Questions you have about other nationalities!

[WatermelonWaveclub]

Just for fun. DD and I were just watching a video where Americans were asking questions about the UK. What are your questions (can be for any nationality from any nationality)? And please feel free to answer other people's questions!

I'll start with some questions for Americans:

Are your grocery bags really those ones without handles? They look really awkward to carry!

Why do you not have electric kettles?

In High school films the English teacher for example always gives them some homework to do by the next day and says 'see you tomorrow' - do you have the same classes every day? We just had English twice a week or something!

It depends - about a month or so after the terrorist bombing at the concert in Paris I visited Paris with an American family who are friends of mine (I'm British) - my French is fairly fluent. Half the cafe/bar owners didn't speak English or didn't try to speak English but were overly friendly (I've had Parisiennes be downright rude before) to try to gain our custom.

I find generally in France, the French like it if you try, just a little bit, to speak some French. They don't like it if you don't make an effort. If you're no good at speaking French, they may/may not speak English to you, depending on their generation/when/if they were taught English.

In Sweden they love it when people try to speak the language but they also love showing off their English skills. English speakers often find it harder to learn Swedish than others because every speaks English with them, even if they're speaking Swedish.

It is the expectation that everybody should speak English. Waiters, people in shops, fellow students. You can search on MN people looking for jobs abroad without having to bother with the language of the country they want to move to.
It is considered rude, but you won't be told so, of course.
Worst experience was a tourist berating a man behind a counter who spoke German, Turkish, Asserbaidshani and Arab but no English.

My mum used to always make curry with banana and dessicated coconut on the side. She also did some cucumber in plain yogurt.

@GonnaGetGoingReturns @ScottishStar

Yes, agree with what you’ve said. I have spent plenty of time in small villages in the Alps where no one is looking very stylish or fashionable at all but dressed purely for the weather/practicality. Agree re L.Elerc and also Monoprix which seemed to be the main store of choice in Evian (they did have some lovely kids’ clothes though- it was nice to get away from the overt pink/unicorn/princesses vs blue/dinosaurs/trucks themes that we had in the UK. I don’t remember seeing much of that in French clothes shops though of course that may have changed since I spent time there).

I’d see some smarter people in Evian and over the lake in Lausanne. In particular, some of the locals seemed to dress quite smartly for promenading alongside the lake on weekends. But most of the women I saw in Evian were elderly ladies in fur coats with very small dogs in pushchairs 😂

The less time your mouth is open = less chance of flies getting in (and there are always enormously greater numbers of flies in hot weather)

Same in Finland, makes it hard for me to improve my Finnish because everyone switches to English pretty quickly (or in older generations, German. Nevermind the fact I don't speak German, they just decide its closer to English than Finnish)

My ex-DH is Dutch - it always amuses me when the English think they can all speak perfect English. Many of his friends could barely string an English sentence together and his family who could all speak English fairly well, couldn't talk about anything beyond the superficial in English, so they all used to just speak Dutch mostly. The only exception was DH's sister who grew up visiting us in England a lot and who works in a job where she has to speak English all the time.

1. It's not posh I think more a bit of a jolly way to speak! I don't know if they know they are doing it.

1. I think sometimes people do say that when they don't mean it. Or just are very busy and don't get round to setting a date. You should just text them - can you make this date?

1. Friends sometimes call each other 'hun' - it is short for honey which is an endearment. However, it is common for people to say (where I live anyway) 'are you alright, hun?' as a light-hearted way to say someone is doing something a bit strange. Also on Mumsnet 'huns' can refer to people who use Netmums (Nethuns) as a derogatory comment.

1. Bloody is fine and very mild swearing.

1. We don't eat a roast very often, but when we do it isn't 'the full works' like you have at Christmas. For example we never normally eat stuffing, pigs in blankets, all the sauces (cranberry, bread etc). We don't have as large a selection of vegetables and they are not cooked in the fancy ways you do at Christmas. Christmas pudding and brandy butter are only ever eaten at Christmas.

1. Alcohol keeps you warm and you want to show off your fancy outfit not a coat.

1. Around here people always kiss and hug so not sure about it being a sin?

There was a quest about long narrow halls and nowhere specifically to leave shoes...
Lots of houses in UK date from Victorian times when houses were designed with the narrow hallway, lots have been reconfigured but I still have mine and like it.
I have a rack for shoes in my conservatory but usually they end up left in the hall way, I try to line them up neatly!!

Several pages back it was mentioned that Japanese houses are pulled down and replaced after 30 years.
Not sure where that claim is coming from, but definitely not true. When we lived there, our apartment was about 60 years old. Had Japanese friends living in places that were built in the 1930s, and so on. Some parts within homes do need to be replaced fairly regularly - e.g. tatami mats wear out and need to be replaced, but they are a standardized size laid over wooden floorboards. You just pull them up and put new ones down.

@PearTree120
Your question made me laugh because we’re English and have a roast about 3 times a year whereas we have some friends who live on a Scottish island who say that have a roast every Sunday 🤣

Kiwis…..

do your have dangerous spiders like Australia does?

or the ghastly Huntsman spiders?

I realise the climate is different and it’s never mentioned so I’m guessing not.

We do have a couple of venomous spiders, but being bitten by one is very rare, and we also have white tails. Non Huntsman spiders though.

Does every American household have one of these? Whenever anyone on a sitcom bumps their head they use one immediately!

I bought one but never use it. You have to fill it with ice cubes and nobody every refills the ice cube tray.

I use a packet of frozen corn or peas instead for the occasions when I stand up from the dishwasher and crack my head on an open cupboard door.

Do all American homes have a hose like tap in their kitchen sink? All sitcoms seem to have them.

I have friends who worked in both Holland and Germany. You can indeed work away as an monoglot English speaker. But you'll do way better if you can speak the native language.

I so envy people who are multilingual! Another friend teaches English in Spain. But I think she had a headstart growing up in a bilingual household - dad English , mum German.

Yes pretty much. They are the handiest things for cleaning out the sink etc. I've no idea why they haven't become popular in Uk and Ireland.

I had to look up that icepack thing. I've never seen one in the US.

Every house I have lived in in the US has had some type of sprayer as part of the sink faucet set up.

That ice pack is a bit old fashioned. We have a pack with little bead like things that can be put in the freezer.

When we had a German exchange student staying with us, he found one of the biggest culture differences was the Brits thanking everyone.

DD got off the bus and thanked the driver. He said in Germany they would think you were crazy!

I noticed in the US, they say 'Can you get me a beer?' in bars rather than 'A beer please.'

What do other nations do and are we crazy for using please and thank yous so much?

Do other nations have convenience stores or the corner shop culture like the UK?

I remember walking for miles in Cairns, Australia and only finding a chandlers when we wanted a bottle of water and some crisps.

I love the fact that we have a village shop.

Working on a US summer camp, some lost in translation moments:

jumper= dungerees in US
napkin= Sanitary towel
swimming costume= this had the kids falling about as they thought it was fancy dress (swim suit)

@diian
In Berlin we have the Späti
In the Ruhr-area we have 'Bude' (Sorry no English link available).
The corner shop is called "Tante Emma Laden" (Aunt Emma shop)

Jumper is what we call a sweater. We call dungarees, overalls. We call sanitary towels, pads and napkins are the same as serviettes, you use to wipe your face when you eat dinner.

A jumper in the US is a sleeveless dress worn over a blouse or shirt.