NationStates Jolt Archive

We all have culture. We have personal culture, family culture, ethnic culture, national culture...and quite often, things we take for granted as being 'normal' can unnerve others. Whether it's a personal cultural practice, such as how the toilet paper is hung, or an ethnic culture in terms of staple foods, it can be jarring to suddenly come across someone who sees your 'norms' as anything but. It's usually the little things that take us most by surprise...the big things we're often ready for.

So tell us your tales of culture shock!

My husband is Chilean, and there have been a lot of cases of 'cultural shock' in our (almost) ten years together. Until we actually figured out the differences between how we saw things, certain practices could really make us tense. Here are just two to start: (caveat...I'm not saying ALL Chileans or Canadians do these things...just all the ones I've met)

1) I was always taught to eat everything on my plate, so I was used to serving myself modestly, knowing I could always go back for seconds (quantity of food permitting) and even thirds if that didn't fill me up. Chileans tend to serve themselves exactly how much they plan on eating, making sure that everyone is served, pretty much to the last scrap of food right away. So there I was, taking itty bitty portions and then STARVING, thinking these people were PIGS because there was no food left! And they thought I was taking so little because I didn't like it...I caught on quickly.

2) When I ask a group of friends out to a club or a restaurant, it's with the understanding that everyone pays their own way, unless they really can't, and then we usually all chip in to get that person in with us. When Chileans ask people out, it is expected that the person doing the asking does the paying! So there I was in Chile, wanting to go to a concert, asking a bunch of people if they wanted to go, being suddenly stuck with the large bill for all their tickets! I thought they were so damn rude! But my husband thinks it is rude of us to not pay for others, because he thinks that means people will just eat a little, or not be able to go because they won't have money. So I'm careful about who I invite out, and when...

We all have culture. We have personal culture, family culture, ethnic culture, national culture...and quite often, things we take for granted as being 'normal' can unnerve others. Whether it's a personal cultural practice, such as how the toilet paper is hung, or an ethnic culture in terms of staple foods, it can be jarring to suddenly come across someone who sees your 'norms' as anything but. It's usually the little things that take us most by surprise...the big things we're often ready for.

So tell us your tales of culture shock!

My wife and I took a bus through an area of Colombia, half way through the trip the local paramilitary stopped the bus and tooks us all off, my wife is Italian and looked like a Colombian so wasn't asked any questions. When me Mr white boy comes off the bus i get put up against the bus and threatened. They wanted ot see my passport. Seeing no option i show then it...being a British one is Says the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Guess which bits they see and understand...which country and organisation are Right wing Colombians not pleased with? (IRA/Northern Ireland)

Yours turely gets guns forced in face and people wanting rather forcefully why I'm there.

All good fun, and i would like to thank the great women of Colombia who saved my skin by giving the guys a totally hard time.

Culture shock? You bet.

3) My husband's family always used to protest when I took my shoes off upon entering their house. I thought they were being polite, and I always took them off anyway. Then, they came to visit my family, and walked into the house WITH THEIR SHOES ON!!! My parents and I were horrified! We didn't know what to do, so we just pretended nothing was wrong. Their shoes weren't dirty or anything...but it was just rude! Then, when I started going to Chile, I noticed that most of the houses had bare concrete floors (often painted bright colours) or tile in some of the richer homes, but very rarely carpet. So people keep their shoes on. That doesn't mean the houses are dirty...anything but, yet I suddenly understood why they did this.

4) Men and women who are not dating don't tend to go out and party together, or hang around in groups in Chile. Now that is changing, but my husband is very much from that generation, and it used to drive me NUTS that he would get weird when I went out with guy friends, and eventually I just stopped doing it. In Chile, the women would bunch together, and the men would bunch together, and you only got together to dance. It drove my feminist self insane! Then finally, my husband truly became 'Canadian', and it's not an issue anymore...he even laughs about it now...but that was a tough one to get over!

My boyfriend and I come from basically the same culture (although even then, there have been little things we both do differently).

However, here's an interesting, school-related one. The first day I started at my new lab, my advisor told me to come up with a question to ask one of the older students. He was getting ready for his qualifying exams and so she would periodically have someone ask him a question. He and I interpreted this in two very different ways.

For my part, especially because I was new to the lab and eager to impress, I thought she was actually testing me. I thought she wanted to see what question I would ask - and I really wanted it to be a good one. The question I did ask didn't seem all that hard to me though, because I was nervous and didn't come up with a really good one, and the other student seemed way too nervous when answering it. As it turns out, that was more due to a cultural difference than a lack of knowledge on the question. He was from Korea, where labs are set up with a very set hierarchy - much like the military. The PI (principal investigator) in the lab is like, say, the general and people are ranked below that based on their experience and time in the lab. The student I was questioning thought that, by having me - obviously the lowest student on the ladder - ask him a question, our advisor was actually trying to punish him by bringing him down on the ladder!

Or a more simple one....

My best friend insists that it's perfectly ok to talk to someone on the phone while going to the bathroom, get this, BECAUSE THEY CAN'T SEE YOU!

I always ask her now...you're not taking a dump, are you? PHONE ME BACK THEN YOU WEIRDO!!!!

I guess I'm good for the bowels...

The student I was questioning thought that, by having me - obviously the lowest student on the ladder - ask him a question, our advisor was actually trying to punish him by bringing him down on the ladder!
Oooh...that's a good one!

In the classroom:

I had three Russian Muslim students who all of a sudden, started spitting all the time! They were pretty polite about it...they would go up to the garbage can and spit into it, but it was causing the class to giggle constantly, and it was very unsettling. I kept them after class and asked them why they were doing this. It was Ramadan, and their particular sect took the command to not put anything in their mouths from sun up to sunrise very literally. They drank no fluids, consumed no food, and were not even supposed to swallow their own saliva! Most Muslims I know are not that strict, but it all suddenly made sense!

This is another classroom one:

The Inuvialuit (Inuit) in the Northwest Territories have non-verbal ways of saying yes and no, just as most groups do, but their way doesn't involve shaking the head up and down or side to side. 'No' is a wrinkling of the nose, and 'yes' is a raising of both eyebrows. Until I figured this out, it was very frustrating not getting answers (I thought) when I asked a yes/no question! (That and I thought maybe I smelled bad, because they kept wrinkling their noses at me!)

I remember when I first came to the United States, using a student visa. At first, I found Americans to be obnoxious, loud, idiotic, and rude, much different from classrooms in my homeland. Then, after some experience with the teachers, I figured it out: It's because the teachers unknowingly encourage it.

However, it does explain why I was getting low participation grades, as I was used to being called on rather than speaking up.

I figured it out: It's because the teachers unknowingly encourage it.
However, it does explain why I was getting low participation grades, as I was used to being called on rather than speaking up.
:D Where are you from, originally?

That would be something I usually don't say.

Here's another home-life one.

When I was growing up, my mother got rather upset if you got out of the shower, used a new towel, and then immediately put it in the dirty clothes. You are clean when you are drying off, so you should be able to use the same towel for at least a few days.

My boyfriend, when we first moved in together, would use a new towel every time. I felt like we had to do laundry way too often because of his towel habit.

We worked it though - he does things my way now. =)

That would be something I usually don't say.
Okay, no prob. I wasn't trying to be intrusive...I was just wondering which culture was being compared.

My boyfriend, when we first moved in together, would use a new towel every time. I felt like we had to do laundry way too often because of his towel habit.

We worked it though - he does things my way now. =)
We had the towel issue as well...he with the constant changing, and me with the not. I also like to have A glass during the day from which I drink water or juice...and he gets a new glass every single time he has a drink. It drives me nuts, but he won't bend on that one. Grrrr!

