So if I meet you at a conference for instance, and you give me your business card, rather than glance at it and stuff it into my pocket, I will delicately accept it using both of my hands as if I'm holding a fragile piece of crystal and examine it closely for the incredible design, as if I was looking through a window into a wonderful parallel universe. This post discusses particular hacks for Czech, but you can see many more of my suggestions that would work for this [...], Have you ever reached a plateau in your language learning that you just couldn’t break through? A big part of travelling is turning your head. In fact, individuals follow bizarre habits that are carried out daily or during some special occasion. The actual words coming out of your mouth (or their efficient conjugation etc.) As a consequence, the conversation will always slowly move in whatever direction I happen to be facing. Of course, some are more unusual or counterintuitive than others. This includes police officers in the street (yes, we'd invite them to the pub for a drink; I can't imagine sunglasses-wearing American police putting up with such friendliness towards them! This is followup list to the 10 most bizarre festivals. I definitely still take business cards with both hands though. This essentially means that their ability to earn a living is controlled more by dumb luck than anything else. But the fact of the matter is that this backwards system is not the waiters' fault, and I don't like punishing people for events outside of their control, so I always leave 15-20% extra. But if I slip up even a little, then I can easily offend people, or (for me just as bad) not have them interested in spending more time with me, since I'm “just another annoying tourist”. In today's post, I want to share a few of the strangest habits that I have picked up! I know, it makes no sense whatsoever – even though the effort of their work is the same, if you order the least expensive meal on the menu, they will earn less because the 15-20% is applied to what you ordered, even though they personally didn't prepare it or pay for the ingredients. In the Philippines, and strangely enough also in Colombia and other countries, they almost never point with their index finger (thus immediately nullifying the very title of index finger). As such, you order just one single espresso and take as much as several hours to slowly sip your way through it. You will be really Surprised by these Rarely Known Cultures, which still Exist in this Modern Era. We do this all the time in most countries if we want to give someone our number, by noting theirs and then calling them just for a second, and they'd see our number on their caller ID. If, however, the waiter performs their task within your satisfaction, then you reward them with 15% of what your bill will be. Thailand's Karen tribe is fascinated with long necks and looks like they can go a long way to … To observe strange customs, to admire people in traditional outfits, to gasp at breathtaking sights or to try to understand why the hell people do what they do. Choose the flowers you give to a Russian. If you want to say that something is “full”, this is done with Brazilian open-close hand with all fingers together. Or, how many grammar books I read. While Americans may find it weird that us Europeans take mayonnaise, look at French fries, and “drown them in that shit” some places take this to a whole new level! To “punish” them, what you do is… pay something close to what is actually printed on your bill and requested that you pay. In Canada, that would go something more like this: “Hello. – indeed! They use their homes to make a statement. We gathered not only habits but also laws and traditions. A favorite place for deep sea divers, and definitely one of the strange places around the world situated underwater. Indeed yes or indeed no?? Generally these things come out of me in another language without me thinking twice about it, including if I'm alone. You may have just seen them yesterday, but you still hug them as if you haven't seen them for years and they have just been released from a decade in solitary confinement. Now, you might be wondering how they dry off afterwards. How you act, and what you are generally saying is everything in a social interaction. I still can't shake this habit, and have many weird phone conversations if people pick up before I finish my brief squillo, or think that I'm trying to get out of being the one paying for the call. In some countries, the way you express certain ideas are very different to other ones. Christmas Traditions Around the World. In travelling all this time, I have had to not only learn multiple languages, but I've had to learn multiple sets of social rules and “fluently” switch between them as I meet people of different nationalities. (Are you with me so far?) This wasn't saying anything about my B.O., but something that is customary to offer any guest who is visiting you in Brazil, including if they are not staying over. I generally wouldn't initiate it, but if as much as one other person begins clapping, then I join along and give the plane a huge round of applause as soon as we touch down! Italians however take this to the next level and make it an entirely new form of communication! No, we’re not talking about the unexpected sights and pretty locations you can find as you're roaming these countries (although you might stumble upon those, too), but rather the peculiar habits and customs of the locals. This contrasts strongly with France's neighbours, the Italians who frequently drink an espresso as if it were a shot and throw it back. I have actually had about 40 jobs in the last 10 years, so answering with a single description just doesn't describe what I “do” with my life in any real sense. Here are 50 unique customs and traditions from around the world that probably make no sense to you or me. Since my job is location-independent,  I haggle everything, everywhere 😉. It is very ordinary to come near strangers and ask if they have a lighter. Brazil can be a hot country depending on the city and time of year, and Brazilians are among the most hygienic people I've ever come across, generally taking at least two and sometimes three showers a day, especially if they are physically active (gym, sports etc.). Now, I'm in Germany which is as far as you can get from this idea as possible! So you'll take a sachet of ketchup (since they rarely come in bottles there) per slice and drown your pizza with it. A habit I picked up in Turkey learning Turkish and have kept with me whenever I'm in a country where way too many people smoke (such as this year in Egypt), is to always carry a lighter in my pocket. Being straight with people, but then lying and pretending to care about the craftsmanship of that crappy logo and brainless motto you've put on your business card?) It's like an annoying twitch for me now! The acceptable in some places are not necessarily being so in other places. I do this all the time in other places and it's incredibly effective! score: 10 of 30 (35%) required scores: 1, 6, 9, 11 ... Holding Your Breath When Someone Sneezes Around You 13. But throwing your old furniture out the window? The world has surprised you several times by revealing some “interesting” facts. Long lunches with French co-workers reminded me that the rest of us tend to be in way too much of a hurry when we sit down to eat or drink, making it too functional about getting those liquids and solids plonked into your stomach acids as soon as possible. Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips. Countries I've lived in: Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Belgium, Colombia, the US, Canada, Ireland, UK, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Egypt, Italy, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Turkey, India, the Philippines, Thailand, China, Taiwan, Australia (I've also visited Poland, Uruguay, Singapore, Austria, Slovakia, Norway, and Mexico for a few days or weeks, but definitely wouldn't consider myself to have lived in any of these and was more of a tourist, and I've had a flight transfer through a bunch other countries for a few hours, which I wouldn't count at all). So I tend to overuse “Indeed!” in these situations in English. Many things on this list come naturally to me now, but I try to suppress them if they aren't natural to the country I am currently in. Having a lighter, you have the chance to ask them dissimilar questions while you are lighting up their cigarettes and practicing some language, as many smokers have no lighters. You need to mope them as if you are having a kissy-face and do so towards the thing that you need people pay the attention to. Now, the instinct of most non-Italians is to call this person back. Check it out, and share it (this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RtGmqaM3Zo ) on your Facebook wall or otherwise, thanks! Following are the Most Weird Cultures around the World. This “lack of respect” has gotten me into serious trouble on some occasions with immigration officers, police officers, and my teachers. To this day, six feels more natural to make a “telephone” shape with one hand, than to start using a second hand. The idea of just getting up and saying “OK, see you all later!” and walking away, makes me shudder! The initial question Brazilians would ask you whenever you arrived at their home was for all time if you are willing to have a shower! (Incidentally, the greater distance between people is perhaps one reason why Americans are so well renowned for their.. um.. skill for projecting their voice in public places more than the rest of us – they have to because everyone is so far away!). This strange custom is one that I picked up from spending an entire year in Brazil. This time, a habit I picked up in Taiwan, which stood out for me immediately after I arrived there, was that you treat anything that you can hand over to another person as sacred. 13 Strange Etiquette Rules from Around the World Lauren Cahn Updated: Mar. Carrying the wife over burning coals, China. For instance, the first weeks after coming back from Egypt and speaking Arabic, I found that any time I referred to the future, I was missing an “Inshallah”. For instance, if I hurt myself, instead of saying “Ow!” or “Ouch!” I'll actually say Owa!! Customs that I grew up with and were a natural part of my world for two decades have had to be unlearned so that I can make new friends across the planet easier. Facebook page that people are welcome to follow, This biphasic sleeping pattern comes with many advantages, the Filipino way of expressing that you want to get the menu or bill, count in a very Chinese way on my fingers. When I mixed Indian haggling techniques with Brazilian charm, I managed to get the best place I've ever lived in in my life – a huge penthouse apartment in Rio with a 270 degree panoramic view that included the Christ statue and sugar loaf mountain, very close to Copacabana beach etc. If they carried the plates from the kitchen to your table extra skilfully, then you make it 20%! Finally, when it's time to say goodbye (as in, see you tomorrow, not forever!) One of the strangest habits is in North America, where many waiters are paid by customers instead by their boss. So I look weird to pretty much everyone now! The thing about living in a country and truly attempting to understand its culture and language, is that you have to pick up a lot of their customs to stand out less and make them feel more comfortable. Can't you swim? I travelled a lot in the country, and had my own home some of the time, but the rest of the time would stay with friends. As always, in my attempts to really get into a local culture, I tried to emulate the Egyptians as much as I could while living there this year. It's even more frustrating because people have a stereotype of travelers having nothing but superficial friends that they cast on me, the hypocrisy of which boils my blood when coming from someone with four digits of people in their network that they can't possibly know. In some other countries though, especially Canada, the opposite is true, and you are required to sandwich any unfortunate truths between compliments, or buffer it with pleasantries. They sometimes resort to sob stories about those waiters' lives, ignoring how this same logic can equally be applied to teachers, nurses and many other very hard workers who (for whatever twist of logic) are not tipped and may not earn well. you have to give your farewells to each person in the group. Language exchange partners are a fantastic [...]. I can point you to travelers who have been to many more countries than I have (most of whom have been travelling way less than I have, so it really shows the different speeds we travel at), but my style of travel and theirs is very different and I feel like I have gotten to know the modern cultures of each of these countries much more than the majority of passers-through ever do. Benny believes the best approach to language learning is to, Edit: I wasn't expecting this post to cause so much debate, but like the one linked just below, the reason I wrote it isn't to be “anti-American” as far too many crybabies are claiming, but because you guys need to read a different perspective and understand how us non-Americans think for a retrospective look at [...], The question of “What do you do?” has always been a tough one for me to answer.