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Your experiences of culture shock.
- Thread starter Go_Ly_Dow
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Mr. Poolman
Member
While I lived on Spain, seeing these exhibits of Pre-Columbian gold on many museums made my stomach sick.
In fact, many of the museum guides were darn proud of how they obtained them.
I was born on Costa Rica, and grew up learning how the Spanish raped and sacked their way out of the Americas, and seeing actual people proud of that, was quite a shock for me.
In fact, many of the museum guides were darn proud of how they obtained them.
I was born on Costa Rica, and grew up learning how the Spanish raped and sacked their way out of the Americas, and seeing actual people proud of that, was quite a shock for me.
So do I
But Beauty doesn't mean anything when your culture and your SO is so widely different
For one instance, I believe there is something called ''reading the air in Japan'' and they would never tell you how they feel or think unless you predict it.
I am a literal person, you have to tell me everything because I don't know what you are thinking, so it was case of me worrying about whether I am doing the right think or not because my Ex would not tell me anything at all.
It was tough and stressful.
Manmademan
Member
Toilet paper is made of a material designed to degrade and break down in water.
It's not like flushing loose-leaf paper or paper towels.
Pipes virtually NEVER clog from TP blockage. If it happens its nearly always from women flushing tampons which do NOT degrade.
-Buddy is a plumber.
I'm from the US, but the most culture shock I've had was in LAX after returning from Japan after almost a month.
Despite the massive number of people over there, everything always felt calm and orderly (there was culture shock there for other reasons). Then, less then 10 minutes in LAX proper, people were running me over, screaming at airport officials and being chaotic in general. It definitely shook me a bit.
Despite the massive number of people over there, everything always felt calm and orderly (there was culture shock there for other reasons). Then, less then 10 minutes in LAX proper, people were running me over, screaming at airport officials and being chaotic in general. It definitely shook me a bit.
It's just so weird and meaningless. No one in the service industry is interested in your actual well-being. It's usually filler. I have no problems with a store clerk saying "Hi, can I be of any assistance?". I also hate it when people ask it on the phone (friends and family excluded), people think its polite to start with "hey how are you" while its just a bullshit opener for the real question.
victreeb3l
Member
I have some Aussie relatives over and I think its funny how they shorten every posdible word.
It's not that weird, but I'm not used to the fact that it's a "question". Especially after a long trip, I'm caught off-guard by a casual "Hey, how are you" and immediately start answering the question instead of saying "Good, thanks".
Also, answering the phone is weird.
NL phone answering:
> *pickup* Hi, this is John.
< Hi John, it's Matt.
> Hi Matt, what's up?
> *conversation continues*
US phone answering:
> *pickup* Hello?
< Hi, is this John?
> Yes, this is John.
< Hi John, this is Matt.
> Oh, Hi Matt, what's up?
> *conversation continues*
I know it's kind of different in other countries as well. I believer there are some where people pick up and not say anything until the caller says something.
I know. It's just that we don't use a similar phrase, so my response is always weird.
SoldierOfLight
Member
Nevermind. Should've read ahead.
GameAddict411
Member
I moved to Oregon from a repressed middle Eastern society. I had several cultural shocks like seeing gay couple making out in downtown Portland, or how my writing professor was discussing the sexual desire of one of the character in the reading assigned. That was in first term of school. I remember expressing my concern to my classmates in lunch and they laughed at me lol.
There were also other things like how the small drink size is the large drink in my country. Or how you can refill your drinks for free. I also noticed that junk food was a lot cheaper as well. I am like no wonder a lot of Americans are obese lol.
There were also other things like how the small drink size is the large drink in my country. Or how you can refill your drinks for free. I also noticed that junk food was a lot cheaper as well. I am like no wonder a lot of Americans are obese lol.
It feels good to smile and have a conversation with someone. No one's trying to bullshit you, it's just a small courtesy.
jimmypython
Member
Not sure if it is a culture thing as everybody knows it is bad to spit. when I was therethere were signs on the street literally saying don't split.
It's bad manner and lack of common sense.
