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Traveling and seeing the world may cause a bit of culture shock. If you’re used to the bustling streets of New York City, it may take some time for you to adapt to the laid-back life on a remote island in the Philippines.
Sometimes, these experiences may not be too pleasant, either. These Mumsnet readers would know, as they share the biggest culture shock they’ve gone through in a recent thread. Some were brought to tears while witnessing India’s poverty firsthand, while others weren’t big fans of the cattle on the roads of Nepal.
But, of course, there are some good ones on this list, too, like how easygoing Brazil’s locals are. Enjoy scrolling through these responses, and feel free to share your own culture shock moments in the comments!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I was pulled over by the cops in a Texan city for walking.
Everyone drives everywhere in Texas, so someone reported me to the cops for walking, not Jaywalking I might add, from one huge mall to another huge shop. They thought I had a mental illness. When I told them I was British and used to walking everywhere the cops eventually let me go.
Leigh 10 months ago (edited)
I experienced culture shock in Canada! I had to go to a liquor store and show 3 forms of ID just to buy a beer! I go to buy a joint and I don't even get asked how old I am! In the US it's the complete opposite!
Leanne Hailes 10 months ago
Whomever was working in the "smoking" shop didn't do their job
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Kristy Marion 10 months ago
I can really relate to this. I travel to Dallas for work and walk everywhere. They can’t comprehend that’s my preferred method of transport for short distances. My local friends get an Uber just to go a mile!
Emma London 10 months ago
When visiting America, we went to Wallmart to see what it really looked like. It was on a hill that you could only reach by car. (we took a bus.) We wanted to go to a mall that we SAW in less than a mile away, but there was no way to reach it without a car, because there wasn't even a path in the grass beside the driveway. To reach the mall we should have took uber. What kind of city planning was that ??
Hobby Hopper 10 months ago
Texas is my home, and while I've never been stopped by the cops, I can confirm that the culture is not walking (or biking) friendly.
Charl Marx 10 months ago
I experienced a similar thing in LA. I'm Welsh and a 3 mile walk is absolutely nothing to me.
Marnie 10 months ago
I'm guessing you're not working two jobs. Part of the reason Americans don't walk is they don't have the time. (It's very definitely not the only reason, but one that's overlooked.) A 3 mile walk is 1 hour. There and back is 2. Who has 2 hours to get somewhere?
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Hidalgo 10 months ago
It’s not just Texas. Most everywhere outside of the Northeast, one would be suspect
Tom De Paul 10 months ago (edited)
I lived in Austin for 7 years and often walked. To the library, barber, liquor and grocery store, tanning salon, smoke shop, and restaurants.
Carrie B 10 months ago
I'm not buying this one. I lived in TX for 27 years and people walk places all of the time. The only way this happened is if they were walking on the interstate or they were acting sketchy.
Marnie 10 months ago
I live in Minnesota. I have all my life. It might be somewhat unusual. But even in Texas, I can't imagine that the police would act like this.
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#2
The constant presence of Christian evangelism in the Bible Belt states of the USA.
Dan 10 months ago
Do You know why there's religious holidays but no scientific holidays? Because science always works.
Tamra 10 months ago (edited)
I was born and raised in the Bible Belt. Being surrounded by all of that is a significant reason I'm atheist today. And let me tell you, the presence of all the signs and propaganda definitely did not increase the morality or kindness of the people who favored those things. Usually the opposite.
Weasel Wise 10 months ago (edited)
They behave worse because they believe themselves to be better than those not within their own cult. Once someone believes they're better than everyone around them (especially when based on absolutely insane fables), they don't need to abide cuz they "have god on our side". They literally believe an all powerful sky-fairy favors them. Why would they act civil if they're convinced they're going to join their sky-fairy sooner than later AND, again, they're smart and better so....
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Weasel Wise 10 months ago (edited)
Why if someone hears random voices, they're mentally ill, told to take meds, and potentially locked up against their will? But if you hear from God (or whatever diety), they give you a microphone and tax-free status, it's not a mental illness to hear from a select few gods? If you worship the "wrong" diety, you're in a cult? But if you worship specific others (regardless how violent), it's a religion and totally normal to have delusions, beat people, bomb businesses, beat your children, force children into marrying adults, force children to have babies, take basic human rights away from people who don't have delusions, force women to have babies.....that's all okay cuz it's just "normal" people having delusions of the correct sky-fairies...let's hand over everything to the mentally ill...er..."religious" people? When is religion going to be seen as a cult full of mentally sick individuals who, like schizophrenics, NEED medication?
Auntriarch 10 months ago
Driving with friends from Illinois to Tennessee was quite unsettling. Especially with Origin of Species (found in the fabulous Urbana bookshop) and the latest Steve Jones (airport purchase) on the parcel shelf.
Rosecrucian Roeth 10 months ago
Them's the "poorly edjumacatted" that Donnie boy loves so much......................
Svelk929 10 months ago
the highway signs i've seen on the rural highways of my state can be pretty concerning. strangest I encountered was in southern Georgia with like zombies and stuff on it for some reason lmao
Weasel Wise 10 months ago
Well, if you think about it, Jesus IS a zombie (according to the fables of The Bible). He died and, three days later, came outta his grave and had more super powers than before. That's a friggin zombie...and they worship said zombie. So, zombies on religious billboards kinda makes sense?
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#3
In Japan. Left my phone on my desk at uni, sleepless night, rushed there the next morning to find it sitting exactly where I left it. Left my purse in the student canteen and someone returned it to my desk. My Japanese flatmate rode her bicycle in a pouring rain to meet me on campus and give me an umbrella because she was worried about me getting home (I did not know she was doing it, we bumped into each other on the way). Three year old kids on their little bikes unsupervised on the street and being able to cross the road safely and independently.
Best year of my life. Unfortunately, I became quite scatty with my possessions for a while after returning to the UK. I just got used to the fact that valuables will remain exactly where you left them or will magically make their way back to you.
SCamp 10 months ago (edited)
In Japan, left my motorbike parked outside my busy local train station with the key left in the ignition- got back 8 hours later (I hadn’t realised) - key and bike right there waiting. In Australia that would have been gone in 10 minutes. Hey, stuff does happen in Japan, it’s not always 100% safe but it’s the safest place I’ve lived
Ace 10 months ago
Same in Switzerland. I recall one morning seeing a car with its keys left in the door lock, just close to my office in the middle of a large city, Wondered whether to do anything about them, decided to leave them there. When I left the office four or five hours later they were still there.
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Nicky 10 months ago
I dropped a ten thousand yen note on the sidewalk outside the metro near my English school office and a passerby returned it to the building custodian who knocked on every business office and no one claimed the unmarked bill until it was reunited with me on the third floor.
Bart 10 months ago
Same for the possessions in Switzerland. At the swimming lake close to Sion, it's perfectly normal to go for a 30min swim or getting ice-cream while leaving phones, laptops or other valuables in the grass. It took some time to getting used to but now it's a fantastic feeling not having to worry.
KrazyChiMama 10 months ago
I’ve met lots of different people from all over the world in my lifetime and I can honestly say I’ve never met a Japanese person that ever gave me bad vibes. Nice people. Beautiful culture and language!
K Barnes 10 months ago
South Korea was (is?) the same. You could go out, leave your full wallet unattended and feel total trust that it wouldn't be touched. In a Korean joint, I didn't test it in foreigner spots. At the beach? Leave your camera and wallet while everyone goes to swim. Leave money sitting on the side of the pool table while you go get drinks/to the bathroom. Overpay? The shopkeeper is giving you the extra money.
Katie Allen 10 months ago
If you believe movies all Japanese kids are obnoxious. Luckily I don't believe movies.
#4
Realising that it was totally fine for me to go to the shop in a bikini and flip flops in Brazil. Everyone else was wandering around in various degrees of clothing, including wearing pretty much nothing at all. It was completely normal and no one had the slightest interest in anyone else's wobbly bits.
It was a shock, but a really nice one. SO relaxing.
R Ferreira 10 months ago
Must be a coastal city like Rio de Janeiro. In the countryside or more 'business' cities, like São Paulo, it's not so common.
Jossh Nine 10 months ago
I'm a dude. It'd be nice to walk around with my wobbly bits wobbling around...but not really. I was in the pool.
Ellen Pavesi 10 months ago
Definitely a coastal city thing. I live in the countryside (in a small city where most of the houses are farms), and people would look weird at someone in a bikini, hell, people look weird at me with a band shirt and combat boots lol
#5
I lived in Dubai for a while and used cabs a lot. Without fail i'd be asked if i was going somewhere or "working", just because I was blonde so automatically assumed to be a p*****tute and grabbed/groped accordingly.
Total s**thole of a place beyond the glitter.
Donna Peluda 10 months ago
Don't think Christianity is far of if specially orange man and his hench men get there way.
