Oops!

Okay, there was this one time when I was studying on my kitchen table, and then all of a sudden, this random guy that I don't even know walked straight to the fridge and started grabbing and eating food. I was just staring at him, and in my head I was like, “What the f***? So rude! Who is this guy raiding my kitchen?” He was one of my sister's friends who came over to visit her. But even though my sister knew him, I still thought that it is completely rude of him to raid my kitchen without even asking politely.

For being Asian, I was raised to be “super polite.” When I visit my friends' house, I had the habit of taking off my shoes, respecting their stuff by not touching anything, and staying in one spot waiting until I am welcomed to do whatever. When I was little I was told to stay and sit still because it isn't our home, and so that I don't invade their space. My friends are nothing like that. They make themselves feel at home immediately. And I wasn’t  use to that. I was always called the “shy” one because of my behavior. But it’s not because I’m shy. It’s because of the customs that i was taught.  It took me awhile to adjust to my friends' customs and understand their behavior. I eventually got use to keeping my shoes on, but I still had the “shyness” behavior.

Because of cultural differences, people's gestures and body movements differ from each other. We tend to label another person rude  because of cultural differences. It took me awhile to finally realize that it is fine to welcome yourself since the owner of the property would want you to feel at home; not some bizarre uncomfortable place. But of course, everyone still have to respect each other’s space.  

Speaking of gestures, here are some interesting hand gestures that means differently in different countries.

• Thumbs Up

We consider this gesture as something positive. But did you know that in  Latin America this gesture means the same as pointing our “middle finger?”

• Waving

How is waving harmful? Isn’t it just a gesture used to say hi or say goodbye? Well, to Westerners it is. But to countries such as Greece, it’s insulting. In Greece, this gesture is called “moutza” which means “eat sh!t.” Yeah, you wouldn’t want to wave at someone if you visit Greece.

• Ok

This hand gesture is another positive gesture to call something “great” or if something is “okay.” However, in Germany, this gesture represents an anus. So if you attempt using this gesture, you would be calling someone an “asshole.”

• Peace sign

The peace sign is in every Asian picture you will see. For some odd reason, we just love making peace signs when taking pictures. Most of us even do double peace sings v^-^v. So to all Asian tourists, please be careful and try to avoid making peace signs when taking pictures when you visit United Kingdom; you might offend someone and start an ugly fight.

• Come here

This gesture is usually a form of telling someone to come to you. But I just recently found out that in the Philippines, this gesture is for dog calling. And if you get caught attempting this gesture, the authorities will arrest you and break your finger! I find it surprising because, my grandfather used to do this gesture to me. He usually does it when he calls me, so i thought that it's just a "calling" gesture in the Philippines too. But when he does that, I knew that he was mad at me and I was in BIG trouble. 

Isn’t that weird? We really have to be careful with our gestures when visiting other countries. You might offend someone. Just like the “rude” guy that raided my kitchen, it’s better to understand the different cultural customs and gestures to avoid any offenses and fights because of the misunderstandings.