Survival Guides- Part one. Which countries are we talking about?

Last month Felicity's Study Skills High class wrote Survival Guides for their home countries. The rest of the class then had to guess the countries being described.

Before they started, Felicity's students read a piece of writing by an Indian lady who'd moved here for university. She was giving advice to other Indian students planning to move over to the UK. Felicity's class analysed the language she'd used before they started to write their own.

This was a useful task as the students learned to use the imperative form for giving advice. They also had to use their analytical skills, and learnt about different typical cultural behaviors.

This time its Donatella and Tura’s time to give you some advice when visiting their countries:

Country one:

1. You must not feel offended if people from this country kiss you twice even though they don’t know you, that’s just a typical way of introducing themselves. You need to get used to it as soon as possible.


2. It is common to arrive late everywhere in this country. If you arrive on time you will be waiting a while for the person you are meeting. Don’t try to be on time it’s completely impossible.


3. Oil and salt are considered essentials in this country; we use it instead of the butter people use in England. Don’t feel uncomfortable if there’s a lot in every meal, people love and use them in high quantity.


4. Eating times change in every country, and in this one we have meals quite late, so it’s better to have a snack if you want to survive until the next meal. People are used to eating a lot at once and normally very healthy food. This country has very popular dishes based on rice, chicken, eggs and also potatoes.


5. Be careful! The traffic is a problem in this country, and we also drive with the right side of the road, so look twice every time you are going to cross the road and don’t be afraid when you are inside a taxi, it will be like a F1 championship
   

Which country are they describing?

Country two:

1. In this country you must not feel offended if someone forgets to thank you or to say please in each sentence; these people don’t care about it. They will entertain your request anyway.


2. When you are invited to have dinner, never show your impatience while waiting to be served; wait for the others before you start eating and resist the urge to use your mobile phone: it’s not polite. It is always advisable to finish your food to show your appreciation.


3. In this country it is common to see couples kissing in public. It is always advisable for men not to let women pay; men must look suitably kind and generous and offer everything. It is very unlikely for a couple to split the bill or let the woman pay.


4. In this country it is advisable to be overtly friendly; by the same token, you must respect older people: when you talk to someone older than you or someone you do not know very well, you must remember to use the third person as a sign of respect when speaking. You must also remember that calling people by their name is a form of confidence.


5. In this country people derive immense pleasure from watching football matches and they support their team almost always only when it wins.
   

Which country are they describing?

Don't forget to visit our blog next week so you know where to go if you want to eat and get kissed a lot, take part in a Formula 1 race and get your dinner paid for! You'll also be able to read more country survival guides....