Traveling to another country is often very exciting and fun; however, it can often be followed by culture shock. There are so many different people and traditions in the world that it's not surprising they often catch us off guard. Some countries are more introverted and people there keep to themselves, while in other cultures it's often normal to say 'hello' and smile at strangers.
With this in mind, some online users asked others to share the weirdest and most shocking differences they noticed in cultures, and many chimed in to share. We have gathered answers from many threads, and here are some of the best ones. If you have anything to share, make sure to do so in the comments down below.
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As a Swede, people here are in general pretty good at not interacting with strangers, looking out for themselves etc.
I was in Thailand during the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake/tsunami, and in the aftermath, holy f**k -- so many Thai people were always helping me and my family, making sure we were well fed, had dry and not too dirty clothes to wear, helped us locate each other as we had gotten separated.
I will NEVER forget how amazed I was. It was neither my first nor my last trip there, but the fact that they were so kind and thoughtful and selfless even during a time of crisis, it showed the world to me and it has given me a permanent faith in humanity.
We spoke to Dr. Gleb Tsipursky about culture shock and he had lots of great facts to share: "Culture shock is a phenomenon that individuals often experience when they are suddenly immersed in a culture that is different from their own. It's a natural response to the unfamiliar, a reaction to being out of our comfort zone. It's akin to being a fish out of water, where everything you've known and understood about social interactions, behaviors, and norms is suddenly turned on its head."
I'm Black British, but I never felt my race mattered until I went to America.
When a large Maori man asked to touch noses with me in greeting. The dude looked pissed until I manned up and was the first to touch noses. Then he had one of the best smiles I've ever seen on a mountain of a man. It lit up the entire cultural center.
I am Māori and this is hilarious. Touching noses in greeting is called a hongi.
Dr. Gleb Tsipursky continued on why people experience culture shock in the first place: "People experience culture shock because our brains are wired to seek familiarity and comfort. When we are thrust into a new environment where the language, customs, social norms, and even the food are different, it can be disorienting and stressful. This sudden change can cause anxiety, confusion, and even feelings of isolation."
Moving from war-torn Chechnya to Brooklyn, NY.
I never really understood that life was more than death, that it actually had a purpose.
I never understood that people live their whole entire lives in relative peace and prosperity, simply going to their day jobs all day and partying and drinking all night, without a care in the world.
I lived in Grozny as it burned to the ground in the 1990s, my mother was killed and my sister was horrifically injured, and I spent my time as a homeless 10 year old attempting to survive and somehow get food.
I am so sorry to hear about your horrible childhood in a war torn country. Wishing you all the best in life.
Mine was also in Japan.
I was walking down a main street in Kyoto on a sunny summer day. Up ahead I see a police car and a policeman and a long folding table on the sidewalk. As I approached, I saw the policeman was flagging down certain drivers with his gloved hand. The drivers pulled over, quietly got out of their cars and calmly took a folding chair at the table.
The police officer produced paper work for the drivers to sign. They each read the paper and signed it and bowed respectfully to the cop. Then they got in their cars and drove away. I watched for a while longer and realized these drivers were being pulled over for traffic infractions. There were cops blocks ahead checking speed, then radioing the cop at the table with descriptions and instructions.
I could not belive it. I kept think about how this might work in America. Every single driver would be screaming in protest. "This is b******t! I wasn't speeding! I'm not gonna sign this! This is B******T!" Blah blah blah.
But the Japanese? They knew they screwed up and meekly and respectfully took their punishment (a small fine). That, my friends, was culture shock. It was even weirder than all the weirdness I saw in Tokyo. And there was a lot of weirdness in Tokyo.
if you did that screaming in protest thing in usa to a cop while african-american I seriously doubt you'd live through the ordeal, sorry to say.
Dr. Gleb Tsipursky also shared some tips and tricks: "For those experiencing culture shock, I would recommend the following: First, do your research. Understand as much as you can about the new culture before you immerse yourself in it. Second, keep an open mind. Different doesn't mean wrong, and there's often much to learn from other ways of life. Third, find a support network. This could be people who are going through the same experience or locals who are willing to help you navigate the new environment. Lastly, take care of your mental health. It's okay to feel overwhelmed, and it's important to acknowledge these feelings and seek help if needed."
I grew up in Japan and moved to the U.S. when I was 9.
Before we moved, I'd only learned about the U.S. from what was on TV so I imagined it was this awesome suburban utopia where everyone was nice and all the houses had huge lawns and school was super clean and awesome. I had so much to look forward to and you could imagine how excited I was to move to the greatest country in the world.
But we moved to Alabama
I am from south-central Texas. Until I was 24, I had never left the state.
Anyway, I get to Las Vegas (of all places) and *Oh my f*****g god, my entire family is disgustingly obese. We should be embarrassed.* Seriously, I am not sure if some sort of convention was going on, but holy cow, everyone was *tiny* compared to us.
Anyway, I got home, felt like s**t and lost 40-ish pounds.
**EDIT:** Whoa. My highest rated comment ever and it's, of all things, about how I used to be a whale.
Overweight people are still people. I find it so bizarre when those that have lost weight refer to their former selves as less than human.
