Tourists Share Fascinating Cultural Observations From Abroad


Tourists Share Fascinating Cultural Observations From Abroad


As we go about our daily lives and routines we rarely think too much about what we're doing. We go to work, we come home, and we go out. What seems normal to us, though, may seem a bit strange to those on the outside. Of course, from our perspective the same thing can be said about people living in other countries. When we go on vacation, we're likely to see something that may seem incredibly strange to us, yet is perfectly normal to the local residents. It's easy for tourists to misinterpret and misunderstand local norms and traditions. Dynamic cultural differences may explain some of the strange things we experience, but some of these cultural norms are probably better left unexplained.

feature-traveler-tips-300x150.jpgPhoto by Willian Justen de Vasconcellos on Unsplash


60. Bike borrower

How bout positive cultural observation?

Living in Japan, I never locked my bike once and only locked my apartment if on week-long trips or something like that.

My bike was only 'stolen' once and it was returned that day with a note from my salaryman neighbor who needed it cause his car broke down. He knew I could walk to work so it wasn't a big deal and he left a six-pack on my porch that evening.

bicycle-4644619-300x200.jpgImage by

59. Nice scam, kbye

In many Southeast Asian countries, getting caught trying to scam someone doesn't have too much a level of shame, it is just throw hands up and "oh, nice try, we're still good."

For example, you arrive in Hanoi and tell the taxi driver to take you to your hotel. He drives you while talking on the phone, you arrive somewhere that isn't your hotel, and some nice guy who speaks some English comes out to explain that your hotel burned down last week, stay here instead.

If you refuse to pay the driver until he takes you to see your burned down hotel, everyone shrugs and laughs, then you get dropped off at your perfectly intact hotel that didn't burn down after all, pay the cab, and all is good. No hard feelings.

city-731334-1-300x200.jpgImage by

58. That Australian humor

The copious amounts of sarcasm in Australia. American visitors here believe EVERYTHING Australians say because they say it with a straight face.

"Oh yeah, it was the 1938 winter Olympics I think... Yeah, they used white paint on plywood because there was no snow, and HD TV hadn't been invented yet."

kangaroo-1209951-1-300x201.jpgImage by

57. Caught slipping

I lived in Japan for a while. One of the less obvious cultural differences was when going to other people's houses, they would leave out slippers to wear. I have size 9 (US 11) feet, and they'd leave these dainty women's slippers out for me. I would explain I was fine to just walk around in socks as they didn't have slippers, but since this was rude, they would end up raiding their slipper supply to try and find a pair that fit just for me. Every time.

slippers-704705-300x200.jpgImage by

Advertisement

56. Time is relative in Barcelona

Spain. Specifically Barcelona and their relaxed outlook on life and time. It seems like they know how to live, because they find happiness in things that I never could.

On the other hand...

That's all good and well when you're traveling here for a couple days. But man, it is so frustrating to get anything done. I've been living here for over 4 months now and still don't have my residency card, which means that every time I want to leave the country I have to go through 892734897 bureaucratic processes to get a permit to leave and come back, only for them to not ask for it at the border because they couldn't care less.

panorama-427997-300x200.jpgImage by

55. I prefer the ice cream truck

Garbage trucks played "Für Elise" as they rode around, and it sounded like ice cream truck music when I was in Taiwan. I sort of miss hearing it in the distance.

In case anyone is wondering, it's because people are supposed to bring out their trash and throw it in the truck, not put it outside for collection. They usually come around twice a day and play their music to announce themselves.

Another fun Taiwan culture shock: In fancy malls and stores, at closing time the staff lines up at the exits to say goodbye and bow as you leave.

trash-2497059-300x200.jpgImage by

54. Look death in the eye

Witnessing different funeral customs in India and Nepal .....what struck me is that death is so much more hidden away in North America.

In the south of India, a funeral procession came down the street carrying the body of a young woman tied to a big pink comfy-looking armchair hung with marigolds. In the north of India, I saw open funeral pyres along the riverside ghats, and even saw bodies that had been placed in the Ganges floating by.

In Nepal I was invited to a funeral and watched as they built a wooden pyre beforehand. While my Nepali friends and I watched, they told me that it was considered good luck to see a body coming to a funeral.

