Strange and Confusing Alien Customs (part 1)

If you've ever traveled to a foreign country, or have been around someone long enough from a foreign country, you're bound to come across at least a few customs that seem odd to you. As an American, you may at first be put-off by someone who enters your house and immediately proceeds to remove his shoes. From an American perspective, most of us are probably thinking, “Gross! I don't want to smell your feet, put those shoes back on!” Yet in other cultures, it is considered rude to walk through a clean house with the dirty shoes you've worn all over the place, including upon the floors of dirty public bathrooms, so why would you want those same shoes treading upon your the clean floors of your home? Another tradition I encountered that struck me as a little odd was when a Korean friend brought me a housewarming gift of toilet paper and laundry detergent. I didn't know quite what to say, and acted appreciative, but later learned that Koreans consider the bubbles produced by detergent as good luck, and back when Korea was a poor, toilet paper and detergent were considered pricey items. These cultural differences are minor, though, compared to some of the more extreme traditions of the aliens in Solar Echoes. Imagine what a different culture from another planet would be like, and then add on top of that the various physiological differences and requirements of an alien species. This week, we'll discuss what you might be able to expect if one of these aliens comes to visit you at home!