I normally end up in a McDonalds at least once and it's normally when very hung over. I have yet to be in a country without seeing a McDonalds but I never saw a Starbucks in Serbia but I guess there would be a couple in Belgrade.

I'm in Belgrade now and have been for over 6 months... no Starbucks.  THey have Costa Coffee here.  But they still aren't extremely popular since they are over priced considering ALL of the cafes and coffees bars they have here.  They prefer the domestic side of things. 

Great advice Emma!!!

I have no idea, It turns out I won a cheeseburger and a Tehbotol (Jasmine Green Tea). Pretty weird, they confirmed my order then said you have won those things. I was just OK, no questions! haha

Oh my god - I miss that!  In Egypt it was the same!  (gets a bit embarrassing when they know your voice when you phone up hey?!!  Wow - how did you win a cheese burger?

Just read down through the posts, seems to be a Maccy D's theme going on! Well, I just ordered a McD's....Yes they deliver here in Indonesia 24/7 can't beat that when you're hungry late at night or early in the morning (3:30am here atm). It also appears on the phone I won a cheeseburger! gotta rush, I think I can hear the delivery bike approaching!

Love it! Of course you did miss out one vital place to meet other TEFLers abroad. Here on Chalkboard, I've already hooked up with one other chalkboarder who came to Indonesia and I'm planning to meet another in the next week or so!

But in you're advice the number one for Indonesia is telling students you don't know what to eat, Older students will almost always invite you out after class (especially if its the last class of the day) to eat at the local eatery! This is the best way to meet new friends and try new and amazing foods!

In Ecuador I've found that people are really big on family, so it's been easy for me there so far.  If I go back now, though, I'll be miles from them, so my Spanish learning curve will just have to get a bit steeper!  I keep having to remind myself that Ecuador is not Andalucia, where I leaned Spanish, so I have to try to pronounce 's' and turn 'll' into a soft 'j'.  Otherwise nobody understands a word I say!

Hey Emma, I wasn't trying to disagree with you!  Just adding my experience.  I've found Brits are useful for anything from buying your car so you can fly home from Europe, to comforting you when your dad's on his last legs.  But if you don't make friends with some locals then you haven't experienced a country properly in my opinion.

Alix - I've always taken comfort from having fellow Brits/English speakers around me .... I'm trying to say that if you want to make local friends then make time to do it.  It can take more effort in some countries than others, but it's do-able.

Katie, I completely agree...learning at least a few phrases should be on my list too..how could I have missed that?  We need to get away from the stereotype of English speakers being lazy language learners!

I agree with Emma that the big things are SMILE, be approachable and chat to everyone. Having long blonde hair and travelling through Asia extensively i have got used to people stopping me to ask to touch my hair to see if its real.... sure is a great icebreaker to get chatting!!!!! i also find that walking the same route each day for a while a good opportunity to get talking....ppl start to get used to you and suddenly you find yourself getting a friendly hello each morning.

I always try and learn a few key phrases in the local language which seems too be appreciated - even when I completely butcher the pronunciation!!!! In Vietnam I had some of the locals in fits of laughter as
I tried to master the different pronunciations particularly as (like chinese) the emphasis can totally change the meaning of a word!!!!!

Please don't get me wrong, I like to explore everywhere, and the worst things in the world for me are Muckdonalds and chips!  I just mean that it doesn't do to get sniffy about other Brits, you might need them one day!  When I'm in Spain I despair that all my Brit mates just hang out together and don't mix socially with Spanish people, who are lovely and warm and have great food.  In Northern Europe I usually seek out the immigrant areas where they have really good food for cheap.  A lot of people are so surprised to find Brits talking to them that they warm to you immediately!

The film was so so, it was a bit too extreme. The Book was much better as it was his day to day life. Very funny and would recommend it (it's my feel good book I always travel with).