[nmap]

Respected Sirs;

It is my understanding that part of the SF mission involves going into communities and establishing rapport with the local population; in fact, the Robin Sage exercise appears to include elements of such training.

Of course, I would not have a need for the more advanced material you would know and use. I don't need to recruit anyone to do anything, for example. The information I would want would be more akin to where the best place to eat might be located than anything more controversial. However, if there are basic pointers you could share about establishing friendly rapport with people in a new community, I would very much like to learn more.

I've looked through the various forums, and tried the search button to find material on this subject, but haven't come across a good match. The thread titled "...to Thrive In Ambiguous Environments..." borders on the issue, but deals with an SF team interacting with local military personnel and the indigenous population - which clearly is beyond the scope of what I need to know. The Reaper's article about Robin Sage was very informative (and pleasant reading), but, again, beyond the scope of what I need. Parts of “The Ugly American (Advisor)” give some excellent hints - but I don't need to worry about the level of challenges addressed in the posting.

If possible, I would like to consider two scenarios.

1) I live in San Antonio, Texas. It is a pleasant city in many ways; but if I went to a smaller community, perhaps in some different state, I would want to avoid annoying the residents, and gain cooperation in the various things one might need to do in a new hometown. My accent - clearly Texan - would label me as an outsider in some locales. My behaviors might not fit into a more rural area; or, for that matter, different urban areas. Indeed, even being a Texan might not go over well in some states. There is one small community where the locals have regarded a person of my acquaintance as a “foreigner”, even though his family moved there when he was one year old. He's now 73...

So, any pointers about what I should and shouldn't do?

2) Suppose I decided to take a vacation - say, 2 or 3 months - in a (relatively) friendly, peaceful country - perhaps Mexico or some other Western hemisphere nation. Perhaps some place in Europe. I'm not looking for specifics, since the location is undefined; but, if there are generalities, I would like to know more. What should I do (or not do) so that I could fit in reasonably well? Is fluency in the local language mandatory? What level of familiarity would I need with local culture, history, and religion?

If there were books or other information, any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.