"Culture shock can be both a good and a bad thing. On the one hand, it can be stressful and challenging. On the other hand, it can be a powerful catalyst for personal growth. It forces us to question our assumptions, adapt to new environments, and develop a deeper understanding of the world. So while it can be uncomfortable, it's often an invaluable part of the journey of exploring new cultures," continued Dr. Gleb Tsipursky.
In University, in London, I went to the communal kitchen in just a pair of shorts. When I entered a female Muslim floor-mate started screaming like crazy and ran out. I felt awful.
Until she came back a minute later with her headscarf and started *profusely* apologizing for not wearing it in the first place. I'm standing there mostly naked as she apologized for being rude for thinking she could just hop across the hall and make some food in a few minutes without her headscarf on, and how she should have known better.
Once, she let me in her room, just the two of us, though the door stayed open. We talked about our culture and the differences (we'd bonded a bit over the headscarf thing). That was super, super racy for her and I appreciated what it meant for her (very friendly, very open, very progressive).
In Japan, the level of trust is incredible.
I went to a convenience store with no staff. You simply pick your items, drop your cash into a box, and get your change. There is an open box of money in the middle of the store.
In parts of rural Germany, this is a common thing at farms for low cost produce like potatoes - take a sack, leave some money. But the money/trust thing that impressed me the most was a thing I once experienced in southern Turkey: I went on a completely stuffed bus, did only fit in with a bit of force, and, without any real hope of it arriving, pressed a small note into the hand of the person next to me (Like: Hey, at least I try to pay...). About twenty minutes later (did I mention the bus was completely stuffed far over capacity?) another passenger handed me exact change for the fare, after it had gone through at least fifty hands - and everyone seemed to think this was completely normal. I am quite sure my about 50 cents of change would have disappeared everywhere else.
Dr. Gleb Tsipursky also shared a bit about his personal experience of culture shock: "As a globally recognized expert in behavioral science, I've had the opportunity to travel and work in various cultural contexts. One of my most vivid experiences of culture shock was when I first visited Hungary for a research project. The social norms were different - the directness of communication, the importance of tradition, and the strong sense of national pride were all new to me. At first, it was disorienting and even a bit overwhelming. However, as I spent more time there, I began to understand and appreciate these differences. I learned to communicate effectively, to respect and appreciate the traditions. It was a challenging but ultimately enriching experience that underscored for me the importance of adaptability and open-mindedness when encountering new cultures."
Originally from India, went to Finland on student exchange. First night there, I'm at a party and everyone is going to a sauna. I'm prepared with my bathing suit and all, and then bam - find myself in a mixed gendered sauna, with all the people I've been hanging out with all evening, butt naked.
Then after 30 minutes of sweating, they all went rolling naked in the snow. Took me a while to deal with it, and finally get my swimsuit off.
Grew up in a small town in the Midwest. My highschool had zero dropouts, pregnancies, arrests, etc. I never even saw drugs.
Then I get hired as a cop in a ghetto area of a big city in Florida. Blew my mind.
Moved back home 8 years later. Best decision ever.
TL; DR: FLORIDIANS ARE BAT S**T INSANE
In India, they do this head-bob that's part nod, part head shake. After 3 months of living there I still had trouble deciphering it. Sometimes it means yes, sometimes it means no, and sometimes it means "I don't have enough information to give you a reasonable answer at this time."
The Indian head-bob is the magic 8-ball of nonverbal communication.
At my first visit it took me 45 min to find the womens toilet at Delhi airport because of this bobble everytime I asked if I coud use it they said "no". Can't wait to visit for 5th time in september!
I stepped off of an airplane in Japan and was suddenly, utterly, illiterate.
It helps to keep one humble. Also, it makes one far more empathetic to visitors and emigres in our own countries.
When I joined the military. During basic training I learned a lot of things from my own country that didn't cross my mind. For instance, being from a good area from the northeast, I didn't think racism waa as present as it really is in some parts of the country. It really threw me through a loop.
My father and I went to japan on a business trip, and we went to some fancy restaurant. Our waiter was extremely polite and very attentive so my dad left a generous tip for him. After the waiter saw the tip he threw a fit, and I mean he really did he started screaming randomly at what appeared to be the manager, and other workers. Apparently he took it as a sign of disrespect because he thinks we thought he was extremely poor, and left him the tip to help him out with his "troubles" needless to say never tipped in Japan again..
I spent most of my life in big cities. I moved to a small town in rural Ohio for 3 years for a job. (just outside Amish country)
Billboards EVERYWHERE saying that I am going to hell or the true worship day is Saturday and Satan changed it to Sunday.
When I was a kid we didn't have a lot of money, but my parents worked hard to give me the best life they could.
I remember one weekend, when I was about 7, my dad had gotten an odd job to help this guy with some landscaping and to clear out some old furniture. My mom was working and we couldn't find anyone to watch me, so he brought me along, because the guy had a two kids I could play with.
