Gestures you shouldn't do abroad

Found this pretty interesting so I thought I'd share with you lot!



Want to signal to someone you've met on holiday how blisteringly all right, fine and generally OK things are? Stop! Beware making the round “OK” sign with your thumb and forefinger. In Greece and Turkey, for example, this gesture can be taken as highly vulgar. You are telling someone that they resemble a similarly shaped part of the human body and, by extension, that they are homosexual. In some Middle Eastern countries, such as Kuwait, the OK sign signifies the evil eye.



Should you ever find yourself in an Iranian carpet souk and want to signal to the rug dealer that he’s finally named a price you can agree on, please don’t give him the thumbs-up. You’d actually be telling him where he could stick his offer – not the desired effect.

Giving someone the finger – showing them your raised middle digit, palm towards you – might be the most widespread obscene gesture in western countries (it probably originated in ancient Greece and was spread by the Romans) but you’ll find on your travels that almost any protruding digit will cause offence somewhere. In the Philippines summoning someone with a finger is considered suitable only for dogs and is punishable by arrest.



They have to be the simplest gestures, right? Nodding your head means yes, shaking it means no. Well, not necessarily. In countries such as Greece, Lebanon and Turkey, a slight downward nod of the head means “yes” and tilting it upward, often with a tongue-click or a sucking sound, is “no”. Life and death decisions could easily hang on getting these things right.

In India, if you want to decline yet another offer of a rickshaw ride, shaking your head won’t get you far. That gesture is likely to be mistaken for the famous Indian head waggle, which is about as common as breathing on the subcontinent. This graceful movement doesn’t necessarily mean no, but nor does it definitively mean yes. It’s poised between such western certainties and may simply often be taken to mean: “Oh, you’re standing in front of me talking. How interesting.”



Burgers might have spread around the world but chowing down on one with both hands certainly hasn’t. Don’t eat anything with your left hand in Muslim countries or in India. That part of the body is used for an entirely different function in such places, one people don’t want to be reminded of when eating!

The left hand really is a poor relation of the right in these parts of the world; you should also avoid gesturing or shaking hands with it. As a curious variation, if their right hand is wet or dirty Senegalese people will offer their right wrist for a handshake or their left hand, but with an apology.

Clearly, if you’re left-handed and want to travel widely, it may be time to retrain.



Slurping your soup (or indeed your coffee or tea) might be a no-no at your average British table but in Japan it is considered good table manners. Slurping indicates you are enjoying the meal.



When you ask someone in Britain, “How are you?”, the last thing you want is an honest response. “Really depressed,” they might answer or, perhaps equally alarmingly, “Happier than ever!” The question has become a largely empty formality.

Not so in Scandinavian countries such as Denmark. There you would only ask, “How are you?” of a really close friend and you would have to be prepared for a genuine – and possibly lengthy – reply.

And just in case it ever comes up, never greet a Ukrainian over any kind of threshold, such as a doorway. It’s considered incredibly bad luck.



It’s easy enough to be offended in your own country by intrusive tourists snapping your photo without permission. On other occasions, you might be that intrusive tourist yourself. But the offence can go much further in certain African countries, such as in rural Ghana, where people might fear (it makes a certain sense) that by photographing them you are stealing their soul.



“Oh, I love your settee!” A harmless compliment (and perhaps a little white lie) when visiting someone’s house in the west but be wary of making such a remark in Arab and African countries such as Jordan, Senegal and Nigeria. Your host might think he or she is obliged to give you the item in question. An awkward situation all round, especially if you have to cart the sofa home on your back.

http://travel.uk.msn.com/inspiration/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=148171642

Nice one Ross. Very interesting!

Hehe I heard about the first one the other day on the tele.

I'm going to Senegal to compliment peoples Stereos!