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Abdullah Abd Rahman 10 months ago
Dubai is a soulless, artificial place, catering mostly to the Super Rich.It's far from practicing Islamic values and principles - all for the sake of making tons of money. It's a place I will never want to visit again.
Michelle C 10 months ago
I am again upvoting this for awareness. See my previous comment on this issue in replies to another post.
#6
The first time I landed in London on my own, (14) and made my way out of the airport and onto the underground, no one stared at me and I wasn’t groped or touched once. It was amazing.
I remember looking out the window of the train and goggling at how green and lush the countryside was, how fat the animals were in the fields, at the abundance of fruit and berries in the hedges and nobody taking any notice. I fell in love then and there and have loved it ever since.
Auntriarch 10 months ago
Not where I live, those blackberries are going to end up in my kitchen 😂
Ace 10 months ago
Bless. Switzerland had a similar effect on me when I first came here 25 years ago. These days when I have to go back to England I'm struck by how dirty and threatening it feels.
Hobby Hopper 10 months ago
Most of my favorite landscape photos are of Switzerland. There's something about the Alps, the lakes, and the charming villages swaddled in vibrant green that makes it seem like such a magical fairytale place.
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Al Fun 10 months ago
In which country are 14 year olds routinely touched and groped in public?
Pernille 10 months ago
My guess is India, it also seem likely that they would send a 14 year old to stay with family.
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Earonn - 10 months ago
Same when I moved (in Germany) from avmidsized town full of stiffs to Dortmund (inudstrialised, decent size). Suddenly no one was mobbing me on the street simply for wearing the outfit of a Heavy Metal fan. It was almost confusing. You're waiting for a blow that never comes.
#7
Probably, in Egypt, seeing women sitting by swimming pools at very expensive hotels , completely covered in black clothing, with total face coverings and gloves. Their husbands openly letched at our 14 year old daughters in the pool
Ben Aziza 10 months ago (edited)
This is what happens when you tolerate cults. Look at post number 1. This is a potential future if that s**t continues... This is not "culture" but the opposite of it. This is what is killing Arabic and Iranian culture but I am happy that ppl are acting more and more especially my generation. For this to become a full on reality all that is needed is for ppl to just not say anything and accept it and not fight it... It is a famous quote for evil to win good people have to do nothing... Because IN MOST not all but most cases... Everyone accepts it. Both the men and women would openly defend pedophilia and say "It is how it is" and "You don't know better than the prophet of god"... The two reasons I can think of for ppl to accept this evil and perpetuate it : - They enjoy the "benefits" and agree and work to perpetuate it... This is plain old pure evil. As simple as it gets really... -They hate it but are too cowardly/weak to do anything. So they keep their heads low or worse... Induct and shame others into complying because OTHERWISE they have to accept their own misery. As if others "JUST" break off from the cult... It means that their existance and misery was for nothing... Totally invalid... That is how you get generations of women teaching other women that their purpose is to submit and breed. That is how you get generations of men teaching mutlilating the penises of other men and teaching them they are sacrafices for the cult and are "rewarded" for it... Complete insanity perpetuated by the victims themselves... Gosh i hate cults and i wish they were less tolerated. It infuriates me how something so against personal freedom can be seen as acceptable. Had to deal with this s**t IRL... And all the political war of the superpowers have done nothing but make it worse and empower them via the "US vs Them" mentality...
Michelle C 10 months ago
💔 Upvoting for awareness; unfortunately, this is not uncommon in some Islamic communities. Sharia law does permit men to treat women they perceive as dressed immodestly and/or for male attention, no matter what the truth of the matter is, however they please. This includes men having permission to go to the point of manhandling and raping the women they perceive as immodest.
Marnie 10 months ago
This modern age is getting more and more disgusting. Every century it gets worse for women on average. And on a side note - in black! I live in a city in the US that has a huge number of immigrants and refugees. Our most diverse neighborhood has people from over 122 countries. I see a lot of women wearing long robes (but never one with face covered due to perverted cultural "values"). And every time -- 100% of the time - the clothes are black or very dark. And I've never seen anything other than non-wicking plastic clothing like polyester. In the sun on a hot day, I don't know how they survive. I wonder how many of them have nearly died of heat stroke.
Ben Aziza 10 months ago (edited)
You know the funny thing is? The heroic women who rise up against that get shamed first BY OTHER WOMEN! Who willingly accept that cult b******t. I have seen it in real life. More women argued to me about pedophilia being acceptable than men did... Not saying the men are better... They are just more on the Jih ad and death to the [insert enemy of the cult here] side... Fathers and Mothers continue to raise their sons and daughters into this s**t... It is awful, and it became worse because tolerance to cults is considered "moral" for some reason... In a really f uc ked up pretentious way... A deluded naive notion that all "cultures" are "unique" and "diverse" and "great" in their own way... If you ask me banning the arts, making everything black, white or simply the same and excommunicating anyone who goes against the cult or OUTRIGHT KILLING anyone who draws Mohammed... IS the OPPOSITE of a culture... It has been awful to me an immigrant who left their country, seeing the insane cultists who caused me to leave... So willingly accepted and tolerated without any kind of filter...Again because of this naive "everyone is good and or just a victim" mentality... If ppl want to immigrate form a place it is because SOMETHING BAD is there... In most cases the something bad is OTHER PEOPLE who are into evil cults.
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Katie Allen 10 months ago
Nice moment right here in the US. Me, an atheist in a bathing suit chatting friendly w/ my Muslim neighbor in traditional clothes.
#8
Marrakesh. I've travelled a lot and never experienced anything like it. I was followed and harassed incessantly. I had to punch some bloke as he wouldn't let go off my arm.
megabeth 10 months ago
I'm so sorry that was their experience! I felt safer walking around there than I do in the US. Definitely some people trying to sell you anything you can imagine, but I never felt threatened in any way.
Immortal Jellyfish 10 months ago
Number one make sure your possessions are safe, number two we'd like to play a game of seeing how for we could take them from the shop, stall, restaurant.........
Caroline Seguin 10 months ago
My SIL 30 years ago went there, and good thing she was with a man because she was blond with blue eyes and a guy "dealt" with the man to exchange her for 3 camels, 4 camels? Insane.
KatSaidWhat 10 months ago
It's why after Egypt I won't go to Marrakesh. I've done Agadir which was nice and also has souks and cultural things without the sheer gropiness of Marrakesh.
Karina 10 months ago
Those are some beautiful fittings and lamps!! Now I see why so many on Grand Design went there for theis final shopping.
Rich Black 10 months ago
But you said you wanted to visit someplace quaint and old fashioned . . ?
Oops 10 months ago
I was on a bus journey with a group, went to the basar, most people went back to the bus gasping, the shopkeepers were increadibly pushing, touching, urging. I wanted to buy some ceramics, but i fled. These shopkeepers could have earned a lot of money if they were a litte bit more decent. And they showed much scorn to european women. I will never visit a northafrican land again, much of my friends too, maybe they show us they dont want us to visit by their weird behavior.
#9
The sheer number of cars in America. Mind blowing, and the lack of public transport outside of the big city areas. Seeing people drive 100 yards to drop the kids off at the school bus stop. There's no such thing as walking to the shop or the park, as exercise is otherwise planned and timed.
SCamp 10 months ago
Visited friends about an hour from San Francisco and we were going to venture in to the city and asked what public transport we could use and he genuinely looked perplexed, like ‘oh … ahhhh… ok… mmmm … why would you?’
Adrian 10 months ago
Um, because it's more convenient. The Bay Area is a bad example as there's decent public transport. I wouldn't want to drive a car into SF
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Buttrnutsquash 10 months ago
Same in Canada. I cannot tell you how many cars I see drive to the end of their own damn driveway and sit there with their kids waiting for the school bus - no more than 50 feet from their house. Kids are so damn fragile these days, they're unable to stand outside in the cold for more than 2 minutes. Ugh.
Bean Driller 10 months ago
Have you ever BEEN to the US??? There are so many cars because it's HUGE. You have to drive to the public transport stations.
Katia Murillo 10 months ago
I have lived in the US for 23 years, and fully agree with the post. Awfully planned urban areas.
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Rich Black 10 months ago
Yes, we don't have subways in the suburbs. England doesn't either actually.
Amelia Jade 10 months ago
I live in the US, in a city, and people walk all over the place here. I have a few shops within walking distance.We walk to the park all the time. There are walking/biking paths all over our neighborhood.
#10
In Florida. I could see a supermarket across the road from the hotel, but there was no way to actually walk to said supermarket, no where to cross the road, no pavements, i had a buggy aged child, it just wasnt possible to safely get there unless we drove across a street. Insane.
indotav 10 months ago
That's pretty much most of the United States outside of older, pre-automobile cities like Boston or NYC.
Hiram's Friend 10 months ago
Or the midwest or the Great Plains, any of the "fly-over" states.