When we got there I couldn't believe how big the house and property were. We had recently moved out of a basement apartment and into a house, which I thought was huge, but their house was at least twice the size and they had a giant lawn, a swimming pool, and a tennis court.
I had never seen anything like it, aside from TV shows and movies, so it felt a bit surreal. The family was really nice though and I had fun playing with his kids. I remember as I was leaving he gave me a baseball, which I still have to this day.
From California, visited the south..... Racism, so much racism. Also really great barbecue,
I was teaching a class in South Carolina (I live in Minnesota) and sat down to eat lunch with all the guys I was teaching. Took a bite of my sandwich and noticed no one else was eating yet. I paused for a minute and one of them piped in that they were ready to say grace. I had never experienced group prayer before lunch, especially in the workplace. Definitely a shock for me.
American university campus culture.
Compared to Canada, people are simply WAY more excited about absolutely every little minute aspect of their school - especially sports teams, fraternities and sororities. Back home, people simply did not give a s**t about any of those to nearly the same degree - you go to class, hang out with friends, maybe catch a game if you're bored and there's nothing better to do, but it's really not a big deal. Being a varsity athlete in the USA made you like a god, being a varsity athlete in Canada makes you annoying if you bring it up too often in conversation.
It was like hanging around some church that you're not a member of. Everyone would dress the same, do the same things, chant things and get extremely worked up about stuff that means absolutely nothing to you. Also, the classes were way easier, which I suppose gives a lot more free time for those other activities. I can't even count the amount of times I spent exchanging awkward glances with the other international students expressing feelings of "are these people serious?".
Edit: Also, Legacy admissions are a thing in the states. Seriously, what in the name of f**k? How can anyone justify putting up with that b******t going on in schools?
Moving to Bulgaria from England. In Bulgaria shaking your head means "yes" and nodding means "no". You don't even realise how hard it is to reverse a lifelong habit until you try, it's really disconcerting. (Also, if you screw up you look crazy, imagine asking someone if they want a bag for that and having them nod at you while saying "no".)
Edit: I hate repeating words.
In Chinese tradition, it is rude to slurp your soup
In Japanese tradition, it is polite to slurp your soup
Im Chinese that came across Japanese friend slurping soup, soo things got pretty strange until I asked him about it and he explained
in america, strangers smile at you when you make eye contact. back in my country, you'd get beaten up.
I lived in London most of my life. People there don't really smile or make eye contact. I moved to the north of England. Nearly everyone that walks past you will say good morning/afternoon & give a nod and a smile.
Went on vacation to an East Africa with my wife, who is East African. I was out an about in town and dudes were glaring pretty bad at us. It was usually me, my wife, and her female cousin in the car.
When we went to the market guys were yelling into the car rude stuff and my cousin actually looked shocked and sad "It was **untranslatable!.** My wife basically told me that the people thought I was on a sex vacation.
We also went to drop off some beans and rice to their grandmother and when it came time I lifted the 50 kilo bag (about 110 pounds) and through it on my shoulder everyone burst out laughing because Mzungo (white men) don't work around those parts and because, given the stature of the people (most of the men are like 5'6 and I am 6'1) it was quite the act of strength.
And there was the one time a poor drunk woman kneeled before me babeling and grabbed my hand and rubbed in against her face. When I asked what is going on my wife said she may have never seen a white person (we were well away from tourist locations) in person and was trying to touch my white skin.
Born in Korea, moved to US when I was 6. Realized pizza and hamburgers and hotdogs aren't the only things Americans eat.
Oh yeah. Chicken McNuggets, cheese in a spray can, APPLE PIE...
Coming back to the UK after 8 years. So many high functioning alcoholics. I thought that was just a high school and uni thing. Nope.
As a high functioning alcoholic man from the UK, I agree with this. But always remember that alcoholism is an illness, but it's an illness you will get yelled at for having. Don't look at alcoholics with disgust, but with kindness. And people will suprise you. And yes, I am in therapy.
As a British person I once went to France and when I ordered tea they gave me some sort of Lipton monstrosity with lemon instead of milk!
Of course, I was straight back on the nearest ferry home.
When I first moved to Ohio, I was in a convenience store buying a drink and I asked to buy some stamps.
The lady behind the counter said "Please."
I responded, "... may I buy some stamps, please?"
She looked really confused and sold me the stamps. Apparently in this town when someone does not hear you they say "please" and you are suppose to repeat yourself. I thought you just had to be super nice to people at all times.
Edit: Because people are asking, this is in Cincinnati. I hear it all the time.
Edit 2: Because people are asking, the reason she was confused is because the first time I mumbled, "Can I have some stamps" and the second time I mumbled "Can I have some stamps, **please**" with a massive emphasis on the please. She was confused at why I was being so forcefully nice all of a sudden.
In New England, it's either, "I'm sorry?" or, "Excuse me?" However, the latter, if spoken in an aggressive, sarcastic tone, will not mean, "I didn't hear you." It'll mean, "WTF did you just say to me?!"
When I went to Germany it was weird that girls were like getting away from me when we greeted. In Latin America, you greet girls with a kiss on the cheek. It's weird, cause I never really considered it a cultural thing until one told me. Before that I started to think, "Jesus, am I THIS ugly over here??"
