15 intriguing facts about countries around the world
15 intriguing facts about countries around the world
The role of a bilingual advocate often conveys a lot of understanding of the cultures that they’re working with. It is essential that misunderstandings are avoided, and that the communication is as clear as possible when accessing services that include translation of different languages.
These are some facts about different countries and regions around the world that could enhance your interactions when encountering diverse cultures and doing business overseas.
1. In Spain, you should greet women by giving them a kiss on each cheek.
It is common knowledge that greetings across the world vary in a lot of countries. In Spain, a customary greeting involves a kiss on each cheek, but this applies only when women are involved. Men often opt for a hug, pat on the back, or handshake.
Nonetheless. in professional settings, handshakes are expected regardless of gender (although be prepared if they want to say hello or goodbye to you with two kisses).
Tip #1: always start on the left side when doing the “two kisses” greeting (otherwise, you might encounter a very awkward situation).
Tip #2: even though the greeting motion Implies kissing the person, you are not expected to give that person a real kiss. Simply touch the other person’s cheek with your cheek. Some Spaniards make a “kiss” sound when doing it.
2. In Egypt, they consider rude to ask for salt during a meal.
If you ever find yourself having a meal in Egypt, do not ask for salt or pepper. Doing so is considered rude towards the chef, implying that the food was not well seasoned.
3. In South Korea, you should not write a person’s name in red ink.
A very important thing to avoid in South Korea is to write a person’s name in red ink. The colour red is traditionally used when writing the name of someone who has died. When writing someone’s name in red, you would be considered to be cursing that person to death, or -in the best-case scenario- to really bad luck.
4. Finland associates saunas with good business.
Finland has traditionally been known for having an intense sauna culture. Most people in the country like to go to a sauna at least once a week. However, something that not many people know, is that this environment is also used for business meetings.
Going to the sauna with your boss, superior, or business partner is considered a good practice and it means that you have a positive relationship.
Even the Parliament of Finland and the Army use the saunas for informal meetings.
Tip #1: you must be aware that nudity is taken very naturally in Finland, a not all saunas will allow you to wear swimwear. If you are not comfortable with this prospect, you might be excused from denying a request to join a business partner in the sauna. However, keep in mind that an invitation as such is a sign of acceptance and trust, and it is important that you demonstrate gratitude for the offer.
Tip #2: If you accompany your boss or superior to the sauna, bear in mind that it is a place of relaxation, and you must not bring up a conversation about business unless the other person does. Saunas are usually a place to relax at the end of a business meeting, it is not a place to have the meeting at.
5. Greeting in Grece with the palm open is considered an insult.
You must be mindful when waving at someone in Greece. The gesture called “moutza” is the equivalent of giving one finger in the United States or two fingers in the UK. Moutza is when you show your extended palm towards a person.
When waving at someone, make sure that all your fingers are close to each other, or they can mistake it as the moutza sign.
6. In Venezuela, people might expect you to arrive late.
Punctuality is an excellent value to have all around the world. However, in countries like Venezuela, people will expect you to arrive 15-30 minutes later than the stipulated time for a social meeting.
If you arrive early or even on time, you will most likely find the host still preparing everything for your arrival, and you will cause stress and even seem impolite.
However, in a professional situation, it is still recommended to arrive on time to any scheduled meeting.
7. In Middle Eastern culture, complimenting can be tricky.
Culturally, Arabs are known for being very generous people. When visiting a country in the Middle East, it is important that you make sure that your words or actions do not end up in taking advantage of their generosity.
You must be especially careful with the words you use when giving compliments. Arabs believe on the evil eye curse, which is simply a demonstration of envy towards another person. If you compliment someone’s appearance or possessions too heavily (multiple times or using intense language), you might cause them discomfort, as they could feel you are envying them.
On the other hand, when visiting an Arab home, make sure that you don’t compliment an object in their house too much, or they could end up giving it to you. They will do this gesture out of politeness, so if you didn’t mean for them to offer you the object, you can let them know that you highly appreciate the gesture, but you would not like them to give the object to you.
8. The weekend in Iran is Thursday and Friday.
Unlike most countries in the world, Saturdays and Sundays are working days in Iran. The official weekend are Fridays, similarly to Sundays in the rest of the world, and many businesses close on Thursdays, as in relation to Saturdays for other cultures.
Therefore, if you are ever doing business with someone in Iran, it might be a good fact to consider for when you are scheduling communications.
9. In Eritrea, greeting is almost a form of art.
Eritrea is a country full of warm and social people. The etiquette for greetings is extent and can be useful to know if you are thinking of visiting the country.
Tip #1: say hello to everyone that says hello to you. It does not matter if you know them, people will be expecting you to greet them and even socialise with them an establish conversations if the environment allows it.
Tip #2: greet people with a handshake and the word “Salam”. Salam means “peace” in English, and it is a common word to use when greeting someone. If a man is giving a handshake to a woman, it is common to wait for the woman to extend her hand first.
Tip #3: be aware that woman-to-woman greetings can involve giving three or four “fake kisses” on the cheek. Similarly, to Spain, this simply involve placing one’s cheek next to the other person’s cheek and making a kissing sound.
10. In Bulgaria, nodding means “no” and shaking your head means “yes”.
Some people might be very confused at this statement, but even though it is not a myth, it is also not as terrible as it sounds.
Bulgarians can push their head upwards to say “no”, it is done by the movement of lifting your chin up. Therefore, it is not quite the same as nodding. If the movement is done repeatedly, it can be considered as nodding and, as in the rest of the world, it will mean “yes”.
However, to say “yes”, Bulgarians can lean their head to the side, similarly to the “maybe” or “I’m not sure” of some other cultures.
11. Fijians raise their eyebrows as a way of saying yes.
If you ever communicate face-to-face or in a videochat with a Fiji national, don’t be confused if they raise their eyebrow at you. It is not to demonstrate judgement or lack of understanding, but they’re simply saying “yes” or agreeing with you on a matter.
12. Don’t give a Chinese person a watch as a gift.
China is well known for having very strong cultural traditions and beliefs. Interestingly, there are a list of things you should not give as a gift to a Chinese person, including clocks or watches.
The Mandaring word for “clock” has the same pronunciation as the Cantonese expression than people use when paying respect to someone at a funeral. Therefore, giving someone a watch as a gift can be taken as if you were waiting for the time of that person to die.
13. Don’t clink glasses in Hungary.
Commonly, when making a toast, you would clink glasses to celebrate. However, this can be considered rude in Hungary.
During a conflict with Austria, and after their defeat in 1848, it is said that Austrians celebrated their triumph by clinking their glasses of beer. Hungarians then vowed to not clink their glasses for the next 150 years.
Even though the vow is now outdated, some Hungarians might find the act disrespectful still.
14. Discussing business in Bolivia in a social occasion is not a good practice.
Bolivians can take business very seriously, and they will expect to have any professional conversation in a corresponding setting. Therefore, if you are at a social reunion with a Bolivian, don’t bring up business related proposal, and concentrate on getting to know them on a personal level.
15. In Germany, you must greet people by shaking hands.
Germans are known for loving handshaking. When entering a room, you should greet every person with a handshake. Similarly to Eritrea, when giving a handshake to the opposite sex, the man should wait for the woman to initiate the action by extending her hand.
It is common to give everyone a handshake to say hello and to say goodbye, and don’t be surprised if children also receive handshakes from adults.
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