Don't bring your guns: Australia
Also don't stick a million bucks in your pocket then pose with your jacket on an unconscious kangaroo - that could really backfire.
-
Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.
Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:- Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
- Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
- Access to private conversations with other members.
We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!
What should I not do
- Thread starter VoidCat
- Start date
Also don't stick a million bucks in your pocket then pose with your jacket on an unconscious kangaroo - that could really backfire.
Heyo
Veteran Member
Germany: don't expect American courtesy, be prepared for honest answers, expect efficiency (but not from government agencies), don't think Germany is only Bavaria.
stvdv
Veteran Member: I Share (not Debate) my POV
I am Dutch, and got the feeling that some french have this habit (why can't these Dutch understand french) ; I experienced this first time in France
When I visited France, age 16, I just learned a little bit of french, and I was trying my best, but then the french started speaking so fast (on purpose) that I could not follow them anymore.
That was a rude/unfriendly thing to do, which happened quite a few times, I got the feeling they were just a little bit too chauvinistic due to my experiences, but when in New Caledonia I met french speaking people who were just the opposite, making me feel very welcome.
Last edited:
Depends on where you're going but here's some basics (India):
Don't argue with the locals.
Don't trust anyone with your possessions (unless they're being paid).
Don't eat or drink too much street food (or too much exotic food in general).
Don't touch or feed stray animals.
Don't pay beggars, especially children. Human trafficking is real.
Don't enter huge crowds. No apparent threat, but people don't seem to care whether they're sick or not.
Don't break the law (duh).
...
That's all I can think of for now
Don't argue with the locals.
Don't trust anyone with your possessions (unless they're being paid).
Don't eat or drink too much street food (or too much exotic food in general).
Don't touch or feed stray animals.
Don't pay beggars, especially children. Human trafficking is real.
Don't enter huge crowds. No apparent threat, but people don't seem to care whether they're sick or not.
Don't break the law (duh).
...
That's all I can think of for now
My country is Canada.
If you do not know what you should NOT do when you come here, then I suggest that the thing you should NOT do is come here.
Oh, then you are going to have a horrible time visiting Canada. We claim to be bilingual (English and French), but the French we speak here is basically 16th century (we call it joual) because that's when French settlers got here, and nobody's bothered talking to France ever since.
And they talk faster than they do in Europe. Totally hopeless.
Example:
English: "I'm in big trouble (I'm in ****)
French: "Je suis dans le pétrin (Je suis dans la merde)"
Joual (Quebec French): "Chus dan marde"
stvdv
Veteran Member: I Share (not Debate) my POV
Very friendly, giving me a cordial heads up. Thanks for the examples
Gargovic Malkav
Well-Known Member
I've been to France more than a few times and in my experience it to depends on how touristic the area is.
The more touristic the place is, the more chauvinistic the locals tend to be.
Also, it seems that townspeople are generally nicer than city people.
The latter could just be my own prejudice though, because I'm absolutely not a city person.
Gargovic Malkav
Well-Known Member
Don't sing "Hand in hand, kameraden" in Amsterdam.
It's a football (soccer) thing, which is a very popular sport in The Netherlands.
Heyo
Veteran Member
I never had problems in France. They will use all their language skills to do business with you after you showed your willingness to respect their language and culture. Never ask if anyone speaks your language, it is theirs to offer that courtesy. When in France, speak French until the French offer to speak something else.
stvdv
Veteran Member: I Share (not Debate) my POV
Heyo
Veteran Member
Yep. I have experienced it as some dominance thing. The bigger a country is (or thinks of itself to be) the less the people are learning foreign languages and the less they are willing to use them. While Germans usually speak one foreign language (English in most cases, Russian if they grew up in the GDR, French in some regions bordering France and Belgium) only a few master a second foreign language.
Our "small" neighbours the Dutch and the Danes, almost all speak English and German on a high level and will use it freely even in their own countries. (It has been quite a while that Holland was a globe spanning empire and most Dutch don't remember that time.)
The French think of themselves as the "Grande Nation" and the Brits act as if they are still one of the worlds greatest powers.
Gargovic Malkav
Well-Known Member
Yes, this makes a difference, I forgot to mention that.
My French kinda sucks as I don't practice it often(My most commonly used phrase probably is "Pardon?")
But I've noticed that the effort for trying is indeed appreciated.
stvdv
Veteran Member: I Share (not Debate) my POV
Aha, thanks for sharing. So, it seems this was not my imagination 40 years ago
. And how you describe this, does make sense.This chauvinistic, not so attractive, egoistic habit can even be found in a small country. We have a group called "friezen", and they can be quite chauvinistic as well. As a child I hated this, when my parents were talking that way "Friesland is the best". And I always told them, even at young age (10 or so) "all people are the same, friezen are not better than other people". Probably why I liked "Animal Farm" from A.Huxley so much when I read that 8 years later.