Tbh this has been my experience with girls from every cultural background lol
Tal Shiar Agent
Banned
Shitty ass Puritan work ethic for the first part, being two oceans away for the second. Flying to Europe or Asia is really fucking expensive. No one has the time to spend over a week on an ocean liner (do they even still exist?). Canada is just Little America so why go there and Latin America doesn't have a sterling reputation for tourism in the US, even if it's mostly false. It's why Florida, the Caribbean, and Mexican resorts are the biggest vacation spots for Americans.
I'dd rather have less conversation and have my drink quicker, thanks. You can be less elaborate and still do your job. "Hi, nice to see you! What can I get you?" is much better than "Hey, how are you?" "Well uh, ok I guess" -awkard moment- "..Ok, what can I get you?".
I find it especially annoying in cultures where tips are very important; it often just screams fake-nice.
This is seriously very different across the world.
Like in a Germanic or Scandinavian country you might get a real answer to a "how are you" question. The way small-talk works is just different.
Canada - Bay Area: Population difference, greater diversity, much smaller housing, cops EVERYWHERE (especially hiding on highways), finding out that Latinos try not to wear certain colours when visiting certain parts of cities. Also I don't know anyone that owns a gun in the area, but it surprised me finding out just HOW many people have served time in the army. Like, a large amount of people. I only knew one person in Canada that joined the air force. Army stuff I guess is a big deal, here (and so many tv commercials for it, too).
Bay Area - SoCal: driving is way worse, and it feels like drivers are awful and way more inconsiderate, when it comes to cutting people off and such. (As mentioned above, LAX is complete havoc too, compared to any other airport I've been to).
Bay Area - SoCal: driving is way worse, and it feels like drivers are awful and way more inconsiderate, when it comes to cutting people off and such. (As mentioned above, LAX is complete havoc too, compared to any other airport I've been to).
fredrancour
Member
toilet paper's made to dissolve and pipes are made to handle it. you'd have to shove an entire roll in there to clog one. as far as i can remember, my childhood homes had literally zero clogs in 20+ years. i never experienced a toilet clogging till middle school when some brats would deliberately overflow urinals.
I don't date often so I wouldn't know, but she did make the strongest impression on me.
I think 'small talk' in many 'transactions' (could be buying something in a store or eating at restaurants) isnt really appreciated in germanic/scandinavian countries (im including the Netherlands in this case), unless the consumer really starts it. I think we prefer our interactions to be more 'business-like', if thats a thing.
I'm Canadian, and my wife and I visited Japan for two weeks. A friend of ours set us up with a lovely English-speaking elderly couple who helped plan our trip, show us around, and on the 2nd day invited us to their home for shabu-shabu (delicious!)
During the meal we chit-chatted and they asked us about our ages. Now, my wife and I had been quizzing each other from a English/Japanese phrasebook on the trip over, and one phrase that had stuck out as funny to me was "mo toshi desu" -- "I'm too old!"
So with a grin and some typical Canadian self-deprecation I tried it out. It didn't play. Their eyes went wide and, gesturing, they both hastily assured me that it wasn't true. "You're young! You're very young," they repeated. The evening wasn't derailed or anything, but privately my wife and I expressed our surprise at how they'd responded.
Fast-forward two weeks and we're having a picnic with this couple's family in a nearby park. The man's daughter and son-in-law are our age, and their English is fantastic. (The daughter had been a flight attendant for years, and the son-in-law grew up in California before moving back to Japan as an adult). We peppered them with our questions about Japan* and they peppered us with questions about the details of our trip so far. Again, age came up. Turned out they were only slightly older than us. I thought okay, they're much closer to us in age and may have a better grasp of our humour given their language skills. So I tried my joke again -- "mo toshi desu!"
Reader, it still didn't play! Same response as their folks! Shock, and "No no, you're so young, don't worry." (I know, it seems desperate not to give up on that joke, but I was so curious haha).
On our return to Canada I told this story to a few people who had lived and traveled internationally and learned a few things. My understanding now is that Japanese people tend not to have a great grasp of irony and sarcasm, and that Canadian people use it liberally. Like, way more than we realize. So when I joked that I was "too old", seems that people may have thought I was being literal and felt I had one foot in the grave at 33. Still makes me smile to think about it.