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Spannidandoolar 10 months ago
I experienced the same with a restaurant accross the road from our hotel in Florida!
Paul Donahue 10 months ago
I could walk through 5 cities with Madison in the middle thanks to sidewalks and our extensive bike trails.
#11
For me it was definitely the bike culture in Amsterdam - and I loved it.
But also, the over enthusiasm of shop workers in America, the silence in the streets in Japan, and the way Australians are so outdoorsy but can't handle the rain
SCamp 10 months ago
Can’t handle the rain?! What?? Are you serious? What part of Australia did this person go to??
Morten Jul Lægaard 10 months ago
You know, the lower corner same size as US 😂
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Oerff On Tour 10 months ago (edited)
The bike culture in the Netherlands is a double edged sword. Especially in the big cities, it's the most efficient way to get around. But for everyone else on the road, they are a nuisance. No cyclist respects the traffic laws, or anyone else on the street, cyclepath or sidewalk (they just ride wherever they feel like, at any speed) And I say that as a Dutchman
Disgruntled Panda 10 months ago
It generally gets better once they have a driving licence and realise how dangerous their behaviour is to drivers. Still super happy to be able to cyccle evrywhere though
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ROSESARERED 10 months ago
I'ma Aussie...love the rain, love driving in it, standing outside in it, hearing it fall on my roof...not sure where you met Aussies that can't handle rain. As Billy Connelly said, there's no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes
Rich Black 10 months ago
They grained the canals a few years ago, and removed 100,000 stolen bikes which had been clogging them.
#12
The rule following in Munich. An empty road on a Sunday morning, but people were still waiting for the pedestrian lights to change.
SCamp 10 months ago
Japan same. My Japanese wife HATES jaywalking even if there are no and I mean no cars coming.
Sarah Kathrin Matsoukis 10 months ago
I sometimes drive my bf nuts refusing to cross a red light with no cars around lol
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Feathered Dinosaur 10 months ago
In Germany you only walk a red light when you have first furtively looked around to see nobody is watching- especially no children
KatSaidWhat 10 months ago
Feels American since they just named streets whatever number they were from whatever begin point. There is a town in South Africa (Thabazimbi) that did the same. I have no doubt there are other towns/cities, but ^^ feels US.
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Weasel Wise 10 months ago (edited)
It was Sunday 9am in Maribor, Slovenia. There were ZERO cars on the six lane road and zero other humans in sight. We didn't notice that apparently there was a small tunnel off to the side for people to cross under the road to get to the train station. We got half way across the road and a police van cane outta nowhere, lights flashing, driving in reverse. They tried to harass us for a bribe for being so awful as to cross an empty road. "Oh! The actual ticket is very expensive if you don't pay it right now with us." They gave up when we insisted on them giving us the €300 official ticket so we could pay it and later frame it when we got home.
#13
Ireland, the swearing, in a nice country pub or a restaurant and other couples. They get the F word into every sentence. There is no escape!
nottheactualphoto 10 months ago
Teacher: Use the word contagious in a sentence. Irish kid: Our neighbor is painting his house with a one-inch brush; my da says it will take the contagious.
Lotekguy 10 months ago
I'd give you multiple upvotes for this gem if the site allowed it.
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zububonsai 10 months ago
Well... it's a thing here in Saxony, too. Nobody's clutching their pearls about it.
Weasel Wise 10 months ago
Oh, no! The Irish tend not to placate to cry babies who like to dictate how other people are and aren't allowed to speak. How dare the Irish! Shame! /s 🤣
Nadine Debard 10 months ago
Like many places in France, where putain is like a punctuation. Followed by fait chier if you're in a bad mood...
Pernille 10 months ago
In Marseille putain is a comma, and enculée is a full stop. I know its an old joke, but not that far from the truth.
Load More Replies... nm (he/him) 10 months ago
Same experience with the dockers in the port of London, back in the 70s.
#14
Being grabbed by an Egyptian who tried selling me for 6 camels.
My ex thought it was funny and said “all yours mate” with a thumbs up.
The Egyptian thought it was a done deal.
I’m blonde and blue-eyed and was 23 at the time.
Another Egyptian at a coffee shop licked his lips at me in the airport when I asked for a latte.
Pernille 10 months ago
My parents got offered 42 camels for me when I was two years old, I'm sure they have, at times, regretted not taking that deal:)
Auntriarch 10 months ago
My dad took my photo into the office to get my visa renewed, the admin guy looked at the photo and said "your daughter, Mr G?" And without missing a beat my dad said "50 white camels". Luckily the guy just laughed. But what if he'd said yes????!
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greenideas 10 months ago
Apparently an oral agreement is legally binding in Egypt, so I don't suggest joking like this with anyone.
Al Fun 10 months ago
You can calculate here if 6 camels is a good deal: https://kamelrechner.eu/en
F S 10 months ago
I‘m worth 62 camels according to that page. So 6 camels might not be a good deal - rather some kind of rip-off
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katiekat0214 10 months ago
Glad to see he's an ex! That is horrible, and TRAFFICKING. Not a joke at all whatsoever.
UpupaEpops 10 months ago
A very pretty girl asked some Arab guys in our class how many camels they thought she was worth. One of the guys just looked her dead in the eye and went: "Woman. Do you know how expensive a camel is?! You're getting goats." We were laughing so hard. But they held us an introductory class on camels, that was really cool! Apparently there are as many different types as there are horses. Some for meat, some for work, some sporting, etc. And yeah. Some of them can go for as much as 1 million USD.
Rich Black 10 months ago
Yeah. And then you went home. Imagine a lifetime there for local women. And they call westerners "infifels" . .
#15
When we first moved to Copenhagen back in 2020 ( we are back in uk now) - and for virtually all winter the Xmas lights were left out along with braziers and furry throws and outdoor seating - and everywhere inside was toasty warm - to the point of sometimes being too warm!
It seemed incredibly cheery compared to most of UK in winter
BravePanda 10 months ago
I was in Iceland last week and there were so many lights still up, it made me so happy.
Ace 10 months ago
Quite normal here in the Alps too. You put the lights up for winter, not just for christmas. Mine, on my chalet, actually stay in place all year round (because balconies, ladders...) but are just switched off between April and December, when the tourists start arriving for the ski season.
Bob Connely 10 months ago
We were blessed to have spent a Christmas week in Copenhagen, and able to experience myriad local traditions (LOVED the Glug!!!) - all in the company of genuinely lovely people.
Rich Black 10 months ago
Should I make an observation at this point about excessive carbon being released into the atmosphere?
Oops 10 months ago
Oh yes this is increadibly helping the climate change. No change in thinking. Wear some jackets and pretty pullovers for a change. Here over in the stores are climates like in an oven on full duty. Imagine coming inside wearing a heavy winter coat. In two seconds you will steam like a hot teapot. WHY???
UpupaEpops 10 months ago
Oh. That's surprising. I used to love Christmas time in the UK so much! The wreaths on the doors, the beautiful light installations, the IEDs on the table.
#16
Oh and being told “ You’re so big and fat” in Hong Kong! By someone trying to sell me clothes!
Sue Denham 10 months ago
Imagine my embarrassment when visiting Hong Kong from NZ (where I'm not overweight) "Oh no! Nothing here fit you!".
TribbleThinking 10 months ago (edited)
UK here. My friend is a size 8, and she was pointed to the "big girl" shop in Malaysia! 😄
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Weasel Wise 10 months ago (edited)
I, a lady standing in at 5'9"/175, weighing in at 135lb/61kg, was told I was too big as well. Same in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam....cuz they're generally a much smaller group of people. 🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️ It's not an insult, a culture thing, nor discrimination, but a basic matter of fact, that, yes, I was too big.
rorschach-penguin 10 months ago
5'9" is huge for a woman in Asia, regardless of how much you weigh. I doubt anything would have fit solely because of that.
Load More Replies... Chris Ulm 10 months ago
Lived in HK for a few years. Got comments on my weight, my height, my shoe size, my skin color, my hair color… it’s not seen as rude. I’m a pale white lady, dark blonde hair, 5’8, US 16.
Tom De Paul 10 months ago
I think they're in awe. It's actually respectful. I'm a 5'10" 220# male and the Asian grandparents of my classmates always pointed out my stature. Then they'd ask about football and wrestling, for which I knew nothing.
Load More Replies... K Barnes 10 months ago
I was a very fit and active US size 6 when I lived in Asia and got called fat all the time. My Asian coworker was a US size 8 and they ridiculed her. Anytime she had any health problem at all the doctors said it was because she was so "fat". Have a cold? You're too fat. Sprained ankle? Sprained it cause you're so fat. Fever? Don't be fat. I felt awful for her.