The moment people think they are "more special than others", this attitude thing starts growing. And once arrogance starts growing, there is no way "in Hell" anyone can stop this disaster. I believe that this is one of the major diseases in the world nowadays, but probably has been there for ages.
Last edited:
Gargovic Malkav
Well-Known Member
Aha, thanks for sharing. So, it seems this was not my imagination 40 years ago
This chauvinistic, not so attractive, egoistic habit can even be found in a small country. We have a group called "friezen", and they can be quite chauvinistic as well. As a child I hated this, when my parents were talking that way "Friesland is the best". And I always told them, even at young age (10 or so) "all people are the same, friezen are not better than other people". Probably why I liked "Animal Farm" from A.Huxley so much when I read that 08 years later.
The moment people think they are "more special than others", this attitude thing starts growing. And once arrogance starts growing, there is no way "in Hell" anyone can stop this disaster. I believe that this is one of the major diseases in the world nowadays, but probably has been there for ages.
This may be because the history of the Frisians goes way back.
Their ethnic identity is older than the Dutch one.
Apparently, Old Frisian even played a role in the forming of the Anglo-Saxon language, the language that eventually evolved into the language we know as English.
stvdv
Veteran Member: I Share (not Debate) my POV
That people think that way, has nothing to do with history, it is just their arrogant mindset (one could say it has to do with history, as in not being able to transform that mindset). Even at age 10, I already knew that this was not right. And I am Fries, but I do not have this mindset. Even though my parents have it very much and tried impose it on me too. My whole family is from Friesland, both parents and their (great) grandparents too etc.
Heyo
Veteran Member
I didn't know that about the Friesen. And coming to think about it, I haven't been to Friesland that much and I know nobody (except you) you lives there. When visiting the Netherlands, I was either in Holland or in Groningen and I know people from Zeeland.
Aha, thanks for sharing. So, it seems this was not my imagination 40 years ago
This chauvinistic, not so attractive, egoistic habit can even be found in a small country. We have a group called "friezen", and they can be quite chauvinistic as well. As a child I hated this, when my parents were talking that way "Friesland is the best". And I always told them, even at young age (10 or so) "all people are the same, friezen are not better than other people". Probably why I liked "Animal Farm" from A.Huxley so much when I read that 08 years later.
The moment people think they are "more special than others", this attitude thing starts growing. And once arrogance starts growing, there is no way "in Hell" anyone can stop this disaster. I believe that this is one of the major diseases in the world nowadays, but probably has been there for ages.
But are you sure it is really arrogance? Could it also be a tongue-in-cheek local patriotism, a friendly rivalry between neighbours?
I'm a Fries myself, an East-Frisian and we have that a lot.
stvdv
Veteran Member: I Share (not Debate) my POV
I wish you were right. Its definitely not "tongue-in-cheek local patriotism here". And usually there is some truth in jokes people make; I don't like such jokes
Good you brought it up. ca. 10 years ago I broke with my family, and it was exactly this arrogance that was the reason. Belittling me (that is what this kind of arrogance is). And my father even said "I know you are right, but its my 'harde friese kop" that does not want to admit. And he just continued belittling me. So much for 'all parents love their children' (yes, in word some can easily say it, but in action its hard for some; old habits die hard)
But now with the internet, there is a chance that people become less judgmental maybe; people get a broader view, at least they have a chance
Last edited:
Gargovic Malkav
Well-Known Member
Lol, that reminds me of some jokes about Belgians and Germans we have here.
The Dutch have a lot of jokes about Belgians where the Belgian is depicted as extremely naive and is the brunt of the joke.
Or when someone burps really loud, it is possible someone might say: "My, he knows his German well!"
stvdv
Veteran Member: I Share (not Debate) my POV
Aha, so we are almost neighbors, both living in "Frisian"
I came across some disturbing news just this morning. I am curious how others think about this. Would you be interested to read it, and share your view about it? If there is some truth in her ideas, then it sounds bad. She even wrote a letter to our PM Rutte, but he did not reply.
It is from an Iranian woman who had to fled her country in 1997 otherwise her husband would be hanged (and maybe she too). And now she describes that our Dutch government is doing exactly the same as the Iranian government was doing in 1997. Before 1997 Iran was a beautiful country, free, as she describes. But in a very short time it changed into a dictatorship, and the children (like her at that time), could not understand why their parents did not fight against it, and just let it all happen.