When studying or learning about different countries and cultures, many Americans find themselves fascinated and/or perplexed by some of their customs and traditions.
Up to and including Canada having their Thanksgiving celebrations in October, Guy Fawkes night in England, or spitting on the bride for good luck at Greek weddings.
Many of these same Americans who scoff at the very idea of these customs might not stop to think that the tables can be easily turned, and visitors from abroad often find themselves in an equal state of confusion at some of our customs and traditions.
Redditor thunderpower1999 was eager to hear which American customs foreigners found to be the most baffling, leading them to ask:
"Non- Americans, what is an American custom that you find unusual or odd?"
The Only Thing More Ridiculous, Are Most Of The Candidats
"I find the length of your election campaigns so crazy."- Olivia123321
Presidential elections seem to be some sort of two year affair. It's out of control.
Most Meteorologists Would Agree
"My friend from India once asked me (an American) to explain Groundhog Day to her."
"I had no explanation- it’s just weird."- marmosetohmarmoset
Groundhog Day Winter GIFGiphySlowly Becoming Extinct Though...
"The waiter taking your card away to pay."- Vlakob
Trick Or Treat!
"I’ll never forget when a college schoolmate from China asked me 'is it true that you have a holiday where children dress up and go around asking for candy?'"
"I had never thought about it before but all I could say was 'yes, I guess we do…'"- EverLong0
They Think That's Strange, Ask Them What They Think About Our Health Care System...
"The Canadians I worked with in the oilfield were blown away by all of the television commercials for medicines."- rufneck-420
Happy Mental Health GIF by Jimmy ArcaGiphyGobble Gobble!
"Pardoning a turkey at Thanksgiving."
"Cracks me up every time, and I've lived here 20 years now!"- sandithepirate
Strange Isn't Always Bad
"Let me pull the Uno reverse card on this."
"I am an immigrant, living in the US for a very long time."
"Getting your leftovers to go at the restaurants was a surprise to me."
"But my reaction was, 'yeah, why is that not the norm?'"
"Rather than “Americans are strange'."- BobTheInept
When You Think You Have Exact Change...
"Not including tax in the price tag."- klc81
The Simpsons Animation GIF by FOX TVGiphySo Much For Camaraderie...
"The obsession with college sports…and in some places even high school or middle school!"
"I just came back from a work trip to Texas and one of my colleagues told me the football stadium for his daughter’s middle school held 20,000 people!"- Speedbird223
Valuing Children? The Very Thought!
"That new parents, especially fathers, are expected to show up to work within days of having a newborn."- kellygrrrl328
How Long Have You Got?
"Some things I found strange in America:"
"Lack of recycling bins everywhere."
"That homeless people have tents everywhere like streets (Washington really surprised me)."
"Ice filled to the brim of the cup."
"Anything and everything having a tipping option."
"Tipping in general."
"Tax not included in the price."
"Massive lawyer billboards on every highway."- effypom
The Office Yes GIFGiphyCivic Duty, But No Civic Holiday.
You have holidays for everything but a day off for election is too much
Just Plain Gross
"Child beauty pageants."
"Just stop it."- LoadedGull
It should be said that most Americans are equally confused, if not downright horrified, by many of the abovementioned customs.
Which begs the question, what keeps us living here?
Perhaps Americans desire to stay put, in spite of a heavily flawed electoral process, a convoluted healthcare system, and winter being dictated by a groundhog's shadow is the strangest American custom of them all...
When visiting a foreign country, many people like to hide the fact that they are tourists, and make every effort to blend in with the locals.
Even so, most tourists can't help but do a few things that locals seldom or never do, such as taking selfies in front of historic monuments, buying cheesy hats and T-shirts, or going to notoriously crowded places.
If doing these things will more than likely make them stick out like a sore thumb, it also won't exactly put them in harm or danger, as most tourists at least have the good sense to read a blog or guidebook instructing them on how to stay safe while traveling.
The most savvy travelers know that the best place to get advice on what not to do when traveling abroad is not online or in a book, but directly from the locals.