Abdullah Abd Rahman 10 months ago
Hong Kong sales people are so brusque and rude.Always in a hurry to make a sale !
katiekat0214 10 months ago
Well, as someone who's lost over 200 lbs over the years, but who still fights body image issues, this does NOT make me want to go to China in the least. Yuck. How awful.
Weasel Wise 10 months ago (edited)
How awful? Because they are naturally a physically smaller person (and generally eat in a healthy manner), it must be yuck and awful? It's yuck and awful that you would demonize entire countries because they don't accommodate to people who grow themselves past a healthy capacity. Millions of people that don't have the luxury of availability and money to eat high caloric trash-food. And shame entire countries for taking care of their bodies, exercising, and being smaller. Because YOU made bad choices with your body and feel bad doesn't make other people "awful and yuck" because they made better choices.
Load More Replies... Rich Black 10 months ago
No they were trying to get you to leave, NOT sell you clothes. They had nothing in your size
#17
So much Jesus in small town America! You go to a diner and there's a little store in the back just like any tat shop here but with extra Jesus on everything. Where in England it's like, a little dog? In the US it's Jesus. Sparkly Jesus on a cushion, on a calendar, on a fridge magnet, tea towel (they don't call them tea towels though).
They're not even bothered about Mary it's just 100% Jesus all the time.
Rafael 10 months ago
Why would they bother wirh Mary if they're not catholics? But yeah, the Jesus obsession of those guys would make even the man himself cringe.
General Anaesthesia 10 months ago
There's a good chance that they would crucify Jesus if He returned today. Something about "doing unto others" and "loving thy neighbor" just doesn't sit well with many of them.
Load More Replies... Michelle C 10 months ago
You’re a lot more likely to find Protestant and nondenominational Christians in this part of the South than you are Catholic Christians, although there are a few there!
Tom De Paul 10 months ago
Because of the Hispanics we had enough Catholics in school on the Gulf Coast of Texas that they offered a choice of fish sticks for lunch on Friday.
Load More Replies... Definitely a Human 9 months ago
It genuinely blows my mind that people still believe in Jesus in 2025, let alone worship him
Rich Black 10 months ago
America's freedom of religion and speech is often confounding to visitors.
#18
The poverty in America. I was at a petrol station and a man was going through the bins for cans to recycle for a few cents. People were giving him cans from their very large fancy cars like it was a great act of charity.
Susie Elle 10 months ago
They do that where I live as well, especially since they included cans for cashback. Just average folks going dumpsterdiving these days.
ScarletRos 10 months ago
Yep here in Australia it’s not unusual to see average folks going through people’s recycling bins picking out cans.
Load More Replies... Larry Truelove 10 months ago
It’s not so much poverty as mental illness and addiction. I had a conversation with a restaurant manager the other day who spent nearly $3,000 trying to uplift a homeless man who said he wanted to work. He just needed an apartment, phone and ID to get a new start. A job lined up, but he disappeared. I’m not convinced it’s poverty so much as mental illness and/or addiction.
Katie Allen 10 months ago
It's a damn shame. This is one of the richest countries in the world and there are so many homeless people here.
Kali Chaos 10 months ago
I was by no means wealthy, but I had a modest apartment while working and going to school full time, my basic needs were met. There were a lot of unhoused people in the area, and it was not a very safe neighborhood. I always brought hygiene kits and PBJs around, and left all my bottles and cans with deposits rinsed and outside my door. I was safer in that neighborhood than many more upscale places I lived.
Bob Connely 10 months ago
I marvel at the number of people who think that these (so-called) homeless folk are in distress over their lot in life! Many have chosen to live their lives like this. Stop and chat 'em up once in a while: you'll be surprised at come of their stories!
Aaron Miller 10 months ago
This will get worse as we move forward into the second administration of the Long-Tied Clown.
Michelle C 10 months ago
Unfortunately, yes; there are some parts of America that are extremely impoverished. 💔
#19
Shanghai, China. People spitting EVERYWHERE. People would just hock and spit massive phlegm balls out, even inside shops and hotels. It was GRIM.
Rose the Cook 10 months ago
Absolutely the worst thing about China. I once had a nasty fall slipping where someone had spat on the stairs indoors. An eight year old student suggested a solution; "Everyone should carry a stick and just smack anyone spitting."
Weasel Wise 10 months ago
I gotta say, that was the worst part of China for me, snot EVERYWHERE. I also wasn't a fan of seeing grown emptying their bowels in planter...or just on the sidewalk. There are public toilets but no.
zububonsai 10 months ago
in ..side a building? Huh. @fellow panda out there, is this still the norm?
Rich Black 10 months ago
This is why it's traditional to remove your shoes before entering someone's home.
#20
I moved from a busy city in Ukraine to a small UK village 20 years ago.
The day after the night of arrival, I went for walk to find the high street and not seen a single person on the street until I got to the high street. I thought the world has ended and I didn’t get the memo.
Alan Jay Weiner 10 months ago
England... France... Ah, it's all the same... (seriously, it's sarcasm!)
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TiNaBoNiNa 10 months ago
Where all the shops, restaurants, and pubs are in a small town. Like Main Street in small US towns.
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#21
Newcastle - it was snowing and all the gals only had a slip dress on and no coats at all
Sian E 10 months ago
Quite normal in most UK towns and cities on a weekend, especially if you're aged between 15-30. Teenagers especially seem to be immune to the cold weather!
Weasel Wise 10 months ago
Lmao No, it's not a phenomenon that just young women have super immunities to the cold. 🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️ It's the same in the PNW (US), as long as it looks cute, they don't care how uncomfortable they are. Same with women wearing uncomfortable shoes, if they look cute.... Fashion wins against comfort and common sense.
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Tyke 10 months ago
It's not like you're wandering around for hours like this (usually). No-where to put a coat in a club, or the queue for the cloakroom is too long or the cost it too high. Weigh it up, you spend more time inside than outside so why bother with a coat.
Katia Murillo 10 months ago
How about males? Does the same reasoning happy to them?
Load More Replies... Katia Murillo 10 months ago
How about males? Or you have a double standard?
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Sue Denham 10 months ago
When you say Newcastle what country are you talking about? I'm guessing it's not the one in Australia?
#22
Not necessarily the biggest one, but the most surprising one for me was the drinking culture in the UK. Not just how alcohol forms such a huge and destructive part of so many people's lives, but the casual acceptance of the prevalence of alcohol and the frequent excuses for drunk people - "Well, he was drunk, you know..." I always want to say, "Well, he chose to get drunk, so it's still his responsibility!"
SCamp 10 months ago
Yep, agreed. I’m from Australia and we have a drinking rep, but geez, the Brits and their local pub culture is full on. And it’s always pints! And the lasses match the lads pint for pint, that was an eye opener for me! 🫨
Bob Jones 10 months ago
May have changed now but 20 years ago when i lived in London it was not uncommon for people to go the pub at lunchtime, have a few beers and then go back to work.
L.V 10 months ago
There was a big uproar a few years ago, when some companies in the City told their employer they couldn't get drunk at lunchtime 😄
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Certainly not Dan 10 months ago
The pub is often the community hub here, especially in rural areas. My local is where we all meet and spend time with other people. They stay open all day on Christmas Day so that people on their own have somewhere to go. It’s common to see families there from grandchildren to great grandparents. It all happens to be centred in a place where you can buy beer. That’s a huge difference from some of the places in town where people are smashing them down though. Pub culture and drinking culture are different things I suppose
Child of the Stars 10 months ago
I watch a lot of British TV, and I always assumed the amount of alcohol consumption was either for comedic or dramatic effect. Until I dated an English man and had that assumption quickly corrected.
Sian E 10 months ago
No, but I enjoy watching all the police body cam videos that seem to come from there. Literally everyone they arrest is drunk or on d***s or both. That's next level nuts.
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Rich Black 10 months ago
Natural selection at work. Not everyone will survive, even with free national health care . . .
Aileen Grist 10 months ago
Most people slow down their drinking as they get older. Go out less, 3 or 4 pints of an evening - or lunchtime - mainly at the weekend. Hangovers get more painful as you get older.
#23
Being grabbed and stared at in turkey, even when not wearing particularly revealing clothes
lenka 10 months ago
No. this is not the case for most countries. I was never grabbed in the UK. Also not in Poland, Czech republic, France, Netherlands, Austria or Germany - never been grabbed. Australia & New Zealand? No grabbing. The Italians were a little handsy but the Spanish and Portugese... no unwanted touching. Denmark, Norway... never touched. China? No touching. Russia and Mongolia.. I've been to both - never touched without my consent. What about south east Asia. Curious kids like to touch me. But fully grown adults. No. Peru and Brazil? Also no. So no. This is not the case for most countries. Please dont normalise being grabbed. This is assault and it's not OK.
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#24
In China - being stared at openly at length with obvious curiosity as I was not Chinese. Those we met who could speak a smattering of English called us "Big Nose". Not meant as an insult I don't think, just their way of noticing our facial features were not in any way like those of the Chinese people.
