What was your biggest experience of "culture shock" in another country?
Culture Shock
interesting topic!!!
one of my more pleasant culture shocks was my first visit to Prague. you get to the downtown core and you have to walk everywhere...which I loved. Early in the day I noticed all of the cafes that sat largely empty and was pretty shocked at the numbers. when the day ended they were however packed. So many stopped in them at the end of the day to socialize and I thought it was awesome. Now a lot of this is forced because they know it is easier to wait for the mass transit rush to thin out for a bit...but pretty cool none the less. Turns out that you see this in lots of places...but to me Prague has always stood out as a little different..but the general walking in most cultures compared to the west is awesome...and seems to help the general population stay a lot more in shape...it sure isn't their eating habits! One the same trip I went to my first old fashioned beer hall as well...in Poland...and loved it. You walk in and there are these super long tables as opposed to tables by themselves...and you are encouraged to sit directly next to people to socialize with new people...so nice. lesson learned however....the food was awesome...sausage, pirogies, cabbage rolls...all home made and amazing...they brought me a pretty healthy plate and I was stunned that I actually finished it...but a couple minutes after it was cleared they brought me another! one of the people sitting next to me explained that if your plate was empty then you were still hungry and food would keep coming.
one of the things that always sets me back is smoking...and it is in a lot of places...but the volume of smokers and having it so integrated and open in public life...I just don't see that in the US. I don't have an issue with it per say...just always surprise me a bit. I mean there are still airlines in Asia you can smoke on!
places like Stockholm and Copenhagen I fell in love with because you have to dress to the nines to go to a real nightclub. Jeans...oh hell no...you are not getting in male or female. Dudes wear nice suits and Dames don't get away with a casual dress. Pretty neat that any of the main nightclubs you go to everyone is fashionable. Of course it is not like that everywhere...but places like the sture district for example
In Paris we were in the Montmartre which is a shock all on it's own (O M G lol...I could tell stories) but I was disheartened to see Moulin Rouge and a McDonald's in the same view...it is easy to forget that these big things you want to see are integrated with new things as well. On the same token we went out that night and actually went to the McDonald's at 2am...I rarely eat that or fast food in general...but I go in and ask for a Big Mac and they say "quarter pounder, fries or both" I ask again...same response and he turns and points at a mountain of hundreds if not a thousand of them piled up and a few more poppining out every 20 seconds...that is how they dealt with the mass traffic at night there. Only place I recall seeing that...but like I said I don't go there often. In the same token as seeing the McDonald's...I go to Egypt.....super stoked to see the pyramids....got there late a went straight to hotel. looked out briefly at the lit up view of it...which was amazing...and went to bed pretty tired. I woke up early so that I could watch as the sun hit the pyramid. it was then that I noticed the KFC sitting at the bottom of it and It was all I could see after that. It really disheartened me to see that.
Of course the biggest thing that sets me back is just the plain history of everything...stuff that has stood multiple times the existence of the 'settled west'...roads that have been walked for thousands of years...a pub I went to that has now been in the family for pushing 950 years
there are so many though
...the food in China and well...much of Asia....I do my best to eat the scorpian kabobs and such but I have found my limit more than once.
...the disgusting sanitary in much of India. literally my first experience after landing was looking at a guy and thinking...sorry...that is not a good place to take a shit
...Laos...beautiful platter of food sizzling hot in oils placed in front of us and then a live octopus being put atop it to cook from the heat alone and as it starts to slowly die it is chopped up and mixed in
...Only speaking English (and broken tidbits of other languages) while many speak at least 2
..."ish" 3PM"ish" nothing is a firm time unless you state it...in much of the world.
god...so many it is hard to think of them all and harder to think of what is the biggest...because they are all big in different ways...but those are a few that stand out
one of my more pleasant culture shocks was my first visit to Prague. you get to the downtown core and you have to walk everywhere...which I loved. Early in the day I noticed all of the cafes that sat largely empty and was pretty shocked at the numbers. when the day ended they were however packed. So many stopped in them at the end of the day to socialize and I thought it was awesome. Now a lot of this is forced because they know it is easier to wait for the mass transit rush to thin out for a bit...but pretty cool none the less. Turns out that you see this in lots of places...but to me Prague has always stood out as a little different..but the general walking in most cultures compared to the west is awesome...and seems to help the general population stay a lot more in shape...it sure isn't their eating habits! One the same trip I went to my first old fashioned beer hall as well...in Poland...and loved it. You walk in and there are these super long tables as opposed to tables by themselves...and you are encouraged to sit directly next to people to socialize with new people...so nice. lesson learned however....the food was awesome...sausage, pirogies, cabbage rolls...all home made and amazing...they brought me a pretty healthy plate and I was stunned that I actually finished it...but a couple minutes after it was cleared they brought me another! one of the people sitting next to me explained that if your plate was empty then you were still hungry and food would keep coming.
