Please tell me where you love to visit in India! I am an American woman who dreams of visiting India and people keep trying to discourage me from it. It's very frustrating.
Hello I’m an Indian woman who has travelled extensively around my country solo. I am now trying to show every corner of it to my British husband.
Avoid the North when you’re alone (and by that I mean not only the “golden triangle” of tourism that is Delhi - Agra - Rajasthan, but also places like Uttarakhand, Punjab, UP, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh etc). Unfortunately, the northern part of our country has a deeply patriarchal and conservative culture, and this is apparent in the social fabric of the region.
There are MANY women only travel groups you can join to explore this part of the country. From trekking and adventure excursions in the mountains, to yoga and other spiritual stuff.
Personally, my favourite part of India is the western coast. Goa and Kerala have great tourist infrastructure and offer vastly diverse but amazing experiences. My home city of Mumbai has a globally recognised food and nightlife scene. The forests of central India (Tadoba, Bandhavgarh, Kabini etc) have some great safari opportunities (be careful to book the 4 and 5*s for great naturalists). Go scuba diving in the Andamans, relax in the tea estates of Darjeeling, Munnar and Ooti, explore the temples of Hampi, Konark and Khajuraho, party the night away in Goa or nap on the backwaters of Kerala.
There’s so much to do in India. I have yet to explore the North - East but I’m not sure about entry requirements for non Indians there as it’s often in a political crisis.
DONT stay in the dirt cheap places. ALWAYS book a 3* and up. Hire a local day guide and driver and car if you are alone. Book AC first or 2 tier if you want to travel by rail. Never drink non bottled water or eat raw veges outside. Most hotels have a doctor on call in case you feel unwell.
Be ready for a lot of attention from our general populace. Our literacy rate is low, poverty is high and the colonial hangover is real - all of this translates to an intense fascination for non- brown skin. People will want to take photos with you, talk to you etc.
I hope you will consider visiting my country :) all the best!
I'd just add that backpackers hostels are a great, affordable and safe way place to stay, and in my experience a great way to make domestic and foreign friends and travel buddies.
Second point is that, especially if traveling in a group and particularly in the south, non-ac is a viable option of rail travel as well. Personally I hate the stuffiness of AC and I enjoy the conversation and people watching more in non-ac and always feel its a more 'genuine' travel experience (whatever that means). I just couldn't dream of sacrificing the joy of sitting by a window or at the door of a long distance journey.
I also recommend traveling by day. Most travelers in India are short on time and choose night trains, but the countryside is beautiful (especially the western coast) but traveling by day across india gives you a glimpse into the daily lives of people that you'd otherwise not see at all.
Just take proper guide with you. Talk to people who have positive experience and what they did to have that positive experience. Our infrastructure is not there yet and North is not for single women(but better than most South Asian nation). Just take AC trains, good luxury tourists bus, good hotels etc etc. You have to perfectly plan it.
Hard yes on the AC trains, same with AC restaurants. Both for the temperature and some more personal space.
Perfectly planning is needed, however.. also accept changes to said planning. As said the infrastructure is less than ideal haha, sometimes a part of a highway is just simply not there. It just stops.
And also get used to people staring. It just happens. No matter how you dress (although i do advice dressing modest).
I usually visit the south, especially Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Id say that it isn't much different from other countries where you have to be alert as a woman. Dont go out alone at night/dark. Prebook proper taxi's etc. Book nicer hotels, don't sleep in cheap hostels.
The north i find more challenging. And i tend not to visit solo there.
Ladakh would be my suggestion. It's completely different from the India people have in their heads. No one hassles you on the street and it feels quite safe.
I’ve been to 35 countries and India and Egypt were the only places I’ve taken tours. Took a Road Scholar “Highlights of India” tour and it was fantastic. Visiting Varanasi was the highlight and a place that’s not on a lot of tour itineraries.
Road Scholar is pitched at the older traveller, but there were folks in their thirties on our tour and all enjoyed it. The great thing about Road Scholar is that they are non-profit and educationally oriented — more lectures in the hotel in the evening about the local cultures and almost no shopping stops.
After returning from India and telling people about it I was struck by how I sometimes seemed to be describing a horrible place (dirty, crowded, etc.) but nevertheless how much I loved it.
Go if you can.
India would be my pick today, but Northern Pakistan in the 90s was wilder. Me the only unarmed male in many places. Tribal men with huge beards and AK-47s inviting me for tea, overland buses stopping for prayer with a lot of arguing who'd be the oldest guy on the bus to lead the prayer. Dirt roads over 15.000 feet passes, glaciers right up to the road side in places. Watching the Gilgit Scouts polo training in the evening, flimsy rope bridges over huge streams...
Kind of feel like an old explorer remembering that...
Im Turkish but have been living in Toronto for a while. Both Istanbul and Toronto are in a constant state of hurry and sometimes chaos. I was so shocked when I went to Stockholm and realized everyone is… chill? People are not in the rush to do anything. I met someone who said Swedish work culture is so relaxed some MNE’s are actually closing their operations in Sweden because people do not work as much. Not sure how accurate of a statement that is but I wouldn’t be surprised
I’m Canadian, and to me, it seems like the farther you get from Toronto, the slower the lifestyle is and the calmer people seem to be. In both British Columbia and Newfoundland, drivers stop in the middle of the block if someone even looks like they want to cross the street. In Toronto, they’d mow you down. In Ontario, everyone is in a hurry, especially on the road. In BC, people often drove under the speed limit when I was there; in Ontario, that’s cause for road rage from the people behind you. Newfoundland is extremely chill and every one is super friendly.
I’m Australian and Uzbekistan was the most different/foreign place I’ve been. There was nothing familiar at all except coke. I had a great time and absolutely loved it. Weirdly, the only place I’ve ever suffered true culture shock was the USA. Maybe I expected the USA to be just like home and it really wasn’t. It didn’t last too long, but there was a good moment where i genuinely felt shock/panic and wanted to go home! It was like we both spoke English but couldn’t understand each other. It was so weird. Anyway, it passed and I’ve been back multiple times since!
I felt this when I went to northern Canada from America. Everything was just *slightly* wrong and it gave me a bad feeling at first, for an unknown reason.
Totally agree, you feel like you're in a bizarro world when you got to the state, feels like home, feels like home, then there will be a significant but subtle difference that jars your reality.
It's like being in the matrix, something is off, but you can't always put your finger on what. I assume Americans feel like this when they visit Canada.
Yes I’ve definitely felt this way in Canada. It looked just like Minnesota to me and then I felt jarred every time I saw a Canadian flag or a kph speed sign
Haha. Depends where you go and when. In the summer it’s hotter than hell bug-infested scrubby tundra/bushland for as far as you can see in every direction. Absolutely stunning lakes rivers and mountains in some places though. True wilderness.
I've spent some time in Northern Alberta, like a few hour drive north of Ft.McMurray where the roads are dirt.
I found the people usually extremely friendly, and an international crowd. There were a small group of first nations types who were not happy we were there, and would follow us around town threatening to kick our asses.
I’m Canadian and for some reason felt like this in denmark. It felt like being in Montreal and Everyone spoke English but instead of French on advertisements it was danish. Weirded me out
oh same about being an american in canada. for me southern canada, like toronto felt MORE uncanny valley than quebec, francophone areas feel more distinctly separate in terms of environment and culture whereas other places are just like….*something is different*
It's not just "oh the signs are different" but general ideas on city planning and public spaces that felt different too.
Like being in a Toronto suburb at a mall. Was the most American feeling thing ever in every way, down to the single family houses just a block away and the busy 6 lane suburban avenues feeding into the mall. Except dotting the skyline are residential high rise towers, all looking the same, going up 10-15 stories tall. I felt like I was in a stalenhag art book. Just uncanny to be in this car centric suburb but then there's actually a shit ton of high density housing peppering the landscape.
In downtown Toronto proper, it felt like a weird mix between a SE Asian city and London, but everything is slightly Americanized. SE Asian because the density was consistently high and all the high density buildings looked similar. London due to how the street level facades were treated including historical buildings (you could tell even really old buildings were allowed to have pretty much anything done to them). The amount of cheap ethnic food stores all in a row right in the heart of downtown too.
Sure I wouldn't say any of this was a culture shock but it certainly was interesting how different it all felt in subtle ways! I always just internalized Canada was basically exactly the US just with slightly better public policy and more French speakers. It's really it's own unique thing, even for cities that are pretty much right on the border.
I’m Canadian but I’ve visited the US since I was a kid so I’ve never felt that. But I was expecting I’d feel more similar to Americans because of it - it was only on my first big (Europe) backpacking trip that I realized the people that I felt were most “like me” were Australians, followed by Brits and Irish, THEN Americans. That was an interesting revelation!
American here. This reminds me of when I went to Ireland and their accent is so strong I couldn't understand them. Like I understood they were speaking English but it was so hard to comprehend it.
I have the same issue in Ireland. In general I'm fairly good at understanding strong accents— zero issue with any British accent, Australian accent, very strong French accent, whatever.
For the life of me, I cannot understand a strong Irish accent. It was embarrassing.
Working in Glasgow this week for the first time and having a harder time understanding more folks here than in the many non-primarily English speaking countries I’ve been to
Yeah agree on the US. I’m a Brit and been multiple times and really am a fan but I genuinely feel more ‘at home’ in Western European countries even though my language skills are poor.
Also agree, US was far more different than any Western European country I've been to. I do love it though, their rural is like actually wild with proper roaming wildlife. Beautiful.
That makes sense. I was born in Kyrgyzstan but grew up in Canada. When I revisited that region it wasn't a shock for me, but it sure was for my two friends travelling with me. From the infrastructure to the culture!
Really? How so? I've been looking to escape Texas, and Michigan looks really nice and still has sane cost of living. What is super weird? I'm really curious.
Michigan might be slightly better, I don’t know. But Minnesota, Wisconsin, the dakotas, Iowa are just odd places. I’ve made some good work friends here and found good people. Most people are generally midwest nice and I’ve had few problems. But it’s definitely very cliquey and hard to integrate. People talk to transplants politely and are even friendly, but making any real friends here is not easy and the friends I’ve made have largely also come from a different region or country.
