Have you experienced asking a native about something that was considered a taboo in their language? How did you manage to end the conversation?

I think the most taboo question that a person not native in my country can ask us natives is to ask whether a lady is a virgin or not. 

In my opinion, the words such as tattoo, drug addiction, teenage pregnancy, abortion, rape. and mental illness are considered to convey negative thoughts but now, people are becoming open to discuss these topics openly and awarely. 

People are often surprised that discussion of money, or how much one makes, is somewhat taboo in the US. And it makes us pretty uncomfortable when we get labeled as "rich" - there is a negative stigmatism associated with that here.

It is also taboo in Spain, you don't discuss your salary... but I have another one... Franco, you don't discuss the Spanish civil war unless you are just glossing over it 

Valeria.Fontes wrote:

Not exactly any taboo, but I've already felt I should have shut up many times. In Brazil, we tend to be overly outgoing, when compared to other nationalities, so there have been these situations in trips, when I was so excited and happy that I ended up being intrusive and suspicious, at least this is my interpretation of the look in people's eyes!

I can totally feel you! I am an outgoing person too and I'd love to talk about anything under the sun even to a person I have just met. I think I cannot blame this to our culture of trying our best to make sure a new person or a visitor won't feel left behind, trying to be as hospitable as we can. hihi. But yeah, I have some North American friends telling me that they really find it suspicious. :P

leosmith wrote:

People are often surprised that discussion of money, or how much one makes, is somewhat taboo in the US. And it makes us pretty uncomfortable when we get labeled as "rich" - there is a negative stigmatism associated with that here.

That's understandable. It should be something that is cautiously discussed. But our culture sometimes just find it normal to ask about salaries as normal as asking where you work, maybe just to know how great you were doing in your career and how you can be of inspiration or guidance in the future. Anyways, the less fortunate people in my country would always think foreigners are rich because they can afford to travel and visit our country. For most of us, it means you are living a life much comfortable than us so you are considered rich here. 

So I have often times have to correct that idea when I get the chance. :) Also, social media is full of smart-shaming, body-shaming, and even rich-shaming posts and comments. It's sad to see how the word "gold-digger" is easily used to describe a person nowadays just for the purpose of creating content on social media. hihi.

leosmith wrote:

People are often surprised that discussion of money, or how much one makes, is somewhat taboo in the US. And it makes us pretty uncomfortable when we get labeled as "rich" - there is a negative stigmatism associated with that here.

Actually it's similar in Brazil. People like showing off wealth, but they feel uncomfortable talking about it. I believe it's related to Catholicism, so it surprises me to hear you say so.

Jade.Xuereb wrote:

It is also taboo in Spain, you don't discuss your salary... but I have another one... Franco, you don't discuss the Spanish civil war unless you are just glossing over it

I've already experienced that! It's a pet subject for me, and I faced a Spanish girl rage when I tried giving opinions about it. I understand why.

july.lullalove wrote:

Valeria.Fontes wrote:

Not exactly any taboo, but I've already felt I should have shut up many times. In Brazil, we tend to be overly outgoing, when compared to other nationalities, so there have been these situations in trips, when I was so excited and happy that I ended up being intrusive and suspicious, at least this is my interpretation of the look in people's eyes!

I can totally feel you! I am an outgoing person too and I'd love to talk about anything under the sun even to a person I have just met. I think I cannot blame this to our culture of trying our best to make sure a new person or a visitor won't feel left behind, trying to be as hospitable as we can. hihi. But yeah, I have some North American friends telling me that they really find it suspicious. :P

I was once in a hostel in Bolivia where most people were really young. Then I saw this middle-aged woman with a little girl, always aside, and thought it a good idea to approach. She welcomed me, I got confident and took a very stupid decision. I tried playing with her daughter. She took the girl by the hand as fast as she could and literally ran away! I felt as if I was an outlaw.