LOL im eternally doomed to wonder if people are going for one or two kisses on the cheek
While in New Delhi, my boyfriend (Finnish) and I (American) were invited to a New Year's Eve party at a hotel, by the manager of the hotel. It was great - a dozen people, drinks, music, fun. After midnight, people start dancing. A young man comes over and asks my boyfriend to dance. He laughs and declines, saying that he's sure I'd love to dance. So I get up and go to the dance floor with him, and proceed to dance about 2 feet away from him. Not touching, just dancing in front of him pretty much. Everything seems fine.
But it's not. For the rest of the night, people are apologizing to my boyfriend for how he's been insulted. It's so horrific that his woman was treated like that-claimed like meat. People mostly avoided me for the rest of the evening, with the exception of the hotel manager who apologized profusely and actually gave me a Rajasthani puppet that he'd used in a performance earlier in the night - as a token of how sorry he was about my humiliation. We left quickly after that.
The next day, the owner of the hotel sees us on the street. He comes up to us and tells us he heard about the way we were insulted and disrespected at his hotel and how unacceptable it is. We try to explain that it was my fault for not understanding what the dancing meant, but he cut us off. He wanted us to know he'd FIRED the manager for allowing that to happen. We tried to get him to listen to our side but he was having none of it.
TL,DR: I got a man fired and ruined his life because I danced at a party.
Met a Navajo shepherd while hiking in Utah, he didn't speak English. It had never occurred to me that not all Native Americans know English
I've traveled to 50+ countries on six continents, and for me it's never so much that you get culture shock going into things so much as getting out of it. It's the moment where after 4 months in the 3rd world you suddenly fly to Europe and realize you can drink the tap water and gorge on fresh produce without worrying about how it was prepared that always gets to me.
For me though the craziest was flying from Zimbabwe to Johannesburg in 2009 at the height of hyperinflation in Zimbabwe (where I'd terminated several weeks of wandering around southern Africa). At the time you had to take in all your currency to Zimbabwe that you wanted to spend because there was literally no money in the ATMs or at the banks if you wanted to buy something, and many times you just relied on the barter system altogether. The issue was though that even if you *had* the money there at the time more often than not you just couldn't buy what you needed as it literally did not exist- for example we traded an old pair of tennis shoes for what was ~US$150 in souvenirs, and the guy we traded them for was *so* excited because his wife hadn't gotten new shoes in years as the shops literally hadn't had any for a year or two. Hell I couldn't even do my simple souvenir I buy everywhere I go- a postcard- because they just hadn't printed them in years as there was no paper to print them on.
So with that, I fly to Johannesburg (phone calls to Jo'burg to verify the seat as of course there's no computer running, and a mechanical scale) and damn, those few hours waiting in the transit lounge absolutely floored me like nothing else has in many ways. They had ice cream! And sushi! And the Economist! Hell, it was *this week's* Economist instead of a s****y gossip rag from two months ago someone was selling for ten bucks!
TL;DR: I find it's easy to get used to the unusual, but coming back to the normal and realizing what you've adjusted to is what always shocks me.
I've done this with driving. After spending a couple of weeks driving on the "wrong" side of the road, you come back home and find yourself trying to drive on the actual wrong side of the road. You don't realise how much you are conciously making sure you are doing it right whilst you are away, and then you relax when you come home and forget.
"Can I take this beer outside?" "Dude, you're in Germany, of course you can." American me was not prepared for that.
The drinking age difference between the US and the rest of the world is really mind-boggling sometimes.
I'm American, and I spent a semester abroad in Austria, where the drinking age is 16 for beer and 18 for hard liquor. One of the weirdest experiences was being in a bar and seeing a bunch of 16-17 year olds sharing a bucket of sangria and smoking.
Backpacking through Europe with 2 other Brazilian friends in 2010. We were in Berlin and met three really nice girls in our hostel, two Czechs and one American. We chatted up a little during breakfast and, after discussing both our plans we agreed that we'd go on about our days and meet at 8:00pm at this square near the hostel to go out and have drinks or something.
Me and my friends arrive back at the hostel after a day of intense walking, lay down for a bit, take a shower, etc. We left the hostel at 8:00 and arrived at the meeting place at 8:20pm. The girls weren't there. We waited until 9ish and decided to go without them, bummed that they had stood us up.
On the other day, we meet them again at the hostel and it was really awkward, because they were pissed at us and vice-versa. One of the czech girls finally says that they arrived at the square at 7:40 and waited for almost half an hour before leaving. That was when it hit me: we South Americans have a completely different notion of time. For us, arriving 20 minutes after the established time was perfectly ok, but they thought it was rude and left thinking we weren't coming.
Oh, well, after it was settled we had a good laugh and actually went out with them that night. Pretty cool girls.
