“I couldn’t figure out why shopkeepers and cashiers didn’t like me in my little town until I realized I was unknowingly being rude...”

Hi, I'm the Latine Editorial Lead at BuzzFeed and cover a little bit of everything, from quizzes and true crime to celebrities and pop culture.

Responses have also been sourced from this similar thread. 

"Don't come to my country and ask, 'How can you guys live like this?' or 'This is so cheap/expensive,' like you feel sorry for us. We know; we live here. If you don't have anything good to say, just don't say anything."

"Who wants to get bothered every 15 minutes mid-conversation, or to get rushed out the door? In short, don't get angry when waiters aren't lapping at your table waiting for orders. It's our way of doing things."

"Do not go hiking through 'forbidden paths' in the middle of the forest. Every year, the government has to send rescue crews to risk their lives to retrieve some tourist who thought our rainforest is just the same as their forests and got caught in the heavy rain."

"It's horrible how some people visit smaller towns or historical places in Latin America where people rely on tourism, and they try to haggle prices from street vendors. You're privileged enough to visit, don't try to get away with paying less. Especially since haggling is uncommon in Latin America, vendors might just agree to lower prices as long as they can sell stuff."

"I’m from the UK, and my first time in a taxi with my Paisa friend, I slammed the door. It was the first and last time I was allowed to shut the door when getting a taxi with him. Pleased to say, I have since learned my lesson."

"Traveling to and wandering around one of the most dangerous and impoverished parts of the island and taking photos/videos of the place (something people are explicitly told NOT to do). These are people's personal homes being treated like a tourist attraction..."

"One time, I was in Tamarindo, and a tourist was feeding an iguana. She was lying back in a chair in a bikini. The iguana climbed on top of her with its sharp as fuck nails. The girl was screaming. That's why you don't feed them!"

—UndercoverDoll49, Brazil and inimicali, Mexico

"As an American,  I had a hard time with this when I first moved to Uruguay. I couldn't figure out why shopkeepers and cashiers didn't like me in my little town until I realized I was unknowingly being rude by not having enough small talk in my interactions with them. You really have to say a 'Buen dia. ¿Cómo está, bien? ¿Qué lindo día, no?' or something along those lines, or people will be very cold to you."

Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.