When engaging with an unfamiliar culture, there is a myriad of ways a visitor can go wrong and inadvertently cause offense. Some have to do with surface body language, such as not pointing your finger or putting your feet near food, while other mistakes might manifest as an attitude that opens up some historic, unhealed wound. This is what Epoch Times reporters from Islamabad to Wellington discovered when they asked locals, “What are some of the biggest cultural faux-pas in your country?”
Sarah Mahmud, 26, Teacher
One of things that one should never do in these parts is to stick your feet at food and/or keep any food items near the feet since this is considered very rude in our country’s culture. I once saw a tourist from Germany who was sitting at one of the local roadside restaurants in Islamabad and after eating his lunch he put his legs and feet on the table. As I was passing by the place on my way to a marketplace one of the waiters called for me to come over. The owner and the serving staff told me to tell the man in English to remove his feet from the table as it is a place where only food is to be kept. This had offended the local helping staff and the owners quite a bit and they were looking at this behavior very oddly.
To prevent this from escalating further I went over and told the man that it was considered rude to stick feet out at food. He immediately got up, apologized to the folks, and thanked me. He was embarrassed.
Quinn Wilkins, 32, Bill Poster
Historically, I think some of the cultural mistakes were punishing people for practicing Maori rituals and speaking their language. It wasn’t until the 1970s that they acknowledged that Maori language should be promoted in New Zealand. Even as recently as our parent’s generation they were caned in school if they said Maori words. That’s largely responsible for a lot of the language and culture having dwindled until quite recently. I think that’s a big cultural mistake. When the empire expanded here from Europe I don’t think they had a concept of the importance of other cultures at the time. They just felt that instilling their culture somewhere, as well as their systems, and ways of doing things would give them strategic military control over a place and control over the resources. I think that’s all they cared about.
Andrew Brain, 55, Bus Driver
I don’t think as a nation we need to be apologetic for our way of life. If you come to live here—I migrated here, and I chose to adopt the values and the culture of where I’m living. Why should you change something that’s so special? Obviously when you go to other countries, well you need to learn their culture and those things that may offend them you choose not to do so people who come here and want to change our culture really shouldn’t have that view in mind, I believe. I live here and I’ve chosen to be here so you adopt the culture.
Obviously, there are things that are common manners in every culture and we have those here too. Most people are aware of those; sometimes you’ve got people who just need a bit of guidance. Some people can be over-exuberant with their consumption of alcohol that could be problematic and certainly on the service buses, you see that on the weekend. Another thing is people like to have their headsets on, and they don’t know it might be upsetting somebody else when you’ve got something that sounds like stones in your hubcaps rattling on as you are going along. Those sorts of observations, but they’re really things that need to be steered without having to hit them over the head with a bit of three-by-two.
Roanne Somera, 23, Graphic Designer
[Given Singapore’s multiculturalism] in a Muslim community, money should never be handed over using the left hand as the left hand is seen as unclean and is ultimately a rude gesture. In Chinese tradition, a watch or clock should never be given as a present, as it signifies that time is running out for the recipient’s life. For Indians, it is very impolite to touch a person on his or her head. For us Singaporeans, especially, most of us consider it disrespectful for guests to enter our house with their shoes on, especially when their shoes are very dirty.
Rolf Klang, 69, Actor and Former Teacher
Yes, in today’s society, it would be rude if I took a job, for it would be to take one from someone who needs it. Otherwise, I think crime is the worst thing you can do, and I do not want to benefit at the expense of others. I would not even bet on horse racing or other games, because I do not want to win money. I do not want anything to do with it. I want to live an honest life and I think the game has to do with crime.
Sandra Valéria Ferreira Baptista, 44, Psychologist
The woman taking the initiative to start a love affair. When a woman goes to the man, she is still seen as someone raffish in our culture. I chatted recently with a group of teenagers and the boys still see it with bad eyes when girls take the initiative.
Bangalore, India
Kartik Rao, 25, Business Development Manager
The biggest faux-pas in our country is pointing fingers, from a very young age we are taught that it is very rude to point fingers at people. We are not supposed to point fingers even casually. It is looked at as a sign of blaming people. We are told when we point fingers at others, there are always three fingers pointing back at oneself which means try to look within as to where you could have gone wrong first and then try to point fingers at others.
Look for the Global Q&A column every week, when Epoch Times correspondents interview people around the world to learn about their lives and perspectives on local and global realities. Next week’s global question: What’s currently the biggest social issue in your country?
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