Foreigners and bad habits

[Vendetta]

Now as an American I understand we Americans can have the worse of manners. From farting to belching in public this is easily a turn off to most people. But I have noticed primarily during my residency that a lot of foreigners mostly physicians and nursing staff from various countries have bad manners. Let me say this isn't applicable to every person in the country I name nor is it applicable to the a specific ethnic group or nationality it is what I have experienced and had to be educated on.

Starting with Asians in particular Asians of Korean, Japanese and Chinese descent, I noticed that upon doing rounds I notice that upon walking to a metro train station many tend to walk fast bump into you without saying excuse me. One time as the doors of a train was closing a lady ran past me, bumped into me and slide inside the train without holding it open for me. Of course in California we all are in a hurry but not only was it rude, but it was funny. I also notice that some Koreans from Korea tend to eat the food "Kimchi" which is a food that emits a smelly odor, and people have a tendency to speak in your face.

All the above I mentioned of course are probably the norm in their country but clearly in the States is considered rude behavior. A Middle Eastern professor of mine who I will call "Khalid" loves to talk science but does so within 6 inches of my face. I notice this among other middle eastern cultures in particular Lebanese and Egyptians. Without being rude I wont move and give them the courtesy of speaking but its quite uncomfortable that people of the same sex as me get that close.

I say this to say that there are bad habits and manners respectively in most cultures but I want to know if other Americans and westerners have the same issue.

 

[Mathematician]

Yes, different cultural habits can be really jading. As an American who likes to travel I sometimes sigh when I see other Americans abroad not respecting the local people or culture.

And visa versa.

My pet peeve relates to Indian families and grocery stores. I worked as a cashier for about 6 months, and Indian families were usually inquisitive about EVERYTHING. Why hasn't my coupon gone through yet? Why are you packaging items like this? Why is this being ringed up as "Other?" And if the parent was distracted they got their kids to do the job for them. It was really frustrating for someone who makes minimum wage and has a bunch of angry customers waiting. I laugh with my best friend about it because he's Indian and his mom does the same thing.

Everywhere I go I've been told think East Asian tourists are the worst, haha.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

Now as an American I understand we Americans can have the worse of manners. From farting to belching in public this is easily a turn off to most people. But I have noticed primarily during my residency that a lot of foreigners mostly physicians and nursing staff from various countries have bad manners. Let me say this isn't applicable to every person in the country I name nor is it applicable to the a specific ethnic group or nationality it is what I have experienced and had to be educated on.

Starting with Asiana in particular Asians of Korean, Japanese and Chinese descent I notice that upon doing rounds I notice that upon walking to a metro train station many tend to walk fast bump into you without saying excuse me. One time as the doors of a train was closing a lady ran past me, bumped into me and slide inside the train without holding it open for me. Of course in California we all are in a hurry but not only was it rude, but it was funny. I also notice that some Koreans from Korea tend to eat the food "Kimchi" which is a food that emits a smelly odor, and people have a tendency to speak in your face.

All the above I mentioned of course are probably the norm in their country but clearly in the States is considered rude behavior. A Middle Eastern professor of mine who I will call Khalid loves to talk science but does so within 6 inches of my face. I notice this among other middle eastern cultures in particular Lebanese and Egyptians. Without being rude I wont move and give them the courtesy of speaking but its quite uncomfortable that people of the same sex as me get that close Its rather uncomfortable.

I say this to say that there are bad habits and manners respectively in most cultures but I want to know if other Americans and westerners have the same issue.

most of what you are speaking about is not bad habits but a question of personal space.

the Japanese live in a small country in close proximity to each other and their personal space is tiny.
As to the metro station and train incident, the lady would have thought you rude. You should have made every attempt to avoid her and if that were not possible you should have totally ignored her and the fact that she had even touched you.

Generally eastern races think we are barbarians who are both hairy dirty and stink. and there is some truth in that. It is not that we don't shower, but that we really need to more often than they do, to kill body odour.The American personal space is about the largest going. The European one varies but is rather less. as you go east it gets smaller.

The first year that I lived in Spain. I thought they and their food had a strange smell, after only a year I could not smell it.
Americans seem to me, to smell of cooking oil.

 

[Father Heathen]

It's always a good idea to have a respect and familiarity with the country and its culture you happen to be in.

 

[Father Heathen]

But brits man.... PE-YEW!

 

[Vendetta]

most of what you are speaking about is not bad habits but a question of personal space.

the Japanese live in a small country in close proximity to each other and their personal space is tiny.
As to the metro station and train incident, the lady would have thought you rude. You should have made every attempt to avoid her and if that were not possible you should have totally ignored her and the fact that she had even touched you.