It was just so out in the open. It was culture shock for me, but I liked that nobody was expected to hold back their tears or hide their grief discreetly away. In fact, my friend says that even if you are not fond of the person who died, you should try to show some tears anyway out of respect.

easter-fire-4630132-300x200.jpgImage by

53. The same but different

Here's one that applies broadly to travel for me: In Australia, you can travel 4,000km to Perth from Sydney and people are going to be mostly the same as they were in Sydney, in my opinion. In England, you can travel an hour and find a whole different accent and way of life to the one you left. It's such a small place, but the more you start unpacking it, the bigger and bigger it gets. I guess the point is wherever you go, people are exactly the same while simultaneously being completely different. It sounds stupid but I think it's the truth.

people-2589091_1920-300x200.jpgImage by

52. Back to the rat race

Taught English in Mexico for a year.

I was shocked at how friendly and inviting everyone is and how simple life can be. Life is not easy for most folks but they make it work. Their life hacks are crazy and the pace of life is great. I had a hard time when I got back to the States and had to adjust to speeding cars, 5 lane freeways and the feeling of always being in a rush.

cancun-1228131-300x182.jpgImage by

51. Italian telephone

When kids in Greece lose their teeth, they throw the teeth off a roof instead of leaving them for the tooth fairy.

In Brazil when entering a home they ask if you want to take a shower.

In Spain during the afternoon they close shops for 2 hours to have a break from work.

My favorite: In Italy they use a form of communication where they will call someone, let it ring once, and then hang up. Usually the person they are calling knows what's up and can tell what was the purpose of the phone call without even having to pick it up.

cell-phone-cellphone-contact-9165-1-300x200.jpgPexels

Advertisement

50. No Kanye in Korea???

I've been living in Korea for five years. When I got here, I'd already done a fair amount of traveling, so I didn't really expect much in the way of culture shock. I was fine with the food and language and manners, so nothing really phased me.

Like three months into my first year, I was driving around with a Korean friend when he put on some music. It was Pit Bull. We started talking about hip hop and what each of us liked. I mentioned Kanye. I'll never forget what my Korean friend said.

"Kanye? Who's that?"

That was the biggest, mind blowing thing that has happened to me in the entire five years I've been here. Someone that was a proclaimed hip hop fan had never heard of Kanye West.

I just remember thinking, "What country am I in right now?"

5710188161_9f36f3c8c7_o-300x199.jpgJason Persse/Flickr

49. A Sombre Celebration

Balinese funerals and how they celebrate death. I was sitting on the beach on my first day there and heard a crowd coming, carrying food and playing festive music. I thought it was some kind of party or wedding until I realized they were carrying a corpse.

teddy-bear-1807560-300x182.jpgImage by

48. No Pickpockets

Moved to Toronto from Dublin 3 years ago. It still amazes me how open and trusting people are with their stuff in public: iPhone 7's hanging out of back pockets, parked car windows left open etc. At home in Dublin, especially around the city centre, you just couldn't do that! We have situations at home where people will actually ride past you on a bike and snatch your phone out of your hand while you're talking on it.

On a slightly negative side, it's nuts how people drive here, very rushed and angry, and the fact that cars can still turn when there's a pedestrian light is crazy to me.

toronto-1298016-300x200.jpgImage by

47. Friendly America

I'm from Japan, and I was shocked by how friendly most people in the U.S. are. When we were buying groceries, the cashier would make small talk with us about what we were buying. I bought KFC and was having trouble with American coins (they're all the same color!) and the nice cashier helped me. My uncle was raised in the U.S. and knew all his neighbors. I'd walk his dog while I was there and people would just randomly stop and talk to me about the dog.

The friendliness makes my trips to the U.S. very wholesome and nice.

statue-of-liberty-267948-1-300x169.jpgImage by

46. Not Candy Canes

Singapore still whips people with canes as punishment for crimes! And apparently people pass out from the pain.

chuttersnap-758244-unsplash-300x200.jpgUnsplash

45. Making Friends

As an American Southerner, trying to make friends traveling Europe alone was an interesting experiment. Germans and Belgians thought I was a whackjob for speaking to strangers randomly, but I had some great conversations in France and the Netherlands.

That said, in Germany at least, I found that once you infiltrate a friend group, they can be very inclusive and protective. Obviously anecdotal, but they agreed when I mentioned it. Most people I interacted with don't do small-talk and would go straight to topics that Americans would consider rude when talking with a stranger.

aviles-street-1617325-300x230.jpgImage by

Advertisement

44. Tax On Flavor

In Umbria, part of Italy, for hundreds of years they have refused to put salt in their bread because of a salt tax imposed when the Pope was fighting the Holy Roman Emperor. They got so used to it, they never changed it, but I assure you, Italian bread tastes better with salt.

bread-2193537-300x200.jpgImage by

43. Everywhere Is A Restaurant

My parents are Chinese but I grew up in Europe, therefore I'm considered a banana.

Some years ago, I was visiting my family in China. We were in a very rural area with lots of small cottages. We saw a family eating dinner and my grandma asked them if we could join. So we paid a few bucks and ate a meal with a random family. Not really a shock but it felt really weird, this idea that you can just buy in on someone else's family dinner and pull up a chair.

dimsum-2097947-300x200.jpgImage by

42. A Little Perspective

When I went to Bangladesh with my girlfriend last year, we went to the city her father grew up in before he came to the States. I remember at one point we walked past a station where we saw people climbing on the roof of a train due to the crowding. It was quite an eye opener. After seeing that, I have never complained about riding the subway again.

train-3991306-300x173.jpgImage by

41. Midnight Meal

Despite my parents being Argentinean, we eat dinner at around 7 or 8 p.m. You should have seen my face when I went to visit family and found out it's the norm to eat dinner there around 10 or 11 p.m. Make sure you have a late lunch!

restaurant-691397-300x200.jpgImage by

40. Siesta Fiesta

Nap-time is everything in Spain. I visited Barcelona a few months ago, and it was my first time in Spain. I couldn't believe when my friend told me that all the shops and businesses are closed because it's "siesta time." I love my naps and all, but that just drove me crazy.

winks-2383407-300x231.jpgImage by

39. Six Hours

I was chatting with a girl from London recently, and when she asked if I had visited the Grand Canyon before, I said I haven't despite it being just a six hour drive. I believe her response was something along the lines of: "Only six hours? If I drive for six hours I will be all the way in Spain!"

grand-canyon-1246248-300x200.jpgImage by

Advertisement

38. Germ-Free Germany

You won't believe how clean the bathrooms are in Germany. I've frequently visited for business reasons, and I've hit up the rest of Europe too, but Germany takes the cake in terms of cleanliness in the bathrooms. Every stay, I found my bathroom to be absolutely spotless. I found their bathrooms to be cleaner than the rooms.

bathroom-690774-300x200.jpgImage by

37. Ride Sharing In Ethiopia

We were traveling north in the Omo Valley region in Ethiopia, so we caught an already quite full bus with few spaces available. I managed to accommodate half myself in a seat and a Norwegian friend sat above the tire. We were bumping along fairly nicely when suddenly a local guy wearing only a loincloth and holding a long stick came aboard. All the seats were taken, so he stood next to my Norwegian friend.

We kind of expected something like this since this area is rural. After a few miles, the driver stopped, cramped more people and 3 goats, two in the roof and one behind the last row of seats. We definitely did not expect this. It was an incredibly funny, uncomfortable and surreal situation with my friend trying not to bump into the tribesman on every bump and the goats screaming like they were getting slaughtered... good old traveling times.

bailey-hall-VIvtyoogVtM-unsplash-300x169.jpgPhoto by Bailey Hall on Unsplash

36. Take My Watch, Please

In Jordan, and I'm sure in most Arab countries, if you compliment something, it's considered impolite for the person not to offer it to you. I thought the warnings were an exaggeration until my friend complimented a waiter's watch and the waiter had it literally unlatched, trying to push it into my friend's hands. Four is the appropriate amount of times to say no, and if you actually do want it, it's rude to say yes after fewer than three.

waiting-410328-300x200.jpgImage by

35. Armed But Affable

In the Philippines, a dude with a shotgun held the door open for me and called me sir... at a convenience store in Quezon City. That was new.

shotgun-1181648-300x200.jpgImage by

34. It seeps in

I was deployed for two years to Afghanistan, and Kuwait. Due to my job, I was out in the local community, a lot. I ate, worked, and interacted with a lot of locals. About the only things I did on base were to sleep and workout. In AFG, we wore issued PT uniforms at the gym, and when I was in Kuwait, you could wear gym shorts and a T-shirt, provided they weren’t skin tight and hit your knees.

When I moved BACK to the U.S., I was crashing at my friend’s house, and got a day pass to the gym across the street. I was on the treadmill for ten mins or so and a woman walked in front of me, wearing a pair of spandex shorts and one of those scrappy halter tops popular for spin or exercise classes. My first thought was “I can’t believe she’s wearing that in public! What a loose woman.”

That shocked me. I’m female, and consider myself a feminist. Even without living in the culture, I had totally picked up the judgement and social mores of the countries I had lived in.

yoga-3053488-1-300x200.jpgImage by

33. Size Matters

I was shocked at being able to purchase a giant waffle the size of my head in the Netherlands. The internet tells you there are no large food portions outside the U.S., but it's not true.

waffle-984499-300x200.jpgImage by

32. No, No, No, YES

In parts of Ireland, in my grandparents' time, it was considered rude to accept food or beverages from a host the first time it was offered.

The exchange was supposed to go something like: "Will you have a cup of tea?" "No thank you, I won't, I won't trouble you." "Ahh sure you will, go on." "Ahh I will, if you're making one for yourself."

When my parents first went to America, they were shocked to find that people didn't do this, so instead it went: "Would you like a cup of coffee?" "No, thank you, I won't trouble you." "Okay!" "Wait! I did actually want coffee!" "Then why did you say no?"

One of my grandmothers was like this until she died, and would get really snippy with you if you accepted a drink or a biscuit the first time she offered it.

granny-1280445-300x244.jpgImage by

31. Lebanonymous

There are virtually no driving laws in Lebanon -- and if there are, nobody follows them and they aren't enforced. Everybody drives like a total maniac. Traffic is awful, everybody speeds. When going up into the villages in the mountains, people zoom around the narrow roads like they're on the interstate. These supposed to be two-way streets, but they literally have zero regard for any potential drivers going the opposite direction. They drive as if they have a death wish.

We were vacationing there once, and I got hit by a car when I was crossing the street from Burger King to get back to my hotel in Beirut. I was about 11 years old. The guy who hit me got out of the car and started cussing me out in Arabic. I'm like "DUDE, YOU JUST STRUCK ME WITH YOUR VEHICLE."

Thinking about it now is hilarious.

auto-736794-300x200.jpgImage by

30. A Family Country

I was surprised by the intolerance of public intoxication in America. I am British, so you get used to public merriment and drinking, but I was surprised that it was not tolerated in the U.S. After a while, I thought it was a great idea.

I once went to a restaurant, and during the order I asked what kind of drinks they had. "This," the waitress stated quite forcefully, "is a family restaurant."

alcohol-428392-300x200.jpgImage by

29. You Gotta Fight For Your Right

Visiting China, it's kind of jarring to see how aggressive and pushy people are. Makes sense, since there are a billion people; if you are polite and wait your turn, you'll be left behind. So everybody is pushy, cuts in line, shoving you out of the way, etc. Of course, I just had come from Japan where it's the total opposite...

beijing-347298-300x225.jpgImage by

28. Straight To The Point

In Spain, there's no chitchat from the waiter. None of that "I'll be serving you today" stuff that we hear in the U.S. Just "Tell me what you want." My introvert self loved it. I tell you, food arrives, I eat. Glorious.

maddi-bazzocco-1171563-unsplash-300x200.jpgUnsplash

27. Street People

In Croatia, it's a standard expectation that you'll clean the street outside your house as part of cleaning your house (at least in the small towns I was in -- not sure about the cities). They have the cleanest streets I've ever seen and a real sense of communal civic pride.

vespa-517227-300x200.jpgImage by

26. Chile Out

In Chile, "tomorrow" means next week. "Next week" means never. "I'm already there" means "I'm thinking about starting to prepare to go out."

For a ten-minutes-early type of person like myself, that was jarring.

chile-693055-300x114.jpgPixabay

25. Cleanliness In Asia

When I traveled to Tokyo and Seoul everything was so clean. The trains were clean, the streets, etc. I'm used to seeing gum and smoke butts and other garbage all over the sidewalk and hobos in the aisle of the trains in American cities.

