Posted November 27, 2016 The title is a bit confusing, but I only had so much space You know when you see a tourist taking a photo of something silly? Like it's there every day, you see it all the time. This is that kind of thing. Share things and/or places about the world/other countries that you think are shocking or surprising, that are normal everyday things for people in those countries. An example, and what inspired me to start this thread, is I just found out that in the United States, their standard paper size isn't A4! Looking in a bit further I found out that's also the case in Canada and was pretty surprised. I thought A4 was the standard all around the world. Share this post Link to post
Posted November 27, 2016 lol, as an Estonian... I notice tourists/non native speakers tend to always giggle at a few of our words... for example: 12 months = Kaksteist Kuud (yea.. just.. say it out loud .-.) and Cheers! (like what you say when you get a drink, ect) = Terviseks (apparantly sounds like turbo sex .-.) and there's this place in Tallinn... Share this post Link to post
Posted November 27, 2016 lol, as an Estonian... I notice tourists/non native speakers tend to always giggle at a few of our words... for example: 12 months = Kaksteist Kuud (yea.. just.. say it out loud .-.) and Cheers! (like what you say when you get a drink, ect) = Terviseks (apparantly sounds like turbo sex .-.) and there's this place in Tallinn... This is so funny that I'm 21342345647589 times happier I made this thread. I'll say another thing that amazes me about the US, that I wish we had here. Free refills. Forever? That's crazy. Here you have to pay for all of your drinks. You can get free tap water, but that's about it. Share this post Link to post
Posted November 27, 2016 As a Finn visits to Estonia are always hilarious. Ordering a viineri (in Finnish: a danish, in Estonian: a hot dog) and many others. My favourite is the Estonian word for a wedding;: pulm. Pulma in Finnish means a problem. Maybe sometimes wedding does ensue problems..? In Amsterdam there's a statue that has a caption "multatuli" I quess it means something really meaningful in Latin but in Finnish it means "I came"... When my family hosted an american exchange student he found some of our words and names etc funny. e.g. in Finland there used to be KKK super market. Since then it has dropped the KKK from the name. And markets sell chips in "megapussi" (pussi means a bag) Share this post Link to post
Posted November 29, 2016 I just watched a youtube video and I found out that there's a town that has a tradition of making a big straw goat every Christmas and it also gets burnt down every year. But that part of the tradition is illegal Share this post Link to post
Posted November 29, 2016 I just learned that apparently not all non-USA countries hang country flags in their classroom? Our jingoism is strong. ~ I do think it's really neat/funny/interesting that countries print their wold maps differently. US puts us center, China puts Asia center, and Canada cuts through the Pacific Ocean so that a country won't be split apart. Share this post Link to post
Posted November 29, 2016 International students on campus here FREAK out over the regular old grey squirrels. They can't get enough of them. Pictures constantly, asking about them, you name it. I also had a friend from Columbia want a picture with my run-of-the-mill smooth longhair black cat. He said longhair cats are really expensive there, and they are rare. He was so excited to have his picture taken with a longhair cat. LOL! An Italian peer of mine (scientist) was here for a conference. She was fascinated by the amount of trees we have planted around cities. Apparently that isn't a thing in Italy, or at least where she is from. Share this post Link to post
Posted November 29, 2016 I got a bit of culture shock when my friend from Singapore told me that one of their methods of criminal punishment was spanking... She also went to an all-girls school. One of her friends there had a tendency to greet other girls by slapping their butt. She's still insisting to me that this is perfectly normal behaviour... (This probably has more to do with her weirdo friends than Singapore though ) Share this post Link to post
