Many of the Western teachers have trained extensively in the east. As well, the ordained who come here from the East find that they need to accomodate their methods to the cultural differences. Buddhism has, as have most other traditions, migrated over the centuries to a variety of cultures and has evolved in accordance with the lives of the people it touches. It’s movement into the west is no different.
I’d be surprised if the Buddhists you’ll encounter in the countries you’re visiting would regard your interest in that way.
You’ve expressed an interest in studying the subject some, so that you’ll feel better prepared to understand the cultures of the places you’re visiting. That’s wise, it’ll no doubt enhance your experience. However, you might want to keep in mind that Buddhism’s primarily about practice, it’s doing rather than believing. Belief is something that Buddhist practitioners may use at the earlier stages of the path for inspiration and motivation (like a belief in the truth of the Buddha’s enlightenment, for example), but the practice itself is designed to help one recognize the illsory nature of belief and to progress to a point where illusion falls away. This is what distinguishes it from the Abrahamic religions and why, in fact, some don’t consider it to be a religion in the strictest sense of the word. My point in noting this is that because it is practice-based, it makes sense for you to familiarize yourself with the different ways that it’s practiced. On the other hand, the fundamentals are always the same, the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, the precepts and paramitas (the ethics or values). A basic understanding of these would be helpful as you look at the various traditions, with their distinct rituals and iconography and methods of teaching, all of which are naturally influenced by each tradition’s country of origin (Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Tibetan, Southeast Asian).
Another reason I’m noting the ‘practice’ emphasis arises from my own experience. After many years, my emphasis on the ‘sacred’ in terms of all the bells and whistles is much less (although when I’m in community with other Buddhists, I find meaning in doing it) and has become much more about understanding and freeing my mind and also about being engaged practically as best I can to help reduce suffering in the world around me. So if one approaches Buddhism only in terms of gaining an intellectual understanding, chances are he’ll get frustrated. Eventually, he’ll hit the wall by encountering the paradoxical nature of existence. This is the human condition, it’s certainly not limited to Buddhist experience. I practice as I do because the Buddha offered what works for me as a practical means of understanding life. But those means are meditation and mindfulness. It’s part and parcel of it, reading, study and reflection isn’t enough. This is, IMO, one of the great challenges for us Westerners, because our philosophical traditions are based on intellect as the means of resolving the Big Questions. We think dualistically, even when it comes to the opposite poles of ‘logic’ versus ‘religious belief’. When I referred to Eastern teachers accomodating us, this is a barrier that they often mention.
It’s certainly not for everyone. I’m mentioning it so that you’ll have some sense of what underlies the rituals and symbols that you encounter, it’s the unseen inner landscape. One of the fundamental aspects of practice is that it allows a deep look at our attachments (including to ideas like logic and philosophy, for example) and leads to a better understanding of what that’s about. We learn about attachment and how it causes suffering, so the thing or the person or the idea attached to isn’t as important. One doesn’t ‘give up’ things out of some sense of righteousness or morality of self conquering, we simply let go of attachment to things as understanding deepens. The things don’t go anywhere, we see them differently, with improved clarity. And this detachment doesn’t mean that one no longer feels emotions, it’s instead about the mind becoming broader or more vast, in a sense, so that destructive emotional swings are diffused and there’s more of a sense of equanimity and perspective.
For what it’s worth… 
The dualism is another one of the primary reasons I won’t become a Buddhist. 
“Loser… Looooser…”