Vivian McBride 10 months ago
A Chinese-born friend of mine said that a big nose is good luck for the person who has it.
Hetal Vyas 10 months ago
My sister lived in China teaching English and the students would try and 'wipe the brown skin off' we're Indians
Panda'sMom 10 months ago
While stationed in SEA if I went out in civvies with my red hai down, my hair was constantly touched. I would then hear a quiet sigh and a murmured "so soft".
Hiram's Friend 10 months ago
People would turn around in the street and stare at my wife's prematurely white hair.
Rich Black 10 months ago
These are villages without televisions or movies? What year was this?
Bob Connely 10 months ago (edited)
"Slopes, D***s, Slant-eyes" - we can call 'em those names, but "Big-nose" bothers us?
Bob Connely 10 months ago
D - I - N - K - S... NOT little richards! Just FYI !
Load More Replies... #25
Texas was a huge culture shock to me - mainly because of the guns. We went to church with my family there, and every man in there was carrying a gun. My 5-year-old was wide-eyed at the notion of someone shooting someone at Mass!
Smeghead Tribble Down Under 10 months ago
This is the one single reason I will never go to the USA, as much as I would love to. How can you possibly feel safe when everyone has a gun in their pocket or a rifle slung over their shoulder? How do you know that person isn't going to snap and start shooting? And don't start with the ''But good guys with guns!!1!!1!
Pandapoo 10 months ago
I’m in the US and travel extensively and haven’t seen this. Just stay out of Texas. When I went to Montana hiking, I’m sure some were carrying (because of grizzlies), but I didn’t notice.
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Hobby Hopper 10 months ago
I'm in Texas, and I've never been to a church like this where "every man in there was carrying a gun". In fact, I've never seen someone open carry in any church service I've been to. I don't deny that our gun culture is a big problem, but it's way over-stated. If you only ever read about Texas on social media, you'd think it's like a nonstop western here with cowboys and gangs constantly trying to shoot each other. In reality, it was never like that, even in the 1800s.
P.sharma 10 months ago
This I never understood. I am non-american. I get your desire to have guns, being able to protect yourself and your loved ones. I can even understand your desire to carry it. What I don’t understand is people’s desire to publicly carry their gun. From my point of view, you have right to carry a gun, but I also have right to be safe, not feel threatened. Not feeling that you might start shooting at any point. How do I know that you are not a potential psychopath or a killer, ready to start shooting?? By you, I mean the American people.
Hiram's Friend 10 months ago
The same way we know someone with a knife is going to start stabbing people on the street in your country.
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Alex Mosby 10 months ago
This would be weird to most Americans, including Texans. I live in the south and have never seen anyone open carry and I live in an open carry state.
Sven Grammersdorf 10 months ago
There was actually an attempted mass shooting at a church in Texas a few years ago and the bad guy was killed by a good guy with a gun before he was able to harm anyone
Definitely a Human 9 months ago
Can you imagine if someone walked in brandishing a chainsaw? Far less lethal, but I imagine there's be outrage.
#26
TV viewing in the US. It seemed so haphazard to me. Ad breaks mid-sentence of mainstream tv shows. The multiple religious channels. The whole set up lacked coherence to me.
Weasel Wise 10 months ago
It's, unfortunately, no haphazard but very well organized capitalism designed for companies to announce themselves as much as possible and for consumers to get as little as possible. Also why I haven't once paid for cable tv as an adult.
Alan Jay Weiner 10 months ago
This must be fake - they didn't mention all the ads for various medications. (Btw, ask your doctor about...)
Susie Elle 10 months ago
I always feel that anything the Americans do, they do with a passion.
Child of the Stars 10 months ago
We definitely don't do anything by halves, that's for sure.
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Rich Black 10 months ago
The ads ARE annoying. But we do have subscription channels which are ad free, much like brits with government television license and tax. If you don't like the religious channel just change it. Comcast has 1,800 alternatives
Michelle C 10 months ago
I am American and a little bit of everything else. I don’t watch TV unless it’s for something special anymore.
Abdullah Abd Rahman 10 months ago
Just indicative of how divided and disunited Americans are.Individualism taken too far and gone mad !Can never get used to the "Everyone for himself" culture,especially in the big cities.
#27
Japan had a lot. Going into supermarkets and genuinely having no idea what something was. Children wearing school uniform even on weekends to advertise their school. The quietness and uniformity. People just obeying the rules. Things like the inability to understand how someone could lose a bus ticket and instead of just saying “no you have to buy a new one” being sent through ten different people all expressing surprise I could lose it. They couldn’t just say no!
Oh and the shop workers having incredibly high pitched voices, acting like children and following you around.
Alan Jay Weiner 10 months ago
I was in Tokyo for a week. I only met one person who didn't speak English. When I was looking at a map, people would walk up and ask if they can help me. I only know enough Japanese to say a bit beyond please and thank you, although I did make one woman's day as we were leaving a tempura bar; I said "subarashii desu" (wonderful) - it was mind-bogglingly good tempura!
Panda'sMom 10 months ago
They wear uniforms on weekends because they are in school half days. Geeze people, learn something about a country BEFORE you go there!
Rich Black 10 months ago
How did you conclude japanese children wear their uniforms to "advertise" their schools?
#28
I guess seeing the poverty in Cambodia. And the fact nobody was over the age of about 40. Lots of people with no limbs. Lots of very young kids living on the streets. This was about 20 years ago.
Simon Chen 10 months ago
Come back today, it is much different. Thanks to a lot of chinese money, poverty is now much lower. I do not know where OP was, but elderly people were allways there, they maybe just dont go to pub street. Begging children is very much the exeption now, sadly those are usually begging gangs of street kids or selling some crappy souveniers. Best thing is to just ignore it, you are not really doing them a favour by giving them money.
Kristy Marion 10 months ago
I mean, the Khmer Rouge killed 25% of the Cambodian population and the % is even higher for adults. I noticed a lack of elderly when I travelled through 20 years ago as well. The young adults I spoke to also confirmed this. 2 generations were practically wiped out.
Load More Replies... Michelle C 10 months ago
For awareness’ sake: be prepared to regard your reading with horror if you look up Cambodian history following World War II. The communist dictatorship that Pol Pot enacted was the undergirding of much of what OP described.
DC and S 10 months ago
Just came back from Cambodia as well. It is slowly changing. Still lots of poverty and still kids selling trinkets and whatnot. They ask you not to buy from the kids because some parents keep their kids out of school thinking they will be more successful at selling trinkets to tourists. So if you buy from them, the cycle continues. It is a wonderful country still trying to bounce back tourism wise since Covid. If you're thinking of going, go!
Kit Black 9 months ago
And what becomes of them if no one buys? Do they still eat if they are in school and their parents have no money?
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Weasel Wise 10 months ago
Let's base opinions on 100 years ago too. 🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️ I've visited Cambodia several times in the past decade and there's plenty of older people, the streets weren't flooded with orphans...there are still a LOT of people without limbs though, I can attest to that. Many of the are over 40yo and last their limbs cuz the US sucks and tried to take over Vietnam (+ a little extra).
#29
Two spring immediately to mind that really threw me off kilter.
Arriving in India, first time I’d been out of Europe, and seeing the poverty and dirt and destitution everywhere. Cried my eyes out as it was all so raw.
Bangkok after a few months bumming around beaches, standing on a bridge looking down at several lanes of frankly mental traffic in the city centre, then waking down the steps and being hit with an array of sounds, smells, colour and chaos. Cried my eyes out as all my senses were so overwhelmed (but grew to love it!)
meh 10 months ago
Yes, it's a paradox in India. If you happen to be in Mumbai you'll see tall skyscrapers sandwiched between chawls. If you are landing at Mumbai during the day time you can see the airport you can't miss the endless roofs of shanties and slums. Rehabilitation efforts and plans have in the past got buried under corruption and politics.
Rich Black 10 months ago
Did you read the travel brochure first? Weaterners who arrive with the intent of "bumming around" are probably a form of culture shock to legitimate residents, too
KatSaidWhat 10 months ago
I grew up in Africa, moved to UK, booked a holiday to Zanzibar. To get from the primitive airport to the sparkling resorts / Jamestown, you have to go past the shanties. This was a massive shock for non-Africans who had never seen poverty up front and close. I hope they took something away from seeing that.
Alan Jay Weiner 10 months ago
I saw the same in India - sent for work, I was in this incredible hotel room; better than any I've ever stayed at. Looking out the window it overlooked these rows of cement - I'm not sure what to call them; housing, but more like each row was a bunch of one or two-room places (based on the number of doors). The contrast in wealth (and lack of it) was very disturbing. I was amazed at how often I heard car horns - taxi from the airport must've been a dozen times. I finally decided that nobody cares what's behind them, and when they go to pass, they hit the horn to say they are and whoever they're passing lets them. Seemed to work, though.
