Traveling is a great way to learn and really soak up all the cultures, customs, traditions, etc. that differ from one country to another. It broadens one's horizons and teaches us more about the world we live in. However, sometimes what one experiences in a new place can cause a mild shock due to too much of a difference from their home.

I got curious about what our pandas found surprising while traveling, so I asked our community to share some cultural shocks they've had when visiting another country, and oh boy, they delivered. Scroll down to read all those answers! What cultural shocks have you experienced?

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#1

"Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community The first time I visited Ireland with my wife to visit her family, I was surprised that in Irish culture, it's accepted that family and friends can just drop by without any advance notice. And they are sooo hospitable. Unless they have terribly urgent, pressing business, they will go out of their way to be welcoming.

A great example is that we visited her uncle in Dublin. We drove clear across Ireland to go see him - without calling. We surprised him and his wife early in the morning. He took the day off from work, and drove us around to several local points of interest, and we stayed the night.

Ireland is a beautiful country, and their people are just as wonderful.

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    #2

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community Went to Quebec, Canada. Everything was so quiet!

    Here in Mexico we've got so damn much noise pollution (from vehicles, street vendors, people talking loudly, stores and homes blasting music so freaking loud), everything seems to scream at you!

    I absolutely loved the silence, more than anything!

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    Margaret Weaver
    Margaret Weaver
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    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I feel this to my BONES. All the world is screaming when I go out of the house. Quebec sounds marvelous. Maybe a quiet Vancouver suburb otherwise. Close enough to humans to have fiber internet, but off in a quiet corner close to nature. The cottage from Twilight for example.

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    #3

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community I am German and live in the French speaking part of Switzerland. Both countries are typically considered rather orderly and clean, but I was completely smitten with the Japanese trash culture. The streets are super clean, and there are no trash bins anywhere except at the train/metro stations and at the hotel (not on the street, not in a museum, not at a department store). Everybody just carries their trash with them. Once in the town of Uji I went past three small pearly white truck serviced by white-clad gentlemen—that was the garbage collection for the neighborhood, without any noise, smell, or dirt. First thing I noticed after I landed in Frankfurt: trash bins in the middle of the walkway every 5 meters, it was strangely disturbing to look at all that prominently displayed garbage.

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    Slune
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    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yeah, same experience. Streets of Tokyo are so clean, I could wear my long, baggy linen pants for 4 days in a row! The seam was scruffy but not dirty-dirty. I'm still impressed:)))

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    #4

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community Children in Cairo playing in the dirtiest water in the Nile but waving and smiling like crazy at the tourist buses going by, not for money but they were just so excited to see people waving back.

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    #5

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community In the Gambia, if your husband dies, you are supposed to marry his brother. Found this out the day after my Gambian husband died. Luckily it turned out not to be mandatory but to help widows who have no means of survival without a husband.

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    #6

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community Went to Mexico and the moment I left the tourist area the prices went down, like really down. My dad and I got a meal with tacos and drinks for $3.50 US dollars for the both of us. For a broke teenager it was heaven!!

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    Kona Pake
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    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Try going to Bangkok where are you can get a tiny bowl of wonton min in a back alley in Chinatown for under a dollar.

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    #7

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community The lack of billboards when I visited Wales. It was wonderful to view the gorgeous countryside without obstruction. Billboards are everywhere in the U.S.

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    tcw avatar
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I live in the Mid Atlantic US and rarely see billboards in scenic rural areas.

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    #8

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community USA - everything is HUGE. You have to drive 9 hours to get from one side of Texas and still end up in Texas. Do you know how many countries I could drive through in Europe in that time? Food portions, buildings, roads...your nature is awesome btw and also huge

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    Niall Mac Iomera
    Niall Mac Iomera
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    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I live in western Australia. We drove for 16 hours and only went about halfway up the state.

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    #9

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community As a little child, my parents took the family to Jamaica. Apparently, it's normal there for shopkeepers to grab your child (in this case, my sister) and run off into their store as a ploy to get you inside their store. I guess you get your child back and then decide to buy something?

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    #10

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community I haven't been to any countries abroad but i had friends coming to Turkey from other countries and they are usually surprised with how much we insist on nearly everything. Like, eat this try that, buy this buy that, go this place or never go that place.. We are trying to be kind and helpful but i see that other people may find it overwhelming

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    Margaret Weaver
    Margaret Weaver
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    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I could imagine it would feel bothersome and intrusive to have personal decisionmaking constantly overwritten by well meaning busyboddies.