I'm from Canada, and I visited Germany recently. There wasn't much that really shocked me, except all the nightclubs there are like 4-5 rooms. I'm talking completely separate, without different music and drinks and everything. You would take 3 steps past the entrance, and not be able to hear the music from the previous room anymore, which was an engineering marvel to me. Also, it seemed like button up shirts were somewhat out of style in the parts of Germany I was. The majority of people wore much more relaxed clothing.
Oh, also credit cards are rarely accepted in Germany. I can go weeks without cash in Canada, but I wouldn't have survived even a day without cash in Germany.
While debit is practically accepted everywhere, lots of places will refuse (or at least make a fuss about it) to accept AMEX - because the fees inflicted on the sellers by them are insane here. Acceptance of VISA or Mastercard is much better. But yes, Germany still remains a cash-driven society in some regards. It is a mentality thing like "only money I can see is real money..."
UAE: Abu Dhabi and Dubai
* Dudes hold hands, just being buds holding hands in the mall.
* Falcons are a huge thing, you can take your falcon on the plane if you buy him a ticket and he has his falcon passport. (Not a joke, they actually have falcon passports)
* There are certain people there that if you make eye contact with you can be sent to jail immediately.
* No addresses, "yes can I get a pepperoni pizza" I'm the second building to the left of the huge falcon statue.
* The Burj Khalifa looks like the tower of Mordor.
Three words: "bless her heart". I'm from the midwest, and this blew my mind because people back home, while tactful (if they have manners), are usually pretty straightforward. For the most part, there isn't much beating around the bush and cattiness is reserved for high school girls, so the southern belle culture took some getting used to. It was also a challenge to learn how to disassociate thick drawls with intelligence.
Went from the US to Brazil.
Was incredibly surprised how easy it was to get laid there.
Everyone is so much more open with their sexuality, and it's not strange if they tell you that they think your attractive.
I'm not sure if it's a Brazilian cultural thing, but I do have no problem to compliment people if I want. Never in a flirting way, though, just casually saying it, I think everyone deserves to know if they smell good or if their hair looks nice
India, my parents are Indian but I had never gone until last year. The traffic laws are non existant, you have bikers, pedestrians, bicyclists, rickshaws food carts and cows on roads with no lanes. Yet no one is ever phased by it.
Dude. They are the best drivers. People will be racing about keeping barely centimeters between their vehicles, but these people are unfazed.
Moving from east coast North Carolina to rural Kentucky.
You're not popular if you don't wear camo or drive a truck.
Most people look forward to "taking over the farm" when they grow up
Everyone is f*****g related
I live in Kentucky as well - not a rural part. Our city's Pride festival this year is expecting between 30K and 40K attendees. There are all types here.
Saudi Arabia.
I went when I was a child and we lived there for a while. I actually spoke a bit of it when I was younger. Can't remember a word now (it was 20 years ago).
Women had to be covered head to toe. Hair must never be seen. A woman couldn't drive. A woman couldn't be seen without a man who is related to her. Prayers went off at odd hours of the day.
My mother ruled the house at home and was our driver for the most part. It was strange.
Another story: there was a woman who worked with my dad who was single. According to my parents, Saudi stamped "prostitute" on her passport because of it.
Saudi Arabia is actually working on amending a lot of rules that have been imposed on women. They are allowed to drive now (they would go to Bahrain and learn to drive before 2018), there are no longer strict dress requirements, and there is no mandatory gender segregation. Women no longer need a male guardian to leave the house. Yes, they are behind the times compared to the western world, and maybe they don't have a perfect record for human rights, but at least they are working on moving forward compared to Afghanistan.
I was pretty sure I was the fattest person in Singapore when I went to visit. The women are so tiny. That was interesting. Then, I saw all of the other western tourists at the hotel and I didn't feel so bad. It is amazing the difference in size. I also experienced a distinct lack of personal space. Crammed into places with all sorts of people rubbing up against me. It took some getting used to.
I live in Singapore rn, and it’s because the city is so f-ing crowded that we walk everywhere. at least in the part where i live, (also i can’t afford a car except for my trashy asf Lada that doesn’t get me further than abt a 10 km radius)
I was born and spent the first 18 years of my life in a small town in Texas. The population was around 2000 people and my high school graduating class was 67 people. (And that included 3 towns bussed into my school).
The day I graduated, I joined the Marine Corps and my first duty station (after boot camp) was Camp Pendleton, CA.
The first weekend I was there, a group of us went to LA. I have never been in a town bigger than Lubbock, TX until that point.
Big culture shock.
Going to the US was quite a big shock for me. I had lived all my life in France and had only visited some other places throughout Europe, but living in the US was very strange.
I didn't manage to overcome the cultural barrier and my conversations with locals felt quite artificial and shallow.
Edit: To answer you guys, I didn't mean shallow like we could not talk about super interesting political stuff like the war in Palestine. I meant I had trouble grasping who these people were inside, I didn't feel like they shared enough information or I didn't feel like they opened their true selves. They were just trying to be friendly.
I get this. There is a saying that Americans are like peaches and the French are like coconuts. That is, it's easy to get into the soft exterior of Americans but that's as far as you get, whereas it's a bit more difficult to crack the exterior of a French person, but once you do, it's a close relationship.
