Let me state it again, maybe more clearly
Depending on where you are, you can fly with your FAA certificate
You will have to ask a flight instructor, or better yet the CAA for the country you are in.
In the UK, your FAA certificate gives you PPL priveledges on any plane that you are rated for.
If you have anything other than a plane old FAA PPL certificate, you can't necessarily exercise all the priveledges you have in the US, and it may require a conversion.
I don't know what country you're in, so I can't (and no-one can) answer specifically whether or not you can use your FAA certificate.
In Namibia, you can not, you must get a conversion, unless it's an N-reg plane. I believe it's the same for Botswana, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, and many other African countries.
In most countries you must get a 'rating' for every make/model of aircraft - that means a rating for a C152, a rating for a C172 and a rating for a C182, as opposed to in the US a rating for anything over 12,500 lbs (I think that's the cuttoff). However for an N-reg plane, the ratings don't apply if you have an FAA certificate.
In many countries, you have to have a radio license unless you're using an FAA cert on an N-reg plane.
In some countries you have to have a night rating, unless you're on an FAA cert with an N-reg plane.
You will have to contact the local authorities to know what the requirements are in the country you are in.
Last edited by darkroomsource; 21st Dec 2012 at 10:28.