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    #11

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community Went to rural India for three months. Discovered that a LOT of people have never seen a white person and wanted to touch me and talk to me. It was very weird to be the foreigner for once. I learned a lot.

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    #12

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community Egyptians don't usually form lines. I found this out at a government building, where my host family started encouraging me to "push, push!" As I was slowly being squeezed out by adamant lil old ladies.

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    #13

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community The hot chocolates in Italy are thick. Almost as if they got some chocolate shoved it in the microwave and put it in a glass along with some sweet butter (the thick cream). But hey I’m not complaining it was delicious

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    #14

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community People in Denmark find it rude to tip the waiter because they actually get paid well unlike in America where waiters have to depend on strangers to pay rent

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    #15

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community Lived on the island of Malta for a bit over 2 years. Lovely place but far too noisy! A typical thing there is for people to just shout at each other through their balconies. Oh its 7 am on a Saturday? I don't care, "Ma! HEY MAAA, I FORGOT MY KEYS!..Forgot whaaat?..MY KEEEEYSS!". Yes, there are doorbells and phones, but what fun is that.
    Also the fireworks. Wonderful sight if you just arrived, but when you get woken up by an explosion at 8 am every...single....day, it gets to you. Also every evening for several months there are fireworks until midnight, due to most villages celebrating their patron saints on different days. It becomes maddening after a month or so, just pray that you have proper doors/windows and AC so you can close yourself inside.

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    Kat
    Kat
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    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I have been to Malta 2 times now. Second time we stayed for a month. The fireworks are amazing, true. Malta is a weird place, it's noisy, quite expensive, food quality in shops is poor, better and cheaper to eat out etc. And when you leave, you already miss back there.

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    #16

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community Had a fry up in America. There was sugar in the sausages!

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    Just saying
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    Tami
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    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Or worse, high-fructose corn syrup. It's a crime, but apparently that's what many people like, sweetness in everything.

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    #17

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community I visited India twice in the 1990s. And both times my culture shock happened when I returned to the US. In the US, I missed the sound of people singing at all times of the day. I missed the amazing smells of food, incense, etc in the streets. I missed the openness of people toward one another. I missed the proliferation of bright colors in clothing and decorations everywhere.

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    Pille P
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    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I remember coming back from India the first time, it was on a Sunday morning during Easter in Germany. It was as if the whole town was asleep and me and the taxi driver were the only people in the world. Total silence, barely any people on the streets.

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    #18

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community I was really surprised at all the trash/litter along the rural coastal highways of Peru.

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    Slune
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    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's sometimes unbelievable that people don't take care about it. It's overwhelming!!

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    #19

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community When I came to the UK I was absolutely shocked to find out people refuse to drink their tea without milk, I've had people ask me what kind of tea is green tea and why would you drink it without milk.

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    Eunice Probert
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    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My daughter drinks green tea without milk. It is not a universal thing in the UK to want milk in everything.

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    #20

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community In Tokyo, I saw a Christmas tree decorated with crucifixes.

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    #21

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community I went to the USA. I was surprised how loud people are, in the restaurants, on the street, in the hotels, everybody is always shouting.

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    #22

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community Visiting Aruba for the summer. Found out they keep their milk outside of refrigerators. Which is strange for my family and myself.

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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's probably UHT milk. Plenty of countries drink more UHT thank fresh milk.

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    #23

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community Clean air! I live in the US near the mills. Spent like 2 weeks in Costa Rica. 2 weeks it took to get used to the clean air. Get home n step outside the air port and broke into a fit of coughing n gagging from the air. And had bad allergy flare ups for a week.

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    Donkey boi
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    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    When my wife and I arrived in Costa Rica and got to our Hotel to check-in, the guy behind the counter said (after finding out we live near London) said, 'You will snore heavily tonight!... But tomorrow, you will snore not once!'. He was right, my wife didn't snore past the first night!