I'm a homeschooled Christian. I went to a water park.
EDIT 1:
To the people asking how I even Reddit: I really only go on askreddit.
My family went to Italy a few weeks ago (am American):
After having lunch, we asked our waiter where the bathrooms were. My mom and I had to go pretty bad. We rushed to the bathroom, only to be stopped because you had to PAY to get into the public bathroom! In a restaurant! Granted, not everywhere was like this for the rest of the trip, but this was the first day, so we didn't have too many small bill Euros on us and we were very surprised.
In America, it's a law that if you served consumable stuff, you have to have a public bathroom (no matter how gross it is). The bathroom was very nice, it was just weird to have to use a change machine while doing the peepee dance.
EDIT: Just to clarify, there was a turnstile blocking the stalls, as well as a change machine and bathroom attendant. A few people are speculating we got scammed, but we put the money into the machine, we didn't give it to any person, so I don't think it was a scam, just a semi-public restroom that we probably could have gotten out of paying if we had convinced someone we were restaurant patrons.
I went to Colorado for a week this past winter. I'm from Miami and the daughter of Cuban/Nicaraguan parents. Seeing that many white people in one place was something I had never seen before.
you should try going to Poland. We are quite homogenous (a person of color is 90% a foreigner who came here because of work/studies) and a rather rare sight. Basically 99.5% of population are different types of caucasian.
I'm Mexican, fiance is American(white) her family cooks tortillas in microwave instead of heating them on stove top. Por que!?
American white person here, adopted into a Mexican family at birth. My mother throws her tortillas directly onto the stovetop/flames XD This is the way.
I spent a month in Kazakhstan. I was ok until I had to use a turkish toilet. Also the way people shove to get on trains. I was great the entire time but those two times overwhelmed me.
Moving to Alaska a year and a half ago. I'd met a few Texans, but the love, affinity, and pride Alaskans have about being Alaskan is quite the culture shock. Especially since I'm from Georgia.
I went to Indonesia once and they are so liberal about their smoking laws. Heck, I don't even think a law exists. You'll find children and teenagers who smoke and adults inside the mall or a restaurant.
as long as it's only tabacco. try that with weed and you'll be locked up for life... doesn't matter whether you're local or a tourist.
Cheek kissing in France. I almost headbutted someone trying to do it.
Even in France it can happen. Some regions start with left cheek, some with right. I'm always careful while greeting my daughter's in-laws. Also, in some places the rule is two kisses, in some others it's three, or four. The habit has seriously simmered down since Covid, though.
I'm from the Western United States and I liked to go on weekend drives to get away from civilization. Now in Europe, it is literally impossible, there are people, towns and history everywhere.
I also miss 24 hour grocery stores, nobody works when I get off work.
Nobody makes eye contact or smiles at you in public in England without a legitimate reason. I am so used to smiling at every stranger I see in America.
Studied abroad in Australia, cheapest 30 rack of beer I could find was $35 for the Aldi store brand, and cheapest cigarettes were at least $20 a pack. Lots of boxed wine and not smoking while drunk on that trip.
My Aussie friend told me just yesterday that cigarettes go for 60 dollars a pack nowadays.
Coming back to the USA after being deployed for a year. When the plane hit the tarmac and I was able to walk outside I nearly dropped to the ground and kissed the grass.
Never realized how good we have it in the US.
Would have been nice to know which country you were deployed to since that will make a huge difference here. It could also be familiarity rather than USA being "better".
I once went to Thailand for a biochemistry conference and I went into my reserved hotel to witness couples (gay and straight) f*****g in the hallways. I asked room service about it and he said "oh that? tha's normal!"
EDIT: to anyone wondering it was the 13th FAOBMB International Congress of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in
Bangkok, Thailand, on November 25-29, 2012
Came for the articles, stayed to look through the comments for the next batsht insane replies
Isn't that what we're all doing here?
Load More Replies... if you wanna experience culture shock, try moving from Russia to Singapore… i could write an essay 💀
Write that essay! and get it epublished! Maybe even a book?
Load More Replies...
I'm a full time wheelchair user. In the UK, a few times people will come up to me when I'm alone and ask if I need help, but by and large I'm left (thankfully) to my own devices. Like they understand that if I need help I will ask for it. First time I travelled to America disabled, I was so so frustrated. People would automatically do things for me that I was more than capable of doing myself, without even asking me. Then to add insult to injury, they would want a tip! Like the airport, I purposefully had a bag that attached to my wheelchair so I could pull it, I could easily get it off the belt. As I was doing so, in no trouble, someone came over and forceably took it from me as I was lifting it and finished lifting it, then looked at me like he was expecting to be thanked. Miffed (both long flight exhaustion and frustrating as I'm so independent and hate people doing this) I said "I was fine, next time ask before taking over" he replied "so you're not going to tip me?"
