Howdy.
Well, I'm setting off on holiday in a couple of days and am wondering if there are any foreign social customs I should be aware of in order to avoid causing offence whilst travelling in the USA and Europe.
Now, I'm aware of the customary tipping in the United States (it still seems like a wierd idea. Why not just pay your workers better wages instead of expecting customers to foot the bill?), but I'm wondering as to what the standard 'tip' would be. It's some sort of percentage of what you pay in your bill right? 10% or something? I dunno. I hear you're even sometimes expected to tip someone just for opening a door for you. Heh. Over here in New Zealand we learn how to open our own doors! But that's besides the point. I'll play by the rules while I'm on someone elses turf
Also, I hear that in many places throughout Europe there are people specifically employed to charge people wishing to 'use the facilities' so to speak in restaurants and cafes etc. Again, nothing like that here in NZ, so what is the customary 'fee' for relief? A relative of mine was on holiday in Belgium and walked right past the old lady that was taking the 'toilet fee'. Needless to say, once they were 'done' in there they were accosted by the aggravated old lady upon leaving the toilet room. [img]tongue.gif[/img]
Are there any other seemingly-mundane-yet-painfully-unfamiliar-to-foreigners stuff that I should know about (particularly relating to Britain, the USA, Italy and France, those are my confirmed holiday destinations)? I guess finding this stuff out on my own is half the fun, but I'd like to be armed with at least a rudimentary knowledge of local customs before I go travelling to the other side of the globe.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Cheers. [img]smile.gif[/img]