One thing I noticed when I first came here to Ireland is, when you get off the bus, you say "Thank you" to the bus driver, nothing you would ever consider doing in Germany.
I thought that rather nice and adopted it myself fairly soon.
One day, I was having lunch with a few friends, some of whom had studies in Germany, actually very close to my home town. One of them told how she took a bus there for the first time and said "Danke" to the bus driver when she got off. The bus driver stared st her for a moment, then said "Gell du bist net vo da?" - "You're not from round here, are you?"

I had culture shock when I moved up north with my fancy southern purchasing power, and discovered that a pint is about a quid cheaper.

No wait, that was alcohol poisoning...

My woes are listening to an idiot talk about towels and dirty clothes! Instead we should be talking about the only culture accepted is our own culture! Destroy all sympathizers and kill the sane!! One world, one government!!!!! Cleanse the world with bloodshed! :mp5: :sniper:

My woes are listening to an idiot talk about towels and dirty clothes! Instead we should be talking about the only culture accepted is our own culture! Destroy all sympathizers and kill the sane!! One world, one government!!!!! Cleanse the world with bloodshed! :mp5: :sniper:
Have you considered running for office? Are you in the USA? I'd like to vote for you.

Have you considered running for office? Are you in the USA? I'd like to vote for you.
Maybe you should make sure you share the same culture first...

Maybe you should make sure you share the same culture first...
Meh, "Cleanse the world in bloodshed" is close enough.

Meh, "Cleanse the world in bloodshed" is close enough.


Dont worry-we'll have a plaque soon enough that will thin the herd drastically.

And welcome back, Sinuhue.

Dont worry-we'll have a plaque soon enough that will thin the herd drastically.

And welcome back, Sinuhue.
Plaque? Like that stuff that builds up on your teeth? Is it THAT dangerous? Now a plague might scare me...but plaque??? :eek:

Plaque? Like that stuff that builds up on your teeth? Is it THAT dangerous? Now a plague might scare me...but plaque??? :eek:
Plaque has been shown to contribute to heart disease. Apparently the bacteria that breed there can get into the bloodstream and irritate coronary arteries. Or maybe he's talking about arterial plaque, which builds up in arteries and can cause heart attack or stroke.

I was about 11yrs old in Holland/Belgium (I cannot remember which :p ) on a school trip. We had been split into groups with each group consisting of several children and one adult supervisor. My group was under the supervission of a very atractive young female teacher - although being young I don't think I paid too much attention to this at the time. We were walking through a small pedestrianised street that had many beer gardens spilling out onto the sides. As we walked up the street we noticed there was a table full of drunk old men further up ahead. They obviously noticed the young teacher and some rowdy shouting erupted from the table (I assume since it was in Dutch/Flemish depending on where I actually was). Promptly following on from this shouting a strange object landed at our feet, this object could only be described as a wind-up-willy (like a small penis that spun round and round - but not a dildo). We, the children, were utterly bemused by this but the teacher was quite insistant that we exit the street post haste. Later on a rather flushed young teacher by way of attempting an explanation told us that "People were different here than people back home". :D

Not really culture shock but its the best you'll get from me

I had culture shock when I moved up north with my fancy southern purchasing power, and discovered that a pint is about a quid cheaper.

No wait, that was alcohol poisoning...

Hahaha, only a southern shandy drinker could get alcohol poisoning from pints.

Let me let you into a little secret. Pints cost the same all over. A secret government surchage is applied in the south however, as part of a public safety program.

Plaque? Like that stuff that builds up on your teeth? Is it THAT dangerous? Now a plague might scare me...but plaque??? :eek:


Sorry-I have a broken finger that is now killing me. You know I can spell.

I am about to be sarcastic and mean no offense to anyone- Sinuhue-good to have you back, you pompous bitch!!. I am kidding and dont mean she is a bitch.

Hahaha, only a southern shandy drinker could get alcohol poisoning from pints.

Let me let you into a little secret. Pints cost the same all over. A secret government surchage is applied in the south however, as part of a public safety program.

I figured it was because they water them down up north.

In any case, what the hell is shandy?

I figured it was because they water them down up north.

In any case, what the hell is shandy?
It's a fruit-flavored barely alcoholic beverage. I can buy six packs of them at Circle Liquors, but I'd rather get drunk.

Sorry-I have a broken finger that is now killing me. You know I can spell.

I am about to be sarcastic and mean no offense to anyone- Sinuhue-good to have you back, you pompous bitch!!. I am kidding and dont mean she is a bitch.
Kind of sad that we have to ruin our friendly banter with such caveats...but, c'est la vie.

Traveling in Latin America:

Canadians tend to find calling out and whistling at women to be rather rude. In Latin America, it's quite the opposite...it's a bit offensive if you DON'T get that kind of attention as a woman! But still...walking down the street to the beach, in sweat pants and a baggy shirt, hung over and a bit greenish, and I STILL got whistled at...it was very disconcerting! A taxi driver who passed me even had a mechanical whistler that he activated on the way by...maybe to save his breath? It doesn't actually mean you're hot, it doesn't mean they are going to attack you, but it is a very obvious difference in cultures!

December 26, 1995 Ishinomaki, Miyagi Japan...
Matchopolis travels north to a small fishing town in northern Japan. Staying with an elderly couple I met at the train station. Classic paper and wood house.

First night...his wife cooks spaghetti. I ask for some plastic wrap to cover the plate so I can put it in the fridge. She laughed and told me it would be cold enough, I didn't need to put it in there. Accustomed to central air in Arkansas, "I thought what the hell?"

First morning...You know how you stand naked in the shower testing the water with your hand to see if it's warm enough? I did. There was frost on the inside of the windows. Five minutes later I am waiting for the hot water to come down the pipe. After being naked and splashed with water in near freezing temps I gave up, lathered up and jumped in...the old couple got a real kick out of it when I told them. The water heater has to be turned on in the kitchen before each use. damn cold doesn't even describe it.

Come on folks...this is not a snob thread for those who have travelled...even if you have friends who do things differently than you, and you found it a bit odd, that too is a cultural difference! Tell on!

This has nothing to do with culture or ethnicity, but I found it odd that some people I live with put ketchup in the fridge...

This has nothing to do with culture or ethnicity, but I found it odd that some people I live with put ketchup in the fridge...

Doesn't ketchup have to go in the fridge once it is opened?

The one that bothers me is peanut butter - why on earth would you put that in a refrigerator?

Oh, and ketchup on eggs - just plain strange. LOL

Oh, and ketchup on eggs - just plain strange. LOL

I react furiously to anyone who puts ketchup on a pizza.

Doesn't ketchup have to go in the fridge once it is opened?

I'm used to eating ketchup/other sauces that have been stored in a cupboard. I've done it all my life and not experienced any detrimental effects.

I react furiously to anyone who puts ketchup on a pizza.

People put ketchup on pizza? Why? Isn't there enough tomato sauce already?

Apparently no one taught my boyfriend the wonders of the face cloth... I don't know if it was a Jewish thing or not, but the first time he had to shower here, I was getting him some things he'd need.

I go into the bathroom and ask if he has everything. I asked him if there was a face cloth in the shower and he looked at me like I was from another planet.

I then handed him my poofy wash-thingy (it's supposed to be better than a face cloth. It can take a good lather and it holds it for a long time. It's especially handy if you use body gel to wash).

I'd never seen a guy treat it like it was a live dog turd, I mean, even my dad uses this stuff...

Hmn... What else...

Judiasm is so complicated; I hate prayer. I never know if I should sit, kneel, stand or stand on my head and yodel. It's confusing.

Even now, I still feel lost when they (my boyfriend's family; he doesn't) pray before supper and light the candles (on rare instances).

The other thing I've never understood, and as a Canadian, I think I should. Why the hell do some Canadians wear socks and sandles?

And for some real, not shock, but oddity...

