Scuba1 wrote:
Because we don't do politics on CRT, all I'll say regarding Clinton/Lewinsky:
Yes, that was not intended to be a political statement at all. It was just a famous person who made front pages all over the world for messing around while away from his wife
Quote:
He should have been prosecuted for ruining a good cigar
I should have thought of that one

My conundrum is that I guess men are men all over the world and women are women -- deep inside at the basic instinct level, but we have had such vastly different cultural behaviors pounded into us that at the interaction level we will always be very different from different cultures. Just rambling a little here... a little bored. In various parts of the world I have seen...
1. Ch*ldren are encouraged by their parents to become sexually active (at least aware) by age 8 years
2. Smiling (even on the street just passing) at a woman means that you are ready to go home with her. Expect her to immediately come up and start flirting very aggressively, unless she is married, in which case she will look at you like you are a Ch*ld molester just for smiling at her
3. A woman sitting at ANY bar (even a nice one in a nice restaurant) by herself is 100% guaranteed to be working
4. Mothers pimp out their daughters or at least aggressively pursue a husband for her -- a mother who doesn't is considered a BAD mother
5. It is socially unacceptable for a pregnant woman to be outside of her home from the moment she is "showing" until after birth. It is considered a sign of disregard for the baby's safety (she may still make the five-step walk from the front of the building to the car to go visit her parents and other family-type stuff).
6. Cleaning your plate is an insult to the host (unless there are serving bowls on the table that still have food in them). It means that the host did not provide enough for you
7. NOT cleaning your plate is an insult to the host. It means you think the food was no good.
8. Be careful in eastern European countries when served "empty plate" style. A few bowls will come out, and you'll be tempted to fill your plate. Within 10 or 15 minutes there will be probably 20 or more bowls on the table. If you fill up on the first five, you're screwed. It's an insult to not try everything. The tablespoon is your friend. Take ONE tablespoon of each dish until the host sits and starts eating (that means all the food is on the table).
9. Never comment on anything in the house in a positive way (not negative either, just keep your mouth shut), unless asked by the host what you think of it. If you say something like "wow, that's a nice vase", it might be given to you when you leave, even if it's a priceless family heirloom
10. If you specifically permit or allow a girl to stay in your home past sunrise, fully expect her parents and all of her brothers and sisters to expect full support and most likely living in your home indefinitely. Fortunately, passing out drunk with her and waking up after dawn doesn't count.
11. Even asking for a small drink or beer in some place is considered crass and vulgar. Refusing a drink in other places is considered extremely rude. Be aware that "drink" means different things in different places. If a girl asks you if you drink, she might be asking if you're a drunk. You say "no", and the next thing you know, you're at a restaurant with a shot of vodka in front of you, and you're confused. The girl will look at you like you're some kind of weirdo. She'll chug the shot of vodka in front of you and say, "I don't drink either." It's not a joke or sarcasm -- "Drinking" means you're a lush. Everybody does a shot of vodka before a meal. If you go to a REAL Russian restaurant (not the tourist ones), the shot of Vodka is included with the meal, just like the breadsticks at Olive Garden. Refusing the one shot of vodka right before a meal in Russia is considered the same as "flipping off" the host.
12. You NEVER use the excuse of working late to cheat on your wife with your mistress. Working late is a sign of great respect for your company and is often used in Asian culture. You might be legally signed up for an 8-hour day, but if the day's work is not done, you stay until it is. Working late is a sign of great honor and your wife/girlfriend will be even more likely to jump on you like a rabid tiger when you get home at 1am. When I first visited Japan and came home late with a colleague after work, I made the mistake of vouching for him. His wife took umbrage and said "if my husband says he is working late, then he is." If you lie about that, it is a great shame on your family and the company that you work for. On the other hand, being invited to the home of your boss for dinner is a guarantee that you are getting a raise, promotion, etc. To invite you into his home and not give you something grand is like your boss just said to the whole world "I am a huge dirtbag with no respect for anyone, and you are free to tell anyone you like about it." You must bring your wife and all your K*ds, if you are married and have K*ds, but they must leave the room after dinner, when the liquor comes out and business is discussed. A good Asian wife will choreograph this perfectly, sweeping the K*ds with her into another room in synchronization with the wife of the boss.
13. Top of the cake... I was in a "certain country" where I thought the father (my coworker) was trying to hook me up with his 18 year old smoking hot daughter. Turns out that he had an older daughter that I had never met. Once we all figured this out, the 18 girl was like "please take my sister and you can have me too". The dad was saying "that would be great if it's OK with you." At some later point I thought I was in a Whitesnake video or something, but sure enough, the older daughter, about 28, also pretty good looking, comes in, and, long story short, she's happy to meet me and ready to trundle off to my apartment. Mom and Dad are bubbly happy, saying "and our younger daughter that you like too!" Shacked up with both girls for about 2 months and they were perfectly happy about it, and so were the parents. Went out with the two girls and the parents several times to VERY nice restaurants (black-tie stuff), and Dad was constantly bragging to the waiters, other patrons, everybody, that his two girls were living with a nice man with a stable income and a good provider. Mom was constantly bragging on the phone to her girlfriend and anyone else who would listen that her girls were living with a man who took care of his women. This is the same culture where I once asked an 18 year old girl why she didn't date guys her own age instead of me (35 years old at the time). Her reply was simply "I DO NOT date Ch*ldren". I heard that same expression many times after that. Both girls enlightened me to how different women can be. They positively were prejudiced against good-looking younger guys and guys who talked smooth. They ESPECIALLY HATED guys that were not from their country that learned and spoke in their language. "Those guys are just trying to play us." Young, good-looking guys who speak our language are loser con-artists." Cynical, yes. Compare that to what else you have seen. A real eye-opener for me. In that place, I learned that the only way to attract women in certain places is not to approach them and act completely uninterested, and above all, do NOT speak their language. It's like crack to them.
I have found in CR, that despite the fact that women constantly seem to be prying as much money as they can out of you, they are a very giving people. What they perceive as "arrogant gringos" are pressed for cash all the time, but anyone they consider a genuine person -- seriously, I have had to metaphorically beat them off with a stick when they try to help me with everything. My bud warned me about this before I moved down here. We both have gotten some excellent assistance with all kinds of things, including appliances and furniture for our apartments at bargain-basement prices.
One thing that I regularly do as my good friend suggested, is regularly visit certain second-hand stores. There you will find all of the brand-new (still in the box with the stickers on them) items given to the girls by hapless tourists. As soon as the guys leave, the girls immediately pawn or sell the stuff for cash, and the stores resell them for a very decent price. Think about it... if you visit CR regularly, how many times have you heard a girl say that her purse, phone, tablet, notebook computer, etc. was "stolen" or "broken". I may very likely have the brand-new Sony tablet (brand new, in the box, plastic still on it, works great) bought by someone reading this very message right now for 30% less than you can buy it anywhere in the USA.