. 

Dangerous gestures

In the USA and UK, when you put your index finger and thumb together and raise the other fingers it means “OK – everything is fine!” In France and Russia the same sign means “zero”, but in Japan and Korea, the sign means “money”.

The “thumbs up” sign just means “Yes” or “everything is OK”. It is also the sign hitchhikers use to ask for a lift. Not in Australia or Nigeria, where it means “go away!”

Bad and good manners

In Japan, people wear face masks if they have a cold. It is disgusting to blow your nose in public.

With Europeans keeping eye contact and smiling means that you are friendly and honest, while people from some Eastern countries think that this is impolite. Most people in Arab cultures share a great deal of eye contact and may regard too little as disrespectful. In English culture, a certain amount of eye contact is required, but too much makes many people uncomfortable. In South Asian and many other cultures direct eye contact is generally regarded as aggressive and rude. 

In Britain, men don`t look at women on the streets. The French do. Recently, a French public figure mentioned in a speech that the Brits are all gay - the evidence was their lack of overt interest in women.

In the US short handshake indicates self-confidence and masculinity. A limp handshake by a man can be interpreted as a sign of homosexuality or wimpiness. But in most parts of Africa, a limp handshake is the correct way to do it. Furthermore, it is common in Africa for the handshake to last several minutes, while in the US a handshake that is even a few seconds too long is interpreted as familiarity, warmth and possibly sexual attraction.