* My big unanswered question was -- in grocery stores we saw packs of bread that were less than a loaf, which I understand given limited storage space and in many cases going past the stores every day. But we saw packs of five slices. Why an odd number? Why?? I put this question to the younger couple, and they shrugged and said they'd never considered it.
During the meal we chit-chatted and they asked us about our ages. Now, my wife and I had been quizzing each other from a English/Japanese phrasebook on the trip over, and one phrase that had stuck out as funny to me was "mo toshi desu" -- "I'm too old!"
So with a grin and some typical Canadian self-deprecation I tried it out. It didn't play. Their eyes went wide and, gesturing, they both hastily assured me that it wasn't true. "You're young! You're very young," they repeated. The evening wasn't derailed or anything, but privately my wife and I expressed our surprise at how they'd responded.
Fast-forward two weeks and we're having a picnic with this couple's family in a nearby park. The man's daughter and son-in-law are our age, and their English is fantastic. (The daughter had been a flight attendant for years, and the son-in-law grew up in California before moving back to Japan as an adult). We peppered them with our questions about Japan* and they peppered us with questions about the details of our trip so far. Again, age came up. Turned out they were only slightly older than us. I thought okay, they're much closer to us in age and may have a better grasp of our humour given their language skills. So I tried my joke again -- "mo toshi desu!"
Reader, it still didn't play! Same response as their folks! Shock, and "No no, you're so young, don't worry." (I know, it seems desperate not to give up on that joke, but I was so curious haha).
On our return to Canada I told this story to a few people who had lived and traveled internationally and learned a few things. My understanding now is that Japanese people tend not to have a great grasp of irony and sarcasm, and that Canadian people use it liberally. Like, way more than we realize. So when I joked that I was "too old", seems that people may have thought I was being literal and felt I had one foot in the grave at 33. Still makes me smile to think about it.
* My big unanswered question was -- in grocery stores we saw packs of bread that were less than a loaf, which I understand given limited storage space and in many cases going past the stores every day. But we saw packs of five slices. Why an odd number? Why?? I put this question to the younger couple, and they shrugged and said they'd never considered it.
It's not really fake nice, but you're right that it doesn't really follow the meaning of the words. It's expected that you run your response into your request at bars and restaurants, like, "Not too bad, could I get xyz?" etc. Sort of like Brits asking "You alright?" but not really caring about your wellbeing; it's just an informal greeting.
Here in Taiwan neighbors or acquaintances will ask "Have you eaten yet?" as a greeting, and invite you to come by sometime for food if you say you haven't, but it is absolutely not a literal invitation. You wouldn't be right to show up on their doorstep ready for dinner.
Depends where you are and where you're going. I'm pretty sure the buses run 24/7 in the center of the city. The same thing applied in Syracuse when I went to school there.
That being said, public transportation in US cities in general needs some major funding and work. This country relies way too heavily on car travel.
Mysterious
Banned
That's a thing in Canada and the US as well.
JimmyRustler
Member
I found it kinda funny when my workmates told me to not tip anyone in Singapore. Not even letting the store clerks keep the change. Tried it once in a store where the change was like 1 SD and the clerk insisted that I take the change.
I know this isnt the best example, but I stayed in a hostel in Detroit for a few days and we wanted to get some fresh groceries like vegetables and stuff. Owner of the hostel told us you would actually had to get into a car, drive 15 minutes to some sort of Wall Mart outside the city centre. There was no other way to get that stuff. There was a bus, but it would take you way to long because a lot of bus-schedules and stops got cancelled so it would pretty much zig-zag through half the city.
Driving (or rather, being a passenger in a car) on Moroccan highways. City driving was fine, if occasionally chaotic (we frequently had taxi drivers drive THROUGH them instead of around them). But the highways were nuts. We were leaving Chefchaouen for Fes, and our driver was GUNNING it down the side of a mountain with no guard rails going like 120kmph when the speed limit was 40, tailgating everyone and honking/yelling at them if he felt like they were going too slow. We told him a few times that we didn't mind it taking a little longer if he wanted to drive slower, but he looked confused at the idea.