At the wedding of the mother of a friend of mine (whose family is Baptist), another friend of mine who is Muslim refused to eat the food that was being served because it had been blessed... I didn't understand that one.

When I was overseas in France 2 years ago, I didn't know about this at the time, and I was later embarassed when I found out. I had mid-length peddle pushers on, and on my right ankle I wore an anklet, which is a normal fashion statement in North America; it's just jewelry. But over there it's a cultural thing to set a prostitute apart from others. I did quickly remove it...

Thi next one...not sure if this was an excuse or what, but, I was out with a Croatian friend of mine. We had sobred up by the time this happened. It was late out and we had been outside for a couple of hours at least. He kissed me (though I was being stupid and challenging his masculinity). He later said that it was perfect normal amongst eastern europeans...

Mind you, I'm part Greek and usually, it's two kisses, one on each cheek, you don't french the person! :D

People put ketchup on pizza? Why? Isn't there enough tomato sauce already?

Not necessarily... I once ate a pizza with barbecue sauce on instead! That was weird... not very pizza like (and it was very hot barbecue sauce too).

I don't know if this is culture shock, but it's about the only thing I have that qualifies.
My mother is a naturalized citizen. She immigrated to the U.S. from Ecuador when she was 16, so she still does things the same as there. One of those things is to cook pretty much every scrap of food from scratch. We never had things that required adding water to powder or anything like that. My mother abhors that kind of stuff.
Anyway, when I'd first met my husband I had recently moved in with my parents to recuperate from a bad break-up. My dad had been sick with a bad cold, so I had started a pot of chicken soup for him. My husband (then just a friend) was coming over to help me with some homework since I'd just re-started college. As he walked through the kitchen he peeked into the pot on the stove and came to the table with a very puzzled look on his face, so I asked what was the matter. He said "Ummm, there's a whole chicken in that pot." Me: "So?" Him: "Well, what are you DOING with it?" Me with an incredulous look on my face: "I'm making chicken soup, what do you think I'm doing with it?" Him, even more puzzled look on his face: "Doesn't chicken soup come from a powder?"
Needless to say my mother and I laughed for a full five minutes, directly in his face.
My husband has put on about 15 pounds since we've been married. Poor man, my mom and I used to talk about him while he was sitting right there because he couldn't understand Spanish. He'd taken German in high school!

Judiasm is so complicated; I hate prayer. I never know if I should sit, kneel, stand or stand on my head and yodel. It's confusing.
I recommend speaking in tongues.

I recommend speaking in tongues.

I don't know about anyone else, but I'd hate to be exorcised.

For culture shock:

I am an Atheist, as many people will testify. Two words: Catholic funeral! Enough said.

Apparently no one taught my boyfriend the wonders of the face cloth... I don't know if it was a Jewish thing or not, but the first time he had to shower here, I was getting him some things he'd need.

I go into the bathroom and ask if he has everything. I asked him if there was a face cloth in the shower and he looked at me like I was from another planet.

I then handed him my poofy wash-thingy (it's supposed to be better than a face cloth. It can take a good lather and it holds it for a long time. It's especially handy if you use body gel to wash).

I'd never seen a guy treat it like it was a live dog turd, I mean, even my dad uses this stuff...

I've never used one. Sounds like rather a pointless implement to me. Unless you can't get soap and water on your face any other way, I suppose.

Erm... I'm unsure.


No, really.

The unfortunate thing is, for my entire life, I seem to have been surrounded by lifeless cardboard cut-outs who were each the same as the other. Perhaps the biggest culture shock was finding out that I wasn't the same as they were. Those around me were all identical, however.

oh! That and meeting economically right wing Americans. I just don't understand those who oppose an NHS and minimum wage. It's like a different planet.

I am an Atheist, as many people will testify. Two words: Catholic funeral! Enough said.

Oh, yes, I've done that. I think I spent half of it going through the hymn book trying to find something to read.

Considering my grandfather (the dead one) was a very funny man, I have a feeling he'd approve.

C of E is pretty alien for me. As was my look at public school.

Actual culture shock never happened but those crazy statues in Slovakia aren't half a shock if you don't pay attention!

Having grown up in Idaho farm country, I always learned to treat women with the utmost respect. Then I went to school in Vegas. . .

Needless to say, my friends still get a kick out of telling everyone how a very flustered me referred to a stripper giving me a lapdance as "Ma'am." To be fair, though, I hadn't ever touched a naked woman before, so being flustered was understandable.

In here, you take your shoes off when you enter someone's home. The dirt you'd carry if in would be terrible. But, you should wear either the socks or, if you can carry them around, indoor shoes.

This German woman did take her shoes off, but she was a bit overenthusiastic about it and also took her socks off. That was funny.

In USA, the wrong end of Madison Avenue was also an interesting experience. You can't imagine the poverty and lack of law and order there is in the USA until you pay a visit. There's nothing like that around here (unless you go to Russia).

Well, I've lived abroad for 14+ years, so I have lotssa fun stories about culture shock, and reverse culture shock, as well! Some of it comes from Japanese-US culture clashes, and some from the international community.

Some classics:
Being offered beer and sake at an elementary school event ("sports festival") - at 9 am.

All sorts of little things Japanese women expect their understand without being said or that are only said indirectly.

The joy of introducing a girlfriend (complete and total city girl) to my little brother's farm in Iowa. :D

Natto. :::shudders:::

Meeting a member of the local organized crime family who cheerfully introduces himself as such, and then shows off all the marks thereof - tattoos and shortened pinkie finger in particular.

Discovering that "What's up?" is not considered a friendly greeting by Aussies, but the equivilant of asking "What's wrong?"

Dipping snuff, something most Japanese have never heard of, and if they have, happens only in movies.

Japanese women, but not men, asking if they can try some snuff.

The common incidence of urinating in the street.

Beer vending machines - everywhere.

Going to a taco place in Fukuoka after a year long withdrawal. The three sauces put out were called: "hot", "hotter", "very hot". They should have been called "ketchup", "tangy ketchup", and "appropriate for small children".

Having road construction begin at 2 am and go for 6 hours - for a whole week - in a residential neighborhood. And no one complained.

Conversations like this:
Me: What kind of music do you like?
Student: I love country and western.
Me: Really. Who do you like?
Student: The Carpenters
Me: :confused:
or
Me: How are you today?
18 year old high school girl: I got my period today.
Me: :confused:

Landing at the SF airport after 3 1/2 years away from the US - what's up with these people? How come they're dressed so poorly? Oh, that's right people dress down more back here.

Walking into a regular supermarket back home in Texas where they have more than 3 kinds of cheese, tortillas, salsa that's actually edible, etc.

Going to the cafeteria back home - used to love it, but now it's just eeewwww.

Speaking on the phone for the first time to my soon to be sister-in-law, and being asked why I have a "British accent". (After a number of years my accent has internationalized quite a bit, which to some Americans sounds "British", but no Brits or Aussies do)

Being asked if I'd like to "step out and join me while I smoke a fag" by an Aussie.

Discovering that Nigerians and Kenyans really don't get along very well.

Matchopolis, I've been through the whole hot water heater thing as well. :)

-snip-
He said "Ummm, there's a whole chicken in that pot." Me: "So?" Him: "Well, what are you DOING with it?" Me with an incredulous look on my face: "I'm making chicken soup, what do you think I'm doing with it?" Him, even more puzzled look on his face: "Doesn't chicken soup come from a powder?"
Needless to say my mother and I laughed for a full five minutes, directly in his face.
-snip-

That reminds me of one of my first meals here in Japan. I had been in Isahaya (Nagasaki) for about a week and a friend took me out for ramen. As we sat at the counter of this little hole in the wall ramen shop, he said "go look in that pot" with a grin.

