When traveling I often find things out the hard way. Like when we were in Italy taking photos of a front store window in Cinque Terre. My friend is an audiologist and thought a pair of earrings looked a lot like cochleaes, (inner ear thingies,) and wanted me to take a photo of them for her. Just then a little Italian woman came out in a rage, spouting words we did not understand but the meaning was very clear. We did not have permission to photograph her merchandise.

The rest of the trip my gut propelled me to ask permission whenever we were photographing people and places. What I didn’t realize was that in doing this most people were happy to participate. Sometimes they thought I was from a magazine and would grab my arm, take me into the kitchen, introduce me to the chef, and hold up the fish, caught that morning, for a photo. It was incredible!

This was over 10 years ago and is now my practice. On a trip to Indonesia last November, I was strolling through the streets one morning and saw this lovely woman walking towards me. She was dressed beautifully with this rugged basket balanced on her head. It was only her an I on the street and if I wanted a photo, I told myself, I needed to ask permission. As I pointed to my camera and then pointed to her with my english words rattling off and my humble head and shoulders lowering to her in my plead for a photo – she, ever so subtly nodded an approval. She did not smile during the six shots I fired off. However, after the photos were taken, she approached me and pointed at the camera indicating she wanted to see what I had taken. When I showed her, that’s when she smiled.

Showing manners in a foreign country shows the world that Americans are kind and appreciative. A lesson for us all.