#30
I remember starting work in London. I was raised in the Midlands just outside of Birmingham in an ethnically Indian family who had come from Malaysia. In those days the Midlands was industrial and I had seen men running out of work at the end of a shift. The bit that surprised me in London was that men and women in suits were running up the escalators in the tube to get to work- not to bet out of work, but running to get there. Then one day there am I doing the same thing without really realising it! Also the way people would cram themselves into an already crowded tube.
SCamp 10 months ago
What surprised me about the tube in London was the size of the train - it’s tiny!
Owen 10 months ago (edited)
Yeah. But they're like every 3mins. The London underground was the first underground, and built when the world was less crowded. And enlarging it is tricky, because to dig out more space in London, is to dig into another bit of London that's already taken.
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WubiDubi 10 months ago
London is catching up, it's much more crammed than it used to be. London soon needs the staff who push you in, like in Japan.
Load More Replies...When experiencing culture shock in a new country, it's interesting to see how different global cultures handle various situations.
For instance, the American way of life might seem perplexing to many, as discussed in the non-Americans' perspective on American cultural norms. This provides insight into some common misunderstandings that arise between cultures.
#31
My first time in San Diego. I couldn’t believe the amount of homeless people. There were hundreds of little tents on the banks of the railway line.
Weasel Wise 10 months ago
I agree but it doesn't help that a lot of red states will literally buy their homeless people bus tickets to California rather than do what their precious Jesus demanded they do, and take care of those sick and needy. Fukcing hypocritical fukcs. 😡
Load More Replies... #32
The expectation of politeness in France. If you walk into any establishment and start to order or buy something without a big "Bonjour" you are considered rude
Multa Nocte 10 months ago
You WILL get better service in France if you treat the clerk as a human being instead of an automaton who is only there to serve your every need.
nottheactualphoto 10 months ago
That's true in the US as well. Probably also in most other countries, I'd guess.
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Ace 10 months ago
Yes, it's considered basic politeness. Same in Switzerland. If you're having any sort of interaction with someone, from sitting at the next tab;e in a restaurant to sharing an elevator, you must at least make eye contact and exchange a brief hello, in the language of your choice of course.
Melissa Harris 10 months ago
Who doesn't greet the cashier/wait staff/service professional? It's just basic communication. Some people really just launch right into their request/order without a "hi"?
Weasel Wise 10 months ago
Sub humans that, for some weird reason, believe they're a gift to mankind.
Load More Replies... nm (he/him) 10 months ago
Treat everyone the same way you want to be treated. A simple but golden rule.
winterwidow87 10 months ago
I'm not french but is it not normal to greet someone before asking for something?
Hellebore 10 months ago
As a French who lives near the spanish border and used to work in a shop I can confirm that my coworkers and I were surprised that the Spanish people (and other foreign tourists) don’t often say Bonjour when entering… We are very welcoming if you do, if not well… not so much 🙂
Dori 10 months ago
What if they say "Hola" or another daytime appropriate greeting in Spanish? Obviously it would br nice to at Hello in French but maybe the Spanish would come out first for some reason.
Load More Replies... #33
Nothing resembling a "village pub" culture in Canada. It is one of the things I miss most about the UK.
Pernille 10 months ago
Back when I was buying a flat in London the ads would say how many pubs there was in the neighborhood and how long it would take to walk there, they never stated how long it would take to walk home from the pub, but the one a five minute walk from my flat took twenty minutes to get home from, including passing the kebab van.
#34
In typical yokel style I was in the red light district in Amsterdam and didn’t know 🙄
I just said they need to shut their curtains cos you can see them in their underwear 🙈
I got laughed at unsurprisingly 😂
#35
Visiting Nepal and India 25 years ago. Cows on the road that the taxi drivers would dodge. Vibrant colours everywhere. People sleeping on the pavement at night, hundreds of them with nowhere else to go. Disabled people with no limbs begging lying on the floor. The kindness of strangers and simplicity of the lives people led. It brought me up short and made me appreciate my life back in the U.K. so much more. Not that I preferred it, but the contrast was strong.
Sapna Sarfare 10 months ago
Indian here.. this is probably a nice thing said.. We have issues and the govt is doing a lot but our population is an issue. Good news is we have brought many out of poverty, But still a long way to go
#36
As a 20 year old, being able to buy beer in McDonald's or from a street vending machine in Belgium. Blew my mind
Pferdchen 10 months ago
Back in 1974 or so, on a bus tour of Europe with my parents, I too was surprised by beer in a vending machine in Germany - at a highway rest stop! Being only 14 or 15, I was also amazed that a shopkeeper let me purchase little 1 oz. bottles of Goldschlager and Scotch; I kept those unopened for ages like some kind of trophies.
#37
Speaking to an Egyptian waiter and they have to have chaperones on every date until they get engaged.He also couldnt get his head around that women were allowed to swear in the uk.Its a different world.
#38
South Korea 25 years ago. I was 20, my brother 18. Both tall and blonde. My Dad was tall, fat and ginger. We got pointed and laughed at everywhere we went!
Scott Rackley 10 months ago
Went to Japan when I was younger, got similar treatment. I didn't think I was tall but over there I sure was, also, blonde with grey eyes. Wasn't pointed at but sure did get quite a few odd looks.
Andi 10 months ago
Rural Kenya. my girlfriend had long blonde hair. Adults were fine, but little kids who hadn't left their villages were fascinated - but really sweet with it. Sitting in a crowded matamu (a little bus) she had a small child plonked on her lap, as they did. He fell asleep and woke up about half an hour later, looked up at her hair blowing out of the window, give the biggest, smuggest smile and fell asleep again. Precious!
#39
The way men treat women in other countries.
Not saying it's great here btw.
Argentina - you literally get followed down the road like a dog in heat. It's absolutely feral. And they talk to you and expect you to actually go to one of those hotels where they rent by the hour. I absolutely don't look the type (whatever that is).
Also the way you are treated in places like Egypt.
I was offered a job in the Middle East on about an eighth of my UK salary "because you are married and your husband will look after you". No thanks.
Susie Elle 10 months ago
Aside from Western Europe, North America and Australia/New Zealand, I'm willing to bet as a woman you're far worse off.
#40
In Beijing, the men carrying their wives handbags and people dancing In parks and in squares. It was so joyful!
Weasel Wise 10 months ago
The communal dancing and exercising in public spaces (especially parks) is seen a lot in Asian cultures.
Michael Largey 10 months ago
Men carrying their wives handbags can indicate a dangerous neighborhood.
#41
Public toilets in the UAE being a hole in the floor. It was well built with a plastic seat style spaces for your feet. But nowhere to sit.
Mary Tonningsen 10 months ago
I was just thinking the same. I'd never make it there.
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#43
Went to Norway last year and I couldn't understand why whenever we got on public transport everyone around us stood up and walked to a different seat.
I think culturally it's the thing to sit in silence but as excited tourists we just chatted away.
P.sharma 10 months ago
In Norway, we just don’t just chat up. If we do need to ask something, it’s mostly like , excuse me, has the bus nr 3 already passed? Or excuse me do you know what time it is? You will be considered weird if you start chatting about stuff like the game last night, or ask about work or hobbies. And don’t sit beside someone if there are vacant seats available. If only seats available are beside someone, then you may ask, excuse me can I sit here.
#44
In South Korea I went for a walk with a black man. I hadn't realised that would make us attraction no.1, an African and a European together!
#45
Miami - people mostly men, on huge motorbikes on 8 lane freeways without crash helmets. It terrified me.
Owen 10 months ago
Well. They have the 'freedom' to risk their own lives at all times if they wish. And the medical bills alone could destroy their lives if they were lucky enough to survive a crash.
tracy black 10 months ago
only in some states most require helmets and personally i think anyone who gets on a motor cycle without a helmet is an idiot
Load More Replies... Karen Ballou 10 months ago
My late husband was a LEO all his life. Called motorcycles Donorcycles.
#46
Cigarette vending machines in isolated spots in Germany.
Ace 10 months ago (edited)
To clarify, they're either inside adult-only establishments, i.e. a bar, or they require a driving licence or similar ID to be swiped before they will vend. Or both. Used to be some in CH where you had to go to the bar and get a special "jeton" (token, which I needed to look up, been here for too long) to put in the coin slot first.
Load More Replies... Earonn - 10 months ago
They used to be just on the street, so kids could buy cigarettes (often for parents, and some for themselves) back in the 70s and early 80s. We had a huge one in our pub, I loved to watch the guy refilling it. 20-25 packs of each brand, easily. It's incredibly how much people used to smoke.
tracy black 10 months ago
they still have em in the U.S. but you have to really look for em they are usually in really old bars
#47
In France, not being able to go for a walk on my own, sit on a park bench and read a book, without some bloke following me/sitting next to me and chatting me up. Never happened in the UK!
