Humor is Relative
Picture this: You are alone in a foreign land; eager to befriend the locals but you aren’t exactly Mr. or Ms. Personality. And then you finally find someone interested in foreigner-you but, in your excitement, you find yourself with your foot in your mouth after cracking that joke… the culturally-loaded kind.
Imagine telling this joke in the presence of Germans:
Q: What do you call a blind German?
A: A Not See (Nazi)
Or, saying this with a Japanese/Australian within hearing distance:
An Australian man was sitting in his favorite restaurant when a Japanese man said to him, “I am sick of seeing your big round eyes.”
The Australian replied, “Put on a blind fold.”
The Japanese man asked, “Where do I get one?
The Australian then said, “Here, take my shoe lace.”
Cracking a joke could probably break the ice, should you find yourself “actively” participating in conversations filled with long pauses. Just keep in mind that not everyone can see the humour in all situations. More so, if you take cultural differences in the equation. A lot of times, what makes something laughable or amusing could depend on the culture we belong to. So, be careful.
You wouldn’t want the locals (in their drunken, pissed off state) waiting for you outside the bar, would you?
/no idea who made those jokes up
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