In South Korea one thing that shocked me was that it seemed every adult male there smoked. I couldn't recall a single adult male that didn't.

japan-4141578_1280-300x200.jpgImage by Sofia Terzoni from Pixabay

24. No Privacy In The Netherlands

In the Netherlands, it's pretty common for ground floor apartments to have huge unobscured windows looking into the living room, open for all to see, even in busy neighborhoods. Inside you'll see an immaculate IKEA-catalogue living room. Any people inside will just be doing things in their living room, unfazed by onlookers. I feel bad for looking in whilst passing, but I can't look away.

amsterdam-4038204-300x200.jpgImage by

23. Pizza Eating Etiquette

In Argentina, every slice of pizza, either purchased by itself or as a whole pie, is topped with a single, whole green olive right near the crust. People consume said pizza, as well as French fries, with a knife and fork. It is incredibly uncouth to use your hands.

pizza-1471406_1920-300x200.jpgImage by

22. Family Friendly Sauna

I did the sauna thing when I was in Helsinki, with a local guide taking me to one. It was weird just taking my clothes off and sitting there in a very hot room with other men. Especially when they tried to strike up a conversation with you, they feel they are going to the pub. He told me that private family/friends saunas are not gender segregated so people hang out with their friends and family. For British people, this just wouldn't happen!

women-936549-300x195.jpgImage by

21. Drinking While Driving

There are no laws against drinking and driving in Trinidad.

My girlfriend and I hired a taxi driver for the day to take us up to this bird sanctuary in the rainforest so we could go hiking. After about 3 hours of hiking, we get back to the lodge to find out the taxi driver had finished a number of drinks and picked one up for the road. On the way back to the hotel he was drinking while driving down these stupid narrow, winding mountain roads that had 300-500 foot drop-offs on the side. We had had a few as well -- just so that we weren't as nervous about our taxi driver.

edsel-ranger-392745-1-300x200.jpgImage by

20. Through Rain, Sleet, Or Snow

People riding bicycles in Finland when everything was completely frozen (it was February). I asked a dude about it and he just said, "Yeah, it's pretty dangerous. When I leave in the morning I'm almost certain I'll fall but it's faster than walking to school. Your whole face freezes though." It just seems like there are more cons than pros to it.

snow-3066167-300x169.jpgImage by

19. Sharing Food

I lived in Korea for a few years and one small cultural difference that takes getting used to is sharing food. Most restaurants serve food family style so you're all sharing plates/bowls/etc (Except for your rice)... Getting used to sharing plates is pretty easy as you're picking food off with your chopsticks and don't really touch the other food but to me sharing soup took a little longer.

sharing-1529680747670.jpgSunday Post

18. In Orderly Fashion

When I was in Taiwan waiting for the bus, I saw everyone getting in line to board. It was the strangest thing, no one was pushing or shoving to get on first. Everyone just waited for their turn, like civilized people. You don't see groups of people taking up the whole sidewalk there, either. Now I'm back home and I feel surrounded by barbarians sometimes.

jonathan-chng-767327-unsplash-300x200.jpgPhoto by Jonathan Chng on Unsplash

17. Order To Go

Once I was at a 7-11 in Korea, trying to decide between the things that I think were Oreos and the bag of what was probably Doritos. As I was deep in thought, I heard something come up next to me and start making a ton of noise. I look over, and it is a dude on a scooter inside the 7-11, and he is frantically waving at me to get out of the way. In shock, I take a step back to clear a path and he goes full throttle through the aisle and out the back door.

I looked over to the cashier and he had his nose buried in a newspaper and couldn't be bothered by the whole thing.

I've always wondered if that is a normal occurrence there or if I was the victim of a crazy prank.

7-11_Japan-300x225.jpgWikimedia

16. Irish Hospitality

I am an American who traveled to Ireland last summer. Everywhere you go, be it a pub, restaurant, or shop, people would ask one thing:

"Are you okay?"

This phrase really threw me off. At first, I was like, "Why, do I look ill?" For example, if someone in the U.S. were to ask, "are you okay?" it would be to inquire about one's well-being. If I were to answer, "yes," that would imply that I am fine and content and they would leave me be. Were I to answer "no," they would follow up with "what's wrong?", as the implication is that I am somehow not okay, ill, unwell, or otherwise disagreeable.