Barbara Wilcock 10 months ago
I'm sorry this happened. But as a solo traveller I have never had this anywhere in France. City,or rural
Pernille 10 months ago
I think it might happen everywhere, I've even experienced it in Danmark, but it has a lot to do with the vibes you give off. I have resting b***h face to such a degree that I have walked through the souk in Tangier without being accosted, the only people that are immune is US waiters.
Multa Nocte 10 months ago (edited)
I have NEVER seen this in France. [Edit] And I live here. One of the wonderful things about France is being able to sit in a café all day long and no one bothers you unless you chat them up.
Nadine Debard 10 months ago (edited)
I'm French and got harrassed from 12 to 35 by men, mainly in council estates where I lived. Also you can't be in tourist places in Paris without street vendors harrassing you all day and even following you in the streets to sell you crappy stuff. So you are mainly safe here but there are places where you can't be peaceful.
Ace 10 months ago
I think it likely that the only thing following you around is your own paranoia.
cecilia kilian 10 months ago
It happens to a lot of young women in France. It happened to me and many of my friends when we were exchange students, happend to my sons' friends, and even happened to me in my 50s ( I think the young man was still drunk from the night before, I was out for my morning walk in basketball shorts and a baggy sports jersey ) the guy followed me in his car until I took a pedestrian street.
Load More Replies... #48
India. Coming from rural / small town Scotland, it was an absolute mind blower.
More recently, public smacking of children in France. It’s really commonplace, unlike in the UK. There’s no stigma that I can see.
Multa Nocte 10 months ago
Again, just my personal experience but I haven't experienced anyone publicly smacking their child here in France. What I do see is a lot of children having more independence and children being watched by "the whole village." But it is true that French children in restaurants are well-behaved, unlike those of many tourists.
Nadine Debard 10 months ago
It's forbidden by law, and I never saw people smacking children (at least recently).
Luke Branwen 10 months ago
No snobby French grub ever is worth assaulting a child.
Load More Replies... #49
I’m from Ireland but lived in the UK for a long time. When we moved back I was struck by 2 things, which I’d never noticed to a huge extent before:
Smoking in the street - you literally couldn’t avoid it. I used to hate walking up the Main Street in our city because it was everywhere.
Swearing loudly in the street - again, it was everywhere and you couldn’t avoid it.
Katie Allen 10 months ago
So many UK and Irish people smoke while eating or cooking. I'm an American who hates cigarette smell, this drove me nuts.
Theo Blackwood 10 months ago
It’s gotten less common now. A lot of people have switched to vapes
nm (he/him) 10 months ago
I watched the movie "Diamonds are forever (1971)" at a cinema at Piccadilly Circus. There was an ash-tray at the back of every seat in the cinema. Now, smoking at the street is illegal.
#50
I remember in the middle east my husband and I wanted to get on a bus, but women had to get on the bus first and sit at the front, then the men who sat at the back!
embi miller 10 months ago
Christians are no different. Just about any patriarchical religion does not respect or value women as separate, worthy individuals.
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Mentally Bewildered 10 months ago
I lived in Tobruk, Libya in the 1960s (pre-Gadaffi). There's an Arab tradition where the women are expected to walk three paces behind the men. But because of all the unexploded munitions left over from WW2, the women had to walk three paces in front of the men
#51
Switzerland- so clean! Puts the UK to shame!
Owen 10 months ago
The UK has always been a bit dirty. It's a part of the culture that's not really mentioned. But seeing Bangladesh, Indonesia, China... It could be much worse.
Andi 10 months ago
I think the UK is grubby rather than dirty ... loads of it build in the 50s to 80s just feel a bit run down
Load More Replies... #52
Rural town in Kenya, piles off rubbish along the street that were just set on fire as there was no bin/rubbish service. Really strange looking down the street and just seeing multiple fires alight all day
HardBoiledBlonde 10 months ago
Many US states still allow people to burn their trash and other debris.
Hey Kat 10 months ago
Very true, however it's not done along the streets. In the midwest at least it cannot be done within city limits. Most people who do it, live out in the country and usually it is yard debris. This is all just in my experience.
Load More Replies... #53
Brought up in England. Big shock to go to Ireland for a funeral, with an open coffin wake, which is the norm in Ireland. Also that funerals are happening a day or too after death, not weeks
TribbleThinking 10 months ago
That's a bit soon. The whole point of the wake (which a lot of people forget) is that it's three days of watching the body just in case it actually wakes.
nm (he/him) 10 months ago
Three days?!!! Not possible at tropical or subtropical places. One night is enough.
Load More Replies... Disgruntled Panda 10 months ago (edited)
I was a bit disgusted that funerals were sometimes several weeks after death in the UK. Then I learned that bodies are embalmed there. In the Netherlands it's the other way around. Funerals within 5 days, embalming isn't allowed unless in a few very specific cases. For anyone who knows: isn't embalming incredibly bad for the environment and soil?
G A 10 months ago
Nope bodies are not embalmed in the UK. They are just kept in a chiller until the funeral. The US embalms a lot.
Load More Replies... tracy black 10 months ago
weeks?? geez ive never it to be longer than 3 days at the most from death to the ground or urn or where it is they are putting you
Papa 10 months ago
I don't know why you got downvoted. In my part of the country the casket is almost always open unless the person died in an accident and the body can't be made presentable, and the funeral is typically held two or three days after the person died. Now, due to cost, cremation is becoming more common, and in that case there is often a memorial service instead of funeral, and it may be held anywhere from a week to several months after the death.
Load More Replies... #54
New Orleans and walking into bars with signs that said "All guns should be holstered". So bizarre that people can just walk about freely with guns. Blew my mind.
Disgruntled Panda 10 months ago
Alcohol and guns sound like a wonderful combination, what could possibly go wrong
Load More Replies... Donna Peluda 10 months ago
Just after the war in Yugoslavia I worked as a doorman in Spain and we had a Croatian guy who had just started working. He was surprised we allowed guns in, I told him we don't and he said well there's no sign forbidding it. To him it was unusual that people didn't carry guns.
#55
I felt really out of place in Kiev as a female solo tourist. The younger generations were good but the older people were really rude and dismissive.
Of course I've had people being rude to me in my life but this was pretty much full on once they realised I was English. I had learned a few words and phrases to get by but some people just shooed me away with their hand and turned their back on me, even the police did this.
Kenneth Barns 10 months ago
Perhaps because you called the Ukrainian capital city by its Russian name?
Ace 10 months ago
It's only quite recently that the English word for the city has been changed.
Load More Replies... #56
Mine would have to be the first time I went to the Algarve. The cleanliness of the streets. Not one piece of litter, street cleaners around all the time, picking up the tiniest bit of anything. It showed their pride. And if a piece of block paving was uneven, it was sorted within an hour!
The worst; the French people in St.Malo, rude as hell, all of them. And the same in Caernarvon.
Auntriarch 10 months ago
I was shocked how clean and tidy Sarlat was, honestly it looked like no one lived there. Rather nice.
Pernille 10 months ago
Come to Carcassonne at the end of a summer day if you want to experience how dirty a medieval city would be. Nobody lives there but the tourist are like pigs , and us who do the medieval spectacle tends to let ours horses do their business in the strrets to add to the authenticity of the experience.
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StumblingThroughLife 10 months ago
Do they mean Caernarfon? (Gwynedd, North Wales). This surprises me (my parents live/are from a village in Gwynedd) and the people are nice - if you're respectful towards them. Portugal is one of my favourite Countries, and love visiting the Algarve.
#57
Leeds, adult men drinking pints of milk as a take away drink.
Judes 10 months ago
The OP did say it was bad to drink milk, just surprising.
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#58
In NY one December. Had a stinking cold. Apparently it’s not the done thing to sneeze or blow your nose in public. Twice I was told I was disgusting!
Pittsburgh rare 10 months ago
It all depends on how you sneeze. Some people sneeze like dragons, open mouth and all
Melissa Harris 10 months ago (edited)
If you're so sick that you need to constantly blow your nose you should stay home. Excusing your self to the washroom if you need to clear out your sinuses is common. It's different if it's a runny nose caused by spicy food or a little sniffle from the cold. But waking around blowing your mucus into a tissue in public is gross. Sneezing is usually fine as long as you cover it with a hand or arm as sneezing is usually an involuntary.
#59
This is going to sound awful - but mine was when I was 17 and I was invited to stay overnight with a friend from college. She was the only female in a house with her father and several brothers and she was expected to come home from college and make the evening meal (tea) for everyone. That was the first shock. The second was that they drank tea with the meal. I hadn't come across that before.
My mum did everything at home (with help from us when she asked) and we only ever had water to drink with our meals. And our evening meal was called supper not tea. I had quite a sheltered upbringing.
