No matter where you travel, you’ll find every culture does things a little differently. And while many American customs have been replicated elsewhere, just as many seem strange and, well, foreign to our friends across the globe. Here are five customs that may confuse locals on your next trip abroad.
Smiling at Strangers
In the grand scheme of things, Americans are quite friendly. We say “hi” to passersby on hiking trails, make small talk in public, and smile at strangers — something much less common in countries like Russia, where smiling in public is so rare that people had to be trained to do it in the lead-up to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. (One woman was reportedly even questioned by the police because she was smiling while walking one day.) It’s not just Russia: Flashing a smile at a stranger you pass on the street could create confusion in other parts of Eastern Europe as well.
Tipping
Though gratuity practices vary across the globe, many countries consider our approach to tipping, well, gratuitous. (Now that seemingly every interaction involving a cash register includes it, so do an increasing number of Americans.) Paying a little extra for good service isn’t just unnecessary in countries like Japan — it can even be considered rude in some cases.
Omotenashi, which roughly translates to “hospitality” but also refers to a type of mindfulness, is an important cultural concept in Japan that runs counter to the very notion of tipping. You’re expected to look after your guests (or customers, in this case) to the best of your abilities, without expecting anything in return. If you can imagine your confusion at a houseguest trying to tip you for a good home-cooked meal, you can imagine a Japanese waiter’s confusion at a restaurant in Tokyo, too.
Consuming Large Portions
According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, portion sizes in American restaurants more than doubled from the 1990s to the early 2010s. In addition to having negative health effects domestically, this also created some puzzlement for international tourists. Bring the average Dane to a chain restaurant in the U.S. suburbs, and they’ll likely go wide-eyed when they see how much food we’re served here, as well as how often we bring home leftovers — something that isn’t done to nearly the same extent in Europe.
Sitting in the Back of a Taxi
Should you ever find yourself hailing a cab or ordering a rideshare in Australia, New Zealand, or parts of Ireland, Scotland, and the Netherlands, make sure you ride shotgun once they arrive. It’s considered friendlier and more egalitarian to do so, as it puts you and the driver on equal footing. (However, it’s generally more common for men to do so, as women may prefer to sit in the back for safety reasons.) When you have multiple people in your party, start in the front of the cab and have others sit in the back, rather than the other way around.
Wearing Shoes Indoors
We may have to side with our friends abroad on this one. Taking your shoes off as soon as you get home is more comfortable, prevents dirt from tracking indoors, and just feels neater in general. Opinions on it vary from country to country and culture to culture, with some considering it rude to wait to remove your shoes until you’re inside rather than leaving them just outside the front door. If you’d prefer some kind of footwear, you can follow the Japanese practice of wearing house slippers that are only to be worn indoors to maintain a barrier between inside and outside.
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