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- Jwoey, on 10/12/2007, -1/+38hating wikipedia is totally trendy
- Ganpachi, on 10/12/2007, -1/+27In Japan it is considered rude to punch airline attendants in the face.
- thepeacemaker, on 10/12/2007, -2/+26For me (having moved from South Asia to the US), the biggest cultural shockers were...
The Good:
- Complete strangers smiling and saying "howdy" when walking by on the road; people in cars slowing down and offering rides at odd hours of the night ...but then that was College Station, TX ..sort of a larger Mr. Roger's Neighborhood.
- When getting into car accidents, the other party actually coming over and asking if I was okay. Back home people get ready for a fist fight in those circumstances.
The Bad:
- Setting up gift registries which in essence is no different from asking for gifts. Most people back home would commit hara-kiri before even thinking of doing that.
- Opening the gift in front of the person giving the gift. Considered hoggish deprived behavior. A big no no back home. All gifts are opened later in private.
- Shaking hands with the opposite gender. A rough analogy would be to imagine the awkwardness of having to kiss when greeting.
The Ugly:
- Not washing after using the toilet ..and i'm not talking about hands. No wonder colognes and perfumes sell so well here. :-) - Jwoey, on 10/12/2007, -3/+25I hate this one! Everytime I sneeze at work both the women in the cubicles next to me say "bless you"
And I have to say thanks! Otherwise im a jerk or something.. because i didnt thank you for noticing that i sneezed. I dont wanna be blessed, thanks! - Yashar, on 10/12/2007, -1/+20At an initial introduction, it is considered awkward to ask someone "How much?"
- Nougat, on 10/12/2007, -2/+21United States: When someone else sneezes, it is customary to say "Bless you."
I pissed off my wife for some time. Whenever she sneezed, I would say, "I sure hope those demons don't give you the plague!" - sik0fewl, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16I guess that explains this: http://img485.imageshack.us/img485/4526/holdinghands0hg.jpg
- spartyms2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15In the United Kingdom:
"After intercourse, it is considered rude to wipe your penis in your hostess' hair; it is generally acceptable that you use the curtains instead." - Yashar, on 10/12/2007, -3/+14Brazil:
It is considered rude to walk up to a house or apartment door and knock. The appropriate action is to stand in the yard and clap your hands. If no one comes to the door, then the visitor may approach the door, knock, and then step back away from the door and await a response.
WTF - bloqmon, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12I lived there, its very true. You often see two men walking down the street holding hands and it has no meaning other than friendship.
- no8286, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13"Showing any form of intelligence in the United states is punishable by death"
WTF! - greghunt, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11In Mongolia if you step on somebody's foot then you're expected to shake their hand and let them stand on your foot in return. It's quite a strange and humbling experience when you're in a mini-bus with 20 other people and an elderly woman asks you to step on her foot (especially when you're trying to figure out what she's saying)!
Mongolia is very interesting in this respect as it is steeped with tradition and is almost like stepping back into the dark ages (except for the gers with radios and tv).
That list seems incomplete, I remember many more from my travels, but I'm not sure I'd have the references to back them up. - Crosshare, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10France:
"Assuming that people speak English without inquiry may be found unpleasant; being able to greet in French and ask whether the interlocutor speaks English is highly appreciated."
This one is huge when you're visiting France. People were very friendly to us when you open dialog with a French greeting rather than spurting out English. I didn't have much trouble getting around and along with people when you do this. They will listen to you, realize that you're American/Australian/from the UK and switch politely to English after you make the effort if they can speak it. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+15@sik0fewl
No they're gay ;) - lnf69, on 10/12/2007, -4/+13In Saudi Arabia, it is considered polite and a sign of friendship to hold hands when walking. This does not have the romantic connotations it does in the West
In Chinese culture gifts should be given in pairs because odd numbers imply separation and loneliness. - StrawberryFrog, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10"In South Africa, gifts are given with the right hand or both hands and are expected to be opened right away."
Um, I lived there for 30 years and this is the first that I've heard of this. - HoboMaster, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10Texas in general is a pretty friendly place. Colege Station especially though, yeah.
As to the not washing bit, I've found wiping to be perfectly sufficient. If that's not, buy some wet-wipes. You'd have to be pretty ineffective at wiping to smell bad afterwards. - alienasa, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8@nougat
"pocket full of posies" refers to the posies that people used to carry around and hold over their nose and mouth in order to avoid breathing in "bad air". - JorgeGT, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9those wierd japs...
- Crosshare, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7It's not a bad thing. It's one of the things I really liked and found charming about England while I was there this past summer.
- greghunt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7I noticed how overly polite we are in England when I visited a friend in the Netherlands, we say thank you for so many pointless things, like when people let you get out of a lift or train (the people waiting to get in!). If you look in phrasebooks they will often make fun of this fact. When buying something in a shop you may say thanks several times, in Spanish once is more than enough.
- Nougat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6@MightyGiant, et al:
My understanding of the etymology of "God bless you" after a sneeze is such -
One of the (early?) symptoms of bubonic plague is sneezing. Back when the plague was ravaging Europe, people thought it was caused by evil spirits - demons and devils. So, when you sneezed, people began saying "God bless you" in an attempt to drive the demons out.
I also understand that "Ring around the rosie" is sourced in the same era. "Ashes, ashes, we all fall down" was originally "Ashews, ashews" - sneezing - "We all fall down" - dying. i think "Ring around the rosie" referred to a ring-shaped lesion that could be found on the skin of someone with plague, and I have no idea what "Pocket full of posies" was about. - Nougat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7So I can show my tattoo proudly in Qatar and Yemen? Awesome!
