etiquette of visiting other countries

[JonGirl]

If your coming to Australia:
No, kangaroos don't hop down the main street of Melbourne
No, you can't see the harbour bridge from every window in Sydney
No, Ayres rock is not 'down the road' from Darwin
No, a dingo did not eat my baby and
no, I didn't know Steve Irwin personally.

[GoldenGemini]

If your coming to Australia:
No, kangaroos don't hop down the main street of Melbourne
No, you can't see the harbour bridge from every window in Sydney
No, Ayres rock is not 'down the road' from Darwin
No, a dingo did not eat my baby and
no, I didn't know Steve Irwin personally.

And a taxi from Sydney to Perth, whilst technically "just the other side of the island", will cost you several thousand dollars, and take a week!

[Nurvingiel]

If your coming to Australia:
No, kangaroos don't hop down the main street of Melbourne
No, you can't see the harbour bridge from every window in Sydney
No, Ayres rock is not 'down the road' from Darwin
No, a dingo did not eat my baby and
no, I didn't know Steve Irwin personally.

And a taxi from Sydney to Perth, whilst technically "just the other side of the island", will cost you several thousand dollars, and take a week!

Hahahaha!!! Australia is a continent, after all.

Cautionary rather than etiquette, but everything in Australia can kill you. Including the wallabes.

[PaintingPastelPrincess]

If your coming to Australia:
No, kangaroos don't hop down the main street of Melbourne
No, you can't see the harbour bridge from every window in Sydney
No, Ayres rock is not 'down the road' from Darwin
No, a dingo did not eat my baby and
no, I didn't know Steve Irwin personally.

And a taxi from Sydney to Perth, whilst technically "just the other side of the island", will cost you several thousand dollars, and take a week!

Hahahaha!!! Australia is a continent, after all.

Cautionary rather than etiquette, but everything in Australia can kill you. Including the wallabes.

And especially the koalas?   

[Waltraud]

As far as I know (and I could probably dig my way to Australia if I went straight down) Koalas eat so much Eucalyptus that they are poisonous. So, if you eat a Koala, it might end up nasty.

(Or was that Pandas and bamboo? No ... wait... probably not...) 

Waltraud

[JonGirl]

As far as I know (and I could probably dig my way to Australia if I went straight down) Koalas eat so much Eucalyptus that they are poisonous. So, if you eat a Koala, it might end up nasty.

(Or was that Pandas and bamboo? No ... wait... probably not...) 

Waltraud

Don't know, never tasted a koala   

Eucalyptus just makes them drunk.

[PaintingPastelPrincess]

As far as I know (and I could probably dig my way to Australia if I went straight down) Koalas eat so much Eucalyptus that they are poisonous. So, if you eat a Koala, it might end up nasty.

(Or was that Pandas and bamboo? No ... wait... probably not...) 

Waltraud

I just remembered hearing somewhere that koalas are even more vicious than they are adorable.  Which, unfortunately, is the #1 reason I think koalas are fascinating 

[Orisha]

-Learning some of the local venacular can save you embarrassment/trouble.  For instance, if you are an American travelling to Britain, New Zealand or Australia (I think), do not use the word "fanny."  (And for that matter, do not wear fanny packs.)  It's rude.  Also pants = underwear.  And in Jamaica and many of the other West Indies, the term "native" has racial connotations.  Say islander instead.

-If you are in country with a different language, never assume that they don't know your language.  I worked retail while in University.  Two Austrian tourists came into the shop and started saying all sorts of rude things about Americans in German, assuming that they wouldn't be understood.  They were shocked when I addressed them in perfect German.  (Which I have since lost!  )

-Learn about local customs.  We ran into this obnoxious American family in Rome a few years ago who were angry because they couldn't order lunch during siesta and went on a tirade about Italians and Spaniards being "lazy."  (The sad thing is that the people who need to be reading these etiquette lessons are not the ones who are likely visiting this board!)

-Do not lump everyone of one nationality together or assume that individuals speak for everyone of X nationality.  Two American friends were badgered on their Irish honeymoon by a sanctimoneous German who felt that the US wasn't doing its part environmentally. 

[Nurvingiel]

-Do not lump everyone of one nationality together or assume that individuals speak for everyone of X nationality.  Two American friends were badgered on their Irish honeymoon by a sanctimoneous German who felt that the US wasn't doing its part environmentally. 

Or for that matter, the "don't talk about politics in polite company" is especially applicable here.

[Fluffy Cat]

-Learning some of the local venacular can save you embarrassment/trouble.  For instance, if you are an American travelling to Britain, New Zealand or Australia (I think), do not use the word "fanny."  (And for that matter, do not wear fanny packs.)  It's rude.  Also pants = underwear.  And in Jamaica and many of the other West Indies, the term "native" has racial connotations.  Say islander instead.

