Biggest cultural shock you have come across?

[hibbledobble]

What have you encountered while travelling that was your biggest cultural shock?

I'll go first: in Poland I saw families/extended families living 10+ in a 2 bedroom home. The concept of having a bedroom or even a bed to oneself is seemingly unheard of. Everyone sleeps in different beds each night, and beds are often shared. Having visitors in this set up is no problem either: everyone just rearranges. Water also came from Wells, lots of homes had no bathrooms. Ovens were these metal beasts that were plugged into the mains.

SGillit unfortunately many / most parts of the world are off limits if you don't want to be traumatized at either the casual neglect of animals or the downright barbaric cruelty.

I will never never go to China for this reason.

so after 5 attempts I actually had to order my water in an American accent just to make myself understood!!!

I've had to do that as well, I'm from London. I felt like a right idiot saying "Waaader". My neighbours across the street lived in the USA for 10 years so their children all speak US English (we live in a non-English speaking country just to clarify) She has these dolls that my DD adores, they are American girl dolls or something and every one has an all american type name, one is called Katie, my DD assumed it was Kaydee, until she wrote it when they were playing. My DD then asked "If someone in the USA is called Katie and someone else is called Kaydee, how can you tell which is which, do you have to ask them if their name is spelt with a T or a D?" I had to hold my face, and supressed a snort. She wasn't being rude, she was genuinely curious.

That's truly awful, astonished

Lalegue I agree. It's one thing if I can help in some way, e.g. I'm doing a trip to Thailand to help out at a very ethical sanctuary with no riding. But in some places there is just too much neglect/abuse and whereby it has become the norm, eating cats for example.

I have university friends who live in China and have invited me over several times but I just don't think the heartbreak would be worth it.

Great thread. Only halfway through but wanted to add mine:

Moving to the UK from Johannesburg and discovering the miracle of Royal Mail 1st class stamps. You send a letter and it arrives somewhere else the next day You may as well have told me it was delivered by the owls out of Harry Potter, I'd have believed it.

On a related note, the fact that my mail arrived to my flat, rather than my driving 20 minutes to a shopping mall to check my mailbox.

The size/cost of London housing. My first lodging was a single room at UCL, maybe 2m x 4m. It cost £100+ a week. I'd moved from my family home where I'd had my own large bedroom, bathroom, study and a swimming pool that I'd only had to share with the family dog.

The freedom to walk the streets in London, after getting used to driving anywhere. In the same vein, a broadly reliable public transport system - I could read books! While travelling!

Realising how much of a role class still plays in the UK, consciously or unconsciously.

The UK/London/some bits of London mentality of "Oxbridge uber alles". Still astonishes me.

From my DH: seeing 18 year olds in Israel (doing their army service) wandering around on public transport with large rifles.

Gillit But in some places there is just too much neglect/abuse and whereby it has become the norm, eating cats for example.

Erm... the only difference here is that we have some weird spychological rules about which animals are ok to treat barbarically.

I agree, BBC. My point was that I know when visiting some countries seeing animal abuse is inevitable and if I can help in some way, I will. But in some places, like China, its so far gone it would make little difference me going and rescuing a stray cat when there are cages filled with them for sale as food.

I know it's cowardly but I just couldn't cope with seeing that.

It's not just they will kill and eat dogs and cats for food, it's the utterly inhumane, sick, sadistic and barbaric way in which they do it that I have an issue with. The animal welfare standards in general are pretty appalling, but beating and torturing dogs and then boiling them alive because they believe that the adrenalin released through pain and fear immediately before death improves the flavour of the meat.

I mean seriously, what the actual fuck? What does that say about a culture/race of people, apart from a whole load of things I can't even write here because some snowflake will get it deleted?

(*psychological. Spychological is the science of spying, obvs )

I see what you mean, Gillit.

I loved it in Laos when the animals were just sort of wandering round the village. Connection with what you're eating, I guess. Seeing a cow butchered (didn't see the kill) though.... fuck that was staring mortality in the face.

Yes! If you want to eat cats/dogs, by all means go for it

But don't steal someone's pet (has been known) and don't torture the poor animal before killing it.

At least let it die a humane death

It's not just they will kill and eat dogs and cats for food, it's the utterly inhumane, sick, sadistic and barbaric way in which they do it that I have an issue with

I totally agree - even as a committed carnivore I see absolutely no need to torture a living creature when it's perfectly possible to organise a humane death for them

If I can offer another small point, when asking about the infamous dog eating in Vietnam I was told that, actually, it isn't all that widespread. Apparently, at least in restaurants, it's very expensive and seen as a treat reserved for special occasions

Not so much in Vietnam, no. Much more widespread in China.

But LaLegue, the conditions in which animals are farmed and killed for food in the US, for example, is often stomach-turningly cruel. After seeing it for the first time I truly understood the implications of 'factory farming', which I honestly believe is one of the cruellest and unnatural things that humans do.

I get your point about what such cruelty says about people, but it's common to humankind as a whole, not specific countries or races. Some places are just more upfront about it IMO.

In that case, ShoutOut, can I suggest that you never visit one of Delaware's chicken farms

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Shout I agree and I know that factory farming in all countries could do with vastly improving, but I'm sorry I don't think it's on a par with the sort of thing I described.

Puzzled' erm, why? I did visit a factory farm in the US, it's how I formed my opinion.

My DD then asked "If someone in the USA is called Katie and someone else is called Kaydee, how can you tell which is which, do you have to ask them if their name is spelt with a T or a D?" I had to hold my face, and supressed a snort. She wasn't being rude, she was genuinely curious.

That's hilarious and your DD has a very good point!

I did visit a factory farm in the US, it's how I formed my opinion

I see what you mean - in that case my point about the Delaware farms is perhaps a bit redundant

Ive mean to China probably 20 times and never seen or been presented with cat or dog to eat. My understanding is that it's restricted to certain places and certain festivals so easily avoided.

Good lord! I'm afraid I am a complete snowflake with this kind of stuff, I bawl by eyes out if I step on my cat's tail (accidentally of course), and just wouldn't cope with seeing it/being near it. I do support animal charities and donate to the Yulin rescues but I'm just not strong enough to actually see it up close. I think I might kill the people involved.

BBC is Laos relatively animal friendly then?

Luke Nguyen If you watch this guy's street food programmes you will see sights in Vietnam that will make your hair curl. A cooked dog's head on a street stall, snakes etc.

Yes I believe you are correct about it being restricted to certain places/festivals Cantsee but even the fact that it is allowed to go ahead at all turns my stomach and makes me have so little respect for the country and the culture, that they would turn a blind eye to such utter barbarity. If they are not prepared to outlaw it then there is something wrong.

It isn't just the Yulin dogs, there are other things I hear/read about China that just leave me feeling sickened. I really don't have any desire to go there at all.

So that's Vietnam and China ruled out for me!

I've had the water/"wadder" thing which is really fucking annoying when you're saying it how it's spelled and we don't have any problem understanding "wadder". So I don't get why that word is such a problem. How many things are you even going to be asking for in a restaurant? It begins with W and ends with "er"- narrow it down!

So that's Vietnam and China ruled out for me!

I'm afraid so ... also Thailand, Myanmar, Korea, Laos and most other countries in the far east in all likelihood

Moving further across, the whole of the Indian subcontinent will probably be out too, as will Turkey, the middle eastern nations, much of Greece and even our neighbour France

It's not looking very good is it ...

No Puzzle, it isn't

I've heard they treat a dolphin very well in Dingle, Ireland. Maybe I'll stick with holidaying there!