The Silent Killers. 8 American Habits That Make You Look Rude Or Insincere Abroad

You Won’t Know You Crossed a Line Until It’s Too Late

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I once took a bite out of a gyro while sitting on the footsteps of a church in a secluded quarter of Athens.

An old Greek woman walking by stared at me like I’d just kicked her cat.

No words. Just pure, silent judgment.

Certain American habits abroad won’t get you yelled at. They won’t even get mentioned.

But they will quietly kill your reputation before you know what happened.

These are the silent killers.

Turns out, sitting on the footsteps of an old church while eating makes you look like a clueless tourist disrespecting both religion and lunch itself.

In Kyiv, I smiled too much at a neighbor. She looked at me like I was recruiting for a cult.

In Dieppe, I made the mistake of asking a bartender how he was doing.

Twenty minutes later, I knew more about his life than my own.