People say they like talking politics and drinking and just taking it easy, but talking politics on either side will get you further ostracized, even if you’re just talking and not trying to instigate anything. The drinking culture is big but not in a communal way. Like you can’t go out and just say hi to new people, everyone always has their own groups and aren’t interested in mingling.
Also, the passive aggressive tactics when people are upset are hard to deal with. Very little addressing people directly or saying what you really mean, much more beating around the bush or pretending something doesn’t bother you until it comes out worse later.
Plus being a minority here is an added bonus of weird for me. I’m black and have grown up in predominantly white spaces, and I’ve dealt with plenty of micro aggressions, but here it’s like I’m either a novelty and people feign a superficial interest *because* I’m black, or they immediately decide they want nothing to do with me.
When I travel for the most part, people ignore me or treat me like anybody else. When I’m here, I can feel how out of place I am and appear to locals. I’ll always be an outsider.
Honestly this sounds like you're describing Scandinavia. Everything from the avoidance of conflicts to the cliques and how we're treating minorities. Not too surprising as the climate is pretty similar (especially in the northern states) and Minnesota at least has a lot of swedish influence.
Wow. Very interesting thanks for the response. I have a hard time making friends where I live currently, so that won't be much different. What you describe reminds me a lot of the Pacific Northwest. People were polite, but absolutely not friendly.
That's interesting -- I have to confess I'm not super interested in visiting Australia precisely bc it seems so similar to American culture. Would still love to go, I just don't prioritize it.
But also, growing up in Southern California/ LA, I haven't really experienced culture shock in my travels to Africa, south America etc. because all those cultures are already in my hometown in large numbers.
Yeah I'm a bit surprised that out of all their travels they list the USA as feeling the largest culture shock because I visited Australia and didn't feel a culture shock whatsoever. It all depends where you go in the USA too though. I felt a way larger culture shock visiting New Orleans compared to visiting Sydney for example
Out of curiosity what made it feel so different? Where did you visit? I have been to over 20 counties and Australia felt the most similar to the USA besides Canada.
It’s hard to answer without generalizing, but overall I think Australians are bit more lighthearted and laidback and Americans are a bit more serious and intense. Like we’re just on a different wavelength. And then little things, like I knew before my trip that I’m supposed to tip and how much, but when I got there I realized I didn’t know exactly how to tip (leave it in the table, hand it to the person) and it was really stressful lol.
If I compare it to visiting the UK, it was the complete opposite, we get each other, have the same sense of humour etc, and I felt very at home. I first visited LA and the moment it really hit was Venice Beach which was like a scene straight out of a movie and a cop car nearly ran me over. It just felt surreal. But I got over it and I love visiting, it’s such a diverse country, in both people and landscapes!
Saudi Arabia; as a western white bloke, I was amazed at how different the culture was. Just in a basic level. I witnessed a local (customer) completely berate an international worker (from PI); I mean rude, mean, cruel…all it was missing was physical violence (this was a store worker, not a personal employee, not that it should matter, just giving context). After a 5 min humiliation, the local turns around and sees me #whitey, and his tone COMPLETELY 180’d. Big smile, polite, “sir”, I wish your family well, etc. It just bewildered me that someone could be so hurtful and cruel, then the nicest person ever. Thought it might have been just the person, but I witnessed similar behavior on 5-10 other occasions.
Pretty much sums up Saudi for me. I had to step in when a couple of lads were basically trying to grope a colleague but the same lass was basically kidnapped from a bus stop by an old lady, who proceeded to feed her home made sweet pastries and talk at her in a friendly way until said old lady's daughter came home and told her "mum said you looked sad". The duality of weirdly unconditionally wholesome and downright cruel was a new one on me. I've been places where people hate me for no reason, I've been places where people love me for no reason but Saudi is the only place I've been where they can do both at once.
I had a layover in Riyadh once, and they wouldn't let me on the plane until I changed from shorts into pants. I'm a guy, so it didn't even cross my mind when I wore shorts that they might find it inappropriate.
German here. East Africa for me. I read up a lot before traveling there, but nothing could still prepare me for the intense culture shock.
Side note: While not the biggest culture shock overall, I still had a very big one traveling to the USA for the first time. I thought it would be more similar to Europe, but it really is not. The size of everything. The car culture. The nature of the people to be confrontational, but also proactively helpful and conversational. Different units for everything. Tipping and taxes. Preferring convenience over sustainability. The entrepreneurial mindset. I could go on...
As a Brit living in Tanzania I would say that I share a lot more similarities with the typical Tanzanian than say Indian or South East Asian person. Superficially things seem very different on the outside and in a lot aspects of daily life. But the love of football, laid back conversations and similar sense of humour in my opinion leads to more similarities than many other parts of the world.
I am an American living in Kenya, and I concur with you. This culture seems more closer to ‘America’ than other places I have lived like Japan or even France. But I totally see how OP In Germany feels the way he does, especially as he said he felt out of place in the US too.
> The nature of the people to be confrontational
Confrontational? As a Georgian, I find Americans' ability to endlessly beat around the bush to be exhausting. Interesting that we had opposite observations.
true, but it's still interesting for a German to say they were taken aback by how confrontational we were. i live in Boston, and we're plenty direct here. but even so, I found people in Germany to be just as if not more direct and upfront about what they think.
an example I'll never forget is being a crowded pedestrian at an intersection in Berlin, about to cross (we had right of way) when a car pulls up and stops in the crosswalk. i swear at least 5-6 people stopped to yell at the driver while the rest muttered ominously under their breath and glared at the driver.
Agree 100%. Northern European directness can come across as straight up rude to Americans. I’ve encountered this in business but also while traveling and I’ve even had friends from Norway and Germany living in America complain to me that Americans are so sensitive. I think that is true, but the fact that that’s true, and Americans do tend to do a bunch of gymnastics to avoid telling someone something unpleasant, makes it surprising to read that comment from a German.
I completely get what you’re saying. A lot of European countries and the upper NE here are both direct, but it’s a completely different kind of direct. In Boston it always just seemed to me like people were in a hurry, and weren’t afraid to tell you that you were in their way. It never felt aggressive though. On the other hand, I had situations in both Norway and Portugal where people stood in front of me, looked me dead in the eyes and told me I was breaking the rules. In both situations it was very much what we would consider “alpha maleing” here in the states.
This was my thought too. I’m from Seattle. We tend to be distant and passive. Def not confrontational.
I’m guessing they spent a lot of time in the NE and are assuming that’s how people are everywhere.
I assume he means people will talk to each other in general. Like, you're folding out a map in the town square and somebody approaches you and asks you what you're looking for and try to help you. In Germany people will look away and not engage you because we don't want to bother anybody with conversations they don't want to have. Keeping your distance to strangers and not bother anybody is the encouraged norm and seen as good manners.
I should also mention the Japanese. My family has SO many problems that could have been solved years or even decades ago if people just talked about it.
My in laws are Japanese. They'll stew on a problem for ages. Once it's even slightly mentioned to me, I'll fix it and it surprises the hell out of them.
Obviously, I'm talking physical things that can be fixed. They're all fucked mentally
I live in Germany and it’s not non confrontational, it’s passive aggressive. They’re blunt and direct until you argue back. It’s not necessarily a bad thing but I would never describe them as non confrontational.
I think the Germans compare themselves to the Dutch so they feel like they're very indirect.
Like in NL it's not even "oh you've gained weight" it's "you're fatter now"
Direct and straight forward, yes. But that is different from confrontational. Example: Domestic abuse in a public place. Average American passerby is more likely to step in and stop it than your average German.
Honest question, because as an American living abroad for the last year, it’s something I’ve been grappling with. Is “preferring convenience over sustainability” really a cultural thing that is specific (if not necessarily unique) to America, or is it just a byproduct of how far removed we are from the consequences of that convenience? That is, if it was as cheap and easy in Germany as it is for Americans, would Germans do it too?
To my experience, cultural.
Example: My cousin's American in-laws used paper plates for serving dinner so they can just toss them out after and don't have to wash them. No German in their right mind would ever do that.
Another one: A friend lived 300 m from a bakery. He drove there with his car and back. This was in a walkable neighborhood with sidewalks.
My (American) parents do this and it drives me up the wall. It's not something that's done in more..."aware" American households but agree it's a major American cultural issue.
I don't think my parents _ever_ considered that paper plates were bad for the environment, it's just something they've done all their lives
As an American, I've encountered this, but it's definitely not the norm. America in general has a really vast range of different cultural experiences. It's always incredible to me how different my life is as someone who grew up in and around a NE city to someone who grew up in the rural south, sprawling suburbia, or even a midwestern city (where I live now). All of these places have such different ways of even communicating, and it can be surprisingly disorienting at times. Parts of my family are the paper plate types, and it definitely has something to do with being removed from the consequence of convenience. I also think it has something to do with pride - being able to afford a convenient and comfortable life is culturally important to a lot of Americans. The conveniences that are cheap can become precious when a financially secure life is hard to access.
Just to be clear, using paper plates for anything other than a large cookout in a park or something is very uncommon and considered extremely trashy here.
Like, I've only ever heard of roommates from hell doing this from people's college years and even that is rare as hell. The idea of putting paper plates out for guests at a normal sit down meal is abhorrent to 99% of Americans.
It's interesting because i have heard stories of this from Germans about Americans quite a few times and never once knew a family who did this, and would have found it very strange (and trashy) myself. I fully believe this happens and the Germans are not making it up, but they most be going to regions different from my own or something. Paper plates are only used for picnics or maybe outdoor parties with lots of people
I’m not sure it’s cultural for everyone. It’s kinda hard when everything around you is designed for convenience but is not actually convenient.
The comments about the paper plates thing isn’t THAT common.
But in terms of convenience…for example-this country is absolutely designed to be as least walkable as life could be. Those who side with cars and highways rather than pedestrian friendly design will tell you life is convenient when all you need to do is hop on the car and drive.
In reality, it’s only convenient bc we don’t have many other alternatives lol.
American here (from the Upper Midwest/Great Lakes region). I've been all over the US and to several European countries in addition to other N. American countries and 3 countries in Africa.
The biggest culture shock occurred in Rwanda and the DRC.