Oh, and at one point, he took a random detour off of the main highway into the desert. I said, "Hey, the sign says Fes is that way," pointing to the right. Then he gestured to the right, then left, and said, "Eh, Fes, Fes, we'll get there." Keep in mind this is a single lane highway with TWO-WAY TRAFFIC. Multiple times we had to careen off the road into the sand to avoid hitting a bus. Crazy stuff.
Oh, and at one point, he took a random detour off of the main highway into the desert. I said, "Hey, the sign says Fes is that way," pointing to the right. Then he gestured to the right, then left, and said, "Eh, Fes, Fes, we'll get there." Keep in mind this is a single lane highway with TWO-WAY TRAFFIC. Multiple times we had to careen off the road into the sand to avoid hitting a bus. Crazy stuff.
Let me think about this. It's going to be my first year living in Japan soon, I'd say I've experienced quite a lot of culture shock. For perspective, I'm from Mexico (and I had lived all my life there until last year).
- People in Asia don't say anything when someone sneezes. That will never not be alien to me! And when I ask my friends from Germany, Switzerland, Canada, etc. they think the same. Sometimes I say "salud" out loud when someone sneezes because it just feels right
- Drinking outside is allowed. This results in exposition to drunk people at parks, in the train... Especially in the train. Japanese people really love drinking (not my Japanese uncle who moved to Mexico, though, Mexico broke the spell I guess, lol).
- Good lord people smoke like crazy here. And because restaurants are so tiny, even if you sit in a non smoking area, your clothes will smell of cigarette ;(
- In Mexico, you get paid after every two weeks of work. I've seen people getting paid after two months of work here, obviously including paying for your transportation until then (and trains are fricking expensive here). That reminds me...
- Literally everything is expensive. Fruit is expensive, pizza is expensive, watching a movie is expensive, getting a haircut is expensive, rent is expensive.
- It's pretty common for even big restaurants to have only one or two toilets. I guess as a result of Tokyo being super cramped.
- People try their best to not touch each other. My uncle sees his parents like twice a year, and they don't even shake hands, let alone hug. This is the opposite of Mexican culture :0
- Supermarkets are often tiny and lack product variety. I went to my local supermarket to buy some hangers, but they don't sell any. Japan prefers having a lot of specialty shops over big Wal-Mart like stores where you can buy anything.
- In one year, I've seen zero gay couples. Of course you can find gay people, but they don't even believe Japan will someday be progressive enough to be accepting of gay PDA, let alone gay rights. In some parts of Mexico City you can't throw a rock without accidentally hitting a gay couple, lol.
Not really culture shock, but I want to mention how nice and accepting literally everyone has been. It's easy to do some googling and believe Japan is a xenophobic hellhole, but that's really not the case in my experience. Not that you won't find crazy racist people, I guess, but it's hardly been part of my experience. And people love it when you talk to them in Japanese! I think Japanese people's "fear" of foreigners is mostly because they don't know how to communicate with them.
- People in Asia don't say anything when someone sneezes. That will never not be alien to me! And when I ask my friends from Germany, Switzerland, Canada, etc. they think the same. Sometimes I say "salud" out loud when someone sneezes because it just feels right
- Drinking outside is allowed. This results in exposition to drunk people at parks, in the train... Especially in the train. Japanese people really love drinking (not my Japanese uncle who moved to Mexico, though, Mexico broke the spell I guess, lol).
- Good lord people smoke like crazy here. And because restaurants are so tiny, even if you sit in a non smoking area, your clothes will smell of cigarette ;(
- In Mexico, you get paid after every two weeks of work. I've seen people getting paid after two months of work here, obviously including paying for your transportation until then (and trains are fricking expensive here). That reminds me...
- Literally everything is expensive. Fruit is expensive, pizza is expensive, watching a movie is expensive, getting a haircut is expensive, rent is expensive.
