Fastest ways to prove yourself a foreigner...

This is a room for the discussion of travel plans or experiences and the culture of places you have visited or plan to visit.
User avatar
Sgt Schultz
Orange Belt
Posts: 109
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2015 7:51 pm
Location: US
Languages: English (N)
Main focus: Spanish (B2)
For Fun: French(A0)
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=3797
x 203

Re: Fastest ways to prove yourself a foreigner...

Postby Sgt Schultz » Mon Sep 19, 2016 1:03 pm

zenmonkey wrote:Wear shorts in any major city in Latin America. Although this is changing, shorts used to be for the beach, kids and ... tourists. Same with baseball caps.


I've been to Latin America 3 times and I'm guilty of wearing both shorts and baseball caps :) But you are right, I rarely saw anyone wearing shorts. Even in the hot and humid weather down there.

I also did it in the UK and France. The tour guides in each place made fun of me a little bit.
2 x

User avatar
zenmonkey
Black Belt - 2nd Dan
Posts: 2528
Joined: Sun Jul 26, 2015 7:21 pm
Location: California, Germany and France
Languages: Spanish, English, French trilingual - German (B2/C1) on/off study: Persian, Hebrew, Tibetan, Setswana.
Some knowledge of Italian, Portuguese, Ladino, Yiddish ...
Want to tackle Tzotzil, Nahuatl
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=859
x 7030
Contact:

Re: Fastest ways to prove yourself a foreigner...

Postby zenmonkey » Mon Sep 19, 2016 1:10 pm

Sgt Schultz wrote:
zenmonkey wrote:Wear shorts in any major city in Latin America. Although this is changing, shorts used to be for the beach, kids and ... tourists. Same with baseball caps.


I've been to Latin America 3 times and I'm guilty of wearing both shorts and baseball caps :) But you are right, I rarely saw anyone wearing shorts. Even in the hot and humid weather down there.

I also did it in the UK and France. The tour guides in each place made fun of me a little bit.


Used to be I could identify the country of origin rather well based on shoes, shirt and pants. But that's changed a bit.
Still there are pant colours only a German or a New Englander would wear. And a collarless shirt in Mexico City was verboten in anyone over 15 at one point...

The world can be divided into those countries where "shoes matter" and "elsewhere"... :lol:
2 x
I am a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar

User avatar
Serpent
Black Belt - 3rd Dan
Posts: 3657
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 10:54 am
Location: Moskova
Languages: heritage
Russian (native); Belarusian, Polish

fluent or close: Finnish (certified C1), English; Portuguese, Spanish, German, Italian
learning: Croatian+, Ukrainian; Romanian, Galician; Danish, Swedish; Estonian
exploring: Latin, Karelian, Catalan, Dutch, Czech, Latvian
x 5179
Contact:

Re: Fastest ways to prove yourself a foreigner...

Postby Serpent » Mon Sep 19, 2016 3:36 pm

What about women/female-read people? :)
For example how about less sporty shorts? (including denim ones) They're not exactly bermudas and can't be used for swimming :?

As for wet hair, I once went outside in winter without drying mine and got an eye infection :evil:
2 x
LyricsTraining now has Finnish and Polish :)
Corrections welcome

User avatar
jeff_lindqvist
Black Belt - 3rd Dan
Posts: 3135
Joined: Sun Aug 16, 2015 9:52 pm
Languages: sv, en
de, es
ga, eo
---
fi, yue, ro, tp, cy, kw, pt, sk
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2773
x 10461

Re: Fastest ways to prove yourself a foreigner...

Postby jeff_lindqvist » Mon Sep 19, 2016 5:51 pm

Speaking of shorts, a history teacher once told us that her husband had been denied entrance to a museum in Italy - he was wearing (denim) shorts, but his knees were showing...

In Ireland, you can spot a tourist from a mile away if the person is wearing a Guinness tshirt and/or cap.
2 x
Leabhair/Greannáin léite as Gaeilge: 9 / 18
Ar an seastán oíche: Oileán an Órchiste
Duolingo - finished trees: sp/ga/de/fr/pt/it
Finnish with extra pain : 100 / 100

Llorg Blog - Wiki - Discord

User avatar
tastyonions
Black Belt - 1st Dan
Posts: 1570
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 5:39 pm
Location: Dallas, TX
Languages: EN (N), FR, ES, DE, IT, PT, NL, EL
x 3853

Re: Fastest ways to prove yourself a foreigner...

