Cultural Shocks

[Azeem]

What are the things about your country that others do or may find as a cultural shock and the cultural shocks you experienced travelling in other countries or through meeting people.

Here,

For you westerns 

Using hand in toilet

Unclean cities, that one really shames me people of sub continent don't have any sense of social responsibility or being conscious about their surroundings and the factor that government is incompetent as fuck. 

More Family oriented lifestyle, is this a shock though ? It's normal to stay with and being financially dependent on your parents until 21 and after that kids like their parents to stay with them.

Gun culture in parts of the country, We have a US type gun culture in western parts of the country that even freaks me out sometimes but we don't have mass shootings though 

[Stan]

2 hours ago, Stick With Azeem said:

Using hand in toilet

what

[Azeem]

2 minutes ago, Stan said:

what

' How do you wipe your ass thread ' using hand to wipe your ass 

[Azeem]

I'm interested in knowing what are the different aspects of culture British, Americans and Australians etc find weird about each other cause they just look the same to me culturally.

[Stan]

14 minutes ago, Stick With Azeem said:

I'm interested in knowing what are the different aspects of culture British, Americans and Australians etc find weird about each other cause they just look the same to me culturally.

Ashes are a delicacy in Australia apparently. I had no idea.

[Inverted]

One of the few culture shocks I've personally experienced is saying "cunt". Like Australia, in Scotland the word "cunt" can be an insult, but it can also literally just be like "person"  or "guy", or even part of a compliment. For people who have learned English as a 2nd language, it can be really shocking for them to hear, though. The first time I had a few drinks on my exchange, I must have said "look at this cunt" or "who's this cunt" about some random person, and I remember my pals being kinda shocked. 

The lack of inhibition about speaking to strangers can also be a bit surprising to people who have visited me in Glasgow.

[Berserker]

15 minutes ago, Inverted said:

One of the few culture shocks I've personally experienced is saying "cunt". Like Australia, in Scotland the word "cunt" can be an insult, but it can also literally just be like "person"  or "guy", or even part of a compliment. For people who have learned English as a 2nd language, it can be really shocking for them to hear, though. The first time I had a few drinks on my exchange, I must have said "look at this cunt" or "who's this cunt" about some random person, and I remember my pals being kinda shocked. 

The lack of inhibition about speaking to strangers can also be a bit surprising to people who have visited me in Glasgow.

To be honest i don't find cunt insulting at all, perhaps it's because we also have a word in "boludo" that's used in pretty much the same way.

[Stan]

5 minutes ago, Berserker said:

To be honest i don't find cunt insulting at all, perhaps it's because we also have a word in "boludo" that's used in pretty much the same way.

Cunt is a very offensive word on these shores. 

[Berserker]

9 minutes ago, Stan said:

Cunt is a very offensive word on these shores. 

Yeah but it's not always the case right?, like when you're with pals or in a situation like the one Inverted mentioned.

[Stan]

3 minutes ago, Berserker said:

Yeah but it's not always the case right?, like when you're with pals or in a situation like the one Inverted mentioned.

Yeah I think that goes for any expletive, mind. 

Just that if cunt is said in a serious manner to insult someone, it holds more power than some other abusive words. 

[Toinho]

3 hours ago, Stan said:

Ashes are a delicacy in Australia apparently. I had no idea.

We will take the Cricket ashes.

[Berserker]

2 minutes ago, Stan said:

Yeah I think that goes for any expletive, mind. 

Just that if cunt is said in a serious manner to insult someone, it holds more power than some other abusive words. 

I don't think so, like for example the N word is always offensive, or calling someone mentally disabled or a piece of shit, whereas with cunt, dick, cock, there are exceptions.

[Toinho]

51 minutes ago, Inverted said:

One of the few culture shocks I've personally experienced is saying "cunt". Like Australia, in Scotland the word "cunt" can be an insult, but it can also literally just be like "person"  or "guy", or even part of a compliment. For people who have learned English as a 2nd language, it can be really shocking for them to hear, though. The first time I had a few drinks on my exchange, I must have said "look at this cunt" or "who's this cunt" about some random person, and I remember my pals being kinda shocked. 

The lack of inhibition about speaking to strangers can also be a bit surprising to people who have visited me in Glasgow.

Yeah, would say it’s veen desensitised here a little but it can still cause offence. I remember saying it in front of some American friends once and they just don’t understand.

[Stan]

1 minute ago, Berserker said:

I don't think so, like for example the N word is always offensive, or calling someone mentally disabled or a piece of shit, whereas with cunt, dick, cock, there are exceptions.

That's my point - call someone a cunt in an argument and it holds more resonance here. Call them a dickhead, knobhead, twat etc and it's not as powerful. 

[Berserker]

7 minutes ago, Stan said:

That's my point - call someone a cunt in an argument and it holds more resonance here. Call them a dickhead, knobhead, twat etc and it's not as powerful. 

You said that all insults can be used amicably however that's not the case. Cunt can be more offensive that many other swearwords yeah, but like i said it can also be used in a friendly manner unlike other words that are always going to be very offensive.

[Inverted]

I think cunt is most controversial in America. It seems that, barring the n-word, it's basically the worst thing you can say. You don't even see it said in movies. In England it's a serious profanity, but it's not in a whole category of its own like in America.