- It's pretty common for even big restaurants to have only one or two toilets. I guess as a result of Tokyo being super cramped.
- People try their best to not touch each other. My uncle sees his parents like twice a year, and they don't even shake hands, let alone hug. This is the opposite of Mexican culture :0
- Supermarkets are often tiny and lack product variety. I went to my local supermarket to buy some hangers, but they don't sell any. Japan prefers having a lot of specialty shops over big Wal-Mart like stores where you can buy anything.
- In one year, I've seen zero gay couples. Of course you can find gay people, but they don't even believe Japan will someday be progressive enough to be accepting of gay PDA, let alone gay rights. In some parts of Mexico City you can't throw a rock without accidentally hitting a gay couple, lol.
Not really culture shock, but I want to mention how nice and accepting literally everyone has been. It's easy to do some googling and believe Japan is a xenophobic hellhole, but that's really not the case in my experience. Not that you won't find crazy racist people, I guess, but it's hardly been part of my experience. And people love it when you talk to them in Japanese! I think Japanese people's "fear" of foreigners is mostly because they don't know how to communicate with them.
Super_Cobra
Member
When I went to Mexico a few years ago. Córdoba, Veracruz and Veracruz city to be exact. Not like what you see on tv. It was actually pretty nice. The smaller towns were kinda bad but there were nice people.
johancruijff
Banned
i was amazed by the relentless desire of getting completely shitfaced by scottish people
not that is unique to scots
not that is unique to scots
ClivePwned
Member
Some weird shit I have noticed living in the UK after growing up in Australia. Not culture shock, more things I did not expect considering how similar Australians and Brits are in many ways, but not every way.
Driving: Despite both countries driving on the left in right hand drive cars, no UK cars have the the indicator stalk on the right like any non-european made car in Australia does.
Roundabouts: What genius puts a traffic lights on roundabouts? What genius thinks its a great idea to have to change lanes on a roundabout, especially if you're possibly going to have to stop suddenly?
Traffic Violations: Why do you need to send your fucking driver's license away in the post if you get a speeding fine?
Escalators: especially in London. Stand on the right. Like you would in Europe. In Australia, people tend to stand on the left and walk down footpaths/pavements/sidewalks just as if they were in a car ( as in walk on the left. It's not cast in stone but it's obvious who is an Aussie in London)
Spiders: I have more spiders in my house in the UK than I would have in Australia. No Houses seem to have flyscreens on their windows and since hardly any homes have air-conditioning, you need to leave your windows open in Summer for those 5 days it gets above 25 degrees. So that's why your house is full of insects.
Mix of imperial and Metric. You know, I lived in America and nothing was metric. I've lived in Australia and Europe where everything is Metric. The UK uses metric for food weights and Celsius for temperature but imperial measurements for distances and speed. Most confusing is brake horsepower which is 2 units less than the almost identical ps used in Europe. I still prefer talking about engines using kilowatts, myself.
That said, Brits do the following better than Australians: Pubs [/list]
Driving: Despite both countries driving on the left in right hand drive cars, no UK cars have the the indicator stalk on the right like any non-european made car in Australia does.
Roundabouts: What genius puts a traffic lights on roundabouts? What genius thinks its a great idea to have to change lanes on a roundabout, especially if you're possibly going to have to stop suddenly?
Traffic Violations: Why do you need to send your fucking driver's license away in the post if you get a speeding fine?
Escalators: especially in London. Stand on the right. Like you would in Europe. In Australia, people tend to stand on the left and walk down footpaths/pavements/sidewalks just as if they were in a car ( as in walk on the left. It's not cast in stone but it's obvious who is an Aussie in London)
Spiders: I have more spiders in my house in the UK than I would have in Australia. No Houses seem to have flyscreens on their windows and since hardly any homes have air-conditioning, you need to leave your windows open in Summer for those 5 days it gets above 25 degrees. So that's why your house is full of insects.
Mix of imperial and Metric. You know, I lived in America and nothing was metric. I've lived in Australia and Europe where everything is Metric. The UK uses metric for food weights and Celsius for temperature but imperial measurements for distances and speed. Most confusing is brake horsepower which is 2 units less than the almost identical ps used in Europe. I still prefer talking about engines using kilowatts, myself.