- blazen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5"In Ghana, it is considered impolite to have sex with one's wife in front of the wife's parents, but is perfectly acceptable in front of the husband's parents."
Don't tell me you'd believe that either - MightyGiant, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5And I've always wondered who's doing the blessing. Is it God? Who gave them the authority to choose who he blesses. And would he really want to bless every poor sap who sneezes?
- szewczyk, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7"If a western marries into a Japanese family, upon meeting their new in-laws the westerner must raise his or her hands up to their eyes and pull them back with their index fingers to give the appearance of slanty eyes. Failing to do so will often result in death."
OK, is this real? It's too over the top, someone must have screwed with the entry. - tsf5000, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Yeah, that last one threw me off too. So, do they have showers in public restrooms in Asia?
- JorgeGT, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Here in Spain is more mandatory to say "Jesus"... you know, Inquisition and such!
(But some people like me are used to say "salud" ("health"))
Btw we don't shake hands with women, we double-kiss them on cheeks^^ - Bob042, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5This is an interesting literal translation from the article:
Blowing the nose in public (also, the Japanese do not use their handkerchief for hanakuso, literally 'nose *****') - toomuchfreetime, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5"Showing any form of intelligence in the United states is punishable by death."
Heheh. Wikipedia-vandalizing smart-alecks. - RadiantBeing, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4My English friends thought it was funny how Americans address each other as sir or ma'am.
- ShagNASTY, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Agreed. Some wacky info has slipped into the wiki.
- avolant, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6"Showing any form of intelligence in the United states is punishable by death"
ive yet to see that tested.. - tacom8, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Germany:
Placing a phone call to somebody after 10 p.m. (22:00) , unless by previous appointment or calling a friend. Furthermore, do not call senior citizens between 8 p.m. and 8.15 p.m (20:00 - 20:15), as many of them watch the prime time daily news at that time.
That just cracks me up, you crazy old Germans! In Canada it's the custom to never call old people, unless you are operating a telemarketing scam... - allenthar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@All the "Ring Around the Rosie" people
There is no connection between the nursery rhyme and the Black Plague.
http://www.snopes.com/language/literary/rosie.htm - djNullSpace, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Personally, I excuse myself when I sneeze... usually it saves people from having to say "bless you" because they don't think I'm expecting them to say anything since I already acknowledged that I sneezed.
- scilec, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Yes, it certainly is true. My sister has been married to a Saudi for a long time now. While I was getting to know his family, I was walking with one of his nephews once and he all of a sudden grabbed my hand as we were walking. Although I felt uncomfortable, my sister told me that this was pretty common among same-sex friends in Saudi culture.
- vagarach, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I caught that out too. The drawbacks of wikipedia..... :D
- RickySan65, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Funny thing that really.. I find Canadians much more polite and genuine then britons, or maybe it's the region where i work now where people are just not textbook British. Being Dutch i do find overusage of thank you annoying at times, once will do.. plus adding please to every sentence is perceived as groveling in some parts of Holland, I don't give a crap what the holy wikepedia says, I'm Dutch and I call it Holland hehe.
- n1cza, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Ditto, I've lived here all my life (22 years) and I've never heard of this before.
Though it's very possible it's some sort of Zulu or other culture's tradition. We DO have a million cultures here.
btw: If you check the link, it's not even under the South Africa heading, 2 other ridiculous ones are. Go Go wiki... - szewczyk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Clearly not or I wouldn't have pointed it out.
- RickySan65, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4My God do you belief what is on wikipedia?
- greghunt, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Well, maybe some people have read the whole of wikipedia or at least every single interesting article. It's an encyclopedia, how big can it be? :)
- subtillus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"For me (having moved from South Asia to the US), the biggest cultural shockers were...
....
- Shaking hands with the opposite gender. A rough analogy would be to imagine the awkwardness of having to kiss when greeting."
That's funny, I'm an anglo-Quebecois (a mostly french part of Canada) and NOT kissing the cheeks of someone of the opposite sex is considered if not rude then at least relatively cold, detached or impersonal.
Also, I wanted to point out that I was surprised about the length of the Canadian list, we're a very tolerant and accepting people, but we sure do have a lot of faux-pas to keep it that way. - stupidfathead, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Overt displays of "nationalism" make English Canadians extremely uncomfortable. English Canadians are quietly and fiercely proud of their country, but patriotic fervour is an intensely private matter and not appropriate for public display.::
Um, as a proud Anglo Canuck I gotta disagree with this one. I mean, we don't march enmasse like some people when someone insults us, but I would hardly say we are intensly private about patriatism or even fervour for that matter. I am a proud Canadian and will open a can of Molsen on anyones ass (similar to whoop ass but better) who comes here and changes the channel when Hockey Night In Canada is on! - GutshotJimmy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1'In Iraq, the "Thumbs Up" gesture is considered an offensive insult.'
http://resynthesize.com/myspace/norris.jpg - vagarach, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I lived there for 14 years and knew this from a very, very young age.
- 4NDr01D, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1never been to a favella ?
watch the movie City of God - ernkush, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1All of this is simply good manners in general that should be recognized by people in the US as well as everywhere else like waiting for everyone to sit down before beginning your food.
- kd1s, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1That's ok. Saying "bless you" to an atheist is also kind of a faux pas. In our office of six, two are self acknowledged atheists. When one of us sneezes, someone invariably says "bless you" which leads to some humorous exchanges.
Actually of the six of us, 2 of us are open about our atheism, while it appears two of us are closet atheists. It's a very interesting mix. -
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