I just got back from 2 weeks in Europe — Budapest, Vienna and Prague. I hope I was not an ugly American! Actually, I know I was not.

While I did speak English, my friend told me that many of the young people want to practice their English — in fact, she had several of her young cousins visit to do that with me! But I did try to at least learn a few of the phrases in each country!

Aside from that — I tried to be considerate and follow the local rules. For example, in many countries — you take your shoes off when you visit someone’s home. Or you cover your head in church. Simple stuff like that, if you observe what others do and try to do the same, it helps.

I’ve also traveled to other countries — Belize, India, Mexico, Ireland, Greece, France, Canada, Holland and the UK… and pretty much have found people to be very friendly everywhere I have gone except to some degree in France. The Czechs are also a bit grumpy. But, they have a beautiful country and great food and they are very proud of their heritage.

One thing that I like to do when I travel — go off the beaten path and try to live like a native. So I don’t just stay in tourist locations. And some of the best experiences I’ve had occur when I get away from those areas.