one of the things that always sets me back is smoking...and it is in a lot of places...but the volume of smokers and having it so integrated and open in public life...I just don't see that in the US. I don't have an issue with it per say...just always surprise me a bit. I mean there are still airlines in Asia you can smoke on!
places like Stockholm and Copenhagen I fell in love with because you have to dress to the nines to go to a real nightclub. Jeans...oh hell no...you are not getting in male or female. Dudes wear nice suits and Dames don't get away with a casual dress. Pretty neat that any of the main nightclubs you go to everyone is fashionable. Of course it is not like that everywhere...but places like the sture district for example
In Paris we were in the Montmartre which is a shock all on it's own (O M G lol...I could tell stories) but I was disheartened to see Moulin Rouge and a McDonald's in the same view...it is easy to forget that these big things you want to see are integrated with new things as well. On the same token we went out that night and actually went to the McDonald's at 2am...I rarely eat that or fast food in general...but I go in and ask for a Big Mac and they say "quarter pounder, fries or both" I ask again...same response and he turns and points at a mountain of hundreds if not a thousand of them piled up and a few more poppining out every 20 seconds...that is how they dealt with the mass traffic at night there. Only place I recall seeing that...but like I said I don't go there often. In the same token as seeing the McDonald's...I go to Egypt.....super stoked to see the pyramids....got there late a went straight to hotel. looked out briefly at the lit up view of it...which was amazing...and went to bed pretty tired. I woke up early so that I could watch as the sun hit the pyramid. it was then that I noticed the KFC sitting at the bottom of it and It was all I could see after that. It really disheartened me to see that.
Of course the biggest thing that sets me back is just the plain history of everything...stuff that has stood multiple times the existence of the 'settled west'...roads that have been walked for thousands of years...a pub I went to that has now been in the family for pushing 950 years
there are so many though
...the food in China and well...much of Asia....I do my best to eat the scorpian kabobs and such but I have found my limit more than once.
...the disgusting sanitary in much of India. literally my first experience after landing was looking at a guy and thinking...sorry...that is not a good place to take a shit
...Laos...beautiful platter of food sizzling hot in oils placed in front of us and then a live octopus being put atop it to cook from the heat alone and as it starts to slowly die it is chopped up and mixed in
...Only speaking English (and broken tidbits of other languages) while many speak at least 2
..."ish" 3PM"ish" nothing is a firm time unless you state it...in much of the world.
god...so many it is hard to think of them all and harder to think of what is the biggest...because they are all big in different ways...but those are a few that stand out
Make your parents proud, your enemies jealous, and yourself happy. The only thing that can prevent you is you!
Hugz to my BL: stalker...you know who you are. Lil creepy, but thanks for the pedestal.
Hugz to my BL: stalker...you know who you are. Lil creepy, but thanks for the pedestal.
Wow, reading your comment made me a bit jealous. You have gotten to experience so many different cultures. I'm hopeful that this year will be a year of the same for me
Fari2.0 wrote:
nothing to be jealous of...just go out there and do it.
two feet and a heartbeat...and you technically don't even need the feet.
Wow, reading your comment made me a bit jealous. You have gotten to experience so many different cultures. I'm hopeful that this year will be a year of the same for me
nothing to be jealous of...just go out there and do it.
two feet and a heartbeat...and you technically don't even need the feet.
Make your parents proud, your enemies jealous, and yourself happy. The only thing that can prevent you is you!
Hugz to my BL: stalker...you know who you are. Lil creepy, but thanks for the pedestal.
Hugz to my BL: stalker...you know who you are. Lil creepy, but thanks for the pedestal.
Lol, yes I'll definitely do this.
Oh me like this topic! I have not travelled that much YET, but the most current experience for me was last year in Zanzibar.
About a 3 and half hour flight from South Africa, get there and the airport is almost non existent. Half built building with no ceiling and wires everywhere, almost like they cant finish building it. Then after arrival check point, its a taxi galore outside. Finally you negotiate a price and the taxi smells like warm sweat... The driver just GOES, no robots and no road signs anywhere.
As you drive through town to get to the hotel, all you see is poverty. This really was the biggest shock to me, made me incredibly sad and also made me question the booking I made - Does the hotel even exist? People live in small built houses with no electricity or plumbing and then all of a sudden you pitch up at this luxurious hotel and you cant believe what you just witnessed.
At the hotel, there was quite a few "entertainment agents", these are local people that offer fun and adventure on the island. Our "host" was Captain Chicken (no jokes!), what a lovely man - absolutely humbled. He has lived on the island his whole life and does everything, fishing being his main job. He was so kind, he took us everywhere and just showed us how everyone works together in the community.
Its also very common for the fisher men to go diving at night, when its pitch black and high tide.
It amazed me how these people have nothing, yet they will share whatever they have with you.
xoxo
Mellame#
That's sad, yet it's refreshing that the community members share such a bond
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