Posted November 29, 2016 (edited) We had a student from the US who didn't recognise a certain bird she saw, and once she found out it was a common magpie she was ecstatic. Apparently they don't exist in her home. That was pretty shocking to me, because magpies are like, everywhere here, and I thought that applied for most of the world. Turns out they inhabit just Europe, Asia and northernmost Africa. You learn something new every day. I just watched a youtube video and I found out that there's a town that has a tradition of making a big straw goat every Christmas and it also gets burnt down every year. But that part of the tradition is illegal I know where that is, and if you ask me, I consider the burning of the goat to be more of a tradition than when it stays un-roasted. I mean, it has only survived 14 out of 50 years... And there are more stories to it than burnings only: in two years someone crashed into it with a car in 1973 someone stole it and put it in their own backyard in 2001 an American tourist set it on fire because he had heard about the tradition at a party in 2004 the webpage of the municipality was hacked, displaying the words "burn the buck ***" before it was burned in 2005 two men dressed in a santa claus suit and a gingerbread man suit burned the goat by shooting flaming arrows at it in 2010 the goat was not set on fire, but someone had plans to kidnap it by helicopter and fly it to Stockholm As you can see, it may be illegal, but at least there have been some creative ideas coming up in later years. Edited November 29, 2016 by Ripan Share this post Link to post
Posted November 29, 2016 I hope it's not off topic, but for me, one of the biggest culture shocks I've had was when I found out that in other countries people don't eat "parlour candy" at Christmas. We call them "szaloncukor", and they look like this: For Hungarians, it's a big tradition, like eating chocolate eggs at Easter. We sometimes even decorate the Christmas tree with it. Share this post Link to post
Posted November 29, 2016 (edited) Big culture shocks? Mine were revolving around the manner in which society's behavior differs depending on the country. All my life I've lived between two countries, being a legal resident of USA and Mexico. I attended school in USA until freshman year of high school. In the US, people kind of let you do your own thing, no one cares about who you are quite as much unless you develop some kind of relationship with them (e.g. friendship, acquaintance, etc.). Everyone seems mind their own business with greater ease, there seems to be a greater sense of equality and a diminished distinction between socioeconomic classes, at least in the visual sense. In Mexico everyone is much friendlier, laid-back and easily tending towards extraversion. There is a definite emotional element attached to every interaction as well as in speech and thought patterns within the language. Interactions can be informal, even within business like settings. In my experience, being predominantly introverted is seen as strange, people may feel like they have the right to inquire about your life or expect you to be friendly with them right of the bat just because they act that way towards you; difficult, since I am a very private person. People are never shy. I've had to develop an external facade for society as well as extraversion in order to live my life comfortably. Socioeconomic classes are contrast each other vividly, this can be seen even in the way people think and act. Upperclass individuals can tend to act in an entitled manner, often standoffish and excessively judgmental. Not to mention their outwardly opulent appearance. I cannot generalize with middle and lower classes, they are far more ample and diverse. They tend to be hardworking, though. Edited November 29, 2016 by andromedae Share this post Link to post
Posted November 29, 2016 We had a student from the US who didn't recognise a certain bird she saw, and once she found out it was a common magpie she was ecstatic. Apparently they don't exist in her home. That was pretty shocking to me, because magpies are like, everywhere here, and I thought that applied for most of the world. Turns out they inhabit just Europe, Asia and northernmost Africa. You learn something new every day. I know where that is, and if you ask me, I consider the burning of the goat to be more of a tradition than when it stays un-roasted. I mean, it has only survived 14 out of 50 years... And there are more stories to it than burnings only: in two years someone crashed into it with a car in 1973 someone stole it and put it in their own backyard in 2001 an American tourist set it on fire because he had heard about the tradition at a party in 2004 the webpage of the municipality was hacked, displaying the words "burn the buck ***" before it was burned in 2005 two men dressed in a santa claus suit and a gingerbread man suit burned the goat by shooting flaming arrows at it in 2010 the goat was not set on fire, but someone had plans to kidnap it by helicopter and fly it to Stockholm As you can see, it may be illegal, but at least there have been some creative ideas coming up in later years. Magpies are in Australia too. Okay so actually I looked into this and our magpies are different? Whaaaaaat. Hahaha. I have always just assumed most birds are kinda everywhere, cause they can fly. The 1973 story is my favourite. Hahaha It was funny at the end of the video he added in a bit saying he'd just flown home but the goat had been burnt down already. Share this post Link to post