For a lot of Europeans who learn English largely via American culture, the taboo transfers a bit. 

[nudge+]

Garbage problems in many parts of SE Asia. In the streets, in the rivers, on the beaches. People literally letting whatever trash they are holding (empty bottles, plastic bags, empty packages of whatever etc.) just fall down and nobody batting and eyelid. Insane plastic pollution.

Locals swimming in the ocean fully clothed.

Drinking beer with ice - although I learned to appreciate it as it's definitely better than warm beer.

Chaotic endless traffic with no obvious rules (at first sight) and trying to cross a street in those conditions. Especially in Vietnam.

Extreme poverty contrasted with extreme luxury; like slums next to a huge 5 star hotel resorts and private villas or child beggars on the street with luxurious cars driving by. The huge gap between the rich and the poor. Especially in Cambodia.

Men with no uniforms but with AK-47s on their shoulders strolling in the local markets.

Loudness. Like, people talking over each other, chatting loud everywhere, phone calls with speaker on, constant shouting. 

My biggest one (after the garbage) is lack of personal space though.

[Mel81x+]

29 minutes ago, nudge said:

My biggest one (after the garbage) is lack of personal space though.

I think thats most of Asia when it comes to big cities. 

[Azeem]

Cultural shock regarding Germany, 

Wolfgang WTF 

[Mel81x+]

Tell you whats a cultural shock for me when I visit places abroad and from my time in school as well. The concept of time. It's unbelievable how 5PM can turn into 5:05 or 5:30 or even 6 over here at times and you kind of get used to it. Then you visit somewhere else and all of a sudden punctuality literally hits you in the face.

[nudge+]

3 minutes ago, Mel81x said:

I think thats most of Asia when it comes to big cities. 

Yes and it's not surprising as in areas with high density personal space kind of becomes a luxury... But I think it's at least partially a cultural thing as well and is also common outside of big cities too  Starting with generations of families living together in a close living space, more collectivism and less individualism, it's no wonder personal space and privacy is pretty much non existent...

[nudge+]

4 minutes ago, Mel81x said:

Tell you whats a cultural shock for me when I visit places abroad and from my time in school as well. The concept of time. It's unbelievable how 5PM can turn into 5:05 or 5:30 or even 6 over here at times and you kind of get used to it. Then you visit somewhere else and all of a sudden punctuality literally hits you in the face.

Oh don't even get me started on that  

[Berserker]

20 minutes ago, nudge said:

Yes and it's not surprising as in areas with high density personal space kind of becomes a luxury... But I think it's at least partially a cultural thing as well and is also common outside of big cities too  Starting with generations of families living together in a close living space, more collectivism and less individualism, it's no wonder personal space and privacy is pretty much non existent...

You have seen nothing yet darling.

[Stan]

1 hour ago, nudge said:

Garbage problems in many parts of SE Asia. In the streets, in the rivers, on the beaches. People literally letting whatever trash they are holding (empty bottles, plastic bags, empty packages of whatever etc.) just fall down and nobody batting and eyelid. Insane plastic pollution.

 Locals swimming in the ocean fully clothed.

Drinking beer with ice - although I learned to appreciate it as it's definitely better than warm beer.

Chaotic endless traffic with no obvious rules (at first sight) and trying to cross a street in those conditions. Especially in Vietnam.

Extreme poverty contrasted with extreme luxury; like slums next to a huge 5 star hotel resorts and private villas or child beggars on the street with luxurious cars driving by. The huge gap between the rich and the poor. Especially in Cambodia.

Men with no uniforms but with AK-47s on their shoulders strolling in the local markets.

Loudness. Like, people talking over each other, chatting loud everywhere, phone calls with speaker on, constant shouting. 

My biggest one (after the garbage) is lack of personal space though.

Now that you mention some of those...

Garbage - whenever I travel to France/Spain I notice they have great big underground chutes (?) where you just dump your rubbish in. Then every now and then, council workers with a big lorry and sometimes crane lift the huge bin out from the ground and empty it. In UK it's nothing like that - it's all small bins on pavements or a few designated areas (like near supermarkets) for bottle banks. Any general waste goes in individual bins at home which get collected by area each week/fortnight.

Traffic - mainly problematic in Asia whenever I've travelled there. There's no concept of spatial awareness and it's all each to their own. There's no concept of 'give way' or road etiquette.

 

[nudge+]

5 minutes ago, Stan said:

Now that you mention some of those...

Garbage - whenever I travel to France/Spain I notice they have great big underground chutes (?) where you just dump your rubbish in. Then every now and then, council workers with a big lorry and sometimes crane lift the huge bin out from the ground and empty it. In UK it's nothing like that - it's all small bins on pavements or a few designated areas (like near supermarkets) for bottle banks. Any general waste goes in individual bins at home which get collected by area each week/fortnight.

Traffic - mainly problematic in Asia whenever I've travelled there. There's no concept of spatial awareness and it's all each to their own. There's no concept of 'give way' or road etiquette.

Have seen those underground containers both in Germany and Netherlands... 

As for Asian traffic - there are actually plenty of unwritten rules and etiquette; that's the reason why so few accidents happen in such chaotic traffic. It's observable after a while and is actually quite fun to watch  I always found it very interesting that "road rage" isn't a thing there.