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    #24

    Not another country but a different part of the U.S. . I'm a city girl from the southwest. When I married (my now ex husband) he had just gotten out of the military and wanted to move back to his home state in the rural upper midwest. Nothing prepared me for the culture shock. I come from not only a very diverse family, but a very diverse area, where people are simply people. Up there though wow...I honestly didn't know racism still existed in America until we moved there. There were a lot of wannabe skinheads who just had so much hate for everyone who wasn't just like them. Needless to say I didn't fit in (I made a few good friends 3 total) but other than that it was the worst 7 years of my life. I finally packed up and left and I couldn't be happier.

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    Jonathan
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    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You must have had an extremely sheltered life to think racism was a thing of the past.

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    #25

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community Went to one of the Mayan sites in Belize, near the border with Guatamala. At first glance it looked similar any Canadian national park as far as washrooms and signs went. Then I saw the armed soldiers standing guard everywhere. That was a bit of a shock.

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    #26

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community The big gaps around toilet cubicle doors in the US so that people can see you having a wee! Us Brits tend to prefer a bit more privacy. (Absolutely love America though)

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    Marnie
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    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    We all prefer it here, too. We've always hated the gaps!

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    #27

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community Seeing a Santa Claus figure attached to a cross at a store in Japan. Not sure if it was a joke, a statement about the commercialization of Christmas, or what. I thought it was hilarious.

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    #28

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community I live in Spain now, so my biggest culture shock going home to the US is and has always been the hugging, as a greeting and goodbye to people you don’t know well or have just met. So weird to me now. I do miss the friendliness of Americans, just not that friendly bit.

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    Leo Domitrix
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Who in the US is hugging so much? Outside family, no way! ...???

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    Goat express
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I think it depends on your family and personal preference, it's not necessarily a cultural difference. I hug plenty of people outside my family.

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    Lea S.
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    2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is not a USA thing. This is a regional, maybe family tradition or personal choice. If you don't like it, simply say no thank you. No one is required to hug people whether they are family, spouses, friends, and especially people you don't know well or have just met.

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    Lea
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Everything in the US is regional. What's common in Michigan probably isn't going to be common in Hawaii or Alabama. Even Colorado and Wyoming are going to have giant cultural differences. Nothing is a US thing.

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    Pittsburgh rare
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    In Spain you greet people with two kisses on the cheeks, in more formal settings it's a handshake. Hugging is for family, partners or really close friends. I'm sorry, but IMO hugging everyone makes the hug lose its meaning and become something trivial. Having said that, l also like how friendly Americans are.

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    justviv avatar
    Vivian Orr
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    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Well you will happy to know now since Covid there is very little hugging as a way of greeting whether it be someone you know or a stranger. I miss it.

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    Nikki Sevven
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This isn't a thing. We don't hug people we've just met in the US, or people we barely know. Family and close friends, yes.

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    Harrison GapinskiCoon
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I’ve lived in the US for my whole life and people regularly avoid talking to each other, much less hugging.

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    les
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    america is strange, if your not hugging everyone, your crying about being related to your grandparents

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    Stephanie Paich
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is totally dependent on the type of person, not everyone here is touchy-feely.

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    Nikki Angulo
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I recently visited North Carolina, and it was definitely a thing there (at least with the family that my friend's daughter was there to visit) but not so much in other parts of the US.

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    ZeroCapacity
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    No idea haven't jad a hug in ten years unless it was my doggo. Even my SO doesn't hug me. God I miss hugs.

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    Kristina Atwood
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There is a pretty big divide here about that. Yes, there are a lot of extreme huggers. I'm not a hugger. Before Covid, I learned to notice shoulders going up at an introduction and put my hand forward quickly for shaking to avoid the hugs. Now it's the elbow, but same thing, it's just more acceptable now to have respectable distance. Thank goodness.

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    Ed Mc
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Come on out to Texas. We hug out here. Still don't understand the cheak kissing in Europe.

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    Mary Kelly
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    @leo - i know lots of americans who hug people outside their family members...in fact, almost every extrovert i know

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    Jaya
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I really miss hugging. I grew up in a different part of the country then where I live now, and in a different "subculture" I guess you would call it. So to me hugging was the norm. But people around me now, only shake hands or give three kisses on the cheek (well, more like touching your cheek with their cheek). It just feels so incredibly distant. Especially with people who I like or love, I want to make actual physical contact with them, to hold people, to really connect for a moment. For instance, after spending a day with my inlaws who I love and who love me, when we've had such a great time together, then it just feels horrible to say goodbye in such a distant manner like we don't even care about eachother.

