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Being in a place where things are done differently than you are used to can cause confusion, anxiety and a feeling of uncertainty, even if the environment you are in is actually better than the one you feel more comfortable in. All those feelings can be described as a culture shock as a person is cut off from the cultural patterns that are familiar and has to adapt to something new.

Most often the term is used when talking about moving to another country or traveling. There are ways to soften the culture shock and one of them is asking people to share their own experiences on Reddit so you can prepare for it. We’re not sure what was the motivation of Kampfhamster248 to ask “What was something that shocked you when you visited a foreign country?” but it sure does help to know what people in the thread had to say before going somewhere for the first time.

Which one of these surprised you the most? Maybe you are from the aforementioned countries and can deny or confirm these claims? What would you personally answer if asked the question? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

More info: Reddit

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#1

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered When I went to Japan I went to a bathhouse and my leg started spasming violently when I got in a tub. I thought I was having a stroke, but it turns out they have pools with electrical currents to promote longevity. That was literally my most shocking experience overseas

CumingLinguist , Ishikawa Ken Report

Final score:
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#2

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered Falling snow. I'm Australian so while we have snow the chances of experiencing falling snow when you're on holidays is slim.

The first time I experienced falling snow was when I was in Paris at the age of 20. I LOST MY S**T. Squealing and had a ball. Everyone probably thought I was crazy but for me it was magical and amazing.

Lozzif , DaPuglet Report

Final score:
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marmotarchivist avatar
MarmotArchivist
MarmotArchivist
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How wounderfull, that you got to experience a new country and your first snowfall at the same time.

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#3

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered How f**king clean Japan is. You can walk around Tokyo for a day and struggle to find as much as a gum wrapper on the ground. It is truly incredible.

Winzip115 , aco pbc Report

Final score:
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#4

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered When I moved to the Netherlands a few years ago from the USA I deliberately wrote down the things that struck me as strange a few weeks into it because I knew I wouldn't remember later, and here are a few.

Bicycles are everywhere and are a far more common mode of transport than cars... yet no one wears helmets.

A Dutch person telling you "I speak a little English" is like Stephen Hawking saying "I know a little physics." I really had no idea it could be so easy to move to another country where you don't speak the language, and that's because the Dutch are so amazing at English (unlike other countries, for example, TV here isn't dubbed but instead in original language and just subtitled).

Big Bird is blue in Holland! I mean, they claim he's Pino, Big Bird's cousin, but I'm not fooled. You know he really just moved here to explore an alternative lifestyle.

Andromeda321 , Salim Virji Report

Final score:
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el_dee_1 avatar
El Dee
El Dee
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've only been to Amsterdam but it is truly beautiful. I couldn't get over how, instead of car parks, they had bicycle parks full of tens of thousands of bikes. People seemed really chilled, singing to themselves whilst cycling to work etc. A great place to visit..

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#5

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered How price tags in America do not include Taxes!

afruizc , F Delventhal Report

Final score:
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#6

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered Swedish babies are hardcore. And people are awesomely chill and friendly. In mid-January, it was knee-deep snow everywhere, yet in Stockholm is was pretty common to see parents enjoying a drink at a cafe, with a queue of prams outside in the snow.

The babies are wrapped up heavily yes, but they are fully comfortable leaving them outside like that. No fears over child-thievery, or worries about the cold. These kids are brought up to be metal right from the word go. It's awesome.

I imagine if you tried that in the UK (or especially US) there'd be hysteria and child services would relieve you of your parenting.

Lyra_Belacqua , marabuchi Report

Final score:
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maylin_martinsen avatar
May
May
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They grow up healthy, it's very good for them to sleep outside in the fresh air, and nobody steals babies in the Nordic countries. Or almost nobody, one time a mentally ill Danish lady took one (she thought it was hers) but the police found it within a couple of hours and the baby was fine. That's the only case I know of.

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#7

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered How empty and untouched New Zealand is.

LindenZin , Pedro Szekely Report

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#8

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered How many homeless people there are in the USA. I've been to 30+ countries and I've seen more homeless in the US than anywhere else. I'd say even more than homeless dogs in Mexico. It's was extremely shocking.

