During the festival we asked visitors to share their Cultural Tips with us. By the end of the day we gathered 104 tips.

HERE ARE SOME OF THEM:

SOCIALIZING

"Eye contact with strangers is unacceptable unless the other person is a child or quite elderly." Anisha

"Look directly at people then smile." D.

"Don't point at people. It is considered aggressive and offensive" Caroline

"Americans do not like personal space invaded, usually stand 2-3 feet away from American."

"Say hello to your facebook friends." Laura

'When an American asks you 'How are you?' they don't want an answer." Elena G.

"When Americans ask 'How are you?' they don't really mean 'How are you?'"

"When an American asks you 'what's up?' your standard response should be 'nothing much.'" Aldn

"Break the ice with new acquaintances by asking about their children, or their pets"

"Americans love it when you ask them for advice. It is the best way to break the ice."

"Do not be offended if Americans do not know much about your country of origin, most Americans do not know much about what life is like outside of their own state." Jessica

"We really don't know anything about where you are from but please tell we are interested." De-meat-tree

"Tell us about you and your country and please help us make you feel welcomed, you help us keep our cities clean and green." Lauren

"Stay open minded. If you can't, become open minded."

"Americans don't politely agree with you if in reality they don't disagree with you" Allen

"In US you really feel free to show who you really are." Lorenzo and Clare

"Say what you think, not what you think you should say." Gilberto Klein

"Talk loud and be bold!" Jannece (from Holland)

"Be confident and pretend you know everything."

'Don't show your emotions ever."

"Say sorry whenever you touch someone by accident even if you are not sorry." Kathy

"Pretend to listen, even if you don't." Nadia

"Smile even if you are sad." Helidon

"If you hang out with an American for an hour you should hug them goodbye." Rebecca

"'Hope to see you again' does not mean that an American hopes to see you again."

"Be open and look to be kind to strangers" Emily

"Always wish well people no matter what." Pabi

BEHAVIOR

"Act like a child."

'Don't pick your nose in public." John Friedman

"Never use a tooth brush that is not yours."

"It is customary to use a tissue when blowing your nose-blowing it straight onto the street is rude." Molly

"Don't pick your teeth in public unless it is with a toothpick directly after the meal."

"No double-dipping. Use your utensil and don't stick back in the food." Maria M.

"Public spaces are not urinals. You may have to tip the shopkeeper to use his/her restroom." Tara

"Never pick flower from anyone's garden, unless you ask first." Sharon

"Listen to your ipod, often." Jason

"Avoid being too enthusiastic at concerts."

"Speak loudly and chant U-S-A, U-S-A wherever feeling uber patriotic." D.H.

"Women may deliver compliments to other female strangers, but men should not address compliments to women they don't know well." C.B.

"Bring a cell phone."

"No good deed goes unpunished." I.M.

"If you are going to hang out at someone's place, don't go there hungry, assuming they will give you tons of food." S.Y.

"We hold the door open for people."

"'A restroom' is actually the toilet not a room for taking a nap."

LANGUAGE

"Try to learn English. You will be more respected." N.

"There are no rules for how English words are supposed to be pronounced. It's all memorization."

"Don't call garbage 'rubbish,' and pants 'trousers.'"

"A queue is a line and pants is really pants." Martin

'Elevators are lifts, not vice-versa." Sebastian

"Spelling with 'o' where 'ou' should be is ok."

"If you hear someone say 'yall,' they are either from the south or wish they were."

"'Yans' is short for 'you ones' in Tennessee."

"When an American say 'the city' they really mean New York City."

"'Football' is not 'soccer.' Watch superbowl and trying to pretend that you enjoy the commercials."

'In America, football is soccer, our football rarely requires kicking." Calvin

GETTING AROUND

"When someone is looking for a seat on the bus/subway don't make eye contact or offer to move."

"Don't look directly to the eyes in the subway.(Even though I always do because I don't speak good English!!!)" Patricia

'American men: Sit on subway benches with your legs spread widely. You are a man - take up space for two people.' Barbara

"When train comes, let the people get off before entering."

"Never block entrances/exits/doorways. Don't stop when you're getting off the escalator." ER

"Be careful crossing even when it says you can go - if there are 3 feet between you and the next person a car will try to drive through."

"People driving cars forget pedestrians are humans, be careful near them." Hans

"Drive like a can driver." Gustav

"If you are walking and someone else is walking towards you go to the right."

"Stand on the right, walk/pass on the left. And don't push!" Erin

"When you about to bump into someone, move to the right, if everyone moves to the right, no head on collisions."

"In New York, don't look up!" Jesse

"Learn to stand in line."

"It is okay to talk to strangers when you are standing in line."

FOOD

"Don't eat the hot dogs unless you know exactly when they came from. It's not that All-American anymore."

"Love peanut butter and eat it with anything!"

"While enjoying a fast food meal, think of America."

"Americans don't look each other in the eyes when they cheer glasses." Stephanie

"Eat dinner at 6pm!"

'Never spend more than 20 minutes on any single meal - ideally eat walking." Robin

APPEARANCE

"Speedo swim shorts are rarely worn in public unless you are a singing cowboy in Manhattan."

"Expensive sneakers can be considered formal wear." C.B.

"Wearing jeans and sneakers are o.k. here." S.

"It is ok to keep your shoes on inside." Marry

"Perfume or cologne is not an acceptable form of deodorant." Bret

MEDIA

"American action movies are multi-billion dollar export industry, but don't reflect real life. Americans only occasionally drive over 100 mph, shoot each other and blow things up."

"Don't watch your local news. It will only make you upset."

"Here news is unreadable, yet nobody reads news anyways."

"Watch 10 minutes of American idol and then turn it off in disgust."

FINANCE

"The hard sell only works in movies and for Donald Trump."

"In capitalist America bank robs you!" Greg

'Buy the biggest car you can find even if you can only afford $5.00 a week in gas."

"If you go to a restaurant or a bar, don't forget the tips!! I'm talking to you French people!!!" D.

"Tip well to places you plan to frequent." Lisa

'Buy stuff you don't need."

'Spend money you don't have."

"If you are an American you must never be sick. If you are ill or feel any discomfort look at your wallet. If it is full then you are working hard enough to be sick. If your wallet is empty then you need to work harder to fill it and you cannot afford to feel sick.' Jacob

"Poor people have to pay increasing taxes, sorry." Hene Ashraf

"If you are paying for groceries don't wait till your turn to open your bag and get the wallet." A.L.