Postby tastyonions » Mon Sep 19, 2016 5:53 pm

jeff_lindqvist wrote:In Ireland, you can spot a tourist from a mile away if the person is wearing a Guinness tshirt and/or cap.

Ha! That phenomenon would make for an interesting list in itself: "Things people do to fit in or show common ground with the locals, but actually make them stick out as a foreigner."
4 x

User avatar
limey75
Yellow Belt
Posts: 76
Joined: Wed May 25, 2016 11:30 am
Location: UK
Languages: English (N); intermediate: German, Norwegian, Old English.
Reading: Die Verwandlung, Der alte Mann und das Meer;
Doing courses: Assimil German, Migranorsk (online).
x 70
Contact:

Re: Fastest ways to prove yourself a foreigner...

Postby limey75 » Fri Oct 21, 2016 12:10 pm

zenmonkey wrote:Wear shorts in any major city in Latin America. Although this is changing, shorts used to be for the beach, kids and ... tourists. Same with baseball caps.


I take the obviously unpopular view that unless you're a professional baseball player, someone over about 14 years' old looks a bit ridiculous in baseball caps (especially if they're reversed!). It's a bit like grown men in the UK wearing football jerseys who aren't professional football players.

No offence meant to anyone here that wears these items :)
7 x
De nordiske sprog stod hele livet igennem hans hjerte nærmest, og ligesom de, og særlig islandsk, stedse var det centrale i al hans forskning, således er også hans største fortjenester knyttede til dem...Wikipedia, om Rasmus Christian Rask

geoffw
Orange Belt
Posts: 195
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 3:15 pm
Languages: Speak well = English (N), Deutsch
Speak poorly = יידיש (Yiddish), Français
"Speak," I guess = עברית (Hebrew), Русский (Russian), Español, Nederlands, Esperanto
x 338

Re: Fastest ways to prove yourself a foreigner...

Postby geoffw » Sun Oct 23, 2016 9:50 pm

tastyonions wrote:
jeff_lindqvist wrote:In Ireland, you can spot a tourist from a mile away if the person is wearing a Guinness tshirt and/or cap.

Ha! That phenomenon would make for an interesting list in itself: "Things people do to fit in or show common ground with the locals, but actually make them stick out as a foreigner."


Wearing or carrying anything that says "I [heart] New York" while in New York City. Or looking up. Or standing still on the sidewalk.
3 x

Marais
x 7658

Re: Fastest ways to prove yourself a foreigner...

Postby Marais » Mon Oct 24, 2016 5:53 am

Go in McDo's and when they ask you where you're sitting say 'no'.
Go into the butchers and greet the butcher by saying 'thanks'.
Go to the greengrocer and ask for a cabbage by saying 'cabbage' in your best TL accent.

All shit that happened to us :D
4 x

flabbergasted
White Belt
Posts: 43
Joined: Fri Apr 08, 2016 5:53 am
x 28

Re: Fastest ways to prove yourself a foreigner...

Postby flabbergasted » Mon Oct 24, 2016 12:29 pm

In Egypt: start haggling with a taxi driver for the fare before the actual trip. The locals just shout the destination, get into the car, and pay only upon the arrival.
1 x

User avatar
M23
Orange Belt
Posts: 161
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2015 6:58 am
Location: Colorado (USA)
Languages: Analog languages - English (N), Spanish (intermediate), German (n00b). Digital languages- Java (n00b)
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2186
x 297

Re: Fastest ways to prove yourself a foreigner...

Postby M23 » Thu Oct 27, 2016 7:01 am

limey75 wrote:
zenmonkey wrote:Wear shorts in any major city in Latin America. Although this is changing, shorts used to be for the beach, kids and ... tourists. Same with baseball caps.


I take the obviously unpopular view that unless you're a professional baseball player, someone over about 14 years' old looks a bit ridiculous in baseball caps (especially if they're reversed!). It's a bit like grown men in the UK wearing football jerseys who aren't professional football players.

No offence meant to anyone here that wears these items :)


I am with you. I think sports jerseys only belong on the people actually playing the game. I have yet to meet someone that makes it look natural and not like part of a costume.
1 x


Return to “Travel and Culture”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests