Culture Shock Stories

[BlkHawk]

I have never traveled outside the United States, as such I have never experienced a culture shock. I've worked with, and been friends with people from different cultures often. They all had some amusing stories of adjusting to life in the States, from misunderstandings about water closets, to how much food we eat, or throw away.

Looking for people to share their "shocks" about different cultures. It might be a bit much to ask for this board, but try to keep it friendly.

 

[sean miguel]

I spent most of my teenage years in Japan. A couple of immediate shocks were that I was taller than everyone else, not being able to read Japanese writing, though there were surprisingly alot of written english words like in ads and what not, though most of them were nonsensical. And that brings me to commercials, so many of them are WTF? You don't even know what's being advertised sometimes (was that for a watch or a breeding service for monkeys?) Japanese tv is a trip, especially their ************* shows. Stuff that we could never do in the States because someone would either get shot or sued.

Another shock was how tight and compact everything was because space is at such a premium in a country with half the population of the U.S. packed in an area the size of California. Also, the reputation the Japanese have for being super polite and humble is well deserved. And trusting, shops leave stuff sitting out in front their stores unsecured because they know no one is going to steal it.

And lastly, Japanese girls. I guess it was tradition for them to buy gifts for boys they liked even if they were strangers. I'm ashamed to say I used that stuffed elephant I got for archery practice.

 

[Rattrap]

I was born and raised in the States but now live in Europe, first in Britain and now in Germany. I've traveled around Europe quite a bit, which I say only as a small disclaimer that while the cultures naturally vary, I'm still bouncing around from western 1st world to western 1st world.

That said, the only time I experienced culture shock was going back to the States for a summer*. *****, mind, but there nonetheless.

* Maybe that's not quite fair to say...getting used to traffic on the wrong side of the road in Britain took ages. But that wasn't really 'shocking'. Getting on a plane from Dublin to JFK, though, and seeing how everything grew in size - from roads, cars, rats, and people - now that was shocking.

 

[sean miguel]

Oh, and another culture shock (and this one was major) were the traditional japanese toilets.

I came across one of these at a train station and I was like "Oh hell no, I'll fucking hold it."