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One of the coolest things about traveling is that you come face to face with so many different behaviors, values, and ways of living. However, once you spend some time abroad in any country, you begin to realize that no place on Earth is ‘perfect’ and no culture is the 'best.'
Every culture has its quirks, nuances, pros, and cons. The members of the r/AskReddit online community recently opened up about some of the most annoying and questionable things that people from their cultures do. Scroll down for a dose of reality.
We reached out to redditor u/CanaryResearch, the author of the intriguing thread, for their thoughts on embracing travel and the importance of being open-minded about other people's cultures. You'll find Bored Panda's full interview with the OP as you read on!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Arab culture. Boy where do I start brace yourselves : -Get married.. but as a guy you need about 20-40000$ depending on the country. Your salary is 1000$/month , then proceed to shame you if you're late to marriage. Because relationships are not allowed that sexual frustration is used to lure you into the traditional marriage trap.
-No childfree allowed . You must have children , the more the merrier and if you don't they'll shame the s**t out of you and assume your d**k doesn't work -Divorced women are shamed beyond belief and a lot of virgin men seeking marriage seek Virgin women exclusively and will be shamed by their family if they marry a divorced woman.
-This causes women to spend their lives being miserable because they're afraid of divorce and causes parents to see their daughters suffering but unable to divorce them due to the culture.
-Toxic masculinity like you would not believe to the point it's just accepted that men are "this way". Men have the most insane f*****g egos and nobody is allowed to say anything especially if they're older. They have to know everything and proceed to pretend to even if they know they don't , they cannot make mistakes and even if they do it's not their fault.
-It's absolutely a man's world women are not empowered or free or anything like that don't believe the media . I got called insane for bringing up that I wanted to marry a lady with a strong personality and independent and has her own career everyone kept telling me "you won't be able to control her" Not to mention the b******t being taught to us through religion about the divinity of men and how women should obey them.
-Arab culture is probably the most racist culture in the world. Not only do we actively discriminate against people of other races but within our own we discriminate against different countries. NOT ONLY THAT within the same f*****g country we discriminate based on city. Someone from city A marrying someone from city B may be frowned upon because city B has a problem with city A and so on.
-A distinct memory i have is some doctor where we lived married a nurse from the Philippines and was actively shunted by their friends for doing so. Later i heard someone say "I can't fathom how he can look at his children with their small eyes".
-Moving on to religion . Everything is haram , that might not stop you from doing it but the sheer volume of trauma you being exposed to as a child about death and hell makes you feel guilty Everytime you do something "haram" even if you've left religion behind years ago. As a 6 year old I touched my w***y and was told I'd go to hell for it. I was 6 f*****g years old.
-Even now as an adult I've moved on to displaying more daring sides of my personality by wearing something akin to biker rings and those leather bracelets and I still get comments from people close to me about that. I bought a pair of magnetic black circle earrings and wore them once the amount of hate and shame i received made me throw them away. Not to mention I've had random old men telling me what I'm doing is haram and that I'm feminizing myself. And how nobody would want to marry me because I'm like this and my entire life is haram and I'm going to hell. As if god will turn a blind eye to being nice helping others not stealing not being a s**thead and send me to hell because I'm f*****g wearing rings.
So yeah it's f*****g hard that's why the more free minded of us are fighting tooth and nail to gtfo of this toxic racist extremist hellhole and it's getting so much f*****g harder. Forgive us westerners but if we stay here not a single one of us will be able to resist commiting s***ide
Bored Panda was curious to get the OP's take on what can inspire someone to travel abroad if they've never left their home country before. According to u/CanaryResearch, this inspiration can come from anywhere!
“It can be as simple as a sense of adventure or following passions you already have, such as hiking in a new land if you already do that at home,” they shared their thoughts with us.
"I also believe that placing yourself in another culture is one of the best ways to learn more about yourself, which is one of my favorite reasons I get inspired to travel."
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#2
Japanese ethnicity here. The dumbest thing in our culture is shame/guilt and "loosing face". It's generationally exponential too. Like if your great grandfather did something shameful, you're supposed to still feel shame/guilt for it now. It's the dumbest thing ever. This is partly why Japan has such a high suicide rate.
#3
Indian here: Discriminate against menstruating women. Cannot participate in auspicious occasions / go to the temple / handle communal food / water plants considered holy. Sheesh.
Tolerance and respect for other cultures are both essential if you plan to travel. In redditor u/CanaryResearch's opinion, you can only get there by having an open mind.
"There isn't one culture that is the best. What might work for you culturally might not work for others. You're the visitor in their home, so try to be open to living as they do," the OP noted a few of the main things to keep in mind.
"You may learn something great, or you may learn to be more thankful for what you already have."