Generally eastern races think we are barbarians who are both hairy dirty and stink. and there is some truth in that. It is not that we don't shower, but that we really need to more often than they do, to kill body odour.The American personal space is about the largest going. The European one varies but is rather less. as you go east it gets smaller.

The first year that I lived in Spain. I thought they and their food had a strange smell, after only a year I could not smell it.
Americans seem to me, to smell of cooking oil.

Well no I am not just talking about personal space, and depending on who you ask, talking face to face with people continuously can be a bad habit if you do it often enough. Talking in my face after you ate cloves of garlic may seem normal to some, but I know bad breathe is considered a social turnoff and to some considered as being rude.

As to the bold, quite obviously you dont know me so I'll let that slide. No person whether chinese, black, white, mexican, or alien has a right to push me out the way just to make a stupid train which I might add runs every 15 minutes. That is like me justifying running red lights to make it to work on time. If I am walking with people 20 feet away from me how is it she was able to hit me and not someone else? Again its about being cognizant of personal space as well as manners.

As for Europeans considering us being "smelly" we (Americans) can definitely say the same about them. I've been to France before and some of the French both men and women have some terrible body odor. One of the things about military is they teach you how to be hygenic. I shower twice a day, use deoderant, and wash my clothes. As my mother used to say when I started wearing cologne but didn't take showers "don't put cologne on funk."

 

[Revoltingest]

Middle Easterners who move have a different approach to business agreements. When signing a contract, we locals think negotiating is done....they think it's just starting.
So any contractor here who works for a foreigner always boosts the price at least 10%, since they'll be shorted that amount for some lame arsed reason.

 

[Rakhel]

Sorry Ven, but all this is just typical of New Yorkers.
The escalator stopped on the way down to the subway, with people on it. No one was concerned about whether anyone was hurt(which has happened in the past), the only thing they were concerned about was making the next train. Never mind that there would be another train behind it in about 5 minutes. They had to make that one.

And the only rudeness most foreigners exhibit here, which is starting to annoy even me, it that they will just stop walking. I mean come to a dead halt right in the middle of the sidewalk. And if you aren't watching you run right into them. That and assuming every NYer knows every part of NY.

 

[Reptillian]

I come from a rural area where most local towns have a population of around a thousand. Having visited several large cities, I can say that most everyone seems frightfully rude. Selfishness and indifference seem to reign supreme.

 

[Vinayaka]

foreigners? Just who are they? Every culture has a sense of what's rude and what's not. Most of what is considered rude is just not being familiar with the local way of doing things.

 

[HiddenDjinn]

I come from a rural area where most local towns have a population of around a thousand. Having visited several large cities, I can say that most everyone seems frightfully rude. Selfishness and indifference seem to reign supreme.

Maybe your tourist smell(yes, tourists have a particular smell) annoyed them.

 

[Reptillian]

Maybe your tourist smell(yes, tourists have a particular smell) annoyed them.

Yeah, I suppose it must be strange for city dwellers to run across someone that doesn't smell of car exhaust and human waste.

Seriously, although most people in big cities seem rude to me, its just because people are unusally close where I'm from. My point, if I had one, was that rudeness is relative. On my visits to cities I'd occasionally I'd run across someone really friendly and that always made my day.

 

[HiddenDjinn]

Yeah, I suppose it must be strange for city dwellers to run across someone that doesn't smell of car exhaust and human waste.

We smell like subway tunnels and cheap hooch. Get it right, man. :slap:

 

[Reptillian]

We smell like subway tunnels and cheap hooch. Get it right, man. :slap:

We have our share of cheap hooch too. Every small town has at least 2 bars and at least 3 churches. Farms smell isn't much better than subway smell.

 

[Rakhel]

We smell like subway tunnels and cheap hooch. Get it right, man. :slap:

:biglaugh:

 

[HiddenDjinn]

Farms smell isn't much better than subway smell.

No better, but different.

 

[HiddenDjinn]

By cheap hooch...

 

[Reptillian]

Never heard of Night Train Express...my curiousity is piqued!

 

[Mathematician]

I come from a rural area where most local towns have a population of around a thousand. Having visited several large cities, I can say that most everyone seems frightfully rude. Selfishness and indifference seem to reign supreme.

Lol I live in a small town too and the rudeness in suburbia I think is just more political and behind-the-scenes. In the cities people are just more upfront. My friends from Texas are always surprised by how New Jerseyans and New Yorkers are "loud" and "obnoxious." [I'm from NJ] If you step on someone's foot, they'll make a rude joke about it., then forget about it in an hour. In Texas we just give them a big ol' Southern smile, say it's okay, go home, and vent to our families all day. Maybe the next day, too. Heh.

 

[HiddenDjinn]

Never heard of Night Train Express...my curiousity is piqued!

This is actually more popular