I did. It was the soup for the ramen. Merrily simmering away was a whole boars head.

But the really good part was when I sat back down and told him it looked good. He'd been expecting me to be surprised. He didn't know I'm just a good ole boy from down south, and had seen that sort of thing before. :D

This has nothing to do with culture or ethnicity, but I found it odd that some people I live with put ketchup in the fridge...

I put ketchup in the fridge, but not mustard.

Okay. Dug up a few more items of culture shock.

1. Discovering, while in China, that kids in certain towns really do know so little about the outside world that they will each crayons and think they're a strange candy.

2. Most Americans hate the taste of certain Japanese snacks. Turns out Japan and the U.S. are more different than I imagined.

3. An important note if you move to Tokyo from the U.S.: The commercials are shorter.

4. Being shot at in Iraq because I was talking to some British soldiers (happened during my absense from NS).

5. There are certain rabbis that are not to be touched by women other than their wife. They also don't respond well if you lose your temper at the treatment you recieve as a result of violating that rule unknowingly.

6. Walking up to Cardinals in Vatican City and asking them at what time they prefer their altar boys to perform is a quick ticket to jail if you accidentally emphasize the word "perform."

7. Italy has a tendency to ask people guilty of #6 to not ever return to their nation.

8. My first American dubbing of an anime show was a disaster. For one thing, I kept pointing out all of the translation errors, stuff editted out, and obvious cases where they dropped entire episodes or editted episodes together. Oh, and for you DBZ fans, know this: It doesn't actually lose anything in the translation. You can't lose what you never had.

9. British police officers can take a joke, while American police officers tend to shoot first. I've since stopped carrying popcap guns.

10. "Hey man, you da bomb" in certain Asian airports used to get chuckles. "Hey man, you da bomb" in U.S. airports gets you questioned for six hours about any possible connections to terrorist organizations and a six-month fight to get your name removed from a list of terrorist aliases.

2. Most Americans hate the taste of certain Japanese snacks. Turns out Japan and the U.S. are more different than I imagined.

3. An important note if you move to Tokyo from the U.S.: The commercials are shorter.

Not only the taste. Japanese potato chips (crisps) tend to have a different texture as well. Lots of poofy air filled snacks, fewer good solid chips. And dip is all but unheard of. There is one that I don't know anyone who doesn't like - "kaki no tani", sometimes called rice crackers in English.

And the commercials are shorter on network TV, but longer on cable. However, the self-produced commercials for local foreign merchants that are run on CNN are (unintentionally) hillarious. (Did you ever see that one for the Indian place?)

In here, you take your shoes off when you enter someone's home. The dirt you'd carry if in would be terrible. But, you should wear either the socks or, if you can carry them around, indoor shoes.

I never learned not to take my shoes off in England but fortunately it's not that common anymore. Most of the people I met always took their shoes off.

The lack of dishcupboards in almost every country. Never knew that was a Scandinavian thing (a cupboard were you put wet dishes...) Thanks to Ikea it's becoming more common. And thanks to dishwashers it's not that necessary anymore.

That e.g. Germans do not rinse their dishes after washing. eww...Everything tastes and smells like Fairy.

Many teachers and profs think that Finnish students are very rude because we always call our teachers by their first name. When they spend more time in the country they notice that actually Finnish students are very polite.

Many people think that Finns are rude or idiots because we don't chat with strangers. We prefer quietness to small talk. We also mean what we say and stick to it. (this is generalization, of course)

English kitchen in general was a bit shocking. No one had coffeemakers, just instant. 20+ people living in their own homes had never made anything of raw mince meat. Frozen precooked rice? I visited a butcher's house and he made steaks for us. I never knew that you can ruin a proper piece of meat like that. etc

But nothing really shocking. I've known most of the things in advance.

And ketchup goes in the fridge :)

Culture shock: Going to a wedding in Northern Ireland.
The whole family went (uncles, aunts cousins etc.). We're about 2/3 Baptist 1/3 Catholic. We went to a baptist wedding, but they were mostly ex-protestants.
To sum up: Puritanical Prodies vs. Southern Irish Catholic Bastards! :rolleyes:
There was no wine (Wine is of the Devil! Southern Irish Catholic Bastards!), no dancing (Dancing is of the Devil! Southern Irish Catholic Bastards!) and most of the NIers wouldn't speak to anyone from the South (The South is of the Devil! Southern Irish Catholic Bastards!)
Weirdest wedding I have ever been to.

A friend and her BF went up there and stopped at a KFC. They were in a loyalist area in a southern reg car. So when they walked in all conversation ceased and everyone watched them walk up to the counter. The cashier did not speak, she just pointed at the options above her head. They ordered and left, with everyone still silent and still watching them.

My wife is Japanese and I have lived in Japan for five years and I have never experienced real culture shock. Maybe a small hiccup and a Hn, really? But no culture shock. Went to Turkey, no culture shock either. The only thing that strikes me is that people are pretty much the same everywhere.

Passing through Donegall Pass in Belfast I met some of the local 7 year old natives. Being from Belfast, I presumed that they would be speaking the same language as me. Alas they seemed to have perfected the Ulster Scots language/dialect to such an extent that it was unintelligible to me. When I was unable to answer whatever question it was they asked me (which sounded like 'oor ur da?') this automatically pointed me out to be a Catholic, and only doing there duty they promptly stoned me.
Firt time that has ever happened to me and it was a bit of a culture shock happening within my own city. Usually I can bluff my way out of situations but normally there isn't a weird language involved. :headbang:

Heh, just remembered an interesting episode. I was happily driving to our cottage, noticed that there had been a wedding in a huge wooden church (btw, the biggest in the world) and the quests were standing outside. There was something odd about the crowd and I watched again ->almost drove off the road. I saw some 50+ Scotmen in kilts showing that they did not wear anything underneath their kilts. In a long row in the church yard.

That was a sight I'll never forget.

I was raised in Norway by my parents from Chile, and was rather accustomed to the whole greeting people and being greeted by people with handshakes. Now see, my parents raised me as a Norwegian, learning Norwegian as my first language, the Norwegian culture and everything. At ten year old I could understand Spanish rather well just not apply any of my understanding of Spanish to actual conversations. The term “family” was used describe to your immediate family, mother, father and siblings. The rest was relatives.

When I was around ten years old we visited my parents families in Chile.
Imagine the shock I received when meting my first batch of relatives, hugging and embracing me. I must have come across as rather cold, with me rather monosyllabic responses and discomfort with the hugging (they where strangers, strangers don’t hug etch other! at least not as my ten year old self saw it). At relatives being introduced as aunts, uncles and cousins when actually being the wife/husband, children of one of my second cousins, once, twice, trice removed! Or something even more complicated. I got used to it after a while but it was still strange to discover that my parents and I came from such vastly different cultures.

Here's one: lunchtime in France -

From about 12 noon until 2 pm, everything goes dead. All the people disappear from the streets, all the shops close. Even restaurants close for lunch!

My only case of culture shock is between Americans and British... and as a refined Britisher i was shocked. By god you people are noisy, apparently acceptable out bursts to me seem so rude. My advice to ya'll is just a little quieter please.

).

The other thing I've never understood, and as a Canadian, I think I should. Why the hell do some Canadians wear socks and sandles?


This is one surefire way to spot a Canadian...I've yet to meet any other people who do this! It drives my husband near to frothing...and I have to remind him that Canadians tend to dress for 'summer' long before the weather truly permits, and I suspect this is the reason for the warm socks with the defiant sandals!

Oh yes one other thing :P

America seems not to have had the creakfast cereal health revolution, i was actually shocked to still see brightly coloured weapons grade cereal that looked like it could fell an elephant from half a mile. Fuit Loops... urm i treasure my soft tissue more than to eat it thank you, think of the children :D.

