Heard the one about a worldwide survey conducted by the UN? The only question asked was: “Would you please give your honest opinion about solutions to the food shortage in the rest of the world?”The survey was a failure. In Africa they didn’t know what “food” meant; in India they didn’t know what “honest” meant; in Europe they didn’t know what “shortage” meant; in China they didn’t know what “opinion” meant; in the Middle East they didn’t know what “solution” meant; in South America they didn’t know what “please” meant; and in the USA they didn’t know what “the rest of the world” meant.
Source and to read more of this article: Mark McCrum, ‘Embarrassing Travel Gaffes’, The Sunday Times, 30 September 2007. Extracted from, Going Dutch in Beijing: The International Guide to Doing the Right Thing, Profile Books.
Image: Warm and intense cross-cultural fellowship.