While visiting a new country is interesting and exciting, moving to one, learning to adapt, and understanding the culture can be challenging. Some things are very obvious and easy to get used to, while there are certain other things… well, you’ll probably never get used to them. (Hint: Rice and Curry. All. The. Time.)
Here’s one thing that is very typical for SriLanka, but can be difficult, confusing, or even flat-out weird to a foreigner.
The Head Wobble.
The Head Wobble is one of the first things a foreigner notices in Sri Lanka, and getting used to this can be confusing to say the least. While dealing with tuk-tuk drivers in itself can be frustrating and make you feel as if you’ve lost your mind, the Head Wobble doesn’t make it any easier. Confirmation that the driver knows a certain road or direction is almost always indicated with the Head Wobble, which can be frustrating for a foreigner – it’s not clear if the shake of the head is a ‘no’ or a ‘yes.’ You’re just left there expecting a verbal answer and feel ignored when you don’t get one.
Good Luck
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Yes it gets even more annoying, when they say “Yes” and then do a head wobble side to side which means “No” in western culture.