Lastly... the creepy harrods guy in the simpsons said that enlgish candy was sweeter than american... as the last time i was in new york i spent the week on a budget of $50 and lived on average less than a meal a day i ate no candy i cannot say. Can anyone fill me in ?

My father has "Korean fashion sense".

He likes to wear golf shoes with plaid trousers (or in the summer, with pastel colored bermuda shorts). And the shirt NEVER matches.

I've seen too many older Korean men wearing this sort of clothing to think it's just my bad luck.

This is one surefire way to spot a Canadian...I've yet to meet any other people who do this! It drives my husband near to frothing...and I have to remind him that Canadians tend to dress for 'summer' long before the weather truly permits, and I suspect this is the reason for the warm socks with the defiant sandals!
Many many Finnish men *shakes head* White tennis socks and sandals...

This is one surefire way to spot a Canadian...I've yet to meet any other people who do this! It drives my husband near to frothing...and I have to remind him that Canadians tend to dress for 'summer' long before the weather truly permits, and I suspect this is the reason for the warm socks with the defiant sandals!
My dad does this, so does my stepfather... Never understood that one.

And yes, I know what you mean. The first thing I put on that is summerish are my sandles in the middle of March - as long as the snow IS melting.

And yes, I aree with you...we're being optimistic about summer coming early. ^_^;;

That e.g. Germans do not rinse their dishes after washing. eww...Everything tastes and smells like Fairy.

That reminds me of this case in Germany. Wanted to buy Fairy, and tried to ask the shop assistant for /fairy/, /feöri/ and whatnot. No reaction whatsoever. Only when you could pronounce it /feeri/, as in German, then his shopassistantial highness condescended to conduct a transaction of selling washing up liquid.

Germans also have terrible problems understanding the fact that no, you can't smoke inside.

English kitchen in general was a bit shocking. No one had coffeemakers, just instant. 20+ people living in their own homes had never made anything of raw mince meat. Frozen precooked rice? I visited a butcher's house and he made steaks for us. I never knew that you can ruin a proper piece of meat like that. etc

That reminds me of Turkey. Restaurants and such would sell, repeat, sell cups of instant coffee. For actual money. It's the same, uh, liquid that is given free in here in several places. Sheesh.

Also, you shouldn't go to Turkey to get a good kebab. They can't make them.

My husband has put on about 15 pounds since we've been married. Poor man, my mom and I used to talk about him while he was sitting right there because he couldn't understand Spanish. He'd taken German in high school!
Okay...speaking about him in a language he doesn't understand...that's pretty mean...which is exactly the reason I quickly learned Spanish!

My husband's family is always going on about the poor quality of Canadian cooking, which is kind of funny, considering they've never HAD any outside of fast-food restaurants or supermarket type stuff. That, and they live in a very inner-city area, amongst mostly single moms with little to no cooking skills...and it really bothers me that they judge us all by the few Canadians they've actually met. They always say that when they met me, all I ate were potato chips. But I'm from the country, and we tend to make more home cooking...from scratch, like your mom and my in-laws. We just use different ingredients, things native to Canada. I can't help it that Chileans tend to find mushrooms weird, or hate that our corn is sweet, or think that rhubarb is a inedible weed...for years my husband wouldn't eat my cooking because he was so used to his mother's food. Well that's fine... usually love the food we grew up with...but I got really sick of them implying that we didn't know how to cook. No, SOME of us don't know how to cook. SOME of us do...but it isn't going to taste like Chilean food, so get over it! It took EIGHT years before my in-laws would let me make them Canadian food...homemade perogies with sour cream (you should have seen the shock on their faces...putting something cold on something hot?)...Chili (they love it, but don't get the joke about Chileans eating Chili:))...borscht, bannock, shepherd's pie, meat pies, chowders and stews, and GRAVY!!! They never ate GRAVY before!!! And you should have seen them freak out when I made a turkey...they could not figure out why I was stuffing it...

So in short, I have learned to really appreciate Chilean cooking, but my in-laws still have this sense of superiority over Canadians and our way of cooking. Yes, plenty of people cook out of cans or make things from ready-mixes...but that's a relatively new phenomenon which I think is caused in part by more women joining the workforce, and the lack of time families seem to think they have in terms of preparing meals. I suspect this will happen in Chile too...and then I'll go there and say how bad the food is:).

This is one surefire way to spot a Canadian...I've yet to meet any other people who do this! It drives my husband near to frothing...and I have to remind him that Canadians tend to dress for 'summer' long before the weather truly permits, and I suspect this is the reason for the warm socks with the defiant sandals!
Not really. The Finnish are also known for wearing socks with sandals. A surefire way to spot a Finn is looking for the guy with leather sandals and white socks...

I don't know about anyone else, but I'd hate to be exorcised.

For culture shock:

I am an Atheist, as many people will testify. Two words: Catholic funeral! Enough said.
Ugh. Anything religious is a culture shock to me, Christian or otherwise. Well, except for Native rituals, which I consider to be less religious than cultural...what I mean is, had I grown up a 'cultural Catholic' (one who is not particularly religious, but who is familiar with the ceremonies and practices) I'd be okay in some situations, but I didn't. So anytime there is a prayer, a funeral, a ceremony of any kind of a religious nature, I get all flushed and uncomfortable, and am always torn between copying what everyone else is doing, and NOT copying them out of the feeling that I would be a hypocrite to do so since I'm atheist.

But if I'm in a different country, I'll go with the flow so as to not offend...and I don't feel weird about it. I only feel like a liar at home, where I don't have the need to blend into a certain culture.

Not really. The Finnish are also known for wearing socks with sandals. A surefire way to spot a Finn is looking for the guy with leather sandals and white socks...
Koreans do that, too.

But the golf shoes with high black or white socks while wearing plaid pants or pastel colored Bermuda shorts is the Korean thing.

Culture shock? I find your planet quite strange, indeed.

1. You communicate with sounds, or with pictures that represent sounds. I found that very interesting when I first arrived, though I'm used to it by now.

2. Humans rarely communicate with the other intelligent native species on this planet. Why, just the other day I had a lively discussion with a deep ocean squid. He told me all about the "legend of the calamari" and mentioned that some of his relatives had been taken to the world above by the benevolent humans. He hopes to seem them again one day soon.

3. Humans are prone to getting ideas stuck in their heads, and may even mistake them for reality or become violent when those ideas are challenged.

4. Despite #3, Humans care about their children and loved ones. Some of you even care about the entire species to the detriment of your own personal safety or sanity. This is odd. Most species demonstrating the sort of violence that has characterized your recent history are also prone to eating their own young, yet you tend not to.

5. You don't seem to have *'&%gl^rshjnak* anywhere on your planet. Oh how I miss my *'&%gl^rshjnak*.

6. Your environment is failing, yet your leaders continue to invest in unclean fuel sources, and the size of your vehicles is getting larger on average, not smaller.

7. Your toaster technology is the finest in the universe, yet have not discovered the art of gravity binding, which on my planet was discovered before we realized there was a number four.

Alas, until you do discover gravity binding, my craft is stranded here on this strange world. I am trapped, and must disguise myself among you for fear of dissection, torture, or worse: the daytime talk show circuit. I have no choice but to hide and wait.

But you do have very good toast.

Well, until later. Have a pleasurable time interval, puny humans. :eek:

English kitchen in general was a bit shocking. No one had coffeemakers, just instant.
The English really can't brew a good pot of jo'. They excel at the art of steeping tea, but coffee isn't a forte of theirs.

Imagine walking into a Starbucks in London...

You're probably expecting the same stellar results you get in Canada and the States (this is directed at North Americans), and you can clearly see that they offer the same range of options. However, you're not in the mood for a fancy cup. And of course, at £2 or so for a regular cup you probably aren't going to spring for a fancy cup; they are bloody expensive as it is back home. So, you decide you want a regular dark blend...

