Musical Mistakes in Poland
Location: Poland
Camera info: Canon Rebel 350D • lens 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
ISO 800 • f 5.6 • 1/15 sec
Now, on a lighter note… 😉
Everybody has good and bad days, even professionals. Sometimes the results are just plain hilarious. On our band trip to Poland, we got the opportunity to visit a preschool in between concerts. The kids didn’t really know much about our team, except that we were from America. But they were proud of their preschool and wanted to show off their mad skillz as well. All the classes combined into one room, and the kids performed a song they had learned a few weeks prior, complete with hand motions (well, some hand motions. The rest were random kids spazzing, dancing, jumping around, picking their nose or their friends’ hair, and doing whatever else little kids do).
Next, it was our turn. Since we were just there for a visit, the band did not bring their instruments, so we were left doing things completely a capella. Not usually a problem, but the song selections we had been singing were pretty dependent on having a rockin’ musical backdrop. We did have one song that included hand motions, so we decided to do that one for the kids. Half the team clapped to keep the beat, and the rest of us taught the kids our dance. They loved it.
Then, one of the volunteers wanted to hear a “serious” song since they would be missing our concert later that night. Our band leader selected one that was in a similar key & tempo to the first, but no motions and good lyrics. Sure thing! We started the song, and even the kids continued to dance around for the first verse. We continued on to the chorus, and all of a sudden our director had a panicked look on his face. We had accidentally switched back to the chorus of the first song! :O We kept singing, and the director fed us the lines for the second verse so we could get back to the correct song and finish. At least the two flowed together well! Hopefully no one would notice, right? NOT! This became known around the trip as “The Preschool Medley.”
Has something ever gone hilariously wrong at a concert you’ve attended?
Top Tourist Mistakes
Location: Japan
Camera info: Fuji Finepix A303 • Automatic Point & Shoot
ISO 100 • f 7 • 1/500 sec
You have to wonder how often locals let the tourists get away with things just for a laugh. Take my friend here. We’re in Japan, and he’s wearing a man’s robe (not meant for outdoors) and a Chinese hat. Yet the locals encouraged it (and sold them to us!). They also encouraged us to use chopsticks most of the time, and then laughed at us when we tried to use them on soup (they DID give us spoons eventually). Yeah, I think it’s a local conspiracy. 😉
No matter what country you travel to, you’re going to make mistakes and get laughed at, so it’s good to have a sense of humor. It’s also a good idea to do some research ahead of time and not make the same mistakes as everyone else. Here’s just a few examples of common tourist mistakes in Australia, Cambodia (Phnom Penh), Czech Republic, France (Paris), the Netherlands, Ireland, Iran, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Thailand, and Turkey. As if that isn’t enough, here’s a few more! So yeah, the list is pretty much endless. Good luck!
Sometimes, making mistakes can endear you to the people. For example, this forum writer uses his lack of language skills to his advantage: “Whenever I’ve travelled to a country where English is not the official language, I’ve made it a point to carry an English/<other> phrase book, and I’d always make it a point to painfully mangle the other language. Invariably, no matter where I was, someone would come up to me, gently take away the phrase book, and say ‘Wouldn’t it be easier to just do this in English?’ Usually, a bunch of the locals would come over to practice their English skills, brag about their country and ask about mine. And, all too often, some other American would burst in and bellow ‘Hey! Anyone in this dump speak ‘Murrican?’ 🙄 And, amazingly, everyone in the place would immediately forget every word of English they’d ever known. Including me.” 
What’s the most embarrasing tourist mistake you’ve ever made? What have you seen someone else do?
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