Posted January 23, 2017 I just found out people in North America don't use the word 'fortnight' and I'm very surprised Share this post Link to post
Posted January 23, 2017 Every country has it's differences! On some islands, people will eat alligator meat! That's pretty interesting to me but you couldn't pay me to touch it! Share this post Link to post
Posted January 23, 2017 Every country has it's differences! On some islands, people will eat alligator meat! That's pretty interesting to me but you couldn't pay me to touch it! We eat alligator meat down here in Louisiana Share this post Link to post
Posted January 23, 2017 I just found out people in North America don't use the word 'fortnight' and I'm very surprised we do use it sometimes, but it isn't often. i just learned about a year ago that not everyone gets those crackers for christmas/new years... like, we've always just gotten them, but in america they're almost unheard of. at least, where i'm from. and kinder eggs??? like??? i thought those were just a myth. goddamn america... Share this post Link to post
Posted January 23, 2017 and kinder eggs??? like??? i thought those were just a myth. goddamn america... When I first heard they were banned in the USA I thought it had to be a joke, but apparently it's true. ... Weird. Share this post Link to post
Posted January 23, 2017 We had a student from the US who didn't recognise a certain bird she saw, and once she found out it was a common magpie she was ecstatic. Apparently they don't exist in her home. That was pretty shocking to me, because magpies are like, everywhere here, and I thought that applied for most of the world. Turns out they inhabit just Europe, Asia and northernmost Africa. You learn something new every day. They are all over canada so I have trouble believing the US doesn't have them :S. Share this post Link to post
Posted January 23, 2017 Every country has it's differences! On some islands, people will eat alligator meat! That's pretty interesting to me but you couldn't pay me to touch it! It tastes good (can get it in Louisiana or at certain Louisiana-themed restaurants), but I feel slightly bad about eating it because alligators are fellow predators, not prey animals. Share this post Link to post
Posted January 23, 2017 They are all over canada so I have trouble believing the US doesn't have them :S. We def have magpies - specifically the American Magpie, aka the Black-Billed Magpie. Share this post Link to post
Posted January 25, 2017 (edited) This is going to be my favorite topic When I first moved to Germany I remeber being so shocked that they eat french fries with mayonnaise Edited January 25, 2017 by maylin Share this post Link to post
Posted January 26, 2017 This is going to be my favorite topic When I first moved to Germany I remeber being so shocked that they eat french fries with mayonnaise In Australia, gravy is a really popular choice to eat with chips. Tomato sauce is the most common though for sure. I like garlic sauce on my chips (We also call them chips, not french fries. What Americans call chips and people from Britain call crisps, we also call chips. It gets confusing...especially when people say "potato chips" to clarify. No, that doesn't help! haha) Share this post Link to post
Posted January 28, 2017 I was surprised to find most of the toilets in Germany don't have or barely have any water in them. American toilets have lots of water in the bowl. Share this post Link to post
Posted January 29, 2017 I was surprised to find most of the toilets in Germany don't have or barely have any water in them. American toilets have lots of water in the bowl. That's so weird. (in white bc gross V) Wouldn't the poo get stuck on the bowl if there's no water to keep it off the bowl? or? Yucky Share this post Link to post
Posted January 29, 2017 I live in the Bahamas where we drive on the left as in Britain. However, our cars are both right-hand drives (as in Britain) and left-hand drives (as in the States). We import from the US and from Japan. I happen to have a right-hand drive as it makes turning corners and overtaking much easier. Every so often, as I'm driving through town, where the cruise ship tourists wander, I see people pointing at me and my car and sometimes taking pictures of the 'weird wrong-side car'. Share this post Link to post
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