That said, Brits do the following better than Australians: Pubs [/list]
Let me think about this. It's going to be my first year living in Japan soon, I'd say I've experienced quite a lot of culture shock. For perspective, I'm from Mexico (and I had lived all my life there until last year).
- People in Asia don't say anything when someone sneezes. That will never not be alien to me! And when I ask my friends from Germany, Switzerland, Canada, etc. they think the same. Sometimes I say "salud" out loud when someone sneezes because it just feels right
- Drinking outside is allowed. This results in exposition to drunk people at parks, in the train... Especially in the train. Japanese people really love drinking (not my Japanese uncle who moved to Mexico, though, Mexico broke the spell I guess, lol).
- Good lord people smoke like crazy here. And because restaurants are so tiny, even if you sit in a non smoking area, your clothes will smell of cigarette ;(
- In Mexico, you get paid after every two weeks of work. I've seen people getting paid after two months of work here, obviously including paying for your transportation until then (and trains are fricking expensive here). That reminds me...
- Literally everything is expensive. Fruit is expensive, pizza is expensive, watching a movie is expensive, getting a haircut is expensive, rent is expensive.
I'll further edit this on my PC :x
I like the sneezing thing. No one draws attention to my weird sneeze.
Japan likes to get fucking drunk as hell. So many office women and men stumbling home in the early AMs. I was surprised because in the US or Taiwan, you'll see two, maybe three falling-down drunks if you spend the night out at the bars, but in Japan they're everywhere. Passed out near Shibuya Station. Passed out on a bench in Pontocho in Kyoto. Japan gets tore up.
The smoking was a surprise to me as well. Coffee shop, have a smoke. Sushi restaurant, have a smoke. Izakayas,of course. I quite enjoy a smoke after a meal, but I understand those who don't like it, and it's very different when even most dive bars in US cities don't allow smoking anymore.
Wat?
I'm white but grew up in an area with only about a 10% white population (rest was black and Mexican). When I was 13 we moved to a city with like a 98% white population. There was a girl named Buffy, and then I heard someone refer to a black person as "colored." I was like yooooo wtf
like, wearing a miniskirt and high heels when it's freezing outside; wearing too much makeup.
Rekwest
Member
That is not true.
That's actually a decent example. In order to get decent 24/7 public transportation to anywhere you need to go in the US, you need to be in a major city like NYC.
It's only when you don't have a car that you see how dependent on fossil fuels the US is. The urban planning and public works in this country are trash.
You should see a college campus on a Friday night. You'd think it's summertime in February. Boys and girls both.
Laieon
Member
As someone who has lived in Korea for the past 3 years, visiting Japan last summer made me think everyone was sober.
Koreans must live on another plane of existence or something, because they consume alcohol like it's water.
Sunster
Member
this is an actual way we need to be great again. we used to have great transpo until like 1945
We put cheese in them! But you also can eat them without cheese.
Now that I have to see. It's on my list.
David Incorporated Esq.
Member
- People in Asia don't say anything when someone sneezes. That will never not be alien to me! And when I ask my friends from Germany, Switzerland, Canada, etc. they think the same. Sometimes I say "salud" out loud when someone sneezes because it just feels right
Saying "bless you" after a sneeze is the most bizarre etiquette standard, if you think about it for a minute. Nothing comes close to its weirdness.
I make a point to always say "excuse me" after a sneeze before anyone can edge in a "bless you". Some cultures apparently say "good health" or something similar, which at least means something relevant, i.e., I hope you're not sick! But bless you as a sign to ward off the devil's influence or prevent your soul from escaping? Fucking what?
I don't say anything when other people sneeze, other than "Hey, you cut that shit out!" in a joking way, which usually gets a laugh; but if I don't say anything I can get weird stares. At which point I ask them if saying "bless you" makes any sense. They typically agree that it doesn't but "it's just what you do."
Yes I'm kind of an irritating person sometimes, but I think it's funny to talk about.
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