But I guess it's their way of greeting, along the lines of "how may I help you?" So I just started going along with answering "yes" and immediately just give them my order. I'm still not entirely sure what the etiquette is/was, and some of my servers looked at me like I was a space alien when struggling to come up with a response. They were super friendly though! I have yet to meet anyone who can match the hospitality and friendliness of the Irish.

waitress-1529677342821.jpgSlava7

15. Public Displays Of Affection

Men holding hands in the Middle East.

Despite the extreme social taboo against homosexuality in most parts of the Middle East (it's also usually a capital offense), men holding hands is a perfectly normal and acceptable sign of friendship, rather than the signifier of a romantic relationship that it would be in the West.

friendship-2156174-300x200.jpgImage by

14. The Autobahn

From Great Lakes region of the US to Germany, Hesse specifically.

Roads are small. Everyone is excellent drivers and follows the rules.

People keep to themselves, but are friendly in conversation.

Eating out takes 3 to 4 times longer than I'm used to.

Apartments are much more common, nobody has yards or lots of property.

Drinking culture is very different, less casual drinking and more deliberate getting messed up until 6am. But that could be specific to my friends.

The Autobahn. Miss it every day.

The Doners. Miss them every day.

the-upper-square-2491933-300x201.jpgImage by

13. Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto

In South Africa, they call traffic lights "robots."

"How can I get to the grocery store?"

"Just drive straight until the next robot, turn right, and you'll be there now-now."

Many of them say robot with special emphasis on the 'r'... 'rrrrobot'. First time I heard it, was rather surreal.

traffic-light-1360645-300x201.jpgImage by

12. Time To Be Quiet

In the country of Samoa, in the evening time around 7:00 in most villages, dozens of men go out to stand out in the road in front of their homes and blow on conches to mark the "sa," or a quiet prayer time. It is illegal to be anywhere walking in the village, to be loud, etc., for the length of the 5-10 minute sa.

conch-1529681815337.jpgYoutube

11. Brazilian State Of Mind

I spent a year in Brazil, coming from Switzerland. The biggest things were:

The general state of paranoia. Despite my city being one of the safest ones in Brazil, everyone was always scared. Not even of anything specific, just of a vague notion of potential crime. Fenced off houses, forcing students (aged ~18) to stay in school until their parents get them, being afraid to take a taxi alone. Stuff like that.

Disrespect of rules and lack of organization. Not waiting for people to cross a road was the one that affected me the most, but some other things include terribly slow bureaucracy (I still don't have my health insurance... it's been years since I was back home) and schools that just don't work. The classes are too big - teachers have no control over the class. They'd had at least 5 years of English classes and couldn't say a simple sentence. I confronted the English teacher about what the heck she was even doing and she just defended herself that those who wanted to learn English could go to private classes.

ken-treloar-692209-unsplash-300x200.jpgPhoto by Ken Treloar on Unsplash

10. Driver Perks In Vietnam

When I visited Vietnam for the first time to see my family there, we took a taxi from Ha Long to Hanoi. In the middle of the ride, we stopped at a restaurant, and I expected the driver to drive off, but instead, we had a cozy family meal with the taxi driver at the same table! Apparently, some hotels in the south will even give the taxi driver a free room if your group stays the night. It was kind of nice but also bizarre, especially if you tried to imagine that happening in the west.

josh-feiber-357043-unsplash-300x200.jpgPhoto by Josh Feiber on Unsplash

9. Driving And Eating In America

United States:

Drivers not using turn signals.

TVs at bars and restaurants everywhere, even upscale places.

People with full-time jobs getting like 10 days off a year.

A majority of people eating out for lunch every day.

