Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[flower]

Hello all,

Different customs

In Thailand never touch anyone except a child on the head.

Canada and U.S. don’t arrive early if you’re invited to someone’s home.

Muslim countries don’t eat with your left hand.

Indonesia never point to anything with your foot.

Korea don’t pass something to an older person or superior with only one hand.

Why do you think people have these customs? What other interesting customs do you know?

[Bob S.]

Customs are the common sense and courtesy of a given culture. We don't even think about it until we see it done differently in another country, and we think "how strange!", but maybe it is us that is strange to the outsider. Consider this difference:
In the U.S. and Japan, it is polite to eat everything on your dinner plate to not be wasteful. In China, it is polite to leave a little food on your plate to show you have eaten enough and to acknowledge the generosity of the host.
In Japan, it is common to eat raw eggs on dishes, but you peel the skin from all fruit because the outside is dirty. In the U.S., eating raw eggs is considered unhealthy (possible Salmonella poisoning), but it is common to eat the skins of fruit that have thin skins (apples, grapes, peaches) if you wash them first.
In most western countries, you can walk into a shop, look around, and leave without saying a word. In Egypt, you must say "Shokran" (thank you) to the shop clerk before leaving whether you buy anything or not.

Here's some more examples:
http://www.virtualtourist.com/vt/570/a
I had a link to a list of American customs for foreign travelers. When I find it, I'll add it here.

[simplyblessedwithlove]

[Marisa69]

blueStrong cultural differences exist between Thai and western societies. Respect and obedience to elders and the need to return favors are all strong themes in Thai culture. Thais replied that their friend had the right to expect such loyalty. Thais are far more relationship orientated than their Western counterparts.Thai people is one of smiling, calm and tolerant people yet there can be a prevalence of violence in Thai society

[Bob S.]

Here you go. A travel guide for Japanese who visit America, but has much useful advise for any visitor to the States. Reading it, you can kind of get the idea of cultural differences between America and Japan (then compare to the customs and differences for your own country if you are not Japanese).
http://iteslj.org/Handouts/Klepinger-TravelGuide.html

[zwig]

how can I contact the administrator of this forum? I want to ask a question about a certain custom in countries, but I fear being banned from this forum and possibly taken off the internet altogether because of misunderstnadings. I hvae been banned from other forums becasue of this, and I certainly don't want my ISP to be contacted and for them to bann me from the internet.