When going abroad to different countries with various cultures and religions one should tolerate and accept not only laws and regulations, but also unspoken rules of people behavior. Moreover, one must act according to these very rules, so as not to insult country dwellers and cause criticism towards him. Some countries are especially famous for their traditionalism and travelers should be extremely careful while visiting them.
Britain is considered to be one of the countries with strict life rules and visitors are frequently criticized for breaking them. It`s a common knowledge that the British are cold and reservedand this coldness is reflected into such a confusing interdiction, which can mystify foreign visitors: it is common, and considered entirely normal, for English Commuters to make their morning and evening train journeys with the same group of people for many years without ever exchanging a word. Apart from asking for information – “Is this train going to Marble Arch?” – talking to strangers on trains just isn`t done, thus many foreigners breach this code deserving only sideway looks, uneasy cough and raised-eyebrows glances.
However, despite not wanting to engage in conversations with strangers, people standing at a bus stop will often break an uncomfortable silence by talking about the weather. “Weather-speak” usually starts with a question which invites the other person into a conversation: “Stuffy, isn`t it?”. The main trouble is that the foreigners always disagree with this statement that causes offence and The conversation would stop. The only way is to agree – that`s taken for granted. The only way of expressing your real feelings is after agreeing (“Yes, it is”) we can then take a risk and add “but I quite like this kind of weather”.
Foreign visitors may find it tricky at first to accept unspoken rules and codes of behavior, thus they have to get used to them as soon as possible so as not to be trapped. And to conclude we can say that it`s simply polite towards the other country`s culture follow the rule “When in Rome, do as Romans do”.
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