Redditor PM_ME_UR_DOGS_FEET was eager to hear the opinions of people around the world as to what tourists should avoid doing when visiting their country, leading them to ask:
"What should people absolutely not do when visiting your country?"
Moo!
"If you are hiking through the Austrian mountains with a dog, put it on a leash."
"The cows will hurt you if they feel threatened."
"In general, don't disturb the cows and keep away from them."- annadaso
Cows Alps GIF by MeinMontafonGiphyNot All Creatures Are Cute And Cuddly...
"Approach wildlife, especially when they’re with their offspring."
"The amount of idiot tourists I’ve seen outside their cars within mauling distance of a bear or moose is mind boggling."-GingerMeTimberMate
"Do not touch the bison."
"I don’t care that they’re herbivores and look fluffy."
"They are incredibly strong and will kill you if they’re in a bad mood."- hartywhalers
Bison Yellowstone GIF by Nat Geo WildGiphyNo One Needs To Blend In That Much!
"I live in Barbados."
"Don't wear camouflage."
"It's illegal unless you're a part of the Defense Force."- durants
They Call It The Outback For A Reason
"Don't go for a drive in the outback without making sure you're properly prepared if you get stuck."
"There's a reason you see so many abandoned cars on the highways out there."- thethreekittycats
Back Of The Line!
"UK here."
"Always queue."
"Even if there isn’t a queue, just look around politely and ask whoever’s around if they’re queueing."
"I know this reads like a joke but it really isn’t."
"There’s always a queue, and tourists always ignore it, and that’s usually why tourists get a bad rap in the UK."-fearthe0cean
Literal Red Flag Alert!
"If you're not a strong swimmer, please don't wade out into our ocean expecting that you'll be okay."
"If you want to swim at our beaches, stay between the flags where there are lifeguards on duty."- nightlightened
The Beach Summer GIFThat Some People Would Actually Need A Warning...
"Don't do the Nazi greeting."
"In fact, just don't do it anywhere."
"But especially not in my country."
"Police will arrest you for it."- Mad_Moodin
Or Stand Still In Them For That Matter...
"Don't walk the bicycle lanes."- valthorgallifrey
Be Selective When Sight Seeing
"Don't go to Hollywood expecting something."
"Also, don't spend tons of money just to see famous people's homes on one of those bus tours."
"You should go to all the cool museums around LA though, those are pretty neat."
"And the beaches aren't too bad either."- jgeradsfdh
hollywood GIF by American IdolGiphyIt's Just Plain Rude
"Don't touch the King's guard."- EmperorOfNipples
Or Any Busy Street Anywhere...
"If you’re visiting Brazil, specially a big city, avoid using your smartphone while walking on the streets, as you become more prone to being robbed."- DistantLandscapes
Not the Most PC Name If You Really Think About It
"Order an ‘Irish Car Bomb’ shot."
"Doesn’t exist here, and the name has roots in The Troubles, a dark time in our history that people north and south of the border who are still alive lost people to."- TheIrishninjas
Irish Cream Beer GIF by DrSquatchSoapCoGiphyNot All Canadians Are So Friendly...
"If you come across Canada, don't ever dare touching our geese, thanks."- ClickWorthy69420
Many tourists enjoy going off the beaten path and veering from the most famous and heavily visited places.
But before straying from the path, it couldn't hurt to get advice from a local on just how far to stray.
A Redditor asked:
"What was the most disappointing, tourist infested place you’ve ever been?"
For the 'Gram
"I'm sure other cities have this problem, too, but there's an epidemic in New York City of pop-up 'museums' that are essentially just Instagram backgrounds."
"There are some great temporary exhibits in the city all the time that genuinely have cool artwork, or historical items, or just make for a neat experience. ...and then there's ones that just have a bunch of backdrops for people to pose in front of and maybe a placard."
"Special shoutout to the 'Museum of Candy' that was hosted in a random warehouse and where you didn't even get any candy with your ticket admission."
~ blueeyesredlipstick
GiphyThe Locals Are Over It
"Nassau,Bahamas. It was like being in a very expensiveprison."
