Odd things about other countries

[FoBoT]

western europe/germany, you often have to pay to use the rest room, there is often an old lady that is a bathroom attendent and you have to tip her to get in

 

[Jfrag Teh Foul]

I think it's funny that Canadian's heads unhinge when they talk. 😛

 

[Proletariat]

Originally posted by: Fingers
In middle east people will take a dump in the street then wipe their butt with their left hand. It is considered the dirty hand and one of the biggest insults you can do is offer to shake with the left hand.

Or so i've heard

:disgust:

And where did you hear this? Somewhere on the intarweb?

Can we please keep this at least a bit knowledgable?

 

[kstu]

Originally posted by: Martin

In France many people have terrible BO (big surprise I know) and cover it up with cologne/perfume. Some women, even well dressed, sophisticated women, seem to pee in the middle of the street.

You're not very familiar with critical thinking, are you? *shakes head*

Anyway, in Athens, mopeds and motorbikes form their own lanes between the car lanes. You can see double parking and in some cases even triple parking (people leave their GSM numbers on the windshields and get called to move if someone from inside wants to get out).

In Bulgaria you nod up and down to say "No" and shake your head left-to-right to say "Yes".

That would be so hard to get used to

 

[SWScorch]

Originally posted by: Martin
In Bulgaria you nod up and down to say "No" and shake your head left-to-right to say "Yes".

I have always wondered if that was a universal sign or culturally dependent.

 

[SWScorch]

Originally posted by: Stark
in amsterdam they don't have butt gaskets in public toilettes. i guess the dutch have better aim than americans.

I have only been in a handful of public restrooms that offered butt gaskets. I've never used one; using a public restroom is like weightlifting for the immune system 😀

 

[Kev]

Originally posted by: kstu

Originally posted by: Martin

In France many people have terrible BO (big surprise I know) and cover it up with cologne/perfume. Some women, even well dressed, sophisticated women, seem to pee in the middle of the street.

You're not very familiar with critical thinking, are you? *shakes head*

Anyway, in Athens, mopeds and motorbikes form their own lanes between the car lanes. You can see double parking and in some cases even triple parking (people leave their GSM numbers on the windshields and get called to move if someone from inside wants to get out).

In Bulgaria you nod up and down to say "No" and shake your head left-to-right to say "Yes".

That would be so hard to get used to

Yes it wouldn't

 

[gsaldivar]

Originally posted by: Jfrag Teh Foul
I think it's funny that Canadian's heads unhinge when they talk. 😛

LOL 😀

 

[Fingers]

Originally posted by: Proletariat

Originally posted by: Fingers
In middle east people will take a dump in the street then wipe their butt with their left hand. It is considered the dirty hand and one of the biggest insults you can do is offer to shake with the left hand.

Or so i've heard

:disgust:

And where did you hear this? Somewhere on the intarweb?

Can we please keep this at least a bit knowledgable?

A guy I used to work with in the Marine reserves who was stationed over there for a year or so.

 

[gsaldivar]

Originally posted by: Proletariat

Originally posted by: Fingers
In middle east people will take a dump in the street then wipe their butt with their left hand. It is considered the dirty hand and one of the biggest insults you can do is offer to shake with the left hand.

Or so i've heard

:disgust:

And where did you hear this? Somewhere on the intarweb?

Can we please keep this at least a bit knowledgable?

The second sentence is true.

 

[91TTZ]

When I went to Germany and Switzerland, when you went to flush the toilet on the train you saw the tracks. It just dumped the waste right onto the tracks.

 

[hoyaguru]

There's a site with some really good stories from an American teaching English to kids in Japan HERE. Funny stuff!

 

[kage69]

Give me a break...that's not racist; it's the sad truth. Have you worked in the food industry? If not then you have no idea what you're talking about.

I wish I could denounce this as a rascist stereotype, but my many years of waiting tables throughout high school and college prevents me from doing so 🙁


As for other stereotypes, in my experience the French ladies get a bad rep. The few that I fooled around with didn't emit horrible B.O, nor were they strangers to a razor!

 

[Martin]

Originally posted by: SWScorch

Originally posted by: Martin
In Bulgaria you nod up and down to say "No" and shake your head left-to-right to say "Yes".

I have always wondered if that was a universal sign or culturally dependent.

AFAIK that's the only place where its like that, so its pretty universal.

The story goes that when the Turks came, they would put a knife under your chin and ask "Do you want to become a muslim?". You couldn't say no because they'd kill you, and you couldn't nod to say yes, so you had to shake and say "Yes, yes".

The story is made up of course, but its still funny.

 

[Jynx980]

I heard about the French woman peeing thing from a friend of a friend who recently went. It could have been in the ghetto area but who knows.

That editorial "I am a Japenese School Teacher" is great! I read it from atot a while back and really enjoy it! Thats where I heard about kancho from.

Im REALLY surprised we havent gotten any 'in soviet russia' sayings yet either, though it may onbly be a matter of time.

 

[jadinolf]

Originally posted by: whitecloak
I have heard that all americans are arrogant, ignorant and rednecks!

And carry guns.

 

[jadinolf]

Originally posted by: Yanagi
Oh yeah and in sweden we have polar bears on the streets and gay people as pets!

Everyone knows that. 🙂

 

[AndrewR]

Let's see, been in Okinawa almost three years now. When driving, the Japanese really only use their car horns to THANK YOU, not to express anger. If you let someone go in front of you (to make a turn, for instance), they'll tap the horn. Can't say that I've ever heard a car horn used angrily by a Japanese driver.

 

[jai6638]

Originally posted by: Fingers
In middle east people will take a dump in the street then wipe their butt with their left hand. It is considered the dirty hand and one of the biggest insults you can do is offer to shake with the left hand.

Or so i've heard

not true...

However, the left hand is still considered dirty in rural India and religious tasks are usually done with the right hand..

 

[Muzzan]

Originally posted by: Martin

Originally posted by: SWScorch

Originally posted by: Martin
In Bulgaria you nod up and down to say "No" and shake your head left-to-right to say "Yes".

I have always wondered if that was a universal sign or culturally dependent.

AFAIK that's the only place where its like that, so its pretty universal.

...

Sounds like someone hasn't seen "The gods must be crazy" 😉

 

[Landroval]

I have not been to Kiribati but I was working on a project for DoD and I saw a site where it was claimed that farting was a serious, serious offense and warned visitors to the island not to do it in public. NO way to verify this is true, as I have always been embarrassed to ask those who would actually know....

 

[loic2003]

In France many people have terrible BO (big surprise I know) and cover it up with cologne/perfume. Some women, even well dressed, sophisticated women, seem to pee in the middle of the street.

Utter BS. At least talk about things you've actually *experienced* instead of what you heard in the playground form your 12 year old mates.


Some interesting features I've experienced:

When driving in Turin (That's in italy) it's common practive for cars to just park just about anywhere. They park on the pavements (sidewalks) and over the line in the center of the road. We're not talking fiats only here, you can see HGV's down the center of the streets. Sweet.

In Bali (and I'm sure, many other countries) entire families use a single moped as transport. It was common to see a family of five or six, plus their baggage all on the one moped cruising down the road.

On the island where I live it's illegal to dance or sell flowers on a sunday.

western europe/germany, you often have to pay to use the rest room, there is often an old lady that is a bathroom attendent and you have to tip her to get in

This is common in train stations and airports throughout europe and england. You pay 20p or whatever to use the toilets. There's always two or three members of staff there who keep the place spotless. You wouldn't be worried walking around there barefoot. There's shower facilites, etc. I say it's worth it. Nothing worse that rough over-used toilets that you don't like brething in let alone using the facilites...

