Typically people from the United States have difficulty because of how good we have it here. We get out of sorts if any experience is less than what we expect. This brings us to the first rule of travel, specifically for Americans.
DO NOT ACT LIKE AN “AMERICAN” (someone from the US)
This cannot be overstated, and yet maybe that’s a tad melodramatic? And exactly what does that mean?
First of all, the definition. People originating from the United States of America typically call themselves Americans. They are blissfully ignorant of all other Americans, north or south. As such, they have what could be interpreted as a condescending mentality. This is not good.
There’s a reason you see other people writing articles about “Americans” and how that act in other countries. Other countries have seen plenty of ridiculously obnoxious people from the US acting like they own the country they’re traveling in, just because they’re there. As a country, they’ve been spoiled in pretty much everything they do in their country. Their expectations of other countries, particularly in restaurants, etc. are not necessarily realistic.
The US has a different culture. It’s not appropriate to attempt to force your culture on anyone else’s turf. Nor does it work very well. It’s better not to make a scene to get something like you would in America. Particularly if in hindsight it may not have be that important after all. For some, this may require more discipline, as acting American is in our nature.
It’s absolutely ok to be excited about where you are and how much have fun you’re having! Just avoid being over the top with your voice (Americans tend to be incredibly loud – Gary is loud naturally, so he has to force himself to gear down), emotions, and actions. Be sure to enjoy yourself, don’t exaggerate, and be yourself.
Language
Alright, now that we’ve gotten that out of our system.
It’s good to know a bit of the language if you can. In particular, if you can learn basic expressions, such as “please”, “thank you”, “you’re welcome”, “do you speak English”, and “pardon me”. There are some pretty cool apps that can assist with not only learning to read foreign languages, but also how to speak them. People really appreciate the effort, even if you don’t know a whole lot.
Important note – for those of us traveling from the US, there’s a good chance that wherever you go, including Europe, the people you meet think the US is exclusively what they see in the news and movies. We’ve been to dozens of countries, and have yet to be in one where this conversation hasn’t come up at least once. Think about that for just a minute. Yeah, that’s their only exposure to who we are. Quite frankly, and totally understandably, the US is not seen in the best light as a result of this skewed viewpoint.
There are also countries that are admittedly a bit salty with regard to the US, some with good reason. The good news is that they’re more upset with the political international polices of the US (which is not the purpose of this blog). That means they are usually very excited to engage with people on an individual level, and learn about US culture of the “real” person, not just what they’ve seen.
Don’t panic if learning another language is not in your wheelhouse. It’s rare in other countries that they will ignore you or purposely not accommodate you if there’s a language barrier, as long as you’re polite and sincere. In fact, many times locals will go out of their way to accommodate you. You may be pleasantly surprised how much your charades playing at parties will come in hand. We once pointed at the luggage, made a hand gesture of underneath, and shrugged the shoulders. The local person immediately knew we wanted to check the baggage and took us there!
Customs
It’s also good to research the country’s local customs. It helps to best acclimate to their culture in order to fit in better and avoid any major faux pas. Some typical examples are:
In the Middle East it’s not good to show the soles of your shoes. Also there, men holding hands is displaying a sign of solidarity and kinship.
The “thumbs” up sign. While we may not be traveling to Iran and Afghanistan where it’s an obsene gesture, it’s considered obsene in parts of Italy and Greece as well. Basically it means “up your arse”. Something we definitely don’t want them confused about, right?
The “OK” sign. Not good in the Middle East, however, also not good in West Africa and South America.
Those who grew up in the US were probably raised to finish their meal. In fact, it would be highly likely that they were told “eat all your food, there are starving children in <fill in with starving country here>”. Now people like to joke about it in the US, it’s a real thing in other countries. So much so, that some countries consider anyone who is not skinny, wealthy. Yep, that’s right. In countries where having money means you can buy food to eat. From their perspective, the more you weigh, the richer you are.
Then there is the issue of eating everything. In a number of countries, if you everything on your plate, they have failed as hosts. We have been to countries where they keep filling your plate until you can’t eat anymore. In those countries it’s best to eat approximately 80%, leaving some food on the plate.
If you’re not booking through a travel agent, there are country/region “cheat sheets”. They are available in any number of places, thanks to internet search engines.