“Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What”: 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community

I don't like people dropping by unannounced. I need time to straighten up. And put on pants.

"he took the day of" just like that.... aaahh Europe.

I think this is changing now. I'd never visit someone without checking with them first and I'd be very annoyed (and surprised) if someone came to my house without letting me know. I like to have time to give the house a bit of a tidy-up first.

Its the same in India. There's even a sanskrit quote saying "Aditi devo bhavah". It means treat your guest like God.

Living in ireland, never noticed that. Me and the people I know would be very annoyed if that happened- probably wouldn't say anything, but kind of show whoever that it's not appreciated, you know, to be polite

Not only is it quiet in Canada, it's CLEAN.

Same where I live. Tends to be true of colder countries. It's just too cold to be out of doors or stay out..

I'm from Vancouver, which is one of the biggest, most populated, loudest cities in Canada. I was on vacation recently, I went to 4 big American cities on the east coast (Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington) and everything is SO LOUD!! I don't know whether it's the population difference and the fact that there are just less people in Canada to create noise, or whether Canadians are just unnaturally quiet. Either way, it's a huge culture shock

Enjoy the silence. (Finland is quiet too, especially in the winter if we manage to get decent snowfall.)

This is why we get called snobs in our 1/2 acre block suburb. We don’t like selling, we make sure any new developments don’t exceed a certain number of houses. We like our quiet in our heritage listed bush suburb 15 minutes from the ocean and city CDB

Japanese people are so respectful of their environment and one another. I was dazzled by the cleanliness of Tokyo and how helpful they were, even with a language barrier. Amazing place, amazing people. Would love to go again some day.

The garbage trucks smell nicer than NY public bathrooms.

I've been to both Germany and Switzerland and can't imagine how clean Japan must be for the return home to be disturbing to a German..

Researchers at Yale University and Columbia University collaborated with the World Economic Forum to measure the cleanliness and environmental friendliness of over 180 countries around the world. This index is calculated by taking 32 different parameters into account. Environment specialists calculate this index with the information available on national and international organizations. , EPI stands for Environment Performance Index. Cleanest Countries in the World 2021 : 1. Denmark (82.5) 2. Luxembourg (82.3) 3. Switzerland (81.5) 4. United Kingdom (81.3) 5. France (80.0) 6. Austria (79.6) 7. Finland (78.9) 8. Sweden (78.7) 9. Norway (77.7) 10. Germany (77.2) 11. Netherlands (75.3) 12. Japan (75.1) 13. Australia (74.9) 14. Spain (74.3) 15. Belgium (73.3) 16. Ireland (72.8) 17. Iceland (72.3) 18. Slovenia (72.0) 19. New Zealand (71.3) 20. Canada, Czech Republic & Italy (71.0) 24. USA (69.3)

South Africa could do with a lot more trash bins

Kids are like that pretty much everywhere.

It's muddy, not filth. Kids & wild animals love to lark-around in muddy eaters

I've been to Cairo 3 thimes. It's disturbingly filthy. But you go to upper Egypt in Aswan and Luxor completely different. The Nile above the High Dam is very clean and the air is much better.

awww🥰

Aaaaw the sweeties.

This is not uncommon in many African cultures, particularly as land (wealth) passes down through the male line. My grandfather "married" his late brother's wife (not formally) and adopted his kids after his brother died. This allowed them to stay in the homestead, for the kids to inherit land, and to still have family ties. All happened many, many years ago, long before I was born.

I think it's worthwhile to mention that polygamous unions are legally recognized in the Gambia. So you could end up sharing a husband with his other wives.

While the thought is great (widows this way have means to live), the origins are unfortunately sexist (women having fewer rights than men). Unfortunately a problem in many countries in the region (...and not only there)

So misogynistic

This actually makes sense in a culture where it's hard for women to earn a living independently.

Pro tip: This is the case with all places, get out of the turist trap and things will be more authentic and much cheaper.

$3.5 USD is still a bit high tho! We have something called "comida corrida" that is a salad, main dish with a side of something (usually rice or beans), a little dessert and your "agua fresca" (a beverage), and also that includes free tortillas and salsas. On average that costs $60 Mexican pesos or $2,80 USD

ooh i love jarritos (i see it in the photo there lol)

I went to college in Cuernavaca. Now granted, this was 1977 but I could get a full meal and a beer for lunch. It was basically the equivalent of five cents us.

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Tbh tourists from rich countries deserve to be charged more. Their strong currencies and higher wages make everything super cheap otherwise.

Wales is beautiful !

Billboards were banned along most highways in the 1960s - it was Lady Bird Johnson's pet project.

I am in wales now and can see two from my window.

In California, certain highways are designated "scenic" and no billboards are allowed. Besides the lack of billboards, there's a sign with a poppy designating the roadway as scenic.

There ARE billboards, but not so many..