![\"DSC_9520\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/DSC_9520-300x184.jpg?resize=300%2C184\")
<\/a><\/p>\nFrom the taxi\u00a0driver who brings you from the airport to your hotel to the first cashier that you meet at the nearby corner market (when you stock-up on some drinking water), you start to make new connections to help you figure out or better understand the\u00a0new culture that you are now experiencing.<\/p>\n
Do you ever find yourself saying to your friends\/family…”The people there were so nice.” ?<\/p>\n
Granted you might be on a trip somewhere where the local people aren’t nice, in your eyes, but as an experienced traveler that seems to be a rare\u00a0occurrence. \u00a0If you have been to many countries and experienced numerous cultures firsthand, then you have probably seen the pattern for yourself: around the world…everyone does indeed seem to be nice!<\/p>\n
So, you must be wondering, why are all these people in the world so nice?<\/p>\n
It just might be that you are interacting with a local (who you later think is soooo nice) whilst experiencing a personal culture shock moment. \u00a0For example, when you are lost in a foreign city and you ask people for help\/directions. \u00a0Most people in countless cultures will go out of their way to help you find your way. \u00a0And not just the person you originally asked for help, but soon there are other passersby that join in to help you out as well! \u00a0Surely after that encounter with the locals, you will be thinking “boy these people are so NICE here!”<\/p>\n
Another culture shock moment for you will happen at some local grocery store. \u00a0While you are shopping around, not having a clue how to read the ingredients labels or even realizing what some of those strange food products actually are, a local employee (or even a local customer) will start to interact with you. While they are asking you if you need any help, you realize that the local person can speak a little bit of English. \u00a0The employee then starts to show you around the store, answering any specific questions about some products you are interested in buying. \u00a0After you make your purchases and leave the store, you might be thinking “that store worker was so helpful and nice helping me out in English!”<\/p>\n
It is possible that during these potentially embarrassing and stressful moments during your trip, when a local comes in to “save the day” and bring some clarity into your day’s travel, your brain starts to make\u00a0conclusions\u00a0that everyone in this country is\u00a0so nice<\/em>. \u00a0And what a great thought about the world! \u00a0Of course when you get the chance though to sit down and have a longer chat with a local at a cafe or something, you then find out that the he\/she might\u00a0just think the opposite\u00a0of his\/her own people. \u00a0He\/She might be thinking that the people in the city are not always\u00a0so\u00a0<\/em>nice<\/em>!<\/em><\/p>\n Of course, being that you will only interact with less than .1% of a country’s people during your trip, you cannot necessarily say that all<\/em> people there are nice. \u00a0The people you see during your trip are just a glimpse really of all the people you would encounter if you actually lived there.<\/p>\n It is very possible that these people you do have encounters with are nice to you for other reasons, not just only because of the kindness of their heart. \u00a0Maybe they have money on their minds. \u00a0As a taxi driver, you might want to be nice so that the tourist will call him\/her later when they want to go back to the airport. \u00a0As a store worker, you need to be nice to customers so that they will stay longer in your store and hopefully buy lots of things.<\/p>\n But it is not just money that can make people be nice to you, it might be because they want to leave a good impression about themselves and their country. \u00a0Some countries don’t have the best reputation or high status in the world, so the more the people show their nicest side to you, the better image that you will have about their country and tell your friends about their country (maybe your friend might want to make a trip there as well).<\/p>\n There are other reasons for sure.<\/p>\n The big question then is if those locals (from the country you are traveling to) go and make a visit to YOUR home country\/city. \u00a0I wonder if those locals will think YOUR people are so nice and welcoming!<\/p>\n If you have a culture-related story to share about your experience living abroad, send us a message\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0and we will see about getting your story as a guest author on our\u00a0International School Community blog<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" While traveling to a new place, you are bound to have many encounters with the locals. \u00a0Being that you probably don’t know everything there is to know about a country and its language and culture before your trip, it is always an exciting adventure exploring and interacting with the people who live and have grown […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9],"tags":[40,42,187,186,614,530,989,1552,46,1609,1605,1608,1606,1607,60],"class_list":["post-1759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discussion-topics","tag-culture-shock","tag-expat-life","tag-international-school-educator","tag-international-school-teacher","tag-life-abroad","tag-life-as-an-expat","tag-life-of-an-international-school-teacher","tag-linguistic-encounters","tag-living-abroad","tag-local-people-nice","tag-nice","tag-nice-country","tag-nice-people","tag-nicest-people","tag-teaching-abroad"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2flVT-sn","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8800,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/going-home-for-the-summer-no-one-cares-about-your-international-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":1759,"position":0},"title":"Going home for the summer: No one cares about your international life!","author":"ISCommunity","date":"June 27, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I always hope that somebody will care every year I go home, but every year most of them don't.