ESCAPE BLOG

Nose-picking, as we all know, is the act of removing mucus from the nose with a finger. The act of picking one’s nose is right up the alley of farting and burping. In most cultures, it’s not socially acceptable to do it in public but we still catch a few every now and then doing the deed.

Heck, a paparazzi even had a stroke of luck when he caught Mischa Barton picking her nose. Poor girl.

Should you oft find your finger involuntarily going up your nose, beware. You’ll earn a reputation soon enough. You don’t want to be called Booger, do you? Best to clean your nose before you leave the house.

Or, you can move to Ethiopia where the sight of people picking their noses is akin to seeing someone yawn: “partially instinct, partly boredom”. You would fit right in. And if you do decide to move to Africa and continue your nose-picking frenzy, read this nifty guide and learn the fine art of nose-picking. You might as well do it right.

source: travel journals, Egotastic

From the coffee-drinking culture in Italy, we hopped on to Jordan. And now, it’s time for one of the most famous kind of coffeeshops in the world… coffeeshops in Amsterdam!

In Amsterdam, the term coffeeshop is synonymous with a special kind of place. Yes, these coffeeshops do serve coffee but their main commodity is *blows out smoke* cannabis: hashish and marijuana. All are done legally, with license from the local council but is subjected to some regulations:

• Legally, you are only allowed to buy 5 grams at a time.
• Only those 18 and up are allowed to buy
• You are NOT allowed to bring it out of the Netherlands
• Absolutely NO Hard Drugs. There are tons of people selling ecstasy, etc. to tourists. Keep away from them!

Note that coffeeshops are NOT allowed to advertise the sale of cannabis. So, you need to go up to the bar and ask for the “menu”. In the menu, you will find different types and price ranges. In most shops, you can also order “space cakes”, Amsterdam’s version of hash brownies. Don’t expect it to taste good, the only reason one eats space cakes is to get that nice after glow     If you have the munchies, get something else.

Do sample the “goods” at the coffeeshop, if you must, but adhere to the regulations set by the local officials.

Greeting has always been, imo, a cultural faux pas waiting to happen. I never could quite figure out which to do: to shake hands, kiss once, kiss on each cheek, or kiss three times — alternating cheeks. I have been known to extend my hand whenever a cheek is offered; I have even been a subject of several anecdotes due to the times I almost kissed people on their lips. As confused as I may have been, at least, I could never be accused of being aloof.

I wrote that a year after I moved to Europe.

After (finally) having gotten used to all those European kisses in the air, I was requested to work on a project for a month in one of our foreign offices… in China!

Imagine my confusion when I met the locals. Doubts came to my mind when I got there. Didn’t they like me? Why are the Chinese all so rude? I felt that no one really took to me and I was so offended.

I didn’t learn until later that the Chinese are not touch-oriented. Some of them may have taken to hand shaking but a lot of would probably just give you a nod or a bow. That’s just the way they are and it shouldn’t be misconstrued as being rude.

If YOU ever plan on going to China, do not make the same mistake I did! It’s always best to read about the local culture, especially if it is so different than what you are used to.

Here’s a must-read about the Chinese Body Language/Greeting Culture which could help you on your next trip to China… and which could have helped me a lot had I read it 4 years ago.