~ outerproduct
"My grandpa was born and raised in the Bahamas. We used to visit periodically to see a gang of old lady relatives who lived in Nassau, starting in the 1970s."
"There used to be a nice old fashioned island feel to the place, lovely old shops and awesome quiet beaches."
"Once they built Atlantis and all the cruise ships started dumping people in town everything started looking like a crappy strip mall and everything fell apart."
"Now it's dangerous and horrible and all the Bahamians hate all the tourists and can't be bothered."
~ watermama
GiphyNo Wonder She’s Not Smiling
"The room with the Mona Lisa in it, The Louvre, Paris, France."
"It's behind glass and I couldn’t get anywhere near it and it’s not that big of a painting to see from the back of the room when all the people in front of you had giant cameras."
"Maybe it’s better in the age of cell phone cameras—but I doubt it."
~ Appropriate_Panda467
Not Like In the Movies
"Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, California… literally a worse version of NY Times Square (which also sucks)."
~ Phader24
"I remember the smell most of all—a heady mixture of weed smoke, urine, and tour bus exhaust."
~ lost40s
GiphyTrying To Get THAT Shot
"The leaning tower of Pisa, Italy."
"A field of tourists trying to take a picture of the tower without other tourists in it and souvenir shops trying to sells those tourists stuff."
~ Korpikuusenalla
GiphyThe Locals Are Over It, Part 2
"Every cruise ship port in the Caribbean."
~ Lallner
"A coworker had a cruise re-routed from its original destination to the Bahamas because of a hurricane.
"He was pretty upset and called the Bahamas 'the McDonalds of the Caribbean'."
~ BGFalcon85
"I don't even get off the ship anymore."
"I just enjoy the opportunity to have a mostly empty ship and drink cocktail after cocktail on the pool deck and enjoy the scenery of the clear blue waters around the ship."
~ HottestGoblin
GiphyNot the Same
"My own city in the last 10 years. Amsterdam, Netherlands really took a nosedive. Lots of unique little shops disappeared in favor of approx. 10 million frozen yogurt/chocolate waffle stores."
"Tourists used to be a few chill, cheery groups interested in the city they were in—now they sometimes look like hordes of zombies hobbling from one tourist trap to the other. Painstakingly slowly, and of course taking up the whole sidewalk."
"I would like to see MORE tourists who actually visit Amsterdam FOR Amsterdam—its architecture, history, culture, etc... Instead of hopping from one chain store to the next, or acting crazy because one thinks one can do anything and everything in this 'free city'."
"Amsterdam can still offer a great time, but make sure to prepare properly so you can avoid the tourist traps that bloat the cityscape and have out-competed the independent shops that gave my city its unique character."
"Amsterdam now often feels disappointing to me, specifically, because I can compare it to the way it was 10-15 years ago. And it's unfortunately just not the same."
~ dreamy_25
GiphyNo Leisurely Strolls
"Venice, Italy in August, I felt bad being there. Luckily was only a day trip but it was like something from a horror film."
~ luckybeee
"I was in Venice in late September last year, so off peak season, and I was told they stopped letting cruise ships stop there, so it wasn't completely packed."
"I had a great time, but the sections of the city that were closer to St. Mark's were still quite crowded. That, and the shops went from local restaurants around our Airbnb to Chanel stores by St. Mark's."
"I could see if it were more overrun with tourists that it would be unmanageable. Those tiny alleys you have to walk through would get crowded fast."
~ Lambfudge
GiphyDo Not Pet the Fluffy Cows!
"Yellowstone National Park, USA is fantastic when it's just you or a few other people."
"However, most of the main sites are so full of people it really feels like Disney World at some points instead of nature."
"It's also infuriating when I see so many tourist disrespecting the nature by walking off of the paths/boardwalks and leaving trash around."
~ wyatt_sw
GiphyBuy a Postcard
"The Sistine Chapel, Vatican City."
"It was incredible to see in person, but it was literally shoulder-to-shoulder with people and they were trying to usher everyone through as fast as possible, so I felt like I was in the way and couldn’t stay long."
