How do I avoid making a cultural faux pas?
You won’t. It is impossible to know the nuances of every culture. You can prepare by reading the cultural sections in travel guidebooks such as Fodor’s Online, Frommer’s Online, and Lonely Planet Online. You will also take cues from the locals around you. We learned the art of eating with our hands in Zimbabwe by watching. (There was no silverware on the table, so we had no choice but to watch). We had to re-learn this particular skill in India, where the technique is very different. If the locals take their shoes off before entering a temple, so do you. Despite our best efforts, we have accidentally made obscene gestures, botched introductions, stumbled on political issues, and bumbled the language so badly that one poor man in a hot springs in Kyoto thought Clint said that he had small genitalia. Most mistakes are recoverable, and people are very understanding, but we never saw that particular Japanese gentleman again.