Unfortunately, it is watered down and it doesn't taste as good as it should. heck, you go to another and it's the same...

No, I'm NOT kidding. The McDonalds near the hotel I stayed in Paris made way better coffee than the Starbucks in London did...

That reminds me of this case in Germany. Wanted to buy Fairy, and tried to ask the shop assistant for /fairy/, /feöri/ and whatnot. No reaction whatsoever. Only when you could pronounce it /feeri/, as in German, then his shopassistantial highness condescended to conduct a transaction of selling washing up liquid.


Also, you shouldn't go to Turkey to get a good kebab. They can't make them.
And some countries have their own weird names for the same product. Like we used to have Raiders instead of Twix.

I promise I won't go to Turkey to get a good kebab. I don't think I'll ever go there anyway...A friend of mine has to go there about 5 times every year, his experiences don't sound too appalling.

Discovering that Nigerians and Kenyans really don't get along very well.


Ah...yes, the regional tensions...as I began to learn Spanish, and sort out the very different accents, (you can always pick out a Guatemalan because they say 'pues' every second word...), I began to become aware of the regional prejudices rife in Latin America. Salvadorians are stupid (because they speak slow) and uncivilized, Mexicans talk really funny and think they are gangsters, Argentineans are Italian-wannabes and incredibly arrogant, Bolivians are bitter because they have no access to the ocean and they're all ignorant indians, Chileans from the COUNTRYSIDE (huasos) are stupid hicks who talk funny, etc etc etc. This is all from the Chilean perspective mind you...other Latinos think Chileans talk with rocks in their mouths because they drop the end syllables...

I couldn't believe how different certain nationalities thought they were from other Latino nationalities...I had thought that there was some sort of cultural unity! Well, there is a sort of unity though...a unity that was forged by shared repressions and dictatorships and a shared history of struggle. I guess until I learned Spanish, I couldn't really see the ways in which Latinos set themselves apart from one another...

I mean, just look at Canada...we have a different prejudice for every province and a different one for urban versus rural in each of those provinces...why should Latin America be any different?

Oh yeah...and food does NOT get hotter the further south you go:) The Mexicans and Central Americans have some pretty spicy food...but the South Americans tend to be much milder in their cooking. I found that strange.

This is one surefire way to spot a Canadian...I've yet to meet any other people who do this! It drives my husband near to frothing...and I have to remind him that Canadians tend to dress for 'summer' long before the weather truly permits, and I suspect this is the reason for the warm socks with the defiant sandals!

In addition to the other people saying similar things. The Germans and Dutch are also quite famous for doing it to. (Germans more so.)

The only real culture shock I've had is from the first time I went abroad. British people seem so normal here in Britain, but when they travel they seem to mutate into "the Brit abroad," a bit like stereotypical Americans with different accents. I was quite surprised when I first saw this.

I mean, just look at Canada...we have a different prejudice for every province and a different one for urban versus rural in each of those provinces...why should Latin America be any different?
You're forgetting that just Ontario alone has more of these problems....

Ottawa thinks everyone from Toronto is a gun totting asshole with a business suit and an office on Bay Street... And that our subway system during the day is worse than the Bronx at night...

Toronto just laugh at those from Ottawa - they are little pansies with an NHL team that likes to pretend it doesn't suck.

A tip for non-Natives...only some of us allow women to drum. These drums are specially made for women, and are only for women. The majority of drums are men's drums, and it is extremely bad luck for a woman to touch one, especially if it is being used in an important ceremony. During a pow-wow, a group of tourists were standing around talking to the drummers before the dancing, and a woman leaned forward to peer at the design, tracing it with her finger. The drummers were horrified! One of them got so mad, he smashed the drum right there! Admittedly, they should have been prepared for this sort of thing and WARNED people...but so often, you take for granted that people will know certain things about your culture because YOU take it for granted. I personally am torn about this...part of me accepts that certain things are in the realm of men, and others in the realm of women, and that is my traditional me. The other part questions the need for this, and that's the part that gets me in trouble with the elders sometimes:).

My father has "Korean fashion sense".

He likes to wear golf shoes with plaid trousers (or in the summer, with pastel colored bermuda shorts). And the shirt NEVER matches.

I've seen too many older Korean men wearing this sort of clothing to think it's just my bad luck.
Chilean 'soccer style'...shorts, socks pulled up as far as they will go and running shoes. (shudders)

A massive family reunion had both country folk and city folk (I was a city folk).
All is going well till dinner.

City folk: Hey. These burgers taste a bit odd. What did you add to them?
Country folk: Nothing. They're just ordinary deer burgers.
City folk: SHOCK! HORROR! OMG, you killed Bambi's mother! We're EATING Bambi's mother! How could you kill a cute little deer?
Country folk: they're not cute! They're vermin! There's too many, we have to kill some to control the population. And it's not Bambi's mother, I only shoot the bucks, just like the law says!

Culture shock in my own family, totally within the US

Not really. The Finnish are also known for wearing socks with sandals. A surefire way to spot a Finn is looking for the guy with leather sandals and white socks...
Maybe it's a northern nation thing...

A massive family reunion had both country folk and city folk (I was a city folk).
All is going well till dinner.

City folk: Hey. These burgers taste a bit odd. What did you add to them?
Country folk: Nothing. They're just ordinary deer burgers.
City folk: SHOCK! HORROR! OMG, you killed Bambi's mother! We're EATING Bambi's mother! How could you kill a cute little deer?
Country folk: they're not cute! They're vermin! There's too many, we have to kill some to control the population. And it's not Bambi's mother, I only shoot the bucks, just like the law says!

Culture shock in my own family, totally within the US
Actually, I'm going to start a whole new thread later on devoted to urban/rural differences...it's craziness!

One thing I noticed when I first came here to Ireland is, when you get off the bus, you say "Thank you" to the bus driver, nothing you would ever consider doing in Germany.
I thought that rather nice and adopted it myself fairly soon.
One day, I was having lunch with a few friends, some of whom had studies in Germany, actually very close to my home town. One of them told how she took a bus there for the first time and said "Danke" to the bus driver when she got off. The bus driver stared st her for a moment, then said "Gell du bist net vo da?" - "You're not from round here, are you?"


Yeah, everyone says it, but you rarely get an answer back. I still say it though, it's just polite and habitual at this stage. When I came to the US from Ireland, the first time I took a bus, I said thank you to the driver, and got a "Y'all have a good day now" back. I turned and stared dumbfounded at how friendly the driver was for about 30 seconds. One other thing over here is the bathrooms. They're all wheelchair accessible. It's hard to find a good wheelchair accessible bathroom at home, my poor mother can't travel anywhere because my sister is wheelchair bound and needs help using the toilet. And there doesn't seem to be any 'Toilets are for customer use only' rules, they're a nightmare if you find yourself caught short in the middle of town, right next to, say, McDonalds

Discovering that Nigerians and Kenyans really don't get along very well.
Ah...yes, the regional tensions...as I began to learn Spanish, and sort out the very different accents, (you can always pick out a Guatemalan because they say 'pues' every second word...), I began to become aware of the regional prejudices rife in Latin America. Salvadorians are stupid (because they speak slow) and uncivilized, Mexicans talk really funny and think they are gangsters, Argentineans are Italian-wannabes and incredibly arrogant, Bolivians are bitter because they have no access to the ocean and they're all ignorant indians, Chileans from the COUNTRYSIDE (huasos) are stupid hicks who talk funny, etc etc etc. This is all from the Chilean perspective mind you...other Latinos think Chileans talk with rocks in their mouths because they drop the end syllables...

