bjack on 30/5/2017 at 18:09

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Just a few tips if you find yourself in Southern California:

- Do not drive in the left lane at the speed limit or slower. Stay to the right if you want to go slow.

- Get off your cell phones while driving.

- Yes, sales tax is charged on top of the listed price. Expect to pay more than the tag.

- Gasoline (petrol, benzene, etc.) is an exception - all taxes are included in the price and boy are there a lot of taxes. Still, gas is way cheaper than Europe, but it is about $1 to $2 more per gallon in CA than other states.

- Thumb and index finger forming an O means OK, not toss off.

- A middle finger means f-off

- A clenched fist and thumb sticking upward does not mean “up-yours”. It means "thumbs up”, or things are good, dandy, way to go, similar to OK - good job, or I am feeling great.

- Don’t spit on the side walk, however, you may spit in the gutter or planters, but try to be discrete about it.

- Urinating in a public place - even a back alley way - can get you arrested and charged with a sexual crime. You may have to register as a sex offender. Yes, they are that idiotic here sometimes.

- Be careful of public toilets in parks and rest stops on highways. You may be solicited for sex and/or robbed. Using these facilities at night is not in your best interest - unless your goal is to score a bit of AIDS or a packet of meth.

- Don’t j-walk - use cross walks and do not walk on the red

- While driving in most areas, unless noted by a sign, you may turn right on a red light if you stop first.

- Do not saunter at a super slow pace with your pals 4 people wide blocking the entire side walk.

- Do not feel it is OK to sit in the middle of an isle or other walkway and break out a game of mahjong

- It is considered rude to bring exceptionally stinky food to work, on the bus, or in an airplane.

- It is pretty much illegal to smoke in public. Even when it is legal, many people will treat you like you have leprosy

- Do not fart loudly in a public place.

- Do not belch after eating, unless you are in a Persian restaurant and others are doing it too.

- Do not cough or sneeze into the buffet trays, put food back you have already put on your plate, or doddle too long while in line.

- Stand at least 10 feet back from the ATM when someone else is using it. However, when in line at a fast food place, it is NOT an ATM, so stand a little closer at about 5 to 6 feet, just enough room for the person at the counter to get their stuff and walk away without being crowded, but not so far back that you could drive a truck between yourselves.

- It is not cool to pinch the butts of random cute girls (or boys if you are so inclined) - unless you are at one of “those” types of parties.

- Unfortunately, if rains here rarely. If it s raining, try to avoid driving. CA drivers are mostly idiots in the rain. They either drive excessively fast, or extremely slowly. Many people’s wiper blades are in tatters, so they cannot see. Almost all sports cars have summer tires, so wet traction is not so good. Expect to see at least 4 to 10 wrecks per day.

- And lastly, no it is not possible to come out here for a 4 day driving tour and see the red woods, San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Las Vegas, San Diego, LA, Disneyland, and the Grand Canyon.

Nicker on 30/5/2017 at 19:03

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If people in the Atlantic Provinces say "aboot" they are likely just making fun of visitors. The proper Atlantic pronunciation of about is pretty much identical to the Scottish pronunciation (sorry BBC Culture but you got that wrong).

If you hear Canadians say a McKenzie Brothers inspired "eh", it's almost certainly a bit of self effacing humour since we never actually used it as verbal decoration until after SCTV aired. Nevertheless, it's OUR word. YOU don't get to use it unless you want aboot to the head, eh.

There are really only half a dozen English dialects in Canada; the midwestern, which is pretty much identical to the general American accent preferred by broadcasters (until recently when vaguely regional variants became vogue), Atlantic, Acadian French, Quebec French and two or maybe three First Nations variants.

The differences between Canadian and American English are far more obvious on paper than in the ear.

Tip your tour guide.

Starker on 30/5/2017 at 19:12

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Let's see..

A big one that still keeps happening is people not taking off shoes when they enter someone's home. If you're in a country where they are commonly taken off at the entrance, it is rude at best, but if you're in Japan, you might as well spit in your hosts' face and slap their children while you're at it.

If you're in Bulgaria, you have to shake your head if you agree and nod if you don't. Completely tripped me up when I visited.

In Finland, don't touch people. They have an almost allergic reaction to it. In some cultures, it's normal to touch the hand or shoulder of your conversation partner. Not in Finland. And stand at least half a meter away. Last time I saw an American and a Finn at a meet, they were "dancing" across the room, with the American continuing to step closer and the Finn stepping away.

Harvester on 30/5/2017 at 19:44

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Yeah, I've heard about the personal space thing in Finland. I have an autistic co-worker without a sense of personal space. He's a good guy and we get along great, but he stands way too close when talking to me.

Pyrian on 30/5/2017 at 20:31

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This is common in so many cultures that I think we should just call out the English diaspora for having short family visits with too little food.