I think this one is kind of a two way street.  I think the visitor should certainly do their best to avoid such words, but I also think the locals (once aware of the visitor status) need to cut a little slack.  Sometimes its hard to avoid commonly used words no matter how hard you try.

[marcel]

-Learning some of the local venacular can save you embarrassment/trouble.  For instance, if you are an American travelling to Britain, New Zealand or Australia (I think), do not use the word "fanny."  (And for that matter, do not wear fanny packs.)  It's rude.  Also pants = underwear.  And in Jamaica and many of the other West Indies, the term "native" has racial connotations.  Say islander instead.

I think this one is kind of a two way street.  I think the visitor should certainly do their best to avoid such words, but I also think the locals (once aware of the visitor status) need to cut a little slack.  Sometimes its hard to avoid commonly used words no matter how hard you try.

And let's not forget all those people that are not from an English speaking country, and thus use American, British, Australian english all mixed together. often without knowing it.

example: I have always known that a fag could be both a gay person or a cigarette, but I have only known a few years now that the cigarette definition is not used in the US.
re fanny: I know the different regions of the body it can refer to, but I never know where it is what.

-Do not lump everyone of one nationality together or assume that individuals speak for everyone of X nationality.  Two American friends were badgered on their Irish honeymoon by a sanctimoneous German who felt that the US wasn't doing its part environmentally. 

Or for that matter, the "don't talk about politics in polite company" is especially applicable here.

allthough I completely agree that the German was rude, the don't talk politics rule is typically one that is not an etiquette rule in every country. Over here it is considered a normal subject, very acceptable for polite conversation

[Orisha]

-Learning some of the local venacular can save you embarrassment/trouble.  For instance, if you are an American travelling to Britain, New Zealand or Australia (I think), do not use the word "fanny."  (And for that matter, do not wear fanny packs.)  It's rude.  Also pants = underwear.  And in Jamaica and many of the other West Indies, the term "native" has racial connotations.  Say islander instead.

I think this one is kind of a two way street.  I think the visitor should certainly do their best to avoid such words, but I also think the locals (once aware of the visitor status) need to cut a little slack.  Sometimes its hard to avoid commonly used words no matter how hard you try.

And let's not forget all those people that are not from an English speaking country, and thus use American, British, Australian english all mixed together. often without knowing it.

example: I have always known that a fag could be both a g*a*y person or a cigarette, but I have only known a few years now that the cigarette definition is not used in the US.
re fanny: I know the different regions of the body it can refer to, but I never know where it is what.

Fair enough.  FYI, it is when you are in the UK, New Zealand or Australia that it refers to a part of the female anatomy.

-Do not lump everyone of one nationality together or assume that individuals speak for everyone of X nationality.  Two American friends were badgered on their Irish honeymoon by a sanctimoneous German who felt that the US wasn't doing its part environmentally. 

Or for that matter, the "don't talk about politics in polite company" is especially applicable here.

allthough I completely agree that the German was rude, the don't talk politics rule is typically one that is not an etiquette rule in every country. Over here it is considered a normal subject, very acceptable for polite conversation
[/quote]

Also fair enough.  I'm assuming that the "don't verbally assail strangers" rule applies just about everywhere?

[Nurvingiel]

I didn't realize that "don't talk about politics in polite company" is not a universal rule. (Of course, for some of my friends, talking about politics is fine. Maybe that means we're not polite. )

[kherbert05]

I didn't realize that "don't talk about politics in polite company" is not a universal rule. (Of course, for some of my friends, talking about politics is fine. Maybe that means we're not polite. )

Not if you can do it politely. I don't know if this falls under the "don't discuss politics" rule, but I have explained the Federal System to many people from a Parliamentary system. Now this is after they asked something like how can our government can work if the Majority in Congress and the President are from different parties. I've also explained how the electoral college works.

[Nurvingiel]

I didn't realize that "don't talk about politics in polite company" is not a universal rule. (Of course, for some of my friends, talking about politics is fine. Maybe that means we're not polite. )

Not if you can do it politely. I don't know if this falls under the "don't discuss politics" rule, but I have explained the Federal System to many people from a Parliamentary system. Now this is after they asked something like how can our government can work if the Majority in Congress and the President are from different parties. I've also explained how the electoral college works.

I would find such a discussion fascinating and I know I would be polite.

That sounds more like "explaining the electoral system" moreso than "politics" though.

Also, I never knew what "fanny" meant in the UK. I knew it was something other than "bum". I feel educated now.