\u00a0(Ha ha!) It is not because they really don't care though, it is mostly because they just don't fully understand or connect to the international\/expat life you are living. \u00a0When visiting family\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Highlighted Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Highlighted Articles","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/highlighted-articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/birds-gee72d321f_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/birds-gee72d321f_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/birds-gee72d321f_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/birds-gee72d321f_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/birds-gee72d321f_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1613,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/discussion-topic-standing-at-the-check-out-counter-can-get-uncomfortable\/","url_meta":{"origin":1759,"position":1},"title":"Discussion Topic: Standing at the check-out counter can get uncomfortable!!!","author":"ISCommunity","date":"January 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"How much do you need to say when you are going through the check-out line?\u00a0 Not much usually. Just get your items through the scanner, swipe your credit card, bag your goods up in a reusable bag that you brought and then you get on your way. It is not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Discussion Topics"","block_context":{"text":"Discussion Topics","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/discussion-topics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Screen Shot 2013-01-29 at 8.51.08 PM","src":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2013\/01\/screen-shot-2013-01-29-at-8-51-08-pm.png?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1520,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/survey-results-are-in-how-many-more-years-do-you-expect-to-keep-teaching-abroad-at-international-schools\/","url_meta":{"origin":1759,"position":2},"title":"Survey results are in: How many more years do you expect to keep teaching abroad at international schools?","author":"ISCommunity","date":"November 21, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The\u00a0survey results\u00a0are in, and it seems as if most visitors and members of\u00a0International School Community\u00a0who voted expect to keep working abroad at international schools for at least 1-3 more years. For many of us, I suppose teaching abroad at international schools is a temporary circumstance in our lives.\u00a0 Some of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Surveys"","block_context":{"text":"Surveys","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/surveys\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/11\/screen-shot-2012-11-21-at-9-07-41-pm.png?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":774,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/traveling-around-almaty-kazakhstan-the-life-of-an-international-school-teacher-is-good\/","url_meta":{"origin":1759,"position":3},"title":"Traveling Around: Almaty, Kazakhstan (The life of an international school teacher is good!)","author":"ISCommunity","date":"June 4, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Traveling Around: Almaty, Kazakhstan Can you relate? \u2022 Seeing locations in a city that the Amazing Race teams did a challenge at. \u2022 Noticing how amazing it would be to live next to a majestic range. \u2022 Buying souvenirs that you normally wouldn't buy because you are trying to make\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Traveling Around"","block_context":{"text":"Traveling Around","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/traveling-around\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/06\/dsc_9646.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1702,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/traveling-around-abu-dhabi-united-arab-emirates-the-life-of-an-international-school-teacher-is-good\/","url_meta":{"origin":1759,"position":4},"title":"Traveling Around: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (The life of an international school teacher is good!)","author":"ISCommunity","date":"March 7, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Traveling Around: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Can you relate? \u2022 Realizing that the expat life there can be very, very nice! \u2022 Enjoying the Middle Eastern cuisine and wishing it was the cuisine where I live. \u2022 Going to mall after mall after mall after mall. \u2022 Feeling jealous\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Traveling Around"","block_context":{"text":"Traveling Around","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/traveling-around\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"DSC_2224","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/DSC_2224-300x126.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3371,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/save-money-working-international-school-teacher-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":1759,"position":5},"title":"How NOT to save money when working as an international school teacher #3: Send money home every month (Mortgage, College Debt, etc.)","author":"ISCommunity","date":"May 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"We all hear about the big possibility of saving money while working at international schools, but the reality is that many of us don't save much of any money. \u00a0So, why aren't these international school teachers saving money? How NOT to save money when working as an international school teacher\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "How NOT to Save Money"","block_context":{"text":"How NOT to Save Money","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/how-not-to-save-money\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/DSC_9710.jpg?fit=1200%2C726&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/DSC_9710.jpg?fit=1200%2C726&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/DSC_9710.jpg?fit=1200%2C726&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/DSC_9710.jpg?fit=1200%2C726&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/DSC_9710.jpg?fit=1200%2C726&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1759\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"DSC_9242\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/DSC_9242-300x199.jpg?resize=300%2C199\")
<\/a><\/p>\n