WHEN IN ROME... For some dos and don'ts to remember this travel season, we checked out our travel guides and checked in with protocol expert Mary Kay Metcalf at Creative Marketing Alliance in New Jersey. Our oy!tiquette tips:
STRANGERS BEARING GIFTS: Beware what you offer your host. Pass up chrysanthemums in Argentina (they denote funerals), clocks in China (the written characters resemble those for death) and red pens in South Korea (red ink conveys unfriendliness).
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Don't be gauche. In Saudi Arabia and other Islamic countries, eat and drink with your right hand; the left is considered unclean.
GESTURES: Your mother was right. Don't point. But if in Singapore you must, use your thumb, not your forefinger, lest it be taken as an insult or obscenity. In Russia, don't shake hands across a threshold; it might invite bad luck. In Buddhist lands like Burma, don't pat a child on the head; it's the spiritually highest part of the body.
HIDDEN MEANINGS. In Japan, you nod your head in agreement; your host smiles and thinks you're paying attention. In Egypt, you shake your head in disagreement; your host frowns and wonders why you don't understand. In Mexico, don't call her senora, which can imply aging; call her senorita. And in Zimbabwe, don't ask, "Is it far?"; out of courtesy people will answer, "Not far." (Be specific and ask, "How long does it take by foot?")
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