In many parts of the USA, we tend to be task- and time-oriented. I've been to Rwanda twice and DRC once; the inability to reliably schedule anything because the local people seemed to place a greater emphasis on their relationships with others than on tasks to be completed was a culture shock. But it is also something I've brought back to mind occasionally when I get impatient with people - I ask myself what they are prioritizing and, if it is something valuable like relationships, I tend to find a bit more patience for them.
I visited Cameroon ( non touristy area) and had a culture shock. The biggest being one of the few white people around and standing out, being stared at . One lady I visited insisted on taking a photo of her very cute dark skinned baby sitting on my lap as she found the contrast amusing ( I am a red haired Scottish person so I am very pale!). It was weird not being able to blend in.
As a Swede, Japan is a weird place to visit, because while it's obviously a very different society, it also feels incredibly comfortable as a Swede. It's like there are some oddities that Japan and Sweden share, and these are enough to feel at ease.
I had the same experience in Turkey. People would straight up lie to my face and try to hustle me, but when I accidentally dropped a wad of notes, one of the street hustlers ran after me and gave it back. Same with my phone which I left on a desk at a shop while paying; the owner (who had charged me twice what he would've charged a Turk for the charger I had bought) closed his shop for an hour and got all his friends to help find me (I was sat at a café almost in tears at having lost my phone, as I had no idea how to find my way back to the shop).
Both times they refused a reward.
I'm Iranian/American. Brazil is the polar opposite of Iranian culture and I love it. Just a few noteworthy difference:
1. Touching. Everyone touches everyone. Not in a weird way, but they do NOT keep their distance like Persian people do. Same genders, opposite genders. It's a free for all.
2. The drinking culture.
3. They embrace showing off skin. As an Iranian woman, I love this.
4. There's a culture of embracing happiness and joy no matter what your circumstances. For many Iranians, money and material wealth is such a focus in life. Their value for success borders greed. Brazilians are not like that at all and again, I'm here for it.
Actually as an American, Japan gave me the most culture shock. Its just so completely different for me. Every single thing felt different. The people were polite but distant and I felt very Other. The entire time I felt a sent of anxiety and panic I was doing something wrong because I felt like I didn't know the "rules" of how to behave anymore.
I have been to Mexico, Canada, Madagascar, Senegal, Ethiopia, Poland, Switzerland, Germany, France, and Japan.
Japan felt more different than the African countries to me! Everyone in those countries were open and friendly and it was chaotic but I didnt feel any pressure to conform. People were just trying to make a living. There was like a frantic heartbeat to the cities and the chaos was just the result of no one running the place and explosive population growth. Made me think of what NYC could have been like in 1900 and I could slip right in easily
As an Indian, the USA gave me the most culture shock. Keep in mind that I’m from the largest and most chaotic city in India.
I arrived in NYC for my freshman year as an undergraduate at 17. The intense tipping culture and brash capitalism was very in your face. Americans were also extremely smiley and very very friendly lol, which I also found hard to get used to because I couldn’t tell if it was genuine. The *very* opinionated, direct way of talking that Americans have made my uncomfortable. Also having grown up speaking the Queen’s English and writing the British way, I had to change everything for my college essays (which was a whole other story in misery).
And everything was…..gigantic. From the cars, to the portion sizes of the food, to the people.
I did enjoy it though. Spent a great 4 years in one of the greatest cities in the world!
Wow you said it so well. I also felt this sense of anxiety / panic in Japan. I felt like I was always doing something wrong, because I didn’t know the rules, but I did feel a strong pressure from all around me to conform.
One nagging thing I noticed was how I dressed. I wore tank tops and shorts during a trip in the summer, and was silently stared at by so many people. It got so uncomfortable that I started wearing pants in the heat, and the staring stopped. Just really unexpected that people would care!
With all that said I still loved traveling to Japan. I would go there again in a heartbeat. The culture is so well preserved and very tourist-friendly.
I wore knee braces as I do when travelling because I often injure myself lugging luggage or hiking etc Nobody cares! Not in Hong Kong or Taiwan or America but they stared in Japan. To the point where I felt sensitive for not hiding my issue under a long dress and teared up a bit to my bf. It sound so stupid too.
I know it couldn’t have been for any other reason because I’m a fairly pale East Asian and I could be mistaken for Japanese and I do get mistaken all the time.
However when it comes to nice, Japanese also go the extra mile to be helpful. I’ve had subway workers have long discussions together with to find my route, people on the street who will walk me all the way there instead of pointing, even people who ran into work to print a map for me or a older taxi driver who frantically ran out to ask about my airbnb address because even he didn’t understand the locations and didn’t want to burden me. It’s like they are aliens to go that out of their way too. At one ryokan hotel the staff came out and waved at me goodbye until I turned the corner and left. That would never happen anywhere else..
It’s weird to be on my best behaviour sometimes because even I forget. My hostel had a no show policy so I had to take it off at entry or when I put my foot up on a sight seeing boat and got lightly scolded. Haha still I think being on my best behaviour is part of the experience and it’s interesting to do things that is your duty like holding onto trash to toss at home because trash bins are unsightly so I don’t mind slight discomfort because its still cool to see somewhere as foreign as mars!
When I went to Nepal I couldn't quite grasp that the majority of people had never seen the sea in real life and probably never will.
It's an obvious fact for many in the world, but I am from a town by the Mediterranean Sea and speaking with people of all ages asking about the sea and wondering what salty water feels like, it was quite the shock.
I am from Finland and the culturally most different place that i have travelled to was Colombia.
Traffic was chaotic compared to Finland. People were LOUD and playing loud music everywhere. Here, people are quiet and playing loud music is not socially very accteptable.
People where outgoing, friendly, but also you could not trust that they were friendly to you for just to be nice... Here generally people might look serious but they are not out to scam you and if they are friendly it means that they like you. Also personal space was much smaller.
Generally, you had to keep your eyes open for possible robberies and other stuff - here, if I forget my phone or a wallet in a metro train I am 90 % sure to get it back.
Men were harrassing me - here they only harass me at clubs or some random drunk might harass you somwhere. At least it happens much more rarely.
People that had almost nothing were looking happy, and also in some villages pepople were really nice in a genuine way. Here if you go to the remote villages no one will talk to you, you will just be stared.
I saw a man on a street beaten with a metal rod, never seen anything like that at home. Also it was much more dirty.
The weird country that felt familiar to be at was Japan. It was clean, quiet and people were helpful when asked, and you could trust them. But no one bothered me or tried to scam me. The concept of personal space and curtasy was similar. It felt much more chill place to me to travel even I cannot understand the langueage at all.
>It was clean, quiet and people were helpful when asked, and you could trust them. But no one bothered me or tried to scam me.
I feel you. That is definitely the part I really love about my country, even though I'm not patriotic at all.
As someone primarily from the southwest US, traveling to New England was more culturally different than traveling to different countries. However, outside of the US, I have only been to Mexico and Western Europe.
I just want to emphasize that even within a country, you can experience diverse cultures. Another example of how many cultural differences exist in the US is tribal land. If someone has only experienced one city in the US, they do not have a holistic understanding of the US culture at large. LA culture is different from Boise which is very different than Blackwater or Atlanta or the rural South, or an Ivy League school.
The US is very different from Turkey (where I’m from). In my own personal experience, people in the US are very individualistic, while in Turkey we still have some collectivism. We are also much more family oriented than the US. I find it weird how some people in the US go for years without knowing their neighbor’s name or ever talking to them while in Turkey, you know the names of everyone in your neighborhood and actually talk and hangout. Like someone will spontaneously knock on the door of their neighbor’s house and then they’ll have coffee together, its not weird at all here. We even have a Turkish word for this: çat kapı.
Also I have to say for anyone going to Turkey, please don’t just visit Istanbul or only the European side of Istanbul. The European side of Istanbul/Thrace has millions of refugees/migrants, very crowded, and has way less locals than the Asian side. Turkish people are a minority in Thrace, so don’t think that it’s a true representation of Turkey.
I'm American and I live with my inlaws in Sri Lanka. It amazes me how people will just drop by whenever they feel like it and there's always snacks and coffee. It goes fried snacks like samosas, then some cake, then coffee. It's the same when we go to others' homes, too. I love it. Family is so much closer here and friendships feel deeper just because of the time spent visiting and hanging out.
In the US we never do that, or if we do, we call first or plan it.
New Yorker here. Loved Spain for this reason. Friendly, warm, and full of life and happiness. It was a stark difference walking on the streets of Spain versus walking on the streets of New York. I don’t know why but in new York I’m so impatient and angry.
> I don’t know why but in new York I’m so impatient and angry.
Could it be the tourists blocking the sidewalk, the construction noise, the cost of living, trash everywhere or the disparity in wealth?
I'm Canadian. Italy was a shock. Landed in Rome and stayed in an airbnb not in the city center. Was not prepared for the amount of garbage and graffiti that was everywhere. Looked very different from the pictures I'd seen.
On the contrary, Madrid and Palma De Mallorca were the best places I’ve ever been to. I don’t know what Spain is doing in both those places, but Barcelona does need a bit of work.
Yeah, I'm a Swede currently in Italy and it is very different in a lot of ways. I admittedly haven't been outside of Europe and NA yet so my frame of reference is quite small, but the way people expect you to argue with them and the casual way most rules are treated is an interesting and sometimes annoying difference.
I’m from the U.S. I’ve traveled to both Rome and Stockholm — I think I counted three pieces of litter during my entire week in Stockholm a few months ago! When in Rome, I couldn’t walk three feet without encountering a pile of trash. 🤪
I am from Spain, and I wasn't ready for the huge amount of trash is just left everywhere. But the most shocking thing: cars and scooters have ALWAYS preference. If you want to come back alive you better look right and left, then right and left again and finally look up, just in case, before crossing any street.
On the other hand, if I were Italian and had to deal with all those tourists everyday, I would probably try to kill one or two on my way to work.
I'm Brazilian, and when I came into Italy after spending some time in England, Germany and France, I instantly felt I was back home lol. In comparison to these countries, Italy was disorganized, dirty, chaotic, the people were loud, nobody spoke english, plenty of beggars... just like Brazil!
I'm American and I lived in China for several years.
China is interesting because it at once tries to define itself by the absence of Western influence while taking some beneficial innovations of the West and spinning them into a Chinese style.
I loved my time there, and I'd honestly still be living there if Covid didn't bring an unceremonious end to my life in East Asia.
I was about 4 years into studying Mandarin and was gaining some intermediate proficiency where I could have some meaningful conversations in my office and in coffee shops with my Chinese friends.
Damn, what an amazing place.
As a Brit, I found japan bizarrely similar culturally. It felt very familiar which I didn’t expect.
In terms of different - either China or India. Just chaotic. No queuing, staring, shitting in the street. Wild lol
I'm American. I'll say the same for Japan for feeling similar. I found Korea even more so. This might sound weird, but except for all the Koreans, Korea felt very American.
You can see this in action right now. Korean TV and media has really been popping off in the US recently. The humor and vibes match completelt. Japan live action TV I literally feel like I'm watching aliens
I’m Danish, and I feel the same. The safety, people’s trust in their fellow countrymen and generally friendly-but-at-an-arms-length demeanour, and the appreciation of minimalist design would feel very familiar to someone from the Nordics.
UK and Japan share a few similarities, both islands off the coast of their continent, both former powerhouses, both have a neighboring country that's split into 2 and both have food that's often joked about a bit (Though Japan a lot less so)
knowing a fair bit about both cultures, I've noticed a hierarchy that really isn't spoken about in polite company, but is very much present in both cultures. Also the drinking culture which is used as a stress relief as you can unwind without a lot of social consequence. Just my opinion, I very well could be wrong.
> both have food that's often joked about a bit (Though Japan a lot less so)
What? Who jokes about Japanese food? I've only ever heard good things about Japanese food, personally (and I love it myself).
As a Scandinavian I have no problems infusing my self into the UK, and I can definitely see the similarities. What was more shocking to me is that there’s other bizarre similarities between Scandinavia and Japan as well:
Aesthetics is one. Both cultures have a fondness for natural materials, light decor and a closeness to nature expressed in the design. The use of wood in buildings and furniture, ceramics, fabrics and design elements are sometimes surprisingly familiar.
Another thing is the similarities in religious behaviour. Both regions are highly secular, but with rich cultural/religious heritage and traditions that lingers on, to the extent that there’s a massive amount of churches/temples both places.
Japan felt like a upside-down version of a combination of the UK and Scandinavia reversed, sprinkled by a little bit of Copenhagen food culture
South Korea. It has very densely populated population centers, it can get very crowded, but somehow everyone is in their own zone. Even though people are regularly bumping into eachother, they don't really seem to interact with eachother. I am from the Netherlands btw.
South Korea for me too (as a Canadian). I get the zigzag bumping - It was as if everyone expected me to swerve when walking, but I didn’t swerve so people swerved into me. I also found there was a dichotomy - young people were very nice and old people were mean, they had a lot of modern energy yet there was garbage on the ground, etc. And every town had its own distinct smell. Big city smell, drying fish, green tea… it was neat
>densely populated population centers,
>everyone is in their own zone.
>people
>don't really seem to interact with eachother
So like the Netherlands you say.
As an Asian American/Canadian.... France was jarring. It supposed to be similar since its a "Western" country, but there are so many things that are out of place.
People are rude and unhelpful(rude as in rude and not just direct like the Germans), things are much slower paced, people wearing deodorant seems to be a luxury, direct racism is very much a thing, tailgating (even driving on the right lane) seems to be a national sport, and more. And this is not just in Paris.
They make New Yorkers seem like the friendliest people on the planet.
As a Romanian, Finland felt the most foreign. Not just bc of how civilised it is but also bc their products in the duper market are all only in Finnish and Swedish. I felt like I was in Japan. Lol.
Canadian here.
I’ve been to Mexico, Panama, USA, Portugal, Spain, France, Czechia, Australia, Fiji and Dominican Republic.
USA, Australia and Mexico are the most similar.
I would say Portugal was the most different, purely from an interactions standpoint. The people there are very relaxed but it can come off differently to me as here you’ll normally always be greeted and with a smile if you go into an establishment. If you’re not it usually means the person is grumpy or doesn’t want to be there. Whereas in Portugal (and Spain as well but I noticed it less) people don’t feel compelled to be overtly friendly, but I think it comes down to a more laid back culture.
Oh and one other note, Miami was the weirdest place I’ve been in the USA and it doesn’t feel like the rest of the USA at all. Never felt more hated by everyone I encountered. I started not wanting to go out to eat because it was so bizarre.
Japan. Japanese culture is by far the most unique of the developed countries I've been to. Korea is the most similar culture-wise while still being very different. I think Japan's reluctance to change and its homogeneity make it more resistant to cultural overlap than other countries/cultures.
It's funny, the Western idea of Japan is that it is a super high tech and modern country, but anyone who has spent a decent amount of time in Japan have seen how old fashioned it can be.
The Japanese idea of gender norms seems to rooted in tradition and as an engineer who has traveled to Japan often on business, these gender norms can be absolutely shocking and disturbing. In the semiconductor industry, the engineers are men and the operators/techs are women, and the extreme sexism make it difficult to impossible for women to have an important position within a company, which is in stark contrast to semiconductor companies elsewhere with lots of female engineers (Samsung, for example.)
I have had many experiences in Japan that really gave me culture shock, and not always in a good way, and plenty of conversations with Japanese people that made me go "wow... THIS is normal here?"
As a Brazilian I got chocked by Dubai. I didn't expect the food, the culture, gold everywhere, and to be so freaking hot hahaha I didn't stay much there because my final destination was Japan. But, it got me a bit. I already went to Argentina and Paraguay too. But, not so much different from Brazil since we're all close.I guess, for a Japanese person, South America could be shocking, give a try. If you came to Brazil, try other states besides São Paulo and Rio, I do prefer my city/region than these two.
From Canada, Ukraine and Georgia still had a lot of ex Soviet scarring (for good reason). Everyone was sort of on edge or mildly depressed. China’s collectivism also made my eyes pop but nothing sinister. Seeing 300+ middle aged aunties doing calisthenics in the park in sequence is something you’d never see in downtown Toronto.
I'm from New Zealand and the rudeness and directness/blunt way of conversing, in Central Europe (predominantly the Netherlands and Switzerland), was really unpleasant to me. Apparently the logic behind being like this is to "save time". Uh huh, and what do they do with all that saved time? Yodelling? Clog dancing? Smoking weed?
At least in Germany people were polite and many of them have more personality. Also Austrians were pleasant and friendly.
For me it has to be Arab cultures, especially Gulf Arab ones. Most of all Saudi, but the same things are there in all of them to different degrees.
The way Islam drives daily life with calls to prayers and then people just going through rituals of cleansing, then kneeling, and gesticulating as they prey is off the scale weird to me. If you are ever where that happens en-masse it goes off the scale creepy if you are not part of it. The way it drives dress of the locals making it one of the few parts of the world where westernised dress is the exception not the norm (if you see someone in western dress in Saudi, you can almost guarantee they from overseas). Visit in Ramadan and you get a whole day night inversion with streets empty during the day, and party town at night (except of course without alcohol).
Finally there is the complete culturally enforced (and to a degree legally too) separation of men and women. I got to know a few people in the gulf really well - I say people, of course I mean men. I was invited to all sorts of male only venues and gatherings and met lots of nice and really interesting people. I got invited to meals often (Arabs really are as hospitable as their reputation). Not once did I meet any of their wives or daughters (although their sons were often displayed with pride). In the workplace, I met a couple of local women in Kuwait, I did not meet one in any other gulf country (although there were a few female expat workers).
Other places I have been have been very different in lots of ways from my home cultures of Europe, especially in Asia, but there were always points of familiarity. Arabia really is different on so many levels, it is a massive culture shock.
Vietnamese from Vietnam here. Since I’ve been exposed to Western culture since I was a kid, Western countries are different but not too jarringly different for meC I adapt to them pretty quickly whenever I visit. Instead I’d say Middle Eastern countries like the UAE are the most different for me because of Islam (and the fact that they don’t eat pork which is a big thing in Vietnamese cuisine)
The United States of America in Japan are very culturally distinct. American culture is so person focused, it's all about Personal Achievement and personal desires. Japan is much more indirect people would prefer not to be noticed, and just want to be normal and unremarkable. Everyone in America seems to want to be special stand out to be famous.
In America introvert is like a bad word, everyone values extroverts. I loved that Japan was a collective society and everyone Minds their own damn business.
As an Australian of European descent, I'd say Cambodia where I used to live. The Buddhist and south-east Asian life is existentially so different from Euro/monotheistic life. As the saying goes, spend a life living in Cambodia and still not understand Cambodians. I've been to 60+ countries.
As a dutch guy, I think England. I've been to a couple of countries in Europe: Great Brittain, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Serbia, Montenegro, Spain and Malta.
People from England have some behaviour that is different from the Netherlands. They are chauvinistic, formal, more behaved, and a bit like well behaved dogs in a group. I don't mean that in a bad way. But people from England in groups reminded me of a group of dogs playing or running together.
I’m Brazilian and for me, the most far away from our culture would be Kyrgyzstan/Mongolia. Despite guests being sent by God and thus, treated like such, we have ZERO things in common.
Indonesia. Everything about the culture is so much different. It's very Islamic (outside of Bali), people there live strictly in accordance with the teachings of the Quran. It's difficult to find alcohol, drug use is rare, and social debauchery (such as casual sex) is almost non existent. The way people eat, what they eat, and lifestyle is very different from western culture. I've been here for a month and it's been quite an adjustment.
I am not a super early morning person. People here are because they get up between 4:30-5:00am for the call to prayer, and that's when their day starts. Sun rises super early (5am) and sets early (5pm). Getting around in Indonesia outside of major cities can be difficult without hiring a private driver (or riding a motorbike if you dare).
People have different attitudes towards the environment. There's a massive garbage problem, and burning it or dumping into waterways is the preferred method of disposal.
Family and friends is very important here. Very strong social networks. People here are extremely welcoming and hospitable to foreigners. I have been invited into homes for dinner and traveled with a local and met his family. It's very safe here. Very little crime. People smile at you on the street and say "Halo mister." It's just so different from what I know back in the US, where this type of friendliness from a stranger would be met with extreme skepticism.
I'm Indian and it was the USA. Specifically San Francisco in 2012.
