Preparing yourself before your experience abroad can be great and knowing the local culture always helps. In this section, we are sharing with you some brief introduction to the customs, norms of behaviour and interesting facts about the partner countries of this project: Bulgaria, Greece, North Macedonia, Italy and Malta!

The Italians, by culture and tradition, are an open and welcoming people.

A demonstration of these characteristics is proxemics: in Italy (and this also applies to other Mediterranean countries) interpersonal distances are shortened, to greet a friend you hug and stay very close during a conversation.

This does not mean that we are rude, even if this behavior may appear exaggerated and disrespectful to those from a different culture.

In Italy, emotions are expressed without shame and we speak freely even with people we do not know. In Italy, you can get angry on the phone on a crowded bus without anyone around us considering this embarrassing behavior.

When an Italian asks “How are you”, he expects a real answer from the interlocutor. How are you is not a courtesy interlayer, but a concrete question.

Despite the openness and the ability to be welcoming to other cultures, one of the most important characteristics of the Italian people are family ties and customs handed down from generation to generation.

In Italy, everything revolves around the family. The numerous family businesses inherited from generation to generation demonstrate this. We all love to come home after being away for a long time. But people of Italian origin often feel the need to recover a closer relationship with their families. And this is demonstrated by the different customs typical of Italian culture. Sunday lunch, for example, is much more than a simple lunch. It is a moment of gathering in which to come together as a family after the daily grind to relax and spend the day with friends. Sunday lunch can last a whole day!

Even those who emigrate abroad for work try to keep Italian culture alive: Italian immigrants usually form colonies and interact mainly with their compatriots within the new community, keeping alive the most important traditions of their countries of origin. First of all the culinary ones: pizza and spaghetti cannot be missing!

Food Customs at Ceremonial Occasions. Rabbit stewed in wine is a specialty, often with some of its sauce served over pasta as a first course. Tender lamb is eaten at Easter.

Religious Beliefs. Over 98 percent of the population are Roman Catholics, who tend to be highly observant. The year is filled with important religious events, and all localities are identified with patron saints who are celebrated, somewhat competitively, with fireworks and festa pageantry, including processions.

Greetings

Formal greetings begin and end with a handshake.

A person’s title followed by their surname is common among new acquaintances. Only address a person by their first name when invited to do so.

Among close family and friends, people tend to pat one another on the back, shoulder or arm.

Older people may greet others with a nickname or a diminutive. For example, Guzeppi may be greeted as Guz.

Non-Verbal Communication

Personal Space: The Maltese tend to keep less personal space, often sitting or standing quite close to one another,

Physical Contact: The Maltese tend to be quite tactile and affectionate people. Hugging, kissing and back-slapping in public are common.

Eye Contact: Maltese usually hold direct eye contact during conversation.

Greetings

In Greece, a handshake is the most common greeting, regardless of age, gender, and social status.  Close friends may greet each other with a warm embrace or a kiss on one or each cheek. Others might slap or pat one another’s arm or back a few times. Maintain direct eye contact when introduced to someone for the first time. If the person is older than you, address them by their title and last name unless invited to move to a first-name basis. This formality is less necessary between youths or friends. The common verbal greeting in Greece is “Yassas” (Hello) or the more informal “Yiasoo”. Address people by their appropriate title, e.g. ‘Keerios’ (Mr) for men and ‘Keeria’ (Mrs) for women.

Etiquette

There is a cultural expectation in Greece that one accepts the generous offers of others. If you refuse something legitimately, it may be seen as a token protest made out of politeness. Therefore, instead of accepting your refusal, a Greek may insist that you receive what is given. Refusing something offered can be interpreted as an insult. For example, refusing food implies you do not trust the person’s cooking skills. It is best to accept everything offered. Be careful when commenting on a Greek’s possessions. If you show a lot of admiration, they may feel a compulsion to be generous and give it to you. In Greek culture, “on time” can mean 20 or 30 minutes late. Nevertheless, tardiness is usually accompanied by a heartfelt apology and a legitimate excuse.

Communication

Indirect Communication: Greeks can be quite indirect communicators. To avoid conflict or confrontation, they often take a long-winded, roundabout approach to conveying their messages sensitively and tactfully.