It happened the whole trip. Also people would talk to me like I was intellectually disabled as well as physically disabled, talking slow and explaining themselves (like mansplaining but woman did it too) but if I was with someone they would talk normally to them. Even when I replied to show I wasn't intellectually disabled, it didn't stop them. Even when they asked my job and I said teacher, it didn't stop! Also the use of the word 'handicapped' made my toes metaphorically curl. In the Uk, it's a derogatory term, and I get in America it's not, but it's so hard not to snap at someone when they'd call me handicapped or use the word; having to remind myself all the time they weren't being rude. I love visiting America, but awfully glad I don't live there if that's how disabled people are treated.
Load More Replies... My culture shock story is not as big as the ones on here. I used to live in a small village in a rural area, where the whole village probably only had like 50-70 people in total. The school was small. The library was small. The shops were small too. Well, everything was small. Anyway, I had to transfer to a new school in 4th grade due to my parents' jobs and it felt like my world had gone a lot wider. Everything was big in the city. The people felt a lot more intimidating too. I think that was why I became an introvert since then. I became very timid. It was all overwhelming to me. Does this count as a culture shock or nah?
I say yes, b/c I grew up similarly, and not even a town. Just more a .... bunch of houses where we all went ot the same church and gas station (that was the town, btw: church and gas station). University was horrible for me at first. Customs (Mom's fam is from another country far outside the US). People. Scorn for laborers. It just made my head spin. I adapted, sort of, but I think the first year counts as a shock. So yours does, too. :-)
Load More Replies...
prior to retirement i worked in law enforcement. i was in a unit that was basically the bin where cases that were complex (or ppl too lazy) to work. many were cases w/different cultures ranging from native american to hmong and more. i found it fascinating and educational. only hard part was when a head man had to be the intermediary bc getting precise info was difficult. prior to this time i worked as a manager at a facility. we had an east asian man who worked custodial. he invited me & my son to have home dinner w/his family as he knew i loved that cuisine. i got ill & knew his wife was cooking special to me so i sent my son & mom instead. when i returned to work he was just gushing over me. another worker from his culture explained when i sent my mom & son i had honored him bc it meant i trusted him to care for the most important people in my life. mom said that she was treated as a queen for the evening & my son was pampered especially by the man's mother.
I have had culture shock in Malaysia, Burma, Lao, Cambodia and Viet Nam. My first taxi ride in Tokyo, 1984. The driver's car is spotless and shiny despite being an old Datsun. He is wearing white gloves. He hands me a pack of kleenex, and I watch black and white tv on the way to the destination. No tip.
Y'all who are learning about how friendly and nice Americans are, please don't come to Seattle and expect us to be like that. If you smile at us and try to start a conversation we're going to think that you're about to pull out a knife. The only time it's okay to talk to someone is if they have a cute animal you want to pet or if you really like an article of clothing. Other than that, don't talk to people
I don't know where you live in Seattle, but I live in Shoreline and most of the time we get a little eye contact and when we do we smile, and sometimes we'll say 'nice weather we're having' or something innocuous. Maybe that's just Shoreline.
Load More Replies... My mom's culture. I grew up on a farm in what was esentially a rural village of people from her family's homeland. Bilingual, etc etc etc. I went to university and it was like I'd entered another dimension of reality. Customs, etc. Surreal!
We moved from a small town in Colorado to a big city in Oklahoma when I was 11, after about a year, I realized I was the only one in my friend group whose parents were still together. And most of my friend had a bad relationship with at least one of their parents.
This was an valuable article. I have found that the 'international' articles are an amazing education about the cultures and peculiarities of different countries and cultures. And, this article didn't just bash the Americans, as so many do...
Met a person from Taiwan yesterday in beautiful little Belgium and we were at a karaoke. They told me one of the big shocks was that no matter where, if there's music, we move along or sing along a lil
If you're using the app, then some things don't display as they would on the website. The symbol in your question is called an ampersand, so if you use one, it displays the symbol followed by amp. Took me a while to figure out what was going on. If you see a question mark ,it can also mean someone has used the crying laughing emoji. Still haven't worked out some of them.
Load More Replies...
My culture shock probably seems pretty minor to a lot of people but it was the only thing in Canada that really surprised me. I'm from Melbourne where we have a big coffee culture. Walk down any street and you will find at least one cafe. There is a big variety of options, even in small towns/suburbs. What shocked me in Canada was that even though there were plenty of stand alone cafes as well as chains, I couldn't find lactose free or even nut milks in any, except Starbucks. Also, even though there were some specialty stores that were gluten free (I specifically researched these to go to) there was very little chance of getting gluten free food in cafes, again Starbucks was an exception.
Came for the articles, stayed to look through the comments for the next batsht insane replies
Isn't that what we're all doing here?
Load More Replies... if you wanna experience culture shock, try moving from Russia to Singapore… i could write an essay 💀
Write that essay! and get it epublished! Maybe even a book?