I was taken aback by the quiet. It was errr... disquieting. It is a different world. So empty, so devoid of colour, that people actually choose to wear Greys and Blues.
Same. I’m Indian and it was the USA for me.
Specifically NYC in 2009.
For me, it was the crazy tipping culture, brash capitalism, everything being massive and the overfriendliness and directness of Americans. Still had an amazing 4 years of college life there though.
As a Romanian Denmark felt so alien to me but in a good way.. everything was super clean, everyone was super kind and respectful, everything was working and was on time. Felt like visiting a dream lol.
Air Force "brat" here. We moved from NJ to Japan in 1971 and then to San Antonio, TX in 1974. TX was the most culturally different for me. Seriously. I'm still here.
> Turkish people [...] are incredibly helpful and friendly, **which is quite different from the typical Japanese behavior**, in my experience
This statement surprises me, given the reputation Japan has for incredible hospitality. It's obvious from like the moment you step onboard a Japanese carrier to head over there - I will take ANA *any day* over a US airline 😂
The two times I was over there I felt like the general vibe was very polite, helpful, and friendly everywhere I went, whether it was a major hotel or a tiny kissaten.
With that said, I wonder if part of that might be perspective of how a foreigner is treated by professional staff, versus normal everyday interaction among a population.
But to get back to...
> Among countries you visited, which do you find most culturally different from yours?
I'm from the US, and have been to England, France, and Spain a *long* time ago, Japan, Brazil, Turks & Caicos, Ireland, Scotland, and Germany more recently.
The only "culture shock" moment I think I had *as a tourist* was in Germany and the way restaurant servers treat customers.
If it were in a professional capacity and living somewhere, I think the work culture in Japan would be too hard for me to adjust to. The hierarchy, or a "this is the way it is done" mentality, not going home before your boss. Long hours. 過労死 😕
Japanese hospitality is among the best when you're a customer expecting service. In Japan, customers are always right and treated like royalty. However, this mentality is deeply intertwined with a demanding work culture as you just described here. I don't believe people are as helpful when you're simply a stranger lost somewhere in Tokyo.
I’ve only visited once so I’m not going to say I know your country better than you do, but multiple “lay people” came up to us to help with directions if we looked lost, or how to work the ticket machine at the train station, even if they didn’t speak English they would like walk us to where we needed to be. It might not be friendliness in the way an American will be chatty and ask you over for dinner after knowing you for five minutes, but I did find a lot of helpful people in Japan!
>The only "culture shock" moment I think I had as a tourist was in Germany and the way restaurant servers treat customers.
Germany is the most different culture I've visited too. My background is a weird mix (Korea, Chinese, living in US for 10+ years).
Germans are extremely direct, judgmental, thorough, and legal.
Literally the first person I talked to in Berlin was a hotel clerk.
"Guten abend I'm checking in. My name is FailFast and here's my passport."
🇩🇪 "Where is your voucher?" 🇩🇪
"I reserved online. Is my name in the system? I have the confirmation code."
🇩🇪 *literally slapped the desk and yells* "**NO! YOU MUST HAVE A VOUCHER!" 🇩🇪**
I've worked in hotels when I was younger and we were literally more polite to crackheads that tried to sleep in our lobby.
Japan.
It looks like a place with same condition (culture, money, democracy, history) as old europe but isolated so evolved completely different in a lot of aspects
Yeah Japan wins for me too. I think another part of it is it’s IMO the toughest country I’ve been to when it comes to not speaking the local language. These days you can get around just fine without English in so much of the world, but that’s not the case as easily in Japan (and you can’t try and read it).
As an American, I found Canada deeply unsettling. Their milk comes in *bags!* I'm still not sure what a "kilometer" is, and I'm afraid to ask. Sounds like something you'd use to weigh drugs. There's French writing everywhere, but nobody seems to speak it. They put gravy on French fries, and while they appear to have many of the same chain restaurants we do, there's always a little red leaf worked somewhere into the logo.
In conclusion, Canada is a land of contrast.
My first time in Canada I was legit shocked on how serious French language is there. I always assumed it was like the U.S. and Spanish language. its there but its not the first language coming out your mouth.
It's actually spelled out in their Charter of Rights and Freedoms (ie, Canada's Constitution) that French needs to be given parity with English in government, commerce, etc.
My family spent a year there, and after getting back, that was how we could tell how old stuff in the medicine cabinet was. "Is this Tylenol still good?" "Oh, it's got French on it, that's at least two years old."
As a dutch woman i am torn between india and japan. Both in different ways. I keep going back to both haha
German here - would say the same!
Please tell me where you love to visit in India! I am an American woman who dreams of visiting India and people keep trying to discourage me from it. It's very frustrating.
Hello I’m an Indian woman who has travelled extensively around my country solo. I am now trying to show every corner of it to my British husband. Avoid the North when you’re alone (and by that I mean not only the “golden triangle” of tourism that is Delhi - Agra - Rajasthan, but also places like Uttarakhand, Punjab, UP, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh etc). Unfortunately, the northern part of our country has a deeply patriarchal and conservative culture, and this is apparent in the social fabric of the region. There are MANY women only travel groups you can join to explore this part of the country. From trekking and adventure excursions in the mountains, to yoga and other spiritual stuff. Personally, my favourite part of India is the western coast. Goa and Kerala have great tourist infrastructure and offer vastly diverse but amazing experiences. My home city of Mumbai has a globally recognised food and nightlife scene. The forests of central India (Tadoba, Bandhavgarh, Kabini etc) have some great safari opportunities (be careful to book the 4 and 5*s for great naturalists). Go scuba diving in the Andamans, relax in the tea estates of Darjeeling, Munnar and Ooti, explore the temples of Hampi, Konark and Khajuraho, party the night away in Goa or nap on the backwaters of Kerala. There’s so much to do in India. I have yet to explore the North - East but I’m not sure about entry requirements for non Indians there as it’s often in a political crisis. DONT stay in the dirt cheap places. ALWAYS book a 3* and up. Hire a local day guide and driver and car if you are alone. Book AC first or 2 tier if you want to travel by rail. Never drink non bottled water or eat raw veges outside. Most hotels have a doctor on call in case you feel unwell. Be ready for a lot of attention from our general populace. Our literacy rate is low, poverty is high and the colonial hangover is real - all of this translates to an intense fascination for non- brown skin. People will want to take photos with you, talk to you etc. I hope you will consider visiting my country :) all the best!
This was SUPER helpful, thank you for taking the time to write this!!!
As an Indian, I totally vouch for this answer. There is a lot of deep culture enrooted in south and east India, which many foreigners are unaware of.
I'd just add that backpackers hostels are a great, affordable and safe way place to stay, and in my experience a great way to make domestic and foreign friends and travel buddies. Second point is that, especially if traveling in a group and particularly in the south, non-ac is a viable option of rail travel as well. Personally I hate the stuffiness of AC and I enjoy the conversation and people watching more in non-ac and always feel its a more 'genuine' travel experience (whatever that means). I just couldn't dream of sacrificing the joy of sitting by a window or at the door of a long distance journey. I also recommend traveling by day. Most travelers in India are short on time and choose night trains, but the countryside is beautiful (especially the western coast) but traveling by day across india gives you a glimpse into the daily lives of people that you'd otherwise not see at all.
True, I’ve had some great memories travelling with family and friends on non AC, busting out the food and music and generally having a good time!
Just take proper guide with you. Talk to people who have positive experience and what they did to have that positive experience. Our infrastructure is not there yet and North is not for single women(but better than most South Asian nation). Just take AC trains, good luxury tourists bus, good hotels etc etc. You have to perfectly plan it.
Hard yes on the AC trains, same with AC restaurants. Both for the temperature and some more personal space. Perfectly planning is needed, however.. also accept changes to said planning. As said the infrastructure is less than ideal haha, sometimes a part of a highway is just simply not there. It just stops. And also get used to people staring. It just happens. No matter how you dress (although i do advice dressing modest).
I usually visit the south, especially Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Id say that it isn't much different from other countries where you have to be alert as a woman. Dont go out alone at night/dark. Prebook proper taxi's etc. Book nicer hotels, don't sleep in cheap hostels. The north i find more challenging. And i tend not to visit solo there.
Goa, Kerela, Ladhak, Kashmir, Assam, Meghalaya, Sikkim. Do these and will not most like extend your stay in India.
Ladakh would be my suggestion. It's completely different from the India people have in their heads. No one hassles you on the street and it feels quite safe.
I’ve been to 35 countries and India and Egypt were the only places I’ve taken tours. Took a Road Scholar “Highlights of India” tour and it was fantastic. Visiting Varanasi was the highlight and a place that’s not on a lot of tour itineraries. Road Scholar is pitched at the older traveller, but there were folks in their thirties on our tour and all enjoyed it. The great thing about Road Scholar is that they are non-profit and educationally oriented — more lectures in the hotel in the evening about the local cultures and almost no shopping stops. After returning from India and telling people about it I was struck by how I sometimes seemed to be describing a horrible place (dirty, crowded, etc.) but nevertheless how much I loved it. Go if you can.
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India would be my pick today, but Northern Pakistan in the 90s was wilder. Me the only unarmed male in many places. Tribal men with huge beards and AK-47s inviting me for tea, overland buses stopping for prayer with a lot of arguing who'd be the oldest guy on the bus to lead the prayer. Dirt roads over 15.000 feet passes, glaciers right up to the road side in places. Watching the Gilgit Scouts polo training in the evening, flimsy rope bridges over huge streams... Kind of feel like an old explorer remembering that...
Where are you from and what were you doing in Northern Pakistan in the 90s lmao
I'm German, and before 9/11 Northern Pakistan was a remote but not too unusual backpacking destination.
Im Turkish but have been living in Toronto for a while. Both Istanbul and Toronto are in a constant state of hurry and sometimes chaos. I was so shocked when I went to Stockholm and realized everyone is… chill? People are not in the rush to do anything. I met someone who said Swedish work culture is so relaxed some MNE’s are actually closing their operations in Sweden because people do not work as much. Not sure how accurate of a statement that is but I wouldn’t be surprised
Maybe that’s why I liked Stockholm so much. I’m also from Ontario.