Also, at every sit-down restaurant I went to they asked me if I wanted gravy with my french fries. WTF is that?

Try it one day. In the UK we have some delicious variants of chips (french fries, whatever). Chips and cheese, cheaps and mushy peas, Chips with curry sauce, chips with gravy..... delish! especially at 3am when you're pissed.

In Sweden it is normal to take a sauna naked. Co-ed. I've seen every one of my female and male friends naked. Americans always think it is some sort of orgy, when in fact there is nothing sexual about it at all.

Same in the UK. Some places you wear a towel or trunks, but usually it's a naked thing. As for not getting a throbber, well you've just got to look at the fat 55 year old naked guy with his leags spread opposite you to fix that.

 

[LeadMagnet]

in the country RandMcnally people wear shoes on their hands and hamburgers eat people!

 

[AndrewR]

Oh, really weird toilet in France. We were waiting for the rental car place to open (guy who manned the Budget desk just disappeared), and we HAD to go. My wife went to the public pay toilet first (in the train station), and she came back shivering, telling me that it was REALLY cold. Well, it turns out that the toilet stall was all metal, and the porcelain toilet seat actually retracted into the rear wall for a complete and thorough washing between uses. What that meant was that the toilet was not only cold but wet, and I very nearly froze my ass off (literally!) when using it.

Good benefit of pay toilets? Almost always very clean. Nothing like a profit incentive to keep them ship shape.

Another Japanese quirk: They absolutely worship white, pale skin. If you watch Japanese television, they have commerical after commerical for skin whiteners, and they are absolutely obsessive about exposure to the sun, wearing hats, long sleeves, and long gloves to keep their skin from the evil sun's rays. You'll even see women wearing gloves while driving to spare their fingers. The secret to Asian women having perfect skin is NOT genetics, it's obsession. 🙂

 

[Landroval]

Originally posted by: loic2003

In France many people have terrible BO (big surprise I know) and cover it up with cologne/perfume. Some women, even well dressed, sophisticated women, seem to pee in the middle of the street.

Utter BS. At least talk about things you've actually *experienced* instead of what you heard in the playground form your 12 year old mates.


Some interesting features I've experienced:

When driving in Turin (That's in italy) it's common practive for cars to just park just about anywhere. They park on the pavements (sidewalks) and over the line in the center of the road. We're not talking fiats only here, you can see HGV's down the center of the streets. Sweet.

In Bali (and I'm sure, many other countries) entire families use a single moped as transport. It was common to see a family of five or six, plus their baggage all on the one moped cruising down the road.

On the island where I live it's illegal to dance or sell flowers on a sunday.

western europe/germany, you often have to pay to use the rest room, there is often an old lady that is a bathroom attendent and you have to tip her to get in

This is common in train stations and airports throughout europe and england. You pay 20p or whatever to use the toilets. There's always two or three members of staff there who keep the place spotless. You wouldn't be worried walking around there barefoot. There's shower facilites, etc. I say it's worth it. Nothing worse that rough over-used toilets that you don't like brething in let alone using the facilites...

Also, at every sit-down restaurant I went to they asked me if I wanted gravy with my french fries. WTF is that?

Try it one day. In the UK we have some delicious variants of chips (french fries, whatever). Chips and cheese, cheaps and mushy peas, Chips with curry sauce, chips with gravy..... delish! especially at 3am when you're pissed.

In Sweden it is normal to take a sauna naked. Co-ed. I've seen every one of my female and male friends naked. Americans always think it is some sort of orgy, when in fact there is nothing sexual about it at all.

Same in the UK. Some places you wear a towel or trunks, but usually it's a naked thing. As for not getting a throbber, well you've just got to look at the fat 55 year old naked guy with his leags spread opposite you to fix that.

Well, a word was censored and my post was lost, so I am not going to type it all out again.... but I agree with the BO/perfume thing based on a LOT of experience both in France and hosting French people in our home. The pee thing sounds questionable though. :Q