The OP opened up to us that they had no idea that their question would get so much attention on Reddit. In their opinion, the question resonated with a lot of people because "it allowed people to realize they share a lot of the same customs even if their respective cultures are very different in other aspects."
#4
As an American... Gender reveal parties.
Like, it's a boy/girl. Yea. I get inviting some friends over and maybe a special cake. But things have gotten utterly INSANE! I'm worried someone will launch an actual nuke at some point for one of these damned parties!
#5
Westerner: Weddings cost an arm and a leg just to impress people you barely know.
Jane No Dough 10 months ago
This is one of the "dumbest" moves in MANY cultures. A ridiculous display of wealth that few participants actually have at the time, adding massive debt at the worst time of their working lives!
#6
In India - caste system.
Lucifer 10 months ago
The caste system was introduced by the invading countries. India had been under a foreign rule for about 650 years. Before that the so called "caste system" didn't exist. People were categorised based on the work they do. Brahman - people pursuing knowledge (Scientists, Doctors, Teachers etc..). Khsatriya - people in governance (Kings, soldiers, administrators etc). Vaishya - people who owned business & Sudra - people who worked in jobs. Once the Islamic & Christianity based countries invaded, they pit once group against the other for gains. Same thing is done today, just with a different set of categories.
Traveling and adventuring are both awesome activities that expand your mind and give you a fresh new perspective on life. However, some people are on the fence about doing this. They want to travel, however, they might be scared about the potential challenges. For instance, they might be afraid that it's dangerous to go on trips abroad or they're worried about the potential costs.
It really helps if you directly talk to your family or friends who have more experience traveling than you. They can give you lots of great pointers and allay at least some of your fears. There are also lots of great resources all over the internet about going to specific countries.
Whatever your fears might be, if you're completely new to traveling, one of the best things that you can do is to take a series of tiny starting trips. That might mean visiting a more distant neighborhood of your hometown at first. Then you can visit nearby towns and cities until you work your way up to trips abroad. Think about the places you'd love to see near and far, and slowly move up the list.
#7
UK: fox hunting. Rich a******s on horses using packs of dogs to hunt down and tear apart a defenceless fox. Then smear the fox blood on their children.
Laura Lawson 10 months ago
If this is in the United Kingdom, England especially, real foxes haven't been used in decades. They get a towel that has been wiped over ripe male fox bits or been urinated on by a female in heat & pay some poor sod to 'drag it' through the hunt area. Mostly it's tied to a jeep but sometimes on horseback or even by hand in some iffy areas. The dogs are excited by the scent & chase it. The more elaborate the 'drag', the better the hunt. There is a prize of sorts for the dogs when they get to the end of the drag. No foxes are killed. It actually made a new trade in stinky towels/rags! Now I've never heard of fox blood being smeared on children's faces, generally young children aren't encouraged unless they can keep up with the horses. If this is for another country/kingdom, well just ignore this. 😁
#8
Arranged marriages.
(Which often are followed by a pressure by the families to have a kid)
And yes, more often than not, you are supposed to
*Make a completely shattered marriage work*.
Both of you and your kids are left traumatized.
Welcome to India.
P.S_ this is why arranged marriages have so less of a divorce rate.
David Paterson 10 months ago
According to https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arranged_marriage there's a huge difference between an arranged marriage and a forced marriage. It's the forced marriage that is universally condemned, but still practised in some countries and cultures, including in India.
#9
Nigeria. Try to force every young person to respect every old person even if they're literal criminals
Before you travel anywhere, one of the best things you can do is conduct some research about the culture of the country and area. Though books, videos, and articles won’t acquaint you with all the cultural nuances, they can be a general guideline to navigate most social encounters.
You need to know the biggest dos and don’ts. You want to make sure you don’t accidentally offend someone by being too blunt, using inappropriate hand gestures, or talking about topics that might be way too sensitive. In short, you need to understand that you’re a visitor. You’re responsible for being respectful so that you’re treated respectfully in turn.
It really does help to travel with an open mind. You won’t believe how many kind and friendly people there are all over the world. At the same time, let’s not be too naive: some people, especially when they spot a tourist or a foreigner, might try to swindle others out of their hard-earned cash. Be realistic about the sorts of challenges you might face, and read up on the more popular types of scams. They vary from country to country and region to region.
#10
Ethnically Chinese. We burn billions (in Hell dollars) of underworld banknotes to our deceased relatives. Now I'm no necroeconomist, but I can imagine King Yama having major headaches over inflation in the underworld.
Randy Sanders 10 months ago
Didn't the Chinese make the first paper bank note from mulberry bark over 1500 years ago? I thought I read that somewhere, but I could be mistaken.
