Living in a foreign culture can be exciting, but it can also be confusing. A group of Americans who taught English in other countries recently discussed their experiences of miscomunication.
On her first day in Micronesia, an island in the Pacific, Lisa went into a store and asked, "Do you have cold drinks?" The woman there didn't say anything. Lisa repeated the question. Still the woman said nothing. Lisa later learned that the woman had answered her. The woman had raised her eyebrows and it means "yes" in Micronesia.
Jan had an experience in Bulgaria, a country in Europe. She went to a restaurant that was known for its cabbage. She asked the waiter, "Do you have cabbage today?" He nodded his head. Jan waited, but the cabbage never came. In that country, a nod means "no".
Tom had a similar problem when he arrived in India. After explaining something in class, he asked his students if they understood. They answered with many different nods and shakes of the head. He thought some people hand not understood, so he explained again. When he asked again, they did the same thing. He soon found out that his students really understood. In India, people nod and shake their heads in different ways to say "yes" depending on where they come from.