Communication Style: Greeks tend to use quite verbose, theatrical, and intense language. This communication style can seem exaggerated as they commonly show their emotion in their speech. While interruption is not best practice or advised, it is common.

Raised Voices: Greeks may speak with impassioned, loud voices when talking to each other. This can be an expression of excitement or conviction. Alternatively, a Greek becoming more nonverbal and reclusive would be a stronger indication that they are seriously upset.

Non-Verbal

Personal Space: Greeks do not require a lot of personal space between one another. Therefore, they may sit or stand at slightly closer proximities than what you are used to. It is not unusual to have one’s belongings or body touching the stranger next to them when queuing, sitting/standing on public transport, or in a crowd.

Physical Contact: Greeks are generally very tactile people, comfortable with open affection. Hugging and kissing are common in public spaces. People often touch one another on the back, arm, or leg to emphasise their point as they talk.

Body Language: Expect many hand gestures to be used during communication. Greeks tend to be very expressive in their body language.

Expression: Despite being animated communicators, Greeks can have a more serious exterior when first meeting. They may not smile frequently or exchange much humour or pleasantries during their first interaction with strangers (e.g. shopkeepers). People tend to be more warm and unreserved around their friends.

The Bulgarian Alphabet – when you come to a new country, you do not necessarily need to learn the language or the entire alphabet, especially if you plan to stay for a shorter period of time. But realizing that ВАРНА is actually VARNA might save some funny situations along the way.

“Yes” or “No” – a lot of people have heard that Bulgarians express agreement and disagreement differently – by shaking heads for “yes” and nodding for “no”. In general this is true, however many young people, who have been abroad or have rich experience in communicating with different cultures do not longer follow this rule (especially when they communicate with foreigners). So the best way to understand what your Bulgarian friend actually means is by asking them to say yes or no.

Guests Bulgarian people are quite hospitable in general and they do like welcoming guests. However, there are two very important things to keep in mind when you come over the place of your Bulgarian friend

• Bring a small present – like a box of juice, bottle of wine or some sweets. (Bulgarians usually do not like guests to come “empty-handed” in to their homes)
• Take off your shoes, when you enter the house. You will be offered to have a pair of slippers, or you can walk barefoot in the house, if you like

Greetings

The common greeting between strangers is a firm handshake and eye contact.

A light hug may occur between two friends. Close friends and family may greet by giving two or more kisses on alternating cheeks. The common verbal greeting is “Dobro utro” (Good morning), “Dobar den” (Good day) or “Dobro vecher” (Good evening).

Communication style

People are very kind and also very curious of other cultures.  Do not be surprised if they ask you questions that seem inappropriate, such as how much money you make, what your house is like, etc.  They are honestly just curious about how other people live.

The communication style of most Macedonians is defined by the background of the person (religious, ethnic, social, educational, etc). In general, most people are polite but direct; if they consider something very important they won’t hesitate to speak up and argue about it and vice-versa. Even though they are good listeners they tend to speak more. Most of the time they speak fast and loud, using gestures and nonverbal communication.  

Basic Etiquette

Do not leave two windows open in a room. There is a cultural belief that when wind passes through a room, it will cause people to get sick. This belief is called ‘promaja’. Christian Macedonians generally drink alcohol with their meals and make toasts of friendship and agreements. ‘Rakija’ (a fruity brandy) is a popular drink. The common toast is “Nazdravje” meaning “for your health”. Macedonians have quite a relaxed view of time. It is common to be late or for meetings and other events to run over time.

Time is viewed in a loose sense. There are many words for “immediately” and “now”, but even that usually means “within the next 20 minutes”. Buses are rarely on time, and it is important to remember that they will eventually come; they’ll just be late. Macedonians generally stay up quite late and may socialize into the later hours of the night. It is not necessary to tip restaurants or service people in North Macedonia. 

Take off your shoes before entering someone’s home. Expect tea or coffee (it is very common to be offered with Turkish coffee) to be offered when at someone’s house. Accept these refreshments even if you do not drink them all. If a Macedonian has invited you to their house for a meal, they rarely expect visitors to contribute to the food. It is expected the invitation involves their offer to provide everything served. Sometimes, Macedonians may serve ‘mezze’ instead of a full meal. This is a selection of small dishes that accompany alcoholic drinks. The dishes will be paired to match the alcohol served. For example, salad is meant to be the accompaniment to hard spirits.