#11
Not necessarily my culture, but my step-family is all Cuban. They refuse to arrive on time. You have to lie to them and say the event you are planning starts 2 hours early than it actually does. Two specific cases:
1) My step-brother's wedding. Was posted to start at 2pm, but actually started at 4pm.
2) We had dinner reservations for 6:30 at a restaurant. My brother and I showed up at 6. We wait... Wait some more... Nobody else in the family has shown up. We call my stepmother who made the reservation in the first place and by this time we are both starving. Turns out they have yet to get dressed and leave the house. That was the breaking point and told them I would have to make alternate arrangements and that we had waited for 90 minutes and refused to wait a second more if they weren't even ready to leave the house.
#12
Venerate the monarchy, despite being fiercly proud of our percieved egalitarian and democratic society (Denmark)
Donkeywheel 10 months ago (edited)
This has nothing to do with democracy, it’s a matter of equal rights. Giving someone special status, titles, exclusive rights, just because they were born from a caste is completely outdated and ridiculous. You need a high level of submission to accept that, even if they don’t have any actual political power.
You also can’t underestimate the power of language. If you know even a handful of common phrases, you’ll be able to connect with the locals on a whole other level. The more effort you put in, the deeper your travel experience is likely to be.
What are the biggest upsides and downsides that you’ve noticed about your own cultures, dear Pandas? What would you change if you could? What cultural quirks have you noticed the most during your travels?
Tell us all about your experiences and share your opinions in the comment section, at the very bottom of this post. We can’t wait to hear from you!
#13
While my parents don't do this as we don't live nor were we born and raised in the country, children are raised as investment policies and once you get them through school, parents would quit their jobs and expect that all their financial needs will be covered by the eldest who graduated...so, paying parents rent, school expenses of siblings etc. The worst part is that they would guilt you if you don't give in to their demands...."I gave up everything for you....don't you know what I needed to do to get you through school?!" *puke*
#14
Brazil. Fight each other for politicians that are clearly stealing from them.
#15
The Philippines. I wouldn't call it dumb per se, but definitely unecessary torture. A mountain tribe in my country serves a chicken stew meal. Prior to cooking, the live chicken is hung by its feet, it is then beaten with a small stick throughout the whole body without breaking the skin or bones. This process bruises the chicken giving the skin a different texture and flavour. That's what I find to be unecessary, since it just causes the chicken unneeded pain.
David Paterson 10 months ago
It's a good thing that you don't know how fugu is prepared for eating. The unnecessary torture of that fish in the kitchen still gives me nightmares.
#16
We Filipinos have this thing called "utang na loob" or loosely translated to "debt of gratitude." This is where enormous guilt is forced upon someone if they do not respond as expected to someone's request, be it unreasonable, because "remember that time I lent my car to you? Now lend me $20k."
cerinamroth 10 months ago
My husband's originally from the Philippines and he says the country is run on guilt. Not surprising for a predominantly Catholic nation.
#17
Malta. We have show kitchens (marble benches, the best appliances money can buy, hardwood cabinets etc) - but actually cook in the little butlers pantry that is off the main kitchen.
#18
German here:
I'm stuck between "giving bombastic side eye if you just mention not having beer in your house because you dislike it overall" and "Screeching like a banshee whenever car drivers are faced with a minimum of discomfort"
#19
In my country, theres a group of native people where women gain ranks in the comunity based on how many children they bring to the world, so they live in poverty but have like 7 or 8 babies, then they try to sell the kids because their land is also very close to another country border. They also tend to be heavy drinkers, is a s**t show tbh.
I wont say which specific native group is as I dont want to talk bad about them in that way.
But yes it is Panama.
Caroline Nagel 10 months ago
@ Makabert Abylons, you do realize there is a whole wide world outside the USA, don't you?
#20
India : Dowry. The effing dowry and expensive wedding.
sabda niaga 10 months ago (edited)
I know one suku (ethnic grup) in Indonesia who always make dowry of their daughter so high/expensive ..... At first they do that so their daughters can be respect and to protect them ...buat now sadly just to Gate keeping their daughters to not marry someone they dislike ...I'm indonesian
#21
As a semi slav I can tell you that Slavic superstitions are the strangest.
Here are a few examples:
Don't whistle in the house because the money will disappear.
Don't shake hands at the entrance to somewhere because there are corpses underneath.
If you need to look for something turn a glass upside down.
If you are about to leave your house for a couple of days, before leaving make sure to sit down in silence for a minute or so so that the spirit that lives in the house would think you are not leaving and will not mess up the house.
Marcos Valencia 10 months ago
Well, #3 is funny, and #4 would be useful for me to mentally revise I'm not leaving something important at home.
#22
Work yourself to death. If you don't, you're lazy. Sometimes I can't believe how crazy work culture gets in Germany. Bragging about going to work no matter how sick you are, infecting coworkers. You get called lazy for working less than a 40 hour week.
