A Guide On How To Not Be A Dick

“A room without books is like a
body without a soul.”
Cicero

ABOUT THE BOOK ABOUT THE AUTHOR

‘A guide on how to not be a Jay Klaithin, Linda Tran, Mitchell
dick,’ is an educational e-book Hockings, and Vincent Shou are
with a comedic undertone a group of young, ambitious
on what YOU should not be students from SAE Sydney who
doing overseas. Filled to the are cheerful and easy-going.
brim with colourful pages and Plans of taking over the world,
accurate taboos from Asians one taboo at a time.
and Australians themselves,
you can guarantee you’ll pass
with flying colours after reading
through this.

A little respect goes a long way
after all.

2

TABLE OF 04 FASHION/CLOTHING
08 FOOD
CONTENTS 12 ETIQUETTES
18 SYMBOLS &

REPRESENTATIONS

22 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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EASTERN

GIFTS - FOOTWEAR

It is believed that if you give your loved
ones a pair of shoes, such as boyfriends,
close friends, family members, they
will leave you someday. Thus, upon
receiving this kind of gift, Koreans
will often give you back a small sum
of money as an exchange to avoid
that belief from becoming a reality.

WEDDING ATTIRE

Avoid wearing red to an Asian wedding,
specifically Chinese and/or Vietnamese
as red is the colour worn often by
the bride and groom. Avoid black as
well as it is considered bad luck to
the newlyweds. Please note that this
only applies to traditional weddings.

GIFTS - CLOCK/WATCH

Giving a clock or watch as a gift is often
considered inappropriate, because “to
send a clock/watch” sounds like “the
funeral ritual” in Chinese culture.

6

WESTERN

WEDDING ATTIRE

For European/Australian culture, white
is often worn by the bride. This tradition
dates back to over 2000 years ago
when brides wore a white tunic. The
colour symbolises purity and chastity
so guests should not be wearing
white, it is seen as competing with
the bride or opposing the wedding.

GIFTS - WALLET

It is believed that if you want to gift
someone a wallet, you should put
money inside of it. It can easily be just
a small coin, this is to ensure that the
receiver’s wallet will never be empty.

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FOO

OD

EASTERN

CHINA - FISH

One should not fish during the Chinese
New Year due to the fact that the
pronunciation of ‘fish’ sounds extremely
similar to ‘surplus’ and ‘fortune.’ However,
you are more than welcome to eat fish
as it is an indispensable dish on New
Years and is believed to bring good
fortune and luck to you and your family,
just make sure that you do not turn the
fish on the other side after finishing as
this is unlucky.

INDIA - BEEF

In India the cow is a sacred animal
and is not eaten by those that practice
Hinduism. They believe that cows are
God’s gift to mankind since they produce
dairy products and are also the basis to
many other foods.

10

Australia - DRINKS

When you are with a group of people
at a bar, pub or club, it is customary to
buy each other rounds of drinks, this is
to make sure that you have contributed
a part of yourself to the event.

JEWS - PORK

In the Jewish religion it is not acceptable
to eat pork (and crab), according to
the bible the requirements for animals
that they can eat must be of those that
has split hooves and chew their cuds,
while pigs do have split hooves, they do
not chew their cuds hence considered
‘unclean.’

WESTERN

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TABLE MANNERS

Chopsticks should not be placed vertically
into your bowl of food, this is a strong taboo
in Japan since they believed that it would
bring bad luck. For Vietnam, this is used to
consecrate food to the dead. In relation to
the previous point, various asian cultures
consider it rude to begin eating before the
elders have - it is an assumed gesture to
wait for the elders to pick up their utensils
and eat their first bite before proceeding
to eat.

EAST

Temple MANNERS

Don’t wear your shoes into a temple
where a Buddha statue is kept – it is not
appropriate.

14

CHILDREN

Koreans may get really upset if they find
out that someone is leaping at their child’s
body, because it is believed it will limit the
child’s growth.

TERN

NAIL CLIPPINGS

While Filipinos believe that cutting your
nails or toenails at night will bring a death
in the family, Chinese superstition claims
that cutting nails at night will bring ghosts
and evil spirits.

TABle MANNERS

It is considered disrespectful to put your
elbows on the table - this stems from
medieval times, when tables stood on one
leg, and places your elbows on the table
caused it to tilt to one side

WEST

WEALTH

It is considered taboo to ask someone
about questions related to money, such
as how much they earn, as it can be seen
as you looking down upon them or trying
to use them for their wealth.

CHURCH MANNERS

As a form of respect, you should be
properly dressed, for example, no slippers,
shorts, covered shoulders and skin, etc. It
is a taboo if you don’t cover your arms,
legs and midriff when entering church’s
premises, especially in Italy.

TERN

SHOPKEEPER

Greet shopkeepers when you enter and
leave the store, it is considered cold and
rude in many European countries if you
do not do this.

17





NUMBER TABOOS EASTERN

Number 4 sounds like the word for
Death, so number 4 is avoided in
Chinese culture.
Number 8 is a lucky number in
Most East Asian culture, but it is
an inauspicious number in indian
culture.

COLOUR TABOO

In East Asian Countries, especially
in Korea and Chinese it is
inappropriate to write people’s
names in Red, which implies a
negative wish on their health and
well-being.

20

WESTERN NUMBER TABOOS

The number 666 is considered the
number of the beast/devil and
is often frowned upon. 14 is not
double luck 13 is considered unlucky
whereas 7 is considered lucky,
however 14 does not equal double
luck.

SYMBOL TABOOS

Anything that features a prominent
Swastika is an absolute taboo,
whether it is for educational
purposes or not. Also anything to do
with Mustashio.

DEATH TABOOS

In Aboriginal culture it is traditional
to not show images or voices of a
Aboriginal person who has passed
away recently, as well as speaking
that person’s name.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

EXTRA RESEARCH/FACT CHECKING

Food Taboos, Loren Gordon, 2014
- https://www.thedailymeal.com/entertain/10-food-
taboos-around-world-slideshow/slide-9

Wallet Taboos, Watson & Wolfie, 2020
- https://www.watsonwolfe.com/2020/04/18/
why-a-wallet-makes-a-perfect-gift-for-a-
man/#:~:text=When%20giving%20the%20gift%20
of,wallet%20will%20never%20be%20empty

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ICONS USED

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