What is your favourite thing you've learnt from another culture?

[SandGroperNomad]

I thought this would be a lovely thread to start and to see what other people's experiences were.

I have a few, and it's a hard choice but I would say the concept of blessing the children on Shabbat before I was Jewish. I love it, and it's now the favourite part of my week.

Australia, if you are going to eat outdoors spray the undrside of the table with insect repelant, keeps the bugs away but doesn't contaminate the food.

Also, if you are drinking a box of wine, when it is finished take out the bag and blow it up like a balloon - you get another 1/2 glass out of it and if you don't have any more wine but want to continue drinking keep blowing up the bag and then breath in - pass it around like a spliff.

Jamaican landlady - rum punch recipe

One of sour - lime juice
Two of sweet - sugar
Three of strang - rum
Four of weak - water

the 1,2,3,4 can be any measure, a shot glass for a small punch, a jug for making one for loads of people.

From the Pakistani lady on the market - corriander can be wrapped in newspaper and frozen, then when you want to use it crumble with your hand into curry.

Rice - depends on the rice, I have shared accomodation with peopole from India, Ghana, Hong Kong, I have recipe books from all over the world. Match the correct rice with the correct cooking method. Aborio does not go with curry, basmati doesn't make rissotto.

From Mauritius, baguettes go well with curry instead of rice or chapattis.

The person who complained about not having good coffee, go to an Italian restaurant and ask if you can just have a coffee. You will get good coffee.

Italy - that every meal no matter how small, should be appreciated as a family. Taking time to laugh over a cup of coffee or a cornetto (pastry croissant).
Really value simple, easy meals with good ingredients
To be generous with time, money and resources

I think either sushi was ok to have in pregnancy in the UK in the noughties or ignored the advice and had it once a week for lunch anyway. I love it and thought it must be good for the baby and it would be easy to tell before eating if uncooked fish was "off"! Interestingly though neither of my daughters now eat fish!

I wish people would say which country is responsible for the traditions they are talking about. It doesn't make much sense without knowing that.

India - when entertaining, you do all your socialising and chatting before the meal. When the meal comes (usually later than in the UK), you eat, then leave soon after eating. The meal is like the signal of the end of the evening. Saves all the people outstaying their welcome, host yawning to try and signal they want people to go etc

No, we have wooden floors

Shouting HODI as you approach an open door, or a closed door with your hands full and can't knock. Equivalent of a doorbell in east African areas with no doors or doorbells. Very useful, we use it in our family

Considering all relatives your brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, even distant ones

Blessing children, I like this too, and saw it in India, when a child with a birthday goes around the school and gets a blessing from every teacher - lessons are interrupted, grievances and detentions are forgotten, because it is considered more important that the child is told how much they matter by every adult in their life. Of course in a big school, several children go around, and sometimes your lessons is interrupted twice a day, possibly by as much as 3 children a time - but it is still considered the most important part of the day

Burning aubergines in the flames on a gas stove, which I learnt in Turkey- lovely roast flavour

Not stressing about material possessions, treasuring the most precious things in life, friends, music, flushing toilets!

Bliss, the pregnant mothers family come to her house at 7 months, do a ceremony ( like a party) giving her colourful bangles, sarees, sweets and take her back to her mums house. Here she rests till she gives birth and rest for 3 months or so before she goes back to her own home.
There is ceremony for the newborn to mark the baby's first bath, naming ceremony, officially when the baby goes into its swinging cot.

I saw a thing on YouTube recently about South Korea, a new mum moved in to, well it seemed like a hotel for new mums. It was called a Sanhujoriwon.

Mum and baby ove in for a week or two or up to w weeks, babies are taken to the nursery and brought to mum when she wants for feeding and cuddles.

Meanwhile mum is fed a diet of 'restorative' food, receives advice on breastfeeding, education on looking after the baby, massage, spa treatments and generally rests.

This would be my worst nightmare!

FWIW my very lovely Austrian daughter in law says she has never heard of this.

It's not compulsory.

Watching families in Spain or Italy all chatting together, involving their elderly parents and being a close family, made me realise we should appreciate our family more, my daughter taught English in Spain and to the question who is your best friend? many in the class answered my mum, and no one in the class laughed and we are are talking about teenagers here, which I don't think would happen in the Uk. They also don't seem to need to get outragously drunk to have a good time either.

DS went to a multi-cultural school where the children were predominantly from south Asian cultures. For the seven years that he was there, I witnessed this many times as his friends had siblings. I was sooooo envious.

That was in reply to @Mavan1984

I used to live in Vietnam.

1. Fruit juice is food. I once offered my colleague a glass of orange juice and she said no thank you, as she wasn't hungry. This was a revelation to me!

1. How to make Vietnamese summer rolls. Delicious!

1. To clean my teeth after lunch. My Vietnamese colleagues all brought a toothbrush, toothpaste and a small towel with them to work and went to the bathroom to clean their teeth after eating. Such a good idea.

Greek and Turkish do it I know, but I saw a documentary about Russian nomadic people and spotted one of them doing it too.

If you sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you, then put a blanket over the bottom half of your legs. Then put the baby with their feet nearest you and their head against your feet, so they can see you. Then just move your feet (which are together) from side to side. The baby rocks and you can use your hands for other stuff! When the baby is asleep, move your legs apart slowly and the baby will stay on the blanket but on the floor now, and you can get up.

Really works. All babies prefer different rocking speeds so just do what your baby likes!

ChewbaccasMrs - That all sounds so lovely.

Since May I have been seeing a guy who comes from Guinea Bissau which he tells me is a very small country off the coast of West Africa.

I love hearing his stories about his country. He has a big and very supportive network of friends- in Rochdale. They all get together a lot and they are so friendly and welcoming I love it.

Portuguese is their language so im duolinging at the moment.

Someone from Frances, that I used to know, said that they ate Yorkshire pudding with squirty cream for pudding. I always wondered it this was a French thing, or just a quirky thing that just her family did.

• France not Frances!