"I would have loved to just gaze quietly at the ceiling and take it all in for several minutes, but that wasn’t an option."
~ Atheist_Alex_C
"My main memory of the Sistine Chapel was the guard yelling SILENZIO! SILENZIO! the whole time."
~ ima_mandolin
"I don't even remember what it looked like when I went. We were rushed in, attendants yelled 'no photo' every second, then everyone snuck photos anyway, then got rushed out."
~ MxMstrMxyzptlk
"Ugh, I had the same experience. I was there at the end of June and not only was it crowded, it was 38°C (100°F), so it was f'king miserable inside and reeked of body odor."
~ pinkkittenfur
GiphyNot an Ariel View
"The Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen, Denmark was...underwhelming. To be fair though, I shouldn't really have expected to be whelmed by a little mermaid statue."
~ Apprehensive_Jaguar
"It was so tiny and just swarmed by people with selfie sticks knocking each other in the head! I ended up skipping that adventure and exploring the area instead."
~ BrookeStardust
GiphyIndonesia Has Many Islands
"Any tourist destination in Bali, Indonesia."
"Beautiful place, amazing food, stunning vistas, friendly people, but the pushy salespeople on the street outside every tourist destination trying to extract every rupiah I had for tourist knick-knacks ruined a lot of the good vibe."
~ PeterJoAl
GiphyIt Was Just a TV Show
"Dubrovnik, Croatia after Game of Thrones. So many Khaleesies."
~ ComfyHomonto
"I was in Dubrovnik before GoT and even then it was a bit of a tourist trap. It's probably a million times worse now."
~ f1manoz
"It's insane. We stayed there for 3 nights."
"The first day it felt real crowded, but was still a really cool thing to see if quite touristy. It's just a neat place to walk around and check things out."
"The second day 2 cruise ships came in and dear sweet God. I've literally been to festivals that felt less crowded, zero exaggeration."
~ Regular_Working_6342
GiphyBeware of Scammers
"Cairo, Egypt......all of Cairo."
~ RhinestoneHousewife
"I'll never forget that Reddit thread where people were asked which country they'd never go back to and almost all the top comments were Egypt. Such a shame considering that the country has a really rich history."
~ alicization
"I've seen 4 videos of people in egypt at the pyramids, all 4 were harassed basically the whole time by tourist traps. That's the sad part about going to poorer and touristy countries."
"Many people see a foreigner as a meal ticket to scam, of course there's good people but the bad usually outweighs the good in my experiences."
"My grandfather served in ciaro is WW2 as a prep cook for the military, he loved Egypt so much for most of his life and went many times over the years. Back in 2010 he went for his last time to Egypt with my grandma."
"He had health issues but he mainly didn't want to go back cause of all the tourist traps."
~ Turbulent_Pea_2568
GiphyNot a Jolly Holiday
"Oxford Street, Central London."
"The place for you if you enjoy:"
"Claustrophobic levels of crowding, overpriced/borderline fraudulent retail, traffic that barely moves, groups of roadmen/hood teens everywhere."
~ o1frmda4
"As a northerner I was always led to believe that Oxford Street was the place to be and had amazing shops."
"I was gutted when I got there when I was 21 to find that most of the shops were available in Newcastle, some resembled market stalls just indoors, and the rest sold tourist tat."
"Honestly gutted. Haven't been back and I'm now 38."
~ SparklePenguin24
GiphyI spent time in South Dakota as a kid. My paternal Grandparents lived there in the Paha Sapa (Black Hills).
My Sisters and I would tease my Mother because every time we visited, she'd take us to Mount Rushmore.
They're faces carved in a mountain—they don't change.
If you've seen it once, you really don't need to wade through tourists to see it again!
So, what's on your "not worth it" tourism list?
"Non-American people, what’s a thing that you don’t understand about America?"
You Mean, People DON'T File Their Own Taxes Elsewhere?!?!
"Does every worker have to file their own taxes or am I just confused?"- ThePencil67
"Why they make you calculate your own taxes, if they know what you owe."- redder2023
Flagrant Commercialism...