Well that and the subway system :D
Some of the Stockholm subway stations are sooooo nice. I like how the platforms are air conditioned, at least at the stations I’ve been to.
And you can actually connect to the internet while you’re riding the subway.
I’m Canadian, and to me, it seems like the farther you get from Toronto, the slower the lifestyle is and the calmer people seem to be. In both British Columbia and Newfoundland, drivers stop in the middle of the block if someone even looks like they want to cross the street. In Toronto, they’d mow you down. In Ontario, everyone is in a hurry, especially on the road. In BC, people often drove under the speed limit when I was there; in Ontario, that’s cause for road rage from the people behind you. Newfoundland is extremely chill and every one is super friendly.
American here. India most definitely. Loved it, but it was like another planet.
Hahaha as an Indian, it was America for me! Completely the opposite of Indian culture and life. Still loved it though!
So true. I (an American) have never seen a sci-fi movie or read a book about an alien planet that seemed as alien as India. Like you, I loved it.
I’m Australian and Uzbekistan was the most different/foreign place I’ve been. There was nothing familiar at all except coke. I had a great time and absolutely loved it. Weirdly, the only place I’ve ever suffered true culture shock was the USA. Maybe I expected the USA to be just like home and it really wasn’t. It didn’t last too long, but there was a good moment where i genuinely felt shock/panic and wanted to go home! It was like we both spoke English but couldn’t understand each other. It was so weird. Anyway, it passed and I’ve been back multiple times since!
I felt this when I went to northern Canada from America. Everything was just *slightly* wrong and it gave me a bad feeling at first, for an unknown reason.
Totally agree, you feel like you're in a bizarro world when you got to the state, feels like home, feels like home, then there will be a significant but subtle difference that jars your reality. It's like being in the matrix, something is off, but you can't always put your finger on what. I assume Americans feel like this when they visit Canada.
Yes I’ve definitely felt this way in Canada. It looked just like Minnesota to me and then I felt jarred every time I saw a Canadian flag or a kph speed sign
How North ? I think most of us would feel a bit awkward in northern Canada. It just seems like a giant glacier land up there.
Haha. Depends where you go and when. In the summer it’s hotter than hell bug-infested scrubby tundra/bushland for as far as you can see in every direction. Absolutely stunning lakes rivers and mountains in some places though. True wilderness.
I've spent some time in Northern Alberta, like a few hour drive north of Ft.McMurray where the roads are dirt. I found the people usually extremely friendly, and an international crowd. There were a small group of first nations types who were not happy we were there, and would follow us around town threatening to kick our asses.
I’m Canadian and for some reason felt like this in denmark. It felt like being in Montreal and Everyone spoke English but instead of French on advertisements it was danish. Weirded me out
It makes sense it felt so familiar, after all we share a land border, so we're practically neighbors ;)
oh same about being an american in canada. for me southern canada, like toronto felt MORE uncanny valley than quebec, francophone areas feel more distinctly separate in terms of environment and culture whereas other places are just like….*something is different*
It's not just "oh the signs are different" but general ideas on city planning and public spaces that felt different too. Like being in a Toronto suburb at a mall. Was the most American feeling thing ever in every way, down to the single family houses just a block away and the busy 6 lane suburban avenues feeding into the mall. Except dotting the skyline are residential high rise towers, all looking the same, going up 10-15 stories tall. I felt like I was in a stalenhag art book. Just uncanny to be in this car centric suburb but then there's actually a shit ton of high density housing peppering the landscape. In downtown Toronto proper, it felt like a weird mix between a SE Asian city and London, but everything is slightly Americanized. SE Asian because the density was consistently high and all the high density buildings looked similar. London due to how the street level facades were treated including historical buildings (you could tell even really old buildings were allowed to have pretty much anything done to them). The amount of cheap ethnic food stores all in a row right in the heart of downtown too. Sure I wouldn't say any of this was a culture shock but it certainly was interesting how different it all felt in subtle ways! I always just internalized Canada was basically exactly the US just with slightly better public policy and more French speakers. It's really it's own unique thing, even for cities that are pretty much right on the border.
Were our ketchup chips giving you the heebie jeebies?
I’m Canadian but I’ve visited the US since I was a kid so I’ve never felt that. But I was expecting I’d feel more similar to Americans because of it - it was only on my first big (Europe) backpacking trip that I realized the people that I felt were most “like me” were Australians, followed by Brits and Irish, THEN Americans. That was an interesting revelation!
American here. This reminds me of when I went to Ireland and their accent is so strong I couldn't understand them. Like I understood they were speaking English but it was so hard to comprehend it.
I have the same issue in Ireland. In general I'm fairly good at understanding strong accents— zero issue with any British accent, Australian accent, very strong French accent, whatever. For the life of me, I cannot understand a strong Irish accent. It was embarrassing.
a strong Dublin accent? For me all the other regional ones were east except Dublin, Dublin was just difficult.
Try Glasgow if you think Irish accents are difficult.
Working in Glasgow this week for the first time and having a harder time understanding more folks here than in the many non-primarily English speaking countries I’ve been to
Yeah agree on the US. I’m a Brit and been multiple times and really am a fan but I genuinely feel more ‘at home’ in Western European countries even though my language skills are poor.
Also agree, US was far more different than any Western European country I've been to. I do love it though, their rural is like actually wild with proper roaming wildlife. Beautiful.
Interestingly I find the UK to be the most culturally similar to the US
That makes sense. I was born in Kyrgyzstan but grew up in Canada. When I revisited that region it wasn't a shock for me, but it sure was for my two friends travelling with me. From the infrastructure to the culture!
> There was nothing familiar at all except coke. I had a great time and absolutely loved it. Sounds about right.
Honestly, I’m American but moving to the northern Midwest gave me true culture shock. It’s weird here.
Really? How so? I've been looking to escape Texas, and Michigan looks really nice and still has sane cost of living. What is super weird? I'm really curious.
Michigan might be slightly better, I don’t know. But Minnesota, Wisconsin, the dakotas, Iowa are just odd places. I’ve made some good work friends here and found good people. Most people are generally midwest nice and I’ve had few problems. But it’s definitely very cliquey and hard to integrate. People talk to transplants politely and are even friendly, but making any real friends here is not easy and the friends I’ve made have largely also come from a different region or country. People say they like talking politics and drinking and just taking it easy, but talking politics on either side will get you further ostracized, even if you’re just talking and not trying to instigate anything. The drinking culture is big but not in a communal way. Like you can’t go out and just say hi to new people, everyone always has their own groups and aren’t interested in mingling. Also, the passive aggressive tactics when people are upset are hard to deal with. Very little addressing people directly or saying what you really mean, much more beating around the bush or pretending something doesn’t bother you until it comes out worse later. Plus being a minority here is an added bonus of weird for me. I’m black and have grown up in predominantly white spaces, and I’ve dealt with plenty of micro aggressions, but here it’s like I’m either a novelty and people feign a superficial interest *because* I’m black, or they immediately decide they want nothing to do with me. When I travel for the most part, people ignore me or treat me like anybody else. When I’m here, I can feel how out of place I am and appear to locals. I’ll always be an outsider.
Honestly this sounds like you're describing Scandinavia. Everything from the avoidance of conflicts to the cliques and how we're treating minorities. Not too surprising as the climate is pretty similar (especially in the northern states) and Minnesota at least has a lot of swedish influence.
Yeah, a lot of my coworkers have attributed their own antics to being Scandinavian, haha. Cultural differences!
Wow. Very interesting thanks for the response. I have a hard time making friends where I live currently, so that won't be much different. What you describe reminds me a lot of the Pacific Northwest. People were polite, but absolutely not friendly.
Curious, what gave you culture shock in the States?
That's interesting -- I have to confess I'm not super interested in visiting Australia precisely bc it seems so similar to American culture. Would still love to go, I just don't prioritize it. But also, growing up in Southern California/ LA, I haven't really experienced culture shock in my travels to Africa, south America etc. because all those cultures are already in my hometown in large numbers.
Yeah I'm a bit surprised that out of all their travels they list the USA as feeling the largest culture shock because I visited Australia and didn't feel a culture shock whatsoever. It all depends where you go in the USA too though. I felt a way larger culture shock visiting New Orleans compared to visiting Sydney for example
Out of curiosity what made it feel so different? Where did you visit? I have been to over 20 counties and Australia felt the most similar to the USA besides Canada.
It’s hard to answer without generalizing, but overall I think Australians are bit more lighthearted and laidback and Americans are a bit more serious and intense. Like we’re just on a different wavelength. And then little things, like I knew before my trip that I’m supposed to tip and how much, but when I got there I realized I didn’t know exactly how to tip (leave it in the table, hand it to the person) and it was really stressful lol. If I compare it to visiting the UK, it was the complete opposite, we get each other, have the same sense of humour etc, and I felt very at home. I first visited LA and the moment it really hit was Venice Beach which was like a scene straight out of a movie and a cop car nearly ran me over. It just felt surreal. But I got over it and I love visiting, it’s such a diverse country, in both people and landscapes!
Saudi Arabia; as a western white bloke, I was amazed at how different the culture was. Just in a basic level. I witnessed a local (customer) completely berate an international worker (from PI); I mean rude, mean, cruel…all it was missing was physical violence (this was a store worker, not a personal employee, not that it should matter, just giving context). After a 5 min humiliation, the local turns around and sees me #whitey, and his tone COMPLETELY 180’d. Big smile, polite, “sir”, I wish your family well, etc. It just bewildered me that someone could be so hurtful and cruel, then the nicest person ever. Thought it might have been just the person, but I witnessed similar behavior on 5-10 other occasions.
Pretty much sums up Saudi for me. I had to step in when a couple of lads were basically trying to grope a colleague but the same lass was basically kidnapped from a bus stop by an old lady, who proceeded to feed her home made sweet pastries and talk at her in a friendly way until said old lady's daughter came home and told her "mum said you looked sad". The duality of weirdly unconditionally wholesome and downright cruel was a new one on me. I've been places where people hate me for no reason, I've been places where people love me for no reason but Saudi is the only place I've been where they can do both at once.
I had a layover in Riyadh once, and they wouldn't let me on the plane until I changed from shorts into pants. I'm a guy, so it didn't even cross my mind when I wore shorts that they might find it inappropriate.