Nirdavo 10 months ago (edited)
I tend to disagree here. While there is some pressure regarding "presentism", we -do- have paid sick leave,in Germany which is mandated by law. And a (more or less) functioning health system, too. So those few people who really go to work sick are more sick than they admit: They are insane, too. I would rather point to the US, where this phenomenom is a lot more common - for fnancial reasons.
#24
Taking photos of the deceased at funerals, including posing with them
Edit: some people even decide social media is a good place for these photos. So weird.
Edit#2: It's one thing to take photos and keep private for memories - which is still weird to me - I prefer to remember what they looked like while living - not in their casket, blood drawn out, discoloured, barely looking like themselves - but each to their own. And then another thing to post to social media.. gives me heebie jeebies when my family does this. I will not allow this when my parents pass away (in fact makes me angry thinking of someone putting a pic of my dead dad on social media - just NO!)
Say No to Downvoting 10 months ago
My husbands culture does this. I remember when we were dating, I was having a look through family photo album (looking at his cute baby photos) then…Agghh!!! Dead body in an open coffin. Haven’t touched those photo albums again in 23 years. (Btw, I do understand the importance of the photos to the bereft family…but it was a foreign and shocking concept for me)
#25
There is this thing in Iranian culture which is called Tarof. The definition goes something like this: Tarof is the act of offering something in a manner sufficient to demonstrate sincerity, but is simply a facade to appear more genuine than one actually is. It can be shown by conduct, an offer, or by any means in which there appears to be an intent to tender to another.
You see it pretty much everywhere and it’s just annoying to deal with.
#26
Anything and everything that proves that you are, "dominant", including but not limited to; breaking laws, disrespecting others, taking advantage of others, being disagreeable in general, violating others rights but demanding yours are respected, and trying to make people feel useless because they don't care about or value your ideas of work and/or productivity. - Southern US
#27
In the orthodox community, men and women are made to sit apart. Fyi; I’m not orthodox , but I am Jewish
Bogdan Chelariu 10 months ago
Additional information: "are made to sit apart" in churches! Men usually sit on the right side and women on the left side! OP's original comment makes it seem like they get married and never sit together or touch each other for the rest of their lives! Never the less, an useless rule!
#29
Canada - cheat in relationships and brag about it, especially the whole 'side piece' bs - meaning any gender here.
#30
Treating the number 4 with extreme superstition like it's a plague/curse and replace it with 3A. IT'S JUST A BLOODY NUMBER, MOVE THE F ON ALREADY.
What do you think ?
Pamela24 10 months ago
Czech person here. I hate how proud our nation is of drinking the most beer per capita in the world. So much so that whenever new data comes that doesn't put us first, it's seen as a failure. Alcohol consumption in general is way too normalized and accepted. There are basically no restrictions on selling it (apart from age); you can literally buy alcohol at any gas station and at any hour, basically anywhere.
🇺🇦 PrincessPatton 🇺🇦 10 months ago (edited)
Thanks, I was just about to write that. I will add that people are offended when I say I don't like beer and don't drink hard liquor at all. When you refuse alcohol at a party etc, company convinces you to "at least have a drink" and "not spoil the fun", or you are mockingly asked if "you're an alcoholic in rehab, hahaha". At Christmas I witnessed a 12 year old girl being persuaded by her mother and grandparents (my cousin and aunt and uncle) to have "at least an eggnog" (she resisted, she just had juice). The situation is a bit better for the younger generation, but even so, our culture is very accepting of drinking alcohol.
Load More Replies... sabda niaga 10 months ago
Right! We don't have six sense or the ability to know all culture in all countries
Load More Replies... Pamela24 10 months ago
Czech person here. I hate how proud our nation is of drinking the most beer per capita in the world. So much so that whenever new data comes that doesn't put us first, it's seen as a failure. Alcohol consumption in general is way too normalized and accepted. There are basically no restrictions on selling it (apart from age); you can literally buy alcohol at any gas station and at any hour, basically anywhere.
🇺🇦 PrincessPatton 🇺🇦 10 months ago (edited)
Thanks, I was just about to write that. I will add that people are offended when I say I don't like beer and don't drink hard liquor at all. When you refuse alcohol at a party etc, company convinces you to "at least have a drink" and "not spoil the fun", or you are mockingly asked if "you're an alcoholic in rehab, hahaha". At Christmas I witnessed a 12 year old girl being persuaded by her mother and grandparents (my cousin and aunt and uncle) to have "at least an eggnog" (she resisted, she just had juice). The situation is a bit better for the younger generation, but even so, our culture is very accepting of drinking alcohol.
Load More Replies... sabda niaga 10 months ago
Right! We don't have six sense or the ability to know all culture in all countries
Load More Replies... 
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