Today, I thought you were a moron. Tomorrow I will think the same.

happened to me last year on labor day...

You know that they changed YDI to TCHTM, right?

You do know that YDI (You Deserved It) is now TCHTM (This Could've Happened To Me)?

F his life, really

You should learn the cultures and customs of a country that you are going to visit.

Maybe a heartfelt apology ??? Well you made a mistake and cannot take it back!

This sounds like one of the 200 or so (I forget the exact amount) rules Buddhist monks take. Some of them sound very strange. For example, they have rules for how to eat curry and a rule that states you should pour water on grass rather than in stone.

You cannot blame someone for not knowing everything about every single other religion and culture of the world. Just because OP didn't know that this in particular is a rule, doesn't mean they think everywhere else in the world is the same as their home. I know that certain religions and cultures have very strict rules when it comes to interpersonal relationships, especially with the opposite gender, but I wouldn't even think twice about not sitting next to someone, or for instance how in Hindu culture/religion, a single woman is not supposed to be seen talking to a single man in public who she's not related to, but I wouldn't think twice about it if I didn't know that.

A lot of religions are like that, unfortunately. Even Christianity. Or, shall I saw, the Old Testament. Gentiles are not held to the old rules, but originally women were ritually impure when on their periods, when pregnant, when giving birth... Some native cultures didn't allow women to sleep in their marriage beds while on their periods... Some Indian (continent) faiths make a woman so impure that she is to commit suicide upon the death of her husband because she's untouchable as a spoiled virgin without a husband.

I highly doubt it's something like that, it might have been more on his side, like maybe he isn't allowed to get to close to a woman for a week or something

It's about not allowing any chances for the weakness of the flesh to tempt him in any way. It's not about whether or not they view women as filthy, they just understand the weakness of men and created rules that would help reduce those problems. I'd probably be able to guess the reason for the rule better if I knew the religious sect this monk belonged to.