"So, why do you buy politicians' merchandise? "
"Shirts, caps, banners, stickers, etc."
"They're public servants, not rockstars."
"Also, usually the more boring they are, the better."- akashyy
Conor Mckenna Influencer GIF by FoilArmsandHogGiphyWork/Life Balance
"Scottish person here but the work/always available for work culture."
"Minimal vacation time, minimal maternity/paternity leave and the fact you can pretty much just be let go."
"It makes me sad to think about it!"
"But I do love that you guys cram so much into your time off - you guys love a road trip!"- Frosty_Dragonfly_682
Definitely Something To Consider...
"What is up with Homeowner Associations?"
"Why would you pay to let a nosy neighbor dictate what you can and can not do on your own property?"
"I understand living in an apartment block and paying maintenance fees etc, but in a suburban home?"- Skoodledoo
There Are Some Good Observations
"The amount of National Parks!"
"My dream came true in 2017 to make an RV trip southwest off USA."
"Yosemite blew my mind away."- Independent-Ad9787
national parks GIF by Visit The USAGiphyHAHAHA
"How you can say the word 'mirror' without the use of any vowels."
"Mrrrrrr."- Otto1968
I Ordered A Small!
"Why everything is just SO damn supersized."
"My first time in America I went to get ice coffee from Dunkin Donuts, I ordered a large and my friend is like, 'are you sure you want large'?"
"Yeah no biggie, in the UK a large is not overwhelming I feel so I was expecting the same kinda thing."
"Oh my god it was like a god damn bucket of coffee."
"I think maybe a small would have been equivalent to a UK large, lesson swiftly learnt."
Some People Are Lucky To Just Have One Roommate...
"How you have to share a room with some complete rando when you go to college."- ChoppingOnionsForYou
Roommates Move In GIF by James Madison UniversityGiphySome People Just Can't Stop Talking
"The culture of just talking to people, strangers you don't know and just up and start a conversation with them or join a conversation."
"I'm British, and we go through great lengths to not talk to people, let alone open up and pour our hearts out to a random person."- MrGlayden
In Other Words: Severs Deserve to Be Paid More!
"The tipping culture is so foreign to me, I would be so scared to make a mistake or not tipping enough if I ever go to America because it's not something which is common here in Denmark."- Cupsuu
The Commercials, Maybe?
"I’m American but I’ve worked with a lot of people who aren’t."
"The one thing they always wonder is why Americans are so obsessed with the NFL."
"They think it’s a boring sport."
"They explained 'you wait for 30 seconds, they hike the ball, you get about 5-10 seconds of action, then you wait another 30 seconds, another 5-10 seconds of action, then commercial break'."- yougotthesilver12
Kansas City Chiefs Football GIF by Fighting Illini AthleticsGiphySchool Is No Place To Have Fun!
"My mom is from Moscow during the Soviet Era, and she is confused why there is no teacher-student hierarchy."
'She thinks it's weird when teachers participate in school plays or speak to students informally."
"She also DOES NOT GET pajama day."
"To her, it's just the weirdest thing in the world."
"In Russia, there is an important distinction between 'clothes for home' and 'clothes for outside'."
"They have a concept of 'home clothes', like your cozy or ugly clothes, that you are supposed to change into after school or work."
"At bedtime, you change out of your 'home clothes' into pajamas."
"As a result, pajamas, for both adults and children, are considered extra-extra private in Russia."
"My mom perceives pajama day as something extreme like wearing only undergarments to school."
"That's how private pajamas are considered to be in Russia!"- racheltolmach2022
A Debate Which Will Likely Never End
"MM/DD/YYYY"- SuvenPan
animation domination calendar GIF by gifnewsGiphyLiving in America comes with a number of advantages and a number of detriments.
Speaking personally though, had I known I wouldn't have to file my own taxes in Australia, I would have expatriated long ago...
"What’s an obvious sign someone’s American?"
It's All In The Greeting.
"In Salzburg I went to grab something from the drug store."