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    #29

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community England, 20 years ago, in a hostel: two faucets, one with scorching hot water, other with really cold. Bed with sort of sewn up sheet instead of a single cover with a really scratchy and heavy blanket on top. Bread for breakfast so SOFT it had to be toasted to be able to smear butter on it. Saying "hello" instead of "good morning" in a shop. Tube being so unbelievably small inside. It was a time when most information about the country were given by my teachers, internet was not that common. So yes, I was shocked in many ways.

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    James Game
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    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    In the UK scorching hot water has been common since outbreaks of Legionnaires disease in the mid 1980's, the water is kept that hot to kill bacteria

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    #30

    "Not Sure If It Was A Joke, A Statement, Or What": 40 Biggest Cultural Shocks, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community Love hotels in Japan, they rent rooms by the hour, I thought I was staying in a rough part of Tokyo. Turns out they're everywhere and it's a pretty normal thing in Japan.

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    Ozacoter
    Ozacoter
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    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I wish that this would be normal in europe in decent hotels. Sometimes I just need a place where to rest or take a nap.

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    #31

    Married a Peruvian, so I have been there often...love the country, epecially the
    Andes but Lima is not my favorite place. It reminds me of LA but dirtier, people litter all the time, the roads are torn up with no safety cones and the people drive like lunatics. We were being driven on one of the few freeways in Lima when the driver passed the exit we needed. They stopped in the lane and backed up to get back to the exit. We were sure we were dead... Also, its frowned upon to burp in public yet, walking in the financial district and a well
    dressed man walking down the sidewalk stops, whips it out and pees on the wall of the building we were walking by. The disparity between those with money and the poor is saddening. My American friend married a well to do Peruvian and had an amazing home in a gated community, with guards with machine guns at the gates. She loved her home but felt like she had a target on her back every time she left home. There are also guards with machine guns outside banks...its just a little unnerving.

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    2x4b523p
    2x4b523p
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    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I have never seen such a dirty city as Lima. Did not notice too much trash compared to other big cities, but the grime and dust everywhere due to lack of rain. Inches of dust, grime and goop on everything, esp. around the main highway. Never realized how much good the rain does and I now appreciate we get so much of it in UK.

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    #32

    Greece. Amazingly beautiful country with astonishing nature and historical sites but trash everywhere. Around roads, in the forests, seashore, even near archelogical monuments there was a trash dump. Like seriously, Greece, whats the matter? No recycling, everything goes to the same dumpster.

    Also you have to throw toilet paper into the the trash can and not to the toilet.

    And the traffic... abyssmal.

    Otherwise really nice place with friendly and warm people, and the sea is surprisingly clean taken how much trash is everywhere else.

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    Eglė Bukauskaitė
    Eglė Bukauskaitė
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My similar experience to Sicily. Paid roads, flowers arte trimmed, a painting of the view almost anywhere on the road. Yet it's a dumpster, literally.

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    #33

    Soweto, South Africa. Under the bridge there were men cooking the donated food for the poor in barrels and such. Also the difference between the housing in Soweto, I never realized that there could be million dollar villas in Soweto smack bang next to a shack. I loved it there though, the people are fantastic.

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    OhBlahDi OhBlahDa
    OhBlahDi OhBlahDa
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    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    First time I visited Soweto as well I was astonished to learn that it's a whole city on its own. The media depicts it as a homogenous slum, but no, it has very affluent suburbs as well as less well off areas.

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    #34

    I'm french and i've recently gone to Guadeloupe, which is also french. But i had the feeling to be in Africa. And i found it full of charm personnally. lot of things were cooler than in the metropolis. like people selling coco water right in the middle of the road, or chicken roaming the town centers. it was really cool

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    Viviane
    Viviane
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    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I saw free-roaming chickens in a town in Ecuador. They looked a lot like their ancestors, the junglefowl. I had chicken there once and the taste was amazingly good, much better than what I'd get in Canada.

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    #35

    UK: I was surprised that you can have breakfast, lunch or dinner in the pubs and there are even those specialized in pizza. In the country where I am from pubs are just places to drink and maybe have some nibbles such as crisps, nuts. Maybe if smoking wouldn't be allowed then it would be possible in "our" pubs too.

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    Ivy la Sangrienta
    Ivy la Sangrienta
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    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The pubs in the UK have always served food, even when smoking was permitted.

