Traveling Abroad this summer here are some Helpful Tips!....Sure-fire ways to embarrass yourself abroad

Pushing in Chinese crowds is normal, so don't get angry over it. (Photo: Connie Ma / Flickr)
There are innumerable ways that Americans stick out when traveling, to the amusement and annoyance of the locals. Last year’s guide to sticking out was so popular that we’ve come up with some more ways that we embarrass ourselves when overseas.

Pushing back in China

In overpopulated China, people will push you. Grandmas, children, everyone. But it’s not meant as an aggressive act, and it would be a mistake to take offense or push back, especially when you look different from everyone else. Most non-Chinese Americans are conspicuous not only by their race, but by their (bigger) size, so retaliation will not go unnoticed. Either relax your body and let yourself be moved around, as I did on the ferry in Shanghai, or else plant your feet firmly, without hostility. The jostles are rarely energetic enough to cause you physical harm.

Not carrying change

(Photo: InSapphoWeTrust / Flickr)Making change, especially for big bills, is just not a "thing" in many countries. And always have small change on hand for public restrooms in train stations, museums, and archeological sites. In Italian restrooms, once you drop your euro in the slot, for god’s sake step swiftly past the retractable plastic doors. I’ve seen those doors painfully close on many a dumbfounded American.

Getting impatient with the check

Don't get alarmed, annoyed, or impatient when the check isn't brought immediately after you take your last bite. It's considered impolite in many cultures to bring the bill too quickly. Unlike in America, where restaurants want to turn their tables quickly, in other countries lingering is encouraged or expected.

Eating in

(Photo: Digital Vision)Nothing is more rube-like than being too lazy to leave your hotel for a meal. Hotel meals are overpriced, devoid of local color and often of substandard quality. Of course the exceptions are fine restaurants that have achieved a distinct identify, such as the two-Michelin-starred Le Cinq at the Four Seasons George V. And it would be silly to forgo the free, increasingly ample breakfasts available at most European hotels, some of which even offer hot food (it is common to obtain a bed-and-breakfast room rate).

Being a bad complainer

If you get a bad room in a hotel and want to change, make sure you have a specific, concrete complaint and use precise words that the hotel manager "gets." When I was given a room at a fine hotel in Barcelona's tony Eixample neighborhood, and it was small and dark, I wasn't happy. But I knew it would be the noise outside the window, from construction debris being dropped down chutes, that would get me an upgrade. And I knew to avoid emotional language and use a few words that Europeans favor: "unacceptable" and "impossible." And another word that seems to work wonders: "TripAdvisor."

http://travel.yahoo.com/blogs/compass/ugly-american-part-ii-221058893.html