Doct_orb , Steve Baker Report

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lisah255 avatar
LH25
LH25
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It might seem that way, based on where you visited, but actually the US doesn't have the highest homeless rate, from what I could find. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_homeless_population One link I found. The US is down the list a bit. Granted, it’s hard to compare since countries may have different ways of defining and counting the homeless, but this chart has the US with a lower rate than the UK, Australia, France, Sweden, Mexico, Israel, Germany and Austria for example.

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#9

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered Living in Germany I have recently talked to an exchange student from Bangladesh. He was seriously shocked that people would stop at red traffic lights although there were no other cars/pedestrians around. Gave me a good laugh.

[deleted] , zeevveez Report

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janejane avatar
Jane Jane
Jane Jane
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I would be terrified to drive in Manilla and many other places. The drivers there are amazing but terrifying at the same time. I'm not up to the extreme driving there. Good thing I can hop a taxi and close my eyes!

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#10

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered How truly polite the Japanese are. And how unbelievably clean the cities of Japan are.

Lady_Blue_Dream , Ray in Manila Report

Final score:
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#11

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered How corrupt the police force is in Mexico.

ImNotYourGuyPal , olivier.brisson Report

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#12

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered This is silly, but in 2003 I visited Germany and was absolutely blown away that the escalators didn't start moving until you approached them (like automatic sliding doors). In America they're always just going. I thought it was genius.

RhythmsaDancer , Sally Mahoney Report

Final score:
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bicascatarina7 avatar
Catarina
Catarina
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is very common in Portugal and other countries of the EU

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#13

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered How fat the majority of the people were in the midwest United States

Noooooooooobody , Sandra Cohen-Rose and Colin Rose Report

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lisah255 avatar
LH25
LH25
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We do have a weight problem, pretty much everywhere now.

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#14

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered Trains in India. Furious fighting, shoving, scratching, and clawing to get on, then for the rest of the eight hour journey scrupulous "I'm so sorry I brushed your foot with mine" politeness.

tumblingnebulas , Josh Aggars Report

Final score:
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Chinmayee Kalghatgi
Chinmayee Kalghatgi
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have never taken a train but I see people hanging out of the train I think because of the lack of space. There are at least 4 or 5 people hanging out the doors and everything looks so cramped

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#15

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered How small all of the fruit was in England. One apple in the US is like two UK apples. I went through a lot of apples.

Bmoreisapunkrocktown , Alan Levine Report

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#16

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered The tap water in Vienna. Holy s**t it was delicious.

Kolipe , Philip Cohen Report

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dontlook avatar
Don't Look
Don't Look
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Try Sweden. You can’t even buy bottled water in Stockholm. I tried. They politely told me to just get water from a public fountain. Cleanest water ever. And I know there’s a lot of bottled water in the first district in Vienna.

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#17

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered French people (or Parisians, at least) are INTENSE about escalators. Your options are to either stand to one side (the right side, I think?) or sprint up the other side like an angry baboon is chasing you. If any part of you sticks out into the passing lane - you'll hear all about it.

beepbeep_meow , Alper Çuğun Report

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James016
James016
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Same on the London Underground. DON’T stand on the left of the escalator

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#18

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered When I went to New York I couldn't get over how familiar everything looked on my first day there. I must have seen way more films and TV shows filmed in Manhattan than I realized, but pretty much everywhere looked exactly as I expected it to.

Zacchaeusbastardo , Helen Alfvegren Report

Final score:
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#19

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered Originally from Canada, spent a few weeks in China. I was shocked when I regularly saw kids squat down on the sidewalk and take a dump.

BabyFark93 , Joachim Dobler Report

Final score:
147points
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#20

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered I lived in Japan for a year. The satellite radio at my school had a channel called "Rokki" that played the Rocky theme song on a loop 24:7.

Thompson_S_Sweetback , United Artists Report

Final score:
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#21

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered How many Vietnamese can fit on one moped in Hanoi.

Bitter_Bert , William Report

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126points
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kona4me avatar
Kona Pake
Kona Pake
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wait til you see a guy riding a moped with a refrigerator on the back.

