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I accidentally asked about a death while visiting a friend's family in Vietnam
I was staying with my friend's family in Hanoi for a week last spring. We were having dinner and I noticed a framed photo of an older man on a shelf. Trying to be polite, I asked my friend's mom who the nice man in the picture was. The whole table went quiet. My friend later told me it was her grandfather who passed away, and directly asking about or pointing out photos of the dead is considered very bad luck and rude in their culture. I felt awful. I apologized right away, but the mood was off for the rest of the meal. My friend said her mom would probably do a small ritual later to ward off the bad energy. Has anyone else had a moment like this where a normal question in your culture was a huge taboo somewhere else?
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terry_bailey358d ago
Man that's such a good example of how easy it is to mess up. It really shows how much we assume our own normal is universal. You see it with stuff like hand gestures or how close you stand to someone. Makes you realize you're basically walking through a minefield of tiny social rules when you travel, even with the best intentions. The photo thing is a big one though, because asking about family pictures feels so innocent at home.
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