"As I was checking out I said hello to the cashier (thinking there was very little difference between how I said it and how Austrians say it)."
"She immediately started speaking to me in English and I asked her how she knew I spoke English."
"She deadpan stared me in the eye and goes 'hellloooo'."
"I just about died laughing since I'm a very stereotypical friendly American that says hello exactly like that."
"One of my favorite memories from that trip."- Ted_Dance_Son
"‘Hey, how are ya?'."- vorifo2709·
"Che Strano"!
"An Italian told me that Americans walk confidently in the wrong direction."- MagazineOk6401
kevin hart running GIF by ADWEEKGiphyCan't Deny This One...
"They want ice in their water."- gianna_in_hell_as·
Just A Turn Of Phrase
"'How's your day going?;" or 'how are you doing?' in completely random circumstances."- KanyeWest_Official
Captain America Lol GIF by mtvSometimes They Do Actually Put Their Money Where Their Mouth Is
"I worked as a cashier in a touristic place in Paris."
" I always recognized Americans because they were kinda friendly to me and they always left tips."- Aterakel
Asking Questions They Don't Want The Answer To
"Retail worker here, not living in the US."
"I can generally spot an American because they greet me with 'hey how are you?"
"And since I usually have the standard 'tired from life' retail worker expression at first I thought they were mocking me so I didn't know how to react."
"Took me a while to realize they weren't really expecting an answer lmao"
"Mind you, might just be my personal experience but it's happened too many times for it to be a coincidence."- 8Eriade8
"When I lived in Spain, the barista at Starbucks immediately knew I was American because how polite I was."
"I asked him how he knew I was American and he told me, 'In Spain, we don’t usually respond with ‘Good, and you.’ Americans are so polite whereas Spaniards will just say ‘Give me my coffee'."
"So, I stopped responding nicely and baristas wouldn’t speak to me in English anymore."
"Culture clash!"
"I just want to clarify and say that my story only really applies to a niche people in Spain."
"This does not represent the whole country."
"Just a few rude bad apples."
"For the most part, people in the country are nice and people in the city too."
"The barista was simply remarking on Americans and our penchant to be overly polite."
"Customer service have to deal with a lot of rude and unkind people, same in America."- Agitated-Coyote768
Adventure Time Coffee GIF by hoppipGiphyWhat Are You Smiling At?...
"The gentle grins you give to strangers if you make eye contact with them as you pass by, at least in the Midwest."
"Was not well received in Germany."- Vkazioa
...And What Are You Looking At?
"Eye contact."
"Maybe a smile and a 'how’s it goin?'"- A_Man_Who_Writes
Keep Your Distance
"How much personal space they give themselves."
"Americans like at LEAST an arm's length."- Zonerdrone
Get Away No GIF by Kathryn DeanGiphy"When You're Not Strong, I'll Be Your Friend..."
"According to the cia- when training to be a spy- you have to unlearn how to lean."
"Americans tend to lean on things when standing still."- chonesmcskidds
It's All About The Volume
"To quote a Latvian woman I met at a hostel: you hear them coming like the thunder."
"More often than not, if they’re talking and laughing louder than everyone else, they’re American."- MCRN_Lopez
The Truth Behind The Grin
"One American I've met was a bit stereotypical in some regards."
"He was on a biking tour from Sweden to Palestine, had an unusual beard, huge white teeth, was extremely friendly and a bit loud, and he literally carried a bucket of peanut butter with him because he said that was the most efficient way to carry energy for his travel."
"I was an intern at a software company that just got bought by a huge American company (Warner I think) and one time some executives were visiting, walked through our office complimenting all the developers loudly and then disappeared again."
"My general impression of Americans I've met in person is that it's difficult to see what you guys really think and feel, because you seem to hide it behind a layer of aggressive cheerfulness."
"So when I see someone radiating that, I expect them to be from the US."- Netcob
Snl Smile GIF by Saturday Night LiveGiphyOf course, not everyone is ashamed of being an American, and will make no trouble hiding it.
Then again, even if they did, they most likely wouldn't have been able to fool anybody...