Load More Replies... I'm a full time wheelchair user. In the UK, a few times people will come up to me when I'm alone and ask if I need help, but by and large I'm left (thankfully) to my own devices. Like they understand that if I need help I will ask for it. First time I travelled to America disabled, I was so so frustrated. People would automatically do things for me that I was more than capable of doing myself, without even asking me. Then to add insult to injury, they would want a tip! Like the airport, I purposefully had a bag that attached to my wheelchair so I could pull it, I could easily get it off the belt. As I was doing so, in no trouble, someone came over and forceably took it from me as I was lifting it and finished lifting it, then looked at me like he was expecting to be thanked. Miffed (both long flight exhaustion and frustrating as I'm so independent and hate people doing this) I said "I was fine, next time ask before taking over" he replied "so you're not going to tip me?"
It happened the whole trip. Also people would talk to me like I was intellectually disabled as well as physically disabled, talking slow and explaining themselves (like mansplaining but woman did it too) but if I was with someone they would talk normally to them. Even when I replied to show I wasn't intellectually disabled, it didn't stop them. Even when they asked my job and I said teacher, it didn't stop! Also the use of the word 'handicapped' made my toes metaphorically curl. In the Uk, it's a derogatory term, and I get in America it's not, but it's so hard not to snap at someone when they'd call me handicapped or use the word; having to remind myself all the time they weren't being rude. I love visiting America, but awfully glad I don't live there if that's how disabled people are treated.
Load More Replies... My culture shock story is not as big as the ones on here. I used to live in a small village in a rural area, where the whole village probably only had like 50-70 people in total. The school was small. The library was small. The shops were small too. Well, everything was small. Anyway, I had to transfer to a new school in 4th grade due to my parents' jobs and it felt like my world had gone a lot wider. Everything was big in the city. The people felt a lot more intimidating too. I think that was why I became an introvert since then. I became very timid. It was all overwhelming to me. Does this count as a culture shock or nah?
I say yes, b/c I grew up similarly, and not even a town. Just more a .... bunch of houses where we all went ot the same church and gas station (that was the town, btw: church and gas station). University was horrible for me at first. Customs (Mom's fam is from another country far outside the US). People. Scorn for laborers. It just made my head spin. I adapted, sort of, but I think the first year counts as a shock. So yours does, too. :-)
Load More Replies... prior to retirement i worked in law enforcement. i was in a unit that was basically the bin where cases that were complex (or ppl too lazy) to work. many were cases w/different cultures ranging from native american to hmong and more. i found it fascinating and educational. only hard part was when a head man had to be the intermediary bc getting precise info was difficult. prior to this time i worked as a manager at a facility. we had an east asian man who worked custodial. he invited me & my son to have home dinner w/his family as he knew i loved that cuisine. i got ill & knew his wife was cooking special to me so i sent my son & mom instead. when i returned to work he was just gushing over me. another worker from his culture explained when i sent my mom & son i had honored him bc it meant i trusted him to care for the most important people in my life. mom said that she was treated as a queen for the evening & my son was pampered especially by the man's mother.
I have had culture shock in Malaysia, Burma, Lao, Cambodia and Viet Nam. My first taxi ride in Tokyo, 1984. The driver's car is spotless and shiny despite being an old Datsun. He is wearing white gloves. He hands me a pack of kleenex, and I watch black and white tv on the way to the destination. No tip.
Y'all who are learning about how friendly and nice Americans are, please don't come to Seattle and expect us to be like that. If you smile at us and try to start a conversation we're going to think that you're about to pull out a knife. The only time it's okay to talk to someone is if they have a cute animal you want to pet or if you really like an article of clothing. Other than that, don't talk to people
I don't know where you live in Seattle, but I live in Shoreline and most of the time we get a little eye contact and when we do we smile, and sometimes we'll say 'nice weather we're having' or something innocuous. Maybe that's just Shoreline.
Load More Replies... My mom's culture. I grew up on a farm in what was esentially a rural village of people from her family's homeland. Bilingual, etc etc etc. I went to university and it was like I'd entered another dimension of reality. Customs, etc. Surreal!
We moved from a small town in Colorado to a big city in Oklahoma when I was 11, after about a year, I realized I was the only one in my friend group whose parents were still together. And most of my friend had a bad relationship with at least one of their parents.
This was an valuable article. I have found that the 'international' articles are an amazing education about the cultures and peculiarities of different countries and cultures. And, this article didn't just bash the Americans, as so many do...
Met a person from Taiwan yesterday in beautiful little Belgium and we were at a karaoke. They told me one of the big shocks was that no matter where, if there's music, we move along or sing along a lil
If you're using the app, then some things don't display as they would on the website. The symbol in your question is called an ampersand, so if you use one, it displays the symbol followed by amp. Took me a while to figure out what was going on. If you see a question mark ,it can also mean someone has used the crying laughing emoji. Still haven't worked out some of them.
Load More Replies... My culture shock probably seems pretty minor to a lot of people but it was the only thing in Canada that really surprised me. I'm from Melbourne where we have a big coffee culture. Walk down any street and you will find at least one cafe. There is a big variety of options, even in small towns/suburbs. What shocked me in Canada was that even though there were plenty of stand alone cafes as well as chains, I couldn't find lactose free or even nut milks in any, except Starbucks. Also, even though there were some specialty stores that were gluten free (I specifically researched these to go to) there was very little chance of getting gluten free food in cafes, again Starbucks was an exception.