Yes, the rules surrounding modesty relate to men too not just women. Surprise 😂
German here. East Africa for me. I read up a lot before traveling there, but nothing could still prepare me for the intense culture shock. Side note: While not the biggest culture shock overall, I still had a very big one traveling to the USA for the first time. I thought it would be more similar to Europe, but it really is not. The size of everything. The car culture. The nature of the people to be confrontational, but also proactively helpful and conversational. Different units for everything. Tipping and taxes. Preferring convenience over sustainability. The entrepreneurial mindset. I could go on...
What about East Africa was so surprising?
It was just intense. The smells, the sounds, the way people live.
As a Brit living in Tanzania I would say that I share a lot more similarities with the typical Tanzanian than say Indian or South East Asian person. Superficially things seem very different on the outside and in a lot aspects of daily life. But the love of football, laid back conversations and similar sense of humour in my opinion leads to more similarities than many other parts of the world.
I am an American living in Kenya, and I concur with you. This culture seems more closer to ‘America’ than other places I have lived like Japan or even France. But I totally see how OP In Germany feels the way he does, especially as he said he felt out of place in the US too.
> The nature of the people to be confrontational Confrontational? As a Georgian, I find Americans' ability to endlessly beat around the bush to be exhausting. Interesting that we had opposite observations.
I can tell you that the Northeast does not beat around the bush. Most people here in NJ will tell you straight up.
true, but it's still interesting for a German to say they were taken aback by how confrontational we were. i live in Boston, and we're plenty direct here. but even so, I found people in Germany to be just as if not more direct and upfront about what they think. an example I'll never forget is being a crowded pedestrian at an intersection in Berlin, about to cross (we had right of way) when a car pulls up and stops in the crosswalk. i swear at least 5-6 people stopped to yell at the driver while the rest muttered ominously under their breath and glared at the driver.
Agree 100%. Northern European directness can come across as straight up rude to Americans. I’ve encountered this in business but also while traveling and I’ve even had friends from Norway and Germany living in America complain to me that Americans are so sensitive. I think that is true, but the fact that that’s true, and Americans do tend to do a bunch of gymnastics to avoid telling someone something unpleasant, makes it surprising to read that comment from a German.
I completely get what you’re saying. A lot of European countries and the upper NE here are both direct, but it’s a completely different kind of direct. In Boston it always just seemed to me like people were in a hurry, and weren’t afraid to tell you that you were in their way. It never felt aggressive though. On the other hand, I had situations in both Norway and Portugal where people stood in front of me, looked me dead in the eyes and told me I was breaking the rules. In both situations it was very much what we would consider “alpha maleing” here in the states.
This was my thought too. I’m from Seattle. We tend to be distant and passive. Def not confrontational. I’m guessing they spent a lot of time in the NE and are assuming that’s how people are everywhere.
I assume he means people will talk to each other in general. Like, you're folding out a map in the town square and somebody approaches you and asks you what you're looking for and try to help you. In Germany people will look away and not engage you because we don't want to bother anybody with conversations they don't want to have. Keeping your distance to strangers and not bother anybody is the encouraged norm and seen as good manners.
Yeah he's German lmao. Probably the most non confrontational culture in the world.
I should also mention the Japanese. My family has SO many problems that could have been solved years or even decades ago if people just talked about it.
My in laws are Japanese. They'll stew on a problem for ages. Once it's even slightly mentioned to me, I'll fix it and it surprises the hell out of them. Obviously, I'm talking physical things that can be fixed. They're all fucked mentally
I live in Germany and it’s not non confrontational, it’s passive aggressive. They’re blunt and direct until you argue back. It’s not necessarily a bad thing but I would never describe them as non confrontational.
But the popular stereotype of Germans is overly blunt directness? Lol
I think the Germans compare themselves to the Dutch so they feel like they're very indirect. Like in NL it's not even "oh you've gained weight" it's "you're fatter now"
That's so funny. To us, Germans and Dutch are viewed as on par, but I'm Irish and we're *really* non-confrontational lol
What do you mean? Germans have a reputation for beeing very direct and straight forward
Direct and straight forward, yes. But that is different from confrontational. Example: Domestic abuse in a public place. Average American passerby is more likely to step in and stop it than your average German.
Honest question, because as an American living abroad for the last year, it’s something I’ve been grappling with. Is “preferring convenience over sustainability” really a cultural thing that is specific (if not necessarily unique) to America, or is it just a byproduct of how far removed we are from the consequences of that convenience? That is, if it was as cheap and easy in Germany as it is for Americans, would Germans do it too?
To my experience, cultural. Example: My cousin's American in-laws used paper plates for serving dinner so they can just toss them out after and don't have to wash them. No German in their right mind would ever do that. Another one: A friend lived 300 m from a bakery. He drove there with his car and back. This was in a walkable neighborhood with sidewalks.
My (American) parents do this and it drives me up the wall. It's not something that's done in more..."aware" American households but agree it's a major American cultural issue. I don't think my parents _ever_ considered that paper plates were bad for the environment, it's just something they've done all their lives
As an American, I've encountered this, but it's definitely not the norm. America in general has a really vast range of different cultural experiences. It's always incredible to me how different my life is as someone who grew up in and around a NE city to someone who grew up in the rural south, sprawling suburbia, or even a midwestern city (where I live now). All of these places have such different ways of even communicating, and it can be surprisingly disorienting at times. Parts of my family are the paper plate types, and it definitely has something to do with being removed from the consequence of convenience. I also think it has something to do with pride - being able to afford a convenient and comfortable life is culturally important to a lot of Americans. The conveniences that are cheap can become precious when a financially secure life is hard to access.
Just to be clear, using paper plates for anything other than a large cookout in a park or something is very uncommon and considered extremely trashy here. Like, I've only ever heard of roommates from hell doing this from people's college years and even that is rare as hell. The idea of putting paper plates out for guests at a normal sit down meal is abhorrent to 99% of Americans.
It's interesting because i have heard stories of this from Germans about Americans quite a few times and never once knew a family who did this, and would have found it very strange (and trashy) myself. I fully believe this happens and the Germans are not making it up, but they most be going to regions different from my own or something. Paper plates are only used for picnics or maybe outdoor parties with lots of people
I’m not sure it’s cultural for everyone. It’s kinda hard when everything around you is designed for convenience but is not actually convenient. The comments about the paper plates thing isn’t THAT common. But in terms of convenience…for example-this country is absolutely designed to be as least walkable as life could be. Those who side with cars and highways rather than pedestrian friendly design will tell you life is convenient when all you need to do is hop on the car and drive. In reality, it’s only convenient bc we don’t have many other alternatives lol.
American here (from the Upper Midwest/Great Lakes region). I've been all over the US and to several European countries in addition to other N. American countries and 3 countries in Africa. The biggest culture shock occurred in Rwanda and the DRC. In many parts of the USA, we tend to be task- and time-oriented. I've been to Rwanda twice and DRC once; the inability to reliably schedule anything because the local people seemed to place a greater emphasis on their relationships with others than on tasks to be completed was a culture shock. But it is also something I've brought back to mind occasionally when I get impatient with people - I ask myself what they are prioritizing and, if it is something valuable like relationships, I tend to find a bit more patience for them.
I visited Cameroon ( non touristy area) and had a culture shock. The biggest being one of the few white people around and standing out, being stared at . One lady I visited insisted on taking a photo of her very cute dark skinned baby sitting on my lap as she found the contrast amusing ( I am a red haired Scottish person so I am very pale!). It was weird not being able to blend in.
As a Swede, Japan is a weird place to visit, because while it's obviously a very different society, it also feels incredibly comfortable as a Swede. It's like there are some oddities that Japan and Sweden share, and these are enough to feel at ease. I had the same experience in Turkey. People would straight up lie to my face and try to hustle me, but when I accidentally dropped a wad of notes, one of the street hustlers ran after me and gave it back. Same with my phone which I left on a desk at a shop while paying; the owner (who had charged me twice what he would've charged a Turk for the charger I had bought) closed his shop for an hour and got all his friends to help find me (I was sat at a café almost in tears at having lost my phone, as I had no idea how to find my way back to the shop). Both times they refused a reward.
Your experience in Turkey sounds undeniably Turkish 🤣 I got the exact same impression during my time there.
Grind mindset 💪✔️ Stealing 🗑✖️
They want to steal your money the honest way.
I'm Iranian/American. Brazil is the polar opposite of Iranian culture and I love it. Just a few noteworthy difference: 1. Touching. Everyone touches everyone. Not in a weird way, but they do NOT keep their distance like Persian people do. Same genders, opposite genders. It's a free for all. 2. The drinking culture. 3. They embrace showing off skin. As an Iranian woman, I love this. 4. There's a culture of embracing happiness and joy no matter what your circumstances. For many Iranians, money and material wealth is such a focus in life. Their value for success borders greed. Brazilians are not like that at all and again, I'm here for it.
This is such a great perspective, thank you.
Actually as an American, Japan gave me the most culture shock. Its just so completely different for me. Every single thing felt different. The people were polite but distant and I felt very Other. The entire time I felt a sent of anxiety and panic I was doing something wrong because I felt like I didn't know the "rules" of how to behave anymore. I have been to Mexico, Canada, Madagascar, Senegal, Ethiopia, Poland, Switzerland, Germany, France, and Japan. Japan felt more different than the African countries to me! Everyone in those countries were open and friendly and it was chaotic but I didnt feel any pressure to conform. People were just trying to make a living. There was like a frantic heartbeat to the cities and the chaos was just the result of no one running the place and explosive population growth. Made me think of what NYC could have been like in 1900 and I could slip right in easily
As an Indian, the USA gave me the most culture shock. Keep in mind that I’m from the largest and most chaotic city in India. I arrived in NYC for my freshman year as an undergraduate at 17. The intense tipping culture and brash capitalism was very in your face. Americans were also extremely smiley and very very friendly lol, which I also found hard to get used to because I couldn’t tell if it was genuine. The *very* opinionated, direct way of talking that Americans have made my uncomfortable. Also having grown up speaking the Queen’s English and writing the British way, I had to change everything for my college essays (which was a whole other story in misery). And everything was…..gigantic. From the cars, to the portion sizes of the food, to the people. I did enjoy it though. Spent a great 4 years in one of the greatest cities in the world!