Now I know, of course, that we all do things in different ways and although I like things done my way in my house I really don't care much what other people choose to do in theirs. But it was a shock to me that although my friend was technically still a child she was expected to do all the cooking, laundry and housework just because she was female. This was 1978.
Ace 10 months ago (edited)
Doesn't say where this was or where they were from, but you could find such differences between different parts of the UK, so I don't think it's a country-specific thing. The names used for the midday and evening meals in particular vary a lot, but have changed over time. When I was a kid we had tea in the evening, then it was dinner, then supper seemed to be used a lot, now it's OK to say tea again (which used to be thought of more as a working-class thing). I can't keep up.
Papa 10 months ago
I can't keep up either. When I was a child we had breakfast, dinner, and supper. Lunch was a light meal occasionally served in the middle of the afternoon, and only if you had company. Now that seems to be less common, and it's breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and supper is no more.
Load More Replies... Roxy222uk 10 months ago
In the same year ('78) we moved to Leeds from down south, and I met kids whose grandfathers never made a cup of tea, and proudly didn't know how to (being a real man). Hopefully that Yorkshire tradition has died out. Other than that, Yorkshire folk are the best people in the entire world.
Dar Mal 10 months ago
"friend from college", OP is 17, and then friend referred to as "technically a child" .... children are usually under 12.... is this one of those American "THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!!" outrages?
Dori 10 months ago
Legally, children are anyone under 18 (in the USA) or, I believe, 17 (in the UK). Also, college in the UK is like high school in the USA, But more specialized. The girl in the story is likely an older teenager. The outrage you're thinking of is child soldiers and workers, where the kids are much younger, often under 10.
Load More Replies... #60
Oh some of the southern US states. Obesity was absolutely shocking,
majority of people can’t walk. Sadly it’s becoming more common all over now.
Allison Slagle (Randomosity) 10 months ago
Don't know where you went, but there's plenty of skinny people here. And they can all walk.
Load More Replies... Weasel Wise 10 months ago
Yep, obesity is much higher in the south (or just red states in general), but it's not the average.
#62
Rural China - toddlers not wearing nappies just bottomless trousers and doing their business.
This was about 15 years ago so it has probably changed.
Rose the Cook 10 months ago
It hasn't changed, babies are toilet trained early this way still. Only the wealthy upper class city folks use disposable nappies.
firecrackershrimp 10 months ago
There are things called cloth reusable diapers. ...instead of just letting you children s**t everywhere
Load More Replies... Weasel Wise 10 months ago (edited)
This isn't just rural China. I saw it plenty in Beijing and Xi'an. Even watched a woman help her child poop right at the exit of the West Beijing train station, with a cop watching the whole thing, and then they just walked away, poopy butt and all.
#63
New York. The woman next to me in a clothes shop did a very loud fart, she casually said 'excuse me' and carried on shopping.
No attempt to pretend it wasn't her. Now that's a real culture shock.
Rafael 10 months ago
Maybe that was an accusatory "excuse me!" to imply that the OP was the dealer :-)
Weasel Wise 10 months ago
It was a shock that someone had a normal body function and then had the call to take responsibility rather than trying to push blame on someone?! The horror!! Especially cuz ,if you've read anything on BP, NYC is nothing but a bunch of degenerates, so now I'm confused. 🤣
Melissa Harris 10 months ago
Culture shock that humans fart? She was polite as excused herself because it was obvious the OP was there and heard it.
#64
New York. The lack of facilities for disabled people was awful. The attitudes towards disabled people was also terrible. I always thought the U.K. was poor at that until we went to New York.
David 10 months ago
I live in NYC, we are a very disabled friendly city, almost all public restrooms are disabled capable, all busses, and a nice chunk of the subway stations are (many stations were built over 100 years ago, and it take years to modify one for a elevator. Reason why most dont even have escaltors but just stairs.)
Canisteo 10 months ago
lol, the US is one of the most handicapped accessible countries in the world
Dori 10 months ago
I used to say that. Then I started using a wheelchair. It's not as accessible as you think it is. Places are: i was very impressed by San Francisco and many places in each city have good accessibility, but it's far from great.
Load More Replies... #65
Americans don't really use knives.
We do use knives to eat, but not in the same way as in the UK
Ace 10 months ago
That's cos you always switch the fork to the right hand to use it like a spoon, yes?
nicholas nolan 10 months ago
I'm not sure what you mean. We switch forks to the right hand to use it...like a fork. Because it's a fork. Spoons have made their way to the Americas, you know. Why, I once even saw a cocktail spoon in Toronto!
Load More Replies... #66
Italy - The hole in the ground toilets. The fab food and the amazing wine for next to nothing
#67
Israel - the way men greet each other and kiss each other
General Anaesthesia 10 months ago
Maybe look up the meaning of "culture shock", Barbara. It isn't implicitly negative as you seem to "think". "Culture shock: the feeling of disorientation experienced by someone when they are suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture, way of life, or set of attitudes."
Load More Replies... #68
Children’s birthday parties in Dubai.
WindySwede 10 months ago
Billionaires trying to show of their wealth? 🤷♂️
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#69
Moving from a workplace in a very very famous institution to a local authority office.
Everything felt tinny and unsubstantial.
#70
How it's "classy" for women to have a glass of wine. In France, outside a meal, only alcoholics do that.
Spencer's slave no longer 10 months ago
So only women in France who drink wine whilst not having a meal are alcoholics? What about men in France who enjoy a glass of wine whilst not eating? Women and men all over the world enjoy a glass, or even a bottle, of wine without food. Just like I'm doing right now, 2 hours after dinner, in Aotearoa New Zealand. OH THE HORROR!!!
Weasel Wise 10 months ago
There ya go, Barbara! You made a full sentence AND it was applicable to the topic of the post.
Load More Replies... cecilia kilian 10 months ago
The Bordeaux, Bourgogne, Alsace, and Provence vinters would like a word.
Multa Nocte 10 months ago
Please add the Entre Deux Mers people to this! ;-)
Load More Replies... What do you think ?
Captive 10 months ago
The amount of places where women can't walk around freely without being molested is disgusting. Those men act like animals and I wonder if those people treat their own women the same or just think those "western" women are objects.
Weasel Wise 10 months ago
Women are objects to them, local or not. Their wives though get it worse though cuz wives are property then, not just an object.
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PenguinEmp 10 months ago
I went to the USA and couldn't believe how fat everyone was. How much health care costs, how a woman has no say on her body. How racist people are to non whites. Oh and how almost everyone has a fing gun.
Alyce 10 months ago
You must have been here for a very long time, or came with a bunch of preconceived notions that you slotted your experiences into..
Load More Replies... Warren Peece 10 months ago
The first time I saw a "squat pot" toilet in Japan without knowing about them in advance. I walked into the restroom in a public park and was like "Uhh, what is this?"
Lyone Fein 10 months ago
When I went to India in the 1990s, I honestly did not experience too much culture shock. Maybe because I was studying Hinduism in grad school at the time. The cultural values really resonated with me. The slower pace, the food, the religious view point. The biggest shock for me was coming back to the US. I couldn't stand how much everyone kept complaining about things. Thirty years later and it still strikes me as outrageous. People who have indoor plumbing, potable water, refrigerators, phones, multiple pairs of shoes, electricity, etc. complaining about their poverty. But most of these people would be considered wealthy in other parts of the world......or at other times of history.
Captive 10 months ago
The amount of places where women can't walk around freely without being molested is disgusting. Those men act like animals and I wonder if those people treat their own women the same or just think those "western" women are objects.
Weasel Wise 10 months ago
Women are objects to them, local or not. Their wives though get it worse though cuz wives are property then, not just an object.
Load More Replies... PenguinEmp 10 months ago
I went to the USA and couldn't believe how fat everyone was. How much health care costs, how a woman has no say on her body. How racist people are to non whites. Oh and how almost everyone has a fing gun.
Alyce 10 months ago
You must have been here for a very long time, or came with a bunch of preconceived notions that you slotted your experiences into..
Load More Replies... Warren Peece 10 months ago
The first time I saw a "squat pot" toilet in Japan without knowing about them in advance. I walked into the restroom in a public park and was like "Uhh, what is this?"
Lyone Fein 10 months ago
When I went to India in the 1990s, I honestly did not experience too much culture shock. Maybe because I was studying Hinduism in grad school at the time. The cultural values really resonated with me. The slower pace, the food, the religious view point. The biggest shock for me was coming back to the US. I couldn't stand how much everyone kept complaining about things. Thirty years later and it still strikes me as outrageous. People who have indoor plumbing, potable water, refrigerators, phones, multiple pairs of shoes, electricity, etc. complaining about their poverty. But most of these people would be considered wealthy in other parts of the world......or at other times of history.
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