We are all well aware of the fact that when visiting a foreign country, we must obey certain local traditions and common rules.
As a precaution, we decided to go through some social rules and conventions found in several different countries that you should not break under any circumstances.
Things You Should Never Do in Other Countries
Russia
Don’t Give An Even Number Of Flowers As A Gift: Russians bring even numbers of flowers only to memorial services and funerals. A proper bouquet for a happy occasion will consist of an uneven number of flowers.
Chile
Don’t Eat Anything With Your Fingers: Manners matter in this country!
Singapore
Be Careful With Fines: It’s prohibited to feed birds, spit and throw any trash onto the street, or eat on public transportation
India
Don’t Kiss In Public: This in particular can get you put in jail. No physical contact with people of the opposite sex is allowed.
Japan
No Tips: It’s not acceptable here. No Hugging In Public. Do What The Locals Do.
Mexico
Don’t Take Things Too Personally: Mexicans love making jokes and never miss a chance to do so.
Try New Things: Local people will highly appreciate your attempts to speak their language or even engage with their traditions.
New Zealand
Don’t Mix Up “Aussies” And “Kiwis.” You’ll definitely be corrected.
Don’t Ever Make Jokes About Rugby, “The Lord Of The Rings” Or The Queen Of The United Kingdom: New Zealanders take these things seriously.
Don’t Be Surprised If You See A Lot Of Barefoot People.
Norway
Don’t Ask Questions Concerning Church: This may be taken for disrespect. Many people here don’t attend any church.
Do Not Expect Any Formalities: Usually people talk informally and refer to each other by their first names.
Turkey
Don’t Give Anyone The “Ok” Sign: This is considered an obscene gesture.
Try Not To Drink Much: Being drunk in public is considered shameful here.
Don’t Blow Your Nose Or Pick Your Teeth, Especially In A Restaurant Or A Bar.
United Kingdom
Don’t Jump The Queue: People will judge you.
Don’t Ask People About How Much They Earn: This is not a good topic for discussion.
Don’t Invite Random People Over: Only invite people who are your close friends.
Ireland
Do Not Try To Sound Like Irishmen: For Irish people there is no Irish accent; they recognize and divide accents depending on the region of Ireland they come from.
Don’t Be Cheap: You shouldn’t start a night bar-hopping if don’t have enough money to buy beers.
Germany
Don’t Use Nazi Greeting Gestures: This is a crime and you can get punished accordingly.
Don’t Stare At People: Only poorly educated and crazy people do that here.
Don’t Try To Look Overly Friendly: A regular German needs to take his time to get used to new people.
Don’t Congratulate Anyone On His Or Her Birthday Before The Day Itself: Germans get superstitious about that. They believe its a bad sign and one can even die before the special date.
Kenya
Don’t Show Disrespect For Religion: Most of the locals are very religious.
Be Patient: Nothing ever happens here according to schedule.
Don’t Talk About Sex In Mixed Company.
Don’t Call Anyone By His Or Her Name If The Person Hasn’t Referred To You This Way.
Malaysia
Never Touch Anyone’s Head: Don’t ever do the friendly tousle by running your fingers through one’s hair, especially babies. It is considered to be the most sacred part of the body.
Korea
Use Two Hands When Handing Over Money: When handing things over to people, especially money, Koreans hand them over with two hands. It’s a sign of respect.
Preview photo credit Depositphotos, Depositphotos
Based on materials from Business Insider