Apparently, it was common knowledge you should not rely on the bus to get anywhere, plus only very poor and homeless seem to ride it.

new-york-2699520-300x200.jpgImage by

8. Friendly Beep

I went to American Samoa on a research trip and I was absolutely blown away by the kindness and warmth of the locals. Basically, every car had a separate little horn, more of a chirp really, that they would use to get people's attention on the sidewalk just so they could smile and wave. Everyone just really wanted to interact and be kind to everyone else. Coming back to the US everyone looked at me like a freak when I would wave and smile to random strangers for the next week.

american-samoa-113759-300x225.jpgImage by

7. Exit Strategy

We're Canadian. We had this awkward conversation with a family in Venezuela who we had invited over for dinner. They just wouldn't leave! My dad was doing the polite Canadian thing and mentioning that "we're tired", that "usually we would be in bed by now", that "it's been a long night and they probably want to get home", walking them toward the front door. And then we were stuck just standing there staring at each other. My dad finally just blurts out: "Why won't you leave?! We're tired and want to go to bed!" And in frustration, they reply: "Why won't you just let us go?!"

Turns out that in Venezuelan culture it's rude to leave on your own as an invited guest. The polite thing to do is to wait for your host to open the door and guide you out, but in Canadian culture it's rude to ask your invited company to leave and you wait for them to open the door and go on their own.

agreement-2286439-300x201.jpgImage by

6. No Harm, No Foul

In a tuk-tuk on a highway in Cambodia. The tuk-tuk driver was crazy! He flew into the back of a moped with four people on it. A girl of about 12 fell off the back, the moped stopped. Without giving it a second thought, the tuk-tuk driver kept driving (was actually waved on by traffic police). The 12-year-old girl dusted herself off, hopped back on to the moped and they continued on their way. Absolutely crazy!

tuktuk-1643802-300x200.jpgImage by

5. Taxi Roulette

I was in India earlier this year and their taxi drivers take you wherever they feel like before taking you to your requested destination. And they would be deeply offended if you were like "Hey, where are we going?"

So that's how I ended up on a boat in the middle of the Arabian Sea when all I wanted to do was exchange money, and at a random zoo when I just wanted to go shopping. I eventually exchanged money and went shopping but had to go on field trips first to see the sights. Good times.

edsel-ranger-392745-300x200.jpgPixabay

4. Finding A Trash Can In Japan

Japan: The lack of public trash cans. I come from Denmark, and there is a trash can at every bus stop, every street corner, everywhere. You rarely have to carry something around for more than a few minutes at most. But in Japan, I found less than 3 public trash cans during the months I was staying there. The Japanese people are just like, "Oh ... yeah, just put it in your bag or in your trash when you come home."

And oh my God, the fake bird noises being played by speakers hiding in bushes and trees everywhere. I only really experienced this in Kyoto and nearby places, but all over Japan, there is some kind of tweeting/chirping sound coming from the pedestrian crossings. Maybe to aid blind people?

People vacuuming the outside areas of train stations. Yes, it really is that clean some places.

japan-2014618-300x200.jpgImage by

3. The Sounds Of Silence

I went to the cinema in Japan to see a Harry Potter film (in English with Japanese subtitles). The film was good, I guess the humor didn't translate well into Japanese which is fine, but at times I was the only person laughing in an every-seat-filled cinema.

Anyway, that wasn't the weird thing. When the film finished and the credits rolled, no one moved. I started packing up my things and realized I was the only person in a room of at least 100 people making a move to leave. So I sat down again.

I realized they were sitting and attentively watching the credits. All 5 minutes of them. Then, after they ended, everyone politely and quietly collected their things in a hushed silence. I was flabbergasted - in the UK everyone stands up as soon as the end credits start!

movie-theatre-theater-screen-79812-1548390519374-300x169.jpgPixabay

2. Mob Justice

Not sure if this normally happens or not, but my first day in Uganda, I witnessed a car accident between a truck and car. The car rear-ended the truck and then took off. The truck had minor damage and was still functional, but instead of chasing the car in his truck he got out of his car jumped on the back of some other dude's motorcycle and they chased him on that.

Meanwhile, two other bikes joined in the chase just because. It all happened in seconds and I don't know how it ended, but I was amazed that these motorcycle drivers were totally down to just high-speed chase this car for a stranger.

crash-1308575-300x199.jpgImage by

1. Send In The Clowns

A clown at a baby shower. Living in Peru, I got invited to a friend's baby shower (that's a weird enough thing for me). I arrived and there was a clown running around the room making everyone dress up like babies and doing weird things. I absolutely hate clowns, hardly spoke the language and I was the only foreigner. Needless to say that when I left I spent the rest of the night in the pub!

clown-1047828-300x200.jpgImage by