Learn a few ordinary courtesies before expecting strangers to make you comfortable.

Arriving somewhere unfamiliar and expecting the place to adapt puts all the effort onto strangers who owe you nothing. A greeting, a thank you, knowing how to queue or where to leave your shoes: these cost an evening to learn and alter every interaction of the trip. They mark you as someone who considers themselves a guest. Warmth is given freely to people who are visibly trying.

Before your next trip, learn six phrases and two customs. Use them badly and often. Nobody minds a poor accent, and the attempt itself is the part that gets read.