Don't act like a poor niave sole, or else you'll get mugged. Try and blend it.
Try and shed your North American attitudes and prejudices and learn to accept and appreciate other cultures for what they are, not what you think they should be. Too often, I catch North Americans scuffing that "oh back at home, we do it this way and its better" and think how they do things is stupid because we do it different. I think thats the best advice I could give to any traveller.