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    #36

    Had been in Rishikesh, India. It’s not aloud to eat meat there and forbidden to use plastic bags and straws.
    I was really surprised by it because the common expactation is that Indias Environment ist the worst.

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    Whawhawhatsis
    Whawhawhatsis
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    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My parents lived in South India (Madurai in Tamil Nadu State) for five years in the 1950s, and in those days there was almost no refrigeration, so they became vegetarians by choice so they wouldn't get poisoned by bad meat!

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    #37

    When I went to Germany if there were three tellers people would wait in 3 lines instead of one common line for the first available teller

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    #38

    Prague. 14 yeas ago quite well dressed retired loving people wandering along would casually look into even bin. I assume to see if anything worth selling for recycling

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    #39

    Visiting Rome, Italy and discovering that you can actually get a pizza with Nutella (chocolate spread).

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    Diolla
    Diolla
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Will never understand what's this obsession with Nutella. In Amsterdam nowadays there are dozens of Nutella shops, all catering to tourists. To us locals it's just something you put on bread and mostly for kids. It's sooo unhealthy!

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    #40

    In Tanzania a room was used as showers for the campground during the day and urinals for the bar in the evening.

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    #41

    I went to Krakow,Poland on a surprise trip from my family for my 60th birthday to visit Auschwitz/Birkenau. I was very humbled and also heartbroken by what I seen. The little boutique hotel I stayed in was beautiful and nothing was too much trouble. There was no kettle in the rooms but one would be supplied if you ask, the people are so friendly but they do warn visitors who are driving to be careful of the police as they have been known to pull people over , give them spot fines but pocket the money! I don’t know if this is true. Beautiful town with lots of history. Heartbreaking to see the poorer parts. The synagogues were amazing and the Jewish people very very respectful, also in the cafes and restaurants, the waiting staff cannot do enough for you and you practically have to force them to accept a tip, well I got used to one certain little cafe and the young lad that served me was so pleasant and helpful and it was him that I had to force tips on. It got to the point where I just left it under the plate for him and he would always smile and thank me. I was sad to leave. Can’t wait to go back. The roads can be a bit dangerous though as they drive extremely fast.

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    Concept-Peter Roosdorp
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    3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Americans should realize that giving someone a tip can be interpreted as "I think you are poor, here take money." Giving good service is part of the job.

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    #42

    A positive shock were the prices in Poland and the quality of food you get when shopping. They might produce lower grade products formall Europe, but obviously produce better quality stufd for themselves. And if you get off the highway, it's a wonderful country with diverse nature. Fell in love with Krakow and Zakopane. Been there many times now and plan to go back this winter.

    Malta is a recent thing. People are noisy and sometimes seem even rude. There's dog s**t on streets and traffic is pretty mad. Also the quality of food in the shops is not the best kind. Better to eat out - cheaper and better food. Also I'm a huge coffee fan and it isn't a big thing there. But this place grows on you so bad that you want to go back there again and again... Crystal blue waters, Valletta, smaller fishing villages, the taste of really ripe fruits, fireworks... Wonderful place.

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    Eglė Bukauskaitė
    Eglė Bukauskaitė
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    yeah, polish export crap is as good as chinese... Maybe the latter is even better quality than the former...

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    #43

    Friend of my parents had a Malaysian delegation for dinner back when we lived in Kuala Lumpur, including a sitting minister. Apparently all went well until the amuse was served -- melon wrapped in parmaham -- and the host toasted his guests with a glass of champagne. As you might imagine, pork and alcohol did not go down well with the staunchly muslim minister, and he had the whole table cleared.

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    #44

    I was staying in Boston with some friends of friends, when I was 16, and I went to Concord to visit Louisa May Alcott's house. There was a thunderstorm, and I thought, "Wow! Even their thunderstorms are bigger!"

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    #45

    I’m from the United States. When I visited England there were a few things that caught me off guard. 1. No ice in water. 2. McDonald’s did not serve sodas in the morning. Only water, juice, or tea/coffee. And 3. The no taxes on groceries and paying what was on the price tag.

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    Tee Witt
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    UK does not need ice unless it is the summer but would probably have been available if you had asked.