I couldn't believe how different certain nationalities thought they were from other Latino nationalities...I had thought that there was some sort of cultural unity! Well, there is a sort of unity though...a unity that was forged by shared repressions and dictatorships and a shared history of struggle. I guess until I learned Spanish, I couldn't really see the ways in which Latinos set themselves apart from one another...

I mean, just look at Canada...we have a different prejudice for every province and a different one for urban versus rural in each of those provinces...why should Latin America be any different?

Oh yeah...and food does NOT get hotter the further south you go:) The Mexicans and Central Americans have some pretty spicy food...but the South Americans tend to be much milder in their cooking. I found that strange.

My experiences working with Kenyans and having Nigerians has been very enlightening. Never have gotten a clear opinion of Kenyans from the Nigerians, other than "we don't like them". My Kenyan co-workers all agreed that Nigerians were loud and obnoxious. From my own perspective, I find that they tend to be louder and pushier than is culturally comfortable for me - and I'm from the US, so that says a lot! :D

Another funny situation from when I was a student in Nagasaki. I chose to spend my spring vacation in Kyoto on my own. But several of the US students joined a school sponsored trip to China. The US girls came back making fun of the Japanese girls. Aparantly the Japanese girls thought the Chinese girls had no fashion sense. The US girls thought both the Chinese and Japanese girls had no fashion sense. Personally, I thought the US girls didn't have much fashion sense either.

And the regional differences in Japan can be quite stong as well. I had a student several years ago who was from Tokyo. She told me she hated Osaka because the people she worked with were really rude to her for being from Tokyo. I know several people who've told stories about the reverse.
And the Kyushu and Tohoku (regions that are primarily rural) tend to be the butt of the equivilant of the redneck jokes told about southerners from the US. A good example was the old Beverly Hillbillies TV show. The city folk were dubbed using the "standard" Tokyo dialect, while the hillbillies were dubbed in the Tohoku dialect.

That's always a good reminder to me of the negative effect of stereotyping.

I got ragged a lot for living in Tohoku when I make forays into Tokyo. Everyone would ask "Why Sendai?" They would also laugh at my "Sendai zuzu" local dialect that would show up in my butchering of Japanese. Sometimes they accused me of butchering it when I was using correct zuzu without knowing it.

Northern Okinawa was worse though.

Matchopolis pastes on giant red mustache and in an annoying nasal voice says, "You might be a redneck if you pick diakon in your momohiki."

...that may be the most obscure piece of comedy ever.

I've never understood people putting fizzy drinks into the fridge, or apples or my mum leaving eggs outside the fridge.

And about the sock/sandal thing, it's a British thing too.

I got ragged a lot for living in Tohoku when I make forays into Tokyo. Everyone would ask "Why Sendai?" They would also laugh at my "Sendai zuzu" local dialect that would show up in my butchering of Japanese. Sometimes they accused me of butchering it when I was using correct zuzu without knowing it.

Northern Okinawa was worse though.

Matchopolis pastes on giant red mustache and in an annoying nasal voice says, "You might be a redneck if you pick diakon in your momohiki."

...that may be the most obscure piece of comedy ever.

:D I got it.

And the dialect problem shows up with Kansai-ben as well. An Aussie freind of mine and her Japanese roommate went up to Tokyo for a weekend. The guy at the hotel corrected her Kansai-ben a few times, until her roommate took him to task.

The water heater has to be turned on in the kitchen before each use. damn cold doesn't even describe it.
Well, what’s it like where you come from? Isn’t everywhere like that?

oh! That and meeting economically right wing Americans. I just don't understand those who oppose an NHS and minimum wage. It's like a different planet. Hear, Hear!

My only case of culture shock is between Americans and British... and as a refined Britisher i was shocked. By god you people are noisy, apparently acceptable out bursts to me seem so rude. My advice to ya'll is just a little quieter please.
Oh so true.

Country folk: they're not cute! They're vermin! There's too many, we have to kill some to control the population. Just like our British ‘Ban on Hunting debate...


Oh, and socks and sandals - sandals rub your feet. Blisters =/= good.

Maybe it's a northern nation thing...
Nah. You can find the sandals/socks thing everywhere. I've seen whole groups of thugs/gangbangers down here wearing that combo...in summer. Freakin' looked stupid as hell. Besides, summer here routinely means triple digit temperatures. Wearing socks and sandals in that weather COMPLETELY defeats the purpose of sandals. :rolleyes:

As for my bit of culture shock: being from DEEP south Texas, we have a pretty well integrated population of whites and hispanics (hispanics are the majority here) with a good number of blacks. Other ethnicities are here as well, but much less prominent in number. We all get along pretty well with little or no obvious racism. If there *is* a lot of racism down here, I don't see it. It stays hidden. People are generally pretty cool to everyone else and people get along nicely.

Also note that my family is hugely diverse. My brother in law is a mixed race (looks white) Trinidadian. My neice is half black and half white. My aunt is Korean (which makes my cousin half Korean).

Cut to me going to Indianapolis for the 500 a couple years ago. My mother took care of the neice and nephew for the week while I, my bro-in-law and sister all went.

I have *never* seen such vast ammounts of open racism in my life. It truly shocked me. Blacks calling whites "asshole crackers". Whites openly calling blacks "******". Asians shunning everyone not asian. Hispanics just giving everyone hell.

Now, since my sis and BiL got married, we've gotten a crash course in Caribbean cuisine (from his mother) and absolutely love it.

All three of us decided to go into the "caribbean" area of Indianapolis in order to get some good food. We walk into one place (kind of a like a grocery market/resturaunt type place) and the lady behind the counter (along with all the patrons) were caribbean blacks. They looked as us like we were from Mars. The counter lady actually asked us (in a full Jamaican patois) if we were lost. They were even more shocked when we said "no", that we there there for food and to pick up some other snackish things. She looked completely dumbfounded when we explained that we were from Texas and up for the 500 and were looking for some good roti and when my sister asked her about her roti recipe and other caribbean foods.

She (and everyone else there) finally loosened up and we sat around eating incredible food and BSing about all kinds of stuff. We were pretty shocked when the lady told us that most whites in the area wouldn't even THINK of going into the "ethic" areas of town, which is why they were totally shocked to see three of us walk into her place. She and my sister email each others and share recipes even to this day.

I guess it's just one of those things growing up and having everyone calling the South racist and backwards and talking about segregation and never seeing it here, yet seeing all that in full swing when I headed up to the "enlightened" North. *shrugs*

I think culture shock came in when I was in flight instructor ground. I was told different stories of when training muslim students who were dirrect immigrants or visitors to the US. One of which was a student from Saudi Arabia that was taking flight training in the US, while entering traffic pattern, he was getting close to another aircraft. The instructor told him to watch for the other aircraft , the student did nothing. The two aircraft were about 30 seconds to collision when the instructor informed this student again about the conflicting traffic. Again, the student did nothing. The instructor then took the aircraft and flew it away from the collision cource. When asked why he did not move away from the other aircraft, he replyed "It was allah's will that we collide". I have herd several storied from old military guys and instructors similar in nature to this.

Though this is a excellent example for instructors of any kind. Not only do you have to take into consiteration of the student's ability, best way of learning, etc... but you may have to overcome cultural differences as well.

Well, what’s it like where you come from? Isn’t everywhere like that?
Everywhere except the US. We're a lot looser with our hot water. That was one small bit of culture shock when I was in France, how the hot water had to be rationed and only used once in a while.

I don't know if this counts, but you could say that my family had a little bit of a culture shock when our neighbors moved in. They are what you might call.....rednecks. They have at least seven vehicles in their driveway (sometimes more) and can't put any of them in their garage because it's full of crap. For a long time they had a trampoline in the FRONT yard, and their lawns are just weeds and dust. Their porch has a bunch of crap on it, and their property just looks bad. Also, their two kids don't seem to understand what trespassing is. They will just walk onto our yard and even our neighbors yard and start playing wiffle ball, and they even let their dogs crap in our yard. Anyway, it was culture shock for my family, if you can call our neighbor's lifestyle a culture.......