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#22

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered I don't carry coins with me usually, which makes it tough to pee in a lot of Europe.

FlatSixer , Narin BI Report

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Ivana Bašić
Ivana Bašić
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, in my family we call them pee coins and we don't use them to pay for things because we know we'll need them for a real emergency. We have a small kid and spend a lot of time out of the house. :D

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#23

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered How much Indian food there was in London.

thehonestyfish , Aleksandr Zykov Report

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

I mean, Indians have been emigrating to the UK for years now. I think it is partially because they used to rule over our country for nearly 200 years

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#24

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered The traffic in Rome.

I live in Finland and it's unusual if my trip to university is delayed by a single second by other people, so people wasting over one hour stuck in traffic every day would be the most frustrating thing I can imagine.

Lampaanlapapalapata , Sean MacEntee Report

Final score:
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#25

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered Slovakia -> Austria. how clean can a country be. lack of dirt, roads and sidewalks in good condition, flowers everywhere. no old torn posters, no billboards on every lamp post.

I like to think that their state or police make them clean up against their own will but most probably they just like it that way and we got used to our dirt during communism.

bajaja , Ștefan Jurcă Report

Final score:
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julien
julien
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Researchers at Yale University and Columbia University collaborated with the World Economic Forum to measure the cleanliness and environmental friendliness of over 180 countries around the world. Cleanest Countries in the World 2021 : 1. Denmark 2. Luxembourg 3. Switzerland 4. United Kingdom 5. France 6. Austria 7. Finland 8. Sweden 9. Norway 10. Germany

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#26

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered When I visited Hollywood, I couldn't believe how disgustingly dirty it was, and how unsafe I felt! It may just have been that I was unlucky enough to experience a couple of crazy incidents in my first two nights, but it definitely wasn't all the glitz and

ALSO: people seem to be assuming that Hollywood Boulevard was the only place I saw in the whole of LA, and that I've condemned the city because of this one area. This isn't true. I was just stating that it was shocking to me that it was so different to my expectations, but I had an awesome time in LA, ventured around to multiple different area, and even had a great night out in Hollywood at an insane nightclub. Hell, even though it was shocking at first, I even like that I now have some crazy stories to tell from my time there!

Zeeaaa , Shinya Suzuki Report

Final score:
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dontlook avatar
Don't Look
Don't Look
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It’s the most plastic, fake place I have ever been. Strange because just north in Ventura County it’s not quite the same.

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#27

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered Sheep being transported on motorbikes in Morocco.

[deleted] , Martin Fritz Report

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#28

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered Shops are closed on Sunday in France except Subway and McDonalds

toomuchpodracing , Mike Mozart Report

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

There are a lot of European countries where stores are closed on sunday.

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#29

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered When I went to America McDonalds had refillable Dr Pepper. I was in heaven.

Ben_Douglass , Mike Mozart Report

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#30

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered The parking in Portugal is shocking the whole country seems to park their cars like they have stolen them.

Rothead , Brian Snelson Report

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#31

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered Germany, how dare you charge for ketchup?

jillybrews , Ben Ramirez Report

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#32

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered Spotted a Ferris Wheel & Resort surrounding a reservoir in Afghanistan. Wasn't prepared for that at all.

Also, the social aggressiveness of Females in Iceland! They will court a male in a heartbeat.

arrogantt , elPadawan Report

Final score:
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#33

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered In South Korea there is no seperate shower in the bathroom. The showerhead sprays directly on the floor and there is a drain in the corner of the room.

poopy_wizard132 , Melissa MB Wilkins Report

Final score:
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lisah255 avatar
LH25
LH25
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That would be handy as people get older and less flexible!

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#34

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered How expensive the alcohol is in Australia. I had to sit down after I saw the 40 dollar crate of beer.

churrascopalta , s2art Report

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

Don't keep us in suspense. What the heck is a "crate" of beer?

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#35

Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Was Something That Shocked You When You Visited A Foreign Country?” And 35 People Delivered How Atatürk is worshipped like a God in Turkey.

[deleted] , Iker Merodio Report

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52points
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