Why Aren’t You Smiling? Because Not Every Country Thinks I’m Their Ray Of Sunshine!

Smiling isn’t always friendly abroad. Here’s why flashing those all-American pearly whites could mean charming, creepy or downright insane depending on where you are.

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Smiling: The Global Gesture That Gets Lost in Translation

I learned the hard way that a smile is not the universal symbol of friendliness.

Russian proverb (roughly translated):

“Smiling without a reason is the mark of a fool.”

My first lesson came in Ukraine, where my perpetually cheerful American grin got me labeled as either suspicious or just plain weird. “What’s so funny?” asked a cashier who looked like she hadn’t cracked a smile since perestroika.

In the U.S., however, keeping a straight face invites a different reaction: “What’s wrong? Are you mad?”

These cultural codes around smiling, and not smiling, run deeper than I ever realized.