A massive family reunion had both country folk and city folk (I was a city folk).
All is going well till dinner.

City folk: Hey. These burgers taste a bit odd. What did you add to them?
Country folk: Nothing. They're just ordinary deer burgers.
City folk: SHOCK! HORROR! OMG, you killed Bambi's mother! We're EATING Bambi's mother! How could you kill a cute little deer?
Country folk: they're not cute! They're vermin! There's too many, we have to kill some to control the population. And it's not Bambi's mother, I only shoot the bucks, just like the law says!

Culture shock in my own family, totally within the US

Oh, I hate that. That's happened to me before. It annoys me so much when people say "Oh, you killed BAMBI!!" It's a movie people, deer don't have little families with a mommy, a daddy, and a baby. :rolleyes:

Everywhere except the US. We're a lot looser with our hot water. That was one small bit of culture shock when I was in France, how the hot water had to be rationed and only used once in a while.
I can't believe France is that backward.

No central water heater is something like the 1950's.

I can't believe France is that backward.

No central water heater is something like the 1950's.

Could have been a rural area :confused:

Though we don't keep the water heater on all day here. Why? Its ineffficient to have it on all the time.

I spent some time in North Africa - I deeply offended the first Moslem's I met by eating interchangeably with my right and left hand and carelessly exposing the soles of my feet in their direction. The foot thing is a big deal. It never happened again.

and carelessly exposing the soles of my feet in their direction. The foot thing is a big deal. It never happened again.

in thailand its the same. thats why my ligamnets (im sure ive spelt that wrong) in my legs are REALLY loose. i can sit on my feet.

When I first moved to Minnesota from Texas, I shared a house with several locals. Several times a day I would see that some one had left the butter out on the counter. I was constantly putting the butter back in the fridge where it belonged. I didn't want anyone to get sick. When one of my house mates saw me doing this, he had a fit. They *always* leave the butter out so it stays soft and spreadable. Blech. Personally, I'd rather have hard butter than a case of e. coli.

And of course there were the differences in regional dialects that made communication difficult (coke or soda vs "pop," buggy vs. cart, etc.) And odd pronunciations on their part such as saying "coney" for county and their elongated nasal O's. The food was also very different. When I insisted on having the traditional pot of blackeyed peas for New Years dinner, they acted as if I'd lost my mind. That's what they feed cows. And don't get me started on lutefisk.

A happy piece of culture shock: During college, I had some El Salvadorian friends, and they asked my to DJ & party my ass off at their New Years celebration (In their home...just family & friends) I agreed, thinking nothing of it. Everyone attending had been told I'd play anything they wanted, they just had to bring it on Vinyl or CD. So for about 3 hours I played lots of Salasa, Meringue, Soka, Classic Rock, Pop, Swing, etc. (I do this kind of "blind" set a lot, its an education and a challenge)

Well, shortly after midnight, the party really started, and my friends asked around if I could play some of the Techno & House records I'd brought al;ong (I'd already slipped in several Latin House tracks to good effect earlier) It was no problem, but of course there was the caveat that if it didn't go over too well, I'd switch back to the stuff I'd been playing earlier. Well,m I started off with some House music, got a good response, then kicked it up a notch and started playing Techno..pure underground techno. I looked up from a 2 minute crossfade to see how people were responding: The "dancefloor" (the party was held mostly in a great big rec room) was packed, not just the young people, but EVERYBODY, of all ages was dancing, including some who were 60 or 70 years old. And boy could they dance!

Negative Culture shock: Easterners (well, Ontarians anyway) are so cold and unfriendly. Moving here from Winterpeg, Manitoba was a huge let down in terms of the friendliness of people. Take that cucumber out of your ass and least smile instead of looking at me like I'm from outerspace for saying hello to stranger

Getting asked by one of my 13 year-old female students how 'big' I am (and no, not my height or weight), but this happenes a lot to gajin in Japan.

And natto, natto has to tbe the worse culture shock I have ever experianced in Japan, and of course, my fiancee loves the stuff. :p

Could have been a rural area :confused:

Though we don't keep the water heater on all day here. Why? Its ineffficient to have it on all the time.
I guess most around here heat it during the night when it's cheaper. I don't know. I live in an apartment so I don't have to worry about it.

I don't think it's a problem only in rural areas. Many have their own heaters even if they live in apartments. Those are often small and quite inefficient.

Though we don't keep the water heater on all day here. Why? Its ineffficient to have it on all the time.
The magic trick is called insulation. The water heater here is always on, and as Helioterra mentioned, night electricity is cheaper.

Two things struck me on a trip to Italy two years ago:

1. You aren't welcome in a hotel to borrow the toilet.
2. Only window shopping is allowed. You go into a store to buy something, not to look at something. You're freely welcome in any Hong Kong store, snoop and get out.

By the way, I might be moving to London in September. Anything significant about culture that I would need to know?

This is my own little bit of culture shock. Buffalo, the slowly economically dying city in NY, USA, has alot of things unique to the area, that I had no idea that was local until I went other places in the USA and Canada. Here is a couple of food realated buffalo things, (food is a big thing in buffalo)

Like eating Buffalo Wings. I wen't to Arkansas for wings, and they baked them, WITH BATTER! What?? I guess i'm spoiled, but I have yet to have good wings abroad. (and btw, if you do go to Buffalo, don't go to the Anchor Bar, where wings were invented, because they suck and are overpriced and you wait a long time. Just go to some no-name pizza joint on a random city street. Thats were you get the good stuff).

Sponge candy. After traveling out of Buffalo area, I was shocked at the lack of sponge candy, and soon after learned it was a Buffalo creation, even if made by different companies. Doing an internet search will tell you want sponge candy is. Its crunchy, a bit sticky, lightly sweet, and coated in bittersweet chocolate.

Friday Fish Fry. On fridays in Buffalo, every sit-down restaurant in town has friday fish fry (usally haddock or somtimes plaki style) specials. I go to other states, and I say "Hey, it's friday. Let's get a fish fry" responce: "What does that have to do with it being friday?". I think this a Northeastern thing, not just Buffalo, but still.

Also, yes, it is not SODA. it is POP. thank you very much. If you order soda in a buffalo sit-down restaurant, you'll probably get plain soda water, or seltzer. If you want coke, pepsi, sprite etc., you are ordering POP.

Non food realted: While in Florida on the radio : "Bundle up tonight, its going to drop into the sixties." It was a shock to my cousins friends to hear that we actually get NEGATIVE numbers in our temps.

By the way, I might be moving to London in September. Anything significant about culture that I would need to know?
I don't live in London, but I've been plenty of times. There's a few tips to bear in mind:

If you use the tube, don't expect the staff to be polite. In fact, expect them to mock you at every opportunity.

Ignore the traffic lights, every other pedestrian does anyway.

If you get lost, walk in a straight line in any direction. You'll find a tube station.

I lived in London for two years, great place, but never use the tube, it is usually easier nicer and more informative to catch a bus. Also buy month long bus passes as they work out much cheaper than daily bus passes.

My partner is Zimbabwean British :fluffle: I'm British Zimbabwean, you would think there were very few cultural difference, but no every day we clash on at least one thing. Granted, her father is Scottish and mine is English, her mother is Shona (Black) and my mother is a settler (white). Oddly enough I'm both more African and more Metropolitan than she is and she is more European and rural than I am. Big clashes over the use of the word orthodox!! Oh and pronouciationof oven - though Scottish is seeping into my lexicon. :headbang:. Washing dishes and video games - but that may just be because I'm male.