30 People Share What Experiences Left Them In Culture Shock

In Turkish, there's a so-called "gossip tense."

Damjan

• Published in Interesting
• May 29, 2022

Humans invest heavily in space and ocean exploration and at the same time, we still don't know much about people who are living on other continents and their cultures. It does sound illogical trying to explore distant planets while we still don't know much about our own home, doesn't it?

Take, for example, learning about cultures, religion, and society in general. Humans are complex creatures in general, but the social and societal systems we've created remain as mysterious as the deep space.

And they are worth exploring. Such richness and diversity.

In a now-viral thread on AskReddit, u/yahyahashash invited the lovely folks of Reddit to share anything they've learned about a new culture or religion that utterly blew their minds. And the answers started pouring in.

We now have a bevy of amusing facts and weird insights into how humans function on a cultural and religious level, thanks to over 9,400 comments, which have blown even more minds along the road. Scroll down to see the best of the best answers - we chose 30 of the best ones and we know you will love them. Most importantly, you might learn something.

Let us begin our travel around the world:

1. The Turban

In Sikhism, the turban is a symbol of total equality. Before Sikhism was the religion it is today, the turban was worn only by the wealthy upper classes.

The person who started the Sikh religion donned the turban to show people that everyone is truly wealthy in spirit and that it is the duty of all people, rich or poor, to help one another. So the Sikh turban became a symbol of equality in humanity and a sign that that person can be turned to for help.

2. Canada is huge

The country you grew up in f***s with your sense of scale. I was born and raised in Canada, lived here all my life.

We're the second-largest country in the entire world by area, behind only Russia. When I went to visit some friends in Germany, we got talking about Canada and I mentioned how I went to university in a city that was "only" a four-hour drive away from my childhood home.

I commented that I liked it because it was far enough away to have some independence, but still, close enough I could drop by and visit my family on holidays or breaks. This caused them to laugh uproariously, much to my confusion.

One of them eventually explained that a four-hour drive would take you more than halfway across the entire country of Germany and it was not what any of them would consider "close". These same people, by the way, had a church just outside of their town that was over 800 years old and no one thought that was particularly remarkable.

That's when I learned the difference between European and North American cultures. A European thinks a 100 km trip is "far"; a North American thinks a 100-year-old building is "old".

3 Jesus Is The Most Mentioned Person In The Quran

Not only is Jesus in the Quran, he is the most mentioned person in the Quran (if you count direct and indirect mentions). Islam teaches Jesus was a prophet and was a precursor to Muhammad.

In other words, Jesus is a central figure in the Quran, and the Islamic faith not only believes in Jesus but generally reveres him.

4 Buddha has snails on his head

Buddha has snails protecting his head so that he can meditate in the scorching sun. And here I thought it was a hairstyle.

5 In South Korea, it is normal for people to hold hands even if they are just friends

I taught English in a middle school in South Korea. When I was roaming around in the hallways, I found that not only were the girls holding hands, some boys were holding hands as well.

They were just "friends". There weren't any homophobic cries or jokes being made. In North America, if that happened, you'd be automatically labeled gay.

6. "Gossip Tense" in Turkey

In Turkish, there's a so-called "gossip tense." A specific kind of past tense that indicates that someone else told you this.

7. The different Chinese dialects are unintelligible in spoken, but intelligible in written form

Chinese languages: mandarin and Cantonese and other Chinese dialects are mutually unintelligible but the written language is exactly the same. Two Chinese people speaking different dialects would have no idea what each other is saying but they could communicate by writing.

8. Buddhists don’t care about "The Creator."

When I first became Buddhist, the fact that the Buddhist response to the question of whether there was a creator of the universe or not is basically "It doesn't matter". It's one of a list of questions that the Buddha was asked and refused to answer one way or another, or even speculate on because they're irrelevant to Buddhism.

Coming from a Western background, it kind of blew away a lot of my ideas about the purpose and function of religion

9. There’s a Micronesian island where all the inhabitants are color blind.

There’s a Micronesian island where all the inhabitants are color blind. They know when the fruit is ripe by the smell. It just gave me a new understanding of how people see the world and the different pathways cultures take to solve the same problems.

10 People use stamps instead of signatures in Japan

maletgs said:

Japanese stamps instead of signatures.

samosamancer replied:

I lived there for 2 years and I’ve still got mine with my name in katakana. It’s a whole process to procure one and then have it registered as your official signature.

11. Japan

So much stuff from Japan.

I think if I had to pick one it was how seriously they take customer service there. Like, it's just night and day from literally anywhere else in the world I've been.

At one point I needed to go visit a bank to get some cash and I asked the cashier at the store I was at where the nearest bank was. In most places in the world, if you got anything more than a shrug, it would be some vague directions; a really nice place might give you a map or an address for your phone and point out where you were going.

In Japan, the cashier bowed, stepped out from behind the cash register, grabbed an umbrella (a typhoon was passing through, so it was pissing down rain at the time), and *physically escorted me* the TEN BLOCKS between the store and the bank, holding the umbrella above my head the whole time (and getting absolutely drenched himself). I felt really bad about it and tried several times to tell him that an address was fine, but he insisted he would walk me there.

It was just a totally different mindset towards how to treat a customer or a guest. Honestly pretty humbling.

Also, the "no tips" thing threw me for a loop. Not that I didn't know about it, but I didn't know how seriously it was enforced.

There was a point when I was running late for an important event and had taken a cab to where I was going. I still remember the total cost - 3481 yen; since I was in a hurry, I grabbed 3500 yen, hastily gave it to the driver, and dashed out the door.

I make it about 10 meters away and I suddenly hear, "Sumimasen! Okyakusan! Sumimasen!!" (Excuse me, sir! Excuse me!!) from behind me. I turn around and the cabbie has gotten out of his cab and dashed after me, just to hand me the 19 yen (about 19 cents) change that I'd left behind.

12 The energy that Spanish people have

The Spanish eat dinner at like 10 pm and party until like 4 am and still have the energy to go to work the next day. Idk where they get the reserve of energy to do that but it’s wild

13. Not everyone eats rice

I remember when I was a kid I was shocked when I realized a good chunk of the world did not eat rice regularly in meals lol.

14. Our internal visualization of time more or less follows the direction of writing.

Our internal visualization of time more or less follows the direction of writing. I'm from Brazil, and i can only speak for Brazil, but this feels online with the rest of the euro-centric culture.

I mean that when we talk about the Past or the Future, the trend to gesture from left to right, which just so happens to be the way we write. I spent some time in Taiwan, where they used to write from top to bottom and sure enough, "yesterday" is literally translated as "the day above" and tomorrow is translated as "the day below".

And it's more than just that, think of timelines, horizontal versus vertical. The whole internal visualization seems to be related to that

I would love some input from someone who speaks a language written from right to left because right now this theory feels like grasping at straws but is somehow kinda right. Please someone prove me wrong

15. A lot of Americans literally cannot get anywhere without a car

That a lot of Americans literally cannot get anywhere without a car and getting your driver's license is as a result extremely vital for gaining any independence (which is why the car is so synonymous with the American meaning of 'freedom'). I've talked to Americans for years and only recently thanks to Not Just Bikes did I find out just how car-centric the American culture is.

16. Danish people leave their children outside of stores when they go shopping.

Danish people leave their children outside of stores when they go shopping. Being from the USA, you would be arrested for that 100%. Immigrants have been in the past, probably more than I would ever have thought.

17. In Switzerland, there is a phone conversation routine:

In Switzerland, perhaps A and D too, when you pick up the phone there is a routine that must play out before the conversation continues:

*ring ring*

Receiver: “Hello this is *business*, my name is *surname*, good day.”

Caller: “Hello Herr/Frau *surname*, my name is *surname*.”

R: “Good day, Herr/Frau *surname*”

C: “Good day, Herr/Frau *surname*. I am calling because ….”

Also, you can’t just say goodbye and hang up, you will spend a good 2min saying goodbye and wishing the other a good day/evening/weekend and thanking them and saying you’re welcome until you both say “Also Tschüs” and **then** hang up.

18. India Has More Than 200 Languages And Dialects

Adam Jones said:

India has more than 200 languages and dialects.

candygram4mongo replied:

India and China are both better understood not as analogous to European countries, but as what Europe as a whole would look like if they had a single government.

19. Croatian, Bosnian, and Serbian are the same language

Kodiak-Marmoset said:

Croatian, Bosnian, Serbian: essentially the same language.

scelt replied:

Same people too, but don't even try to tell them that. If you would suddenly remove religion, I have no idea what would they find to argue about, but they would find something.

Source: I'm one of them. Won't tell you which, but as you see, it doesn't matter.

20. Tree decorating in Germany

In Germany, there is a holiday in which, during the dead of night, a guy will get his friends together, take a thin, tall tree, strip it of its branches, decorate it, and write the name of romantic interest on it, then anonymously strap that tree to the house of said romantic interest.

When I was first told about this, I thought my German instructors were exaggerating, but nope. The next day the city was FILLED with decorated trees. And I didn't hear anything that night. I still don't know how they did it so quietly.

21. Water is free

I'm from South America, when I went to Germany I went to a meeting in a bar and ordered water out of politeness so I wouldn't be there without paying for anything, bc I don't drink alcohol. To my surprise water is free and from the tap.

Started ordering sparkling water instead from there on lol.

22. Birthdays

Some cultures your friends treat you on your birthday and other cultures you treat your friends on your birthday. An example would be paying for a birthday dinner with friends.

23. There are several version of the Bible

I had no idea that Catholics had more books to the Bible than Protestants had until I was a young adult.

24. Mormons

Literally every damn thing about Mormonism. I could give you an entire book about the things. What should I call it though…

1. Mormons have bizarre ceremonies in the temples which are definitely “sacred” not “secret.” Haha. I researched these 15 years ago, but there was no proof of what actually happened. Then youtube happened. Watch Mormons do baptisms, with a proxy, for dead people. Watch them act outcrossing into various levels of heaven using code words. Check out the secret underwear.

2. For many years Mormons boasted that they found a golden book that was transcribed with the help of an Angel. It is now accepted, even by the general authorities that the “book” which mysteriously disappeared was transcribed by Smith using seer stones that were placed in a hat. Yea folks, he was a con man. There is a whole history of seer stones. What’s more is that the church admits this now.

3. Smith was married and had sex with girls as young as 14. He sent their husbands away and then had to “bite the bullet” and marry them for the good of their community and the authority if god.

4. The Salamander letter

If you are truly interested, google Jeremy Runnels and the CES letter. In short, Runnels was a passionate Mormon. He had some questions and was encouraged to write out his issues and send them to an LDS authority to get some explanation. He wrote a 70-page document called the CES letter that led to his excommunication. The CES letter has caused many Mormons to leave the church.

Have fun! Im sure I got some details wrong here and there, but nothing of any importance.

25. Toska

Studying the Russian language, I came across this really interesting word, тоска (toska), and its verb form, тосковать (toskovat’). Its meaning is very difficult to translate into English because it has such a deep cultural context, but it essentially can mean, depending on the context, a sort of heart-wrenching, painful longing, or a sense of nostalgic wistfulness, sometimes for something you don’t even know.

26. Some Hindu rituals involve slamming coconuts

Some Hindu rituals involve slamming coconuts into the ground. I remember passing through a street in Chennai in a cab and all of a sudden like 50 people slamming coconuts into the ground at the same time.

I can't wait to go back

27. Public sex education in Marrakech

Public sex education in Marrakech, Morocco. A circle of people pops up on Djemaa El Fna.

A guy in his 50/t60s gathers people of all ages. He used sign language and talked and joked around.

Like a stand-up street performing sex educator. In a Muslim country. They were basically standing next to their mosque. Post bias adjusted.

Temple culture in Taiwan:

The people who run the temples, and put on holiday performances for their respective gods, are a community of lost boys and society's rejects. They have an unsavory reputation, associated with petty crime and drug use.

Each temple is basically a carnie street gang with a folk religion theme. They take your real money in exchange for fake money, which you are supposed to burn so your ancestors have money in the afterlife (insert mandatory inflation joke).

Sometimes the temples have rivalries, and brawls break out between devotees during religious festivals and competitions.

Folk religion is alive and well in Taiwan, but at the same time, people who take it seriously have a "trailer trash" image, so it's considered cringy to be too interested in it. Good upstanding citizens just burn incense, say a prayer to their ancestors, take pictures if it's a touristy temple, and leave.

29. Americans have garbage disposals in their sinks

wetlettuce42 said:

That Americans have garbage disposals in their sinks.

president_of_burundi replied:

I'm American and they might as well be a myth to me. I've only ever seen them in horror films, so as far as I know, they're just a thing that you accidentally drop something down, then reach into to provide Dramatic Tension and/or get all your fingers cut off.

30. Must tip in Canada

Coming to Vancouver, Canada, and learning not only that I _had_ to tip, but that the nicer the place (meaning the pricier the food), the higher the expected tip up to the “standard” 20%.

I remember being new around 8 years ago. I went to a kinda nice restaurant downtown and treated a few folks, left a 5% tip for service I thought was bare minimum. The server came up to me as we were leaving - she must have been having a bad day or something because she was literally on the verge of tears asking what she did wrong.

I caved of course and gave her the missing 15% in cash. Still, that was bizarre.

Diversity is one of the best things about humanity. When traveling abroad, we should try to absorb the host’s culture as much as possible, not just do touristy stuff.

All hotels look alike and most tourist attractions are just buildings. They don’t give you so much chance to get to know the people’s culture and customs.

Mingle, talk with the people on the streets and restaurants, and eat street food. That way you can really understand the county you are visiting.

Damjan