6 Social Fails That Instantly Expose You As A Clueless Expat

Real Stories. Real People. Real Embarrassment. Truly Cringe. What Every Future Expat Needs to Know Before Making the Same Mistakes

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Have you ever seen someone’s expat dream explode before the bread basket hit the table?

I have. More times than I can count.

After more than 26 years abroad, I have seen it all.

Twenty of those years were living and working in Ukraine, where I learned to navigate corrupt bureaucrats and battle with Soviet plumbing.

I biked through rural France and ended up crash camping in fields and forests when the sun went down.

I spent hours sweating through visa queues at embassies across Eastern Europe.

But, along the way, I’ve also watched some of the most painfully awkward cultural faceplants play out in real time.

One time I saw a tourist wander into a cathedral in Strasbourg dressed like she was headed to a beach bar.

A friend of a friend once tried to win over a passport officer in Munich with a big grin, a loud ‘How’s it going, Bro?’ and a…