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    #46

    Restroom hygiene habits in the US.
    1- (Generally) those who present as male tend to stand when using a sit down lavatory, no matter whose restroom they are using.
    2- no bidet or washing. My understanding is that the only (generally) use tp.

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    Lyone Fein
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    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    In the USA everyone uses toilet paper. Then washes their hands afterwards.

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    #47

    I'm from the US and I went to Jamaica for a week. The amount of people who ask for money blew me away. Constantly being approached to buy necklaces, drugs, help with your bags, taking your pictures. It was so abrasive, when we flew back into the US it was almost a shock that people weren't constantly coming up to us.

    Also how beautiful the country is, but how it's not taken care of.

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    Diolla
    Diolla
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    2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That's because living in Jamaica when you're not rich is very difficult. Same thing happens in a lot of other places where poverty meets tourism. Bumsters are everywhere, they are attracted by tourists like flies to sugar. But as soon as you get out of the touristy areas it stops and you get to meet normal people. Also, Jamaican people are very vocal and have a way with words that might sound intimidating if you're not used to it. But yeah very annoying.

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    #48

    Traveled to China 25 years ago to adopt my daughter. Get off the plane and there are guards in the airport with machine guns! Knew we were no longer in Kansas....

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    T'Mar of Vulcan
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Saw this in France. People in army uniforms with large machine guns around the touristy areas. Wasn't too put off because we get that in certain areas in South Africa too.

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    #49

    UK: That crisps have small packages inside packages or you can just buy small package separately. It is not common in the country where I am from at all.

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    Concept-Peter Roosdorp
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    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    In my country it is sometimes possible to find these snackpack sized chips (crisps) but they are usually very expensive, they contain a 1/10th of the big bag, and cost almost half. Just buy a big bag and don't stuff yourself.

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    #50

    The pollution in some European cities. Coming from North America, and having been to places like LA and New York that are notorious, I was kind of surprised to find that places like Paris, Rome, and Athens surpass them in a number of ways. Usually not garbage on the ground, but air quality, graffiti, etc. One major Western European city smells like urine year round and is literally sticky everywhere.

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    #51

    Switzerland was super expensive. We were charged 3 Swiss Francs (3$) for a glass of tap water. A resort restaurant menu bragged about a 50 Francs
    Hamburger. Nope. Hotels very expensive, so we stayed in budget hotels that had no amenities but charged 150 Fr. We put our food outside the window in a bag. ( cold in early May). Still incredibly beautiful though

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    Ace
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yes, it's expensive to eat out here, but in 20+ years I've never been charged for tap water, although I've seen this mentioned on the internet quite a few times. There are some (not many) mountain restaurants that don't have piped water, so all drinking water is bottled or has to be brought up specially, in which case it seems reasonable to charge for it.

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    #52

    The first time i went to Mexico when i was around 8/7 and i was surprised by how they did everything there. How they washed their clothes, how my dad had friends everywhere from when he grew up there. I loved it. I go there every year now for around a week or so.

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    Enby.Minecraft.Bee.
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    Kay Phillips
    Kay Phillips
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Like what exactly? This post is so general it doesn't actually say anything

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    #53

    The use of latrines in China. I was there for work and had a terrible time balancing while wearing heels.

    Having dinner between 5 and 6 pm while at uni in the US. I usually have dinner between 8.30 and 10 pm. It took a while to get used to it.

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    Claudia Schmid
    Claudia Schmid
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    3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I also found the Chinese toilets some of the worst (while streets are actually clean - I don't get it) The dinner thing I tend to have the other way around: we eat 6-7 p m. Spanish people eat at like 10 or 11?! I'm starved by then

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    #54

    I’ve never been outside of the U.S. but my dad lived in England. So I’ll tell you what surprised me from his stories of 1980’s England.
    1. You have to hold your knife and fork a certain way. Even if you were left handed.

    2. You ate peas with forks. How do you stab a small spherical pea?

    3. Ditches that were big enough to fit my uncles lower half. He was abt 4’ 6” when that happened.

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    Happi doggi (all pronouns)
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    Margaret Weaver
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    3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I eat my peas with honey, I dun it all me life. It makes the peas taste funny, but it keeps them on the knife! :D [N.B: obviously I do not actually eat from a knife, I'm not a barbarian]

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    #55

    Nicely-dressed guy in London, walking along the street, take out container in one hand, fork in the other, eating as he walked.

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