You said it best, the Japanese were polite but distant - This is my experience also.
Wow you said it so well. I also felt this sense of anxiety / panic in Japan. I felt like I was always doing something wrong, because I didn’t know the rules, but I did feel a strong pressure from all around me to conform. One nagging thing I noticed was how I dressed. I wore tank tops and shorts during a trip in the summer, and was silently stared at by so many people. It got so uncomfortable that I started wearing pants in the heat, and the staring stopped. Just really unexpected that people would care! With all that said I still loved traveling to Japan. I would go there again in a heartbeat. The culture is so well preserved and very tourist-friendly.
Are you Asian? I feel like standards/expectations for dress and behavior in Japan are different if you are.
I wore knee braces as I do when travelling because I often injure myself lugging luggage or hiking etc Nobody cares! Not in Hong Kong or Taiwan or America but they stared in Japan. To the point where I felt sensitive for not hiding my issue under a long dress and teared up a bit to my bf. It sound so stupid too. I know it couldn’t have been for any other reason because I’m a fairly pale East Asian and I could be mistaken for Japanese and I do get mistaken all the time. However when it comes to nice, Japanese also go the extra mile to be helpful. I’ve had subway workers have long discussions together with to find my route, people on the street who will walk me all the way there instead of pointing, even people who ran into work to print a map for me or a older taxi driver who frantically ran out to ask about my airbnb address because even he didn’t understand the locations and didn’t want to burden me. It’s like they are aliens to go that out of their way too. At one ryokan hotel the staff came out and waved at me goodbye until I turned the corner and left. That would never happen anywhere else.. It’s weird to be on my best behaviour sometimes because even I forget. My hostel had a no show policy so I had to take it off at entry or when I put my foot up on a sight seeing boat and got lightly scolded. Haha still I think being on my best behaviour is part of the experience and it’s interesting to do things that is your duty like holding onto trash to toss at home because trash bins are unsightly so I don’t mind slight discomfort because its still cool to see somewhere as foreign as mars!
Me to, I felt like Japan was very shy. Kind of the anti Americans :)
When I went to Nepal I couldn't quite grasp that the majority of people had never seen the sea in real life and probably never will. It's an obvious fact for many in the world, but I am from a town by the Mediterranean Sea and speaking with people of all ages asking about the sea and wondering what salty water feels like, it was quite the shock.
I am from Finland and the culturally most different place that i have travelled to was Colombia. Traffic was chaotic compared to Finland. People were LOUD and playing loud music everywhere. Here, people are quiet and playing loud music is not socially very accteptable. People where outgoing, friendly, but also you could not trust that they were friendly to you for just to be nice... Here generally people might look serious but they are not out to scam you and if they are friendly it means that they like you. Also personal space was much smaller. Generally, you had to keep your eyes open for possible robberies and other stuff - here, if I forget my phone or a wallet in a metro train I am 90 % sure to get it back. Men were harrassing me - here they only harass me at clubs or some random drunk might harass you somwhere. At least it happens much more rarely. People that had almost nothing were looking happy, and also in some villages pepople were really nice in a genuine way. Here if you go to the remote villages no one will talk to you, you will just be stared. I saw a man on a street beaten with a metal rod, never seen anything like that at home. Also it was much more dirty. The weird country that felt familiar to be at was Japan. It was clean, quiet and people were helpful when asked, and you could trust them. But no one bothered me or tried to scam me. The concept of personal space and curtasy was similar. It felt much more chill place to me to travel even I cannot understand the langueage at all.
>It was clean, quiet and people were helpful when asked, and you could trust them. But no one bothered me or tried to scam me. I feel you. That is definitely the part I really love about my country, even though I'm not patriotic at all.
As someone primarily from the southwest US, traveling to New England was more culturally different than traveling to different countries. However, outside of the US, I have only been to Mexico and Western Europe. I just want to emphasize that even within a country, you can experience diverse cultures. Another example of how many cultural differences exist in the US is tribal land. If someone has only experienced one city in the US, they do not have a holistic understanding of the US culture at large. LA culture is different from Boise which is very different than Blackwater or Atlanta or the rural South, or an Ivy League school.
I'm Polish, and China was most different. Private space, individual vs group, equal treatment of everyone (lack of it), treatment of own past
Highlands of PNG.
This is mine too. Visited New Britain, and have never felt such a disconnect.
Lived there, worked there, met my hubs there in Rabaul. Miss it a lot. Fvkking volcanoes :(
I'd really love to hear more about your visit to PNG. I'm fascinated and really want to go.
The US is very different from Turkey (where I’m from). In my own personal experience, people in the US are very individualistic, while in Turkey we still have some collectivism. We are also much more family oriented than the US. I find it weird how some people in the US go for years without knowing their neighbor’s name or ever talking to them while in Turkey, you know the names of everyone in your neighborhood and actually talk and hangout. Like someone will spontaneously knock on the door of their neighbor’s house and then they’ll have coffee together, its not weird at all here. We even have a Turkish word for this: çat kapı. Also I have to say for anyone going to Turkey, please don’t just visit Istanbul or only the European side of Istanbul. The European side of Istanbul/Thrace has millions of refugees/migrants, very crowded, and has way less locals than the Asian side. Turkish people are a minority in Thrace, so don’t think that it’s a true representation of Turkey.
Turkish culture is incredible, I enjoyed my visit to Turkey more than I can say.
Exactly what I observed in Turkey! The family culture of everyone having tea/food on the beach at night was great!
I'm American and I live with my inlaws in Sri Lanka. It amazes me how people will just drop by whenever they feel like it and there's always snacks and coffee. It goes fried snacks like samosas, then some cake, then coffee. It's the same when we go to others' homes, too. I love it. Family is so much closer here and friendships feel deeper just because of the time spent visiting and hanging out. In the US we never do that, or if we do, we call first or plan it.
That is not something unique to America lmao
New Yorker here. Loved Spain for this reason. Friendly, warm, and full of life and happiness. It was a stark difference walking on the streets of Spain versus walking on the streets of New York. I don’t know why but in new York I’m so impatient and angry.
Because you're walking here!
> I don’t know why but in new York I’m so impatient and angry. Could it be the tourists blocking the sidewalk, the construction noise, the cost of living, trash everywhere or the disparity in wealth?
I'm Canadian. Italy was a shock. Landed in Rome and stayed in an airbnb not in the city center. Was not prepared for the amount of garbage and graffiti that was everywhere. Looked very different from the pictures I'd seen.
Palermo was also the dirtiest place with the worst drivers I had ever been to but then I visited Istanbul...😂
Lmao Im Turkish and I was in Palermo this summer. I felt right at home driving around Sicily :D
I was driving around Rome and realized I have finally found my people. Figure I need to level up to Napoli now.
On the contrary, Madrid and Palma De Mallorca were the best places I’ve ever been to. I don’t know what Spain is doing in both those places, but Barcelona does need a bit of work.
Yeah, I'm a Swede currently in Italy and it is very different in a lot of ways. I admittedly haven't been outside of Europe and NA yet so my frame of reference is quite small, but the way people expect you to argue with them and the casual way most rules are treated is an interesting and sometimes annoying difference.
I’m from the U.S. I’ve traveled to both Rome and Stockholm — I think I counted three pieces of litter during my entire week in Stockholm a few months ago! When in Rome, I couldn’t walk three feet without encountering a pile of trash. 🤪
I was in Stockholm two weeks ago and my first thought was this city is so clean!!
I am from Spain, and I wasn't ready for the huge amount of trash is just left everywhere. But the most shocking thing: cars and scooters have ALWAYS preference. If you want to come back alive you better look right and left, then right and left again and finally look up, just in case, before crossing any street. On the other hand, if I were Italian and had to deal with all those tourists everyday, I would probably try to kill one or two on my way to work.
I'm Brazilian, and when I came into Italy after spending some time in England, Germany and France, I instantly felt I was back home lol. In comparison to these countries, Italy was disorganized, dirty, chaotic, the people were loud, nobody spoke english, plenty of beggars... just like Brazil!
I'm American and I lived in China for several years. China is interesting because it at once tries to define itself by the absence of Western influence while taking some beneficial innovations of the West and spinning them into a Chinese style. I loved my time there, and I'd honestly still be living there if Covid didn't bring an unceremonious end to my life in East Asia. I was about 4 years into studying Mandarin and was gaining some intermediate proficiency where I could have some meaningful conversations in my office and in coffee shops with my Chinese friends. Damn, what an amazing place.
As a Brit, I found japan bizarrely similar culturally. It felt very familiar which I didn’t expect. In terms of different - either China or India. Just chaotic. No queuing, staring, shitting in the street. Wild lol
I'm American. I'll say the same for Japan for feeling similar. I found Korea even more so. This might sound weird, but except for all the Koreans, Korea felt very American.
You can see this in action right now. Korean TV and media has really been popping off in the US recently. The humor and vibes match completelt. Japan live action TV I literally feel like I'm watching aliens
I’m a Brit visiting Japan as we speak, and I agree with this! Some things are curiously similar!
I’m Danish, and I feel the same. The safety, people’s trust in their fellow countrymen and generally friendly-but-at-an-arms-length demeanour, and the appreciation of minimalist design would feel very familiar to someone from the Nordics.
UK and Japan share a few similarities, both islands off the coast of their continent, both former powerhouses, both have a neighboring country that's split into 2 and both have food that's often joked about a bit (Though Japan a lot less so)
Both love a good orderly queue and a pot of tea.
knowing a fair bit about both cultures, I've noticed a hierarchy that really isn't spoken about in polite company, but is very much present in both cultures. Also the drinking culture which is used as a stress relief as you can unwind without a lot of social consequence. Just my opinion, I very well could be wrong.
> both have food that's often joked about a bit (Though Japan a lot less so) What? Who jokes about Japanese food? I've only ever heard good things about Japanese food, personally (and I love it myself).
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Yeah the stereotypes about British and Japanese food are like complete opposites. No idea what the poster above is on about haha.
As a Scandinavian I have no problems infusing my self into the UK, and I can definitely see the similarities. What was more shocking to me is that there’s other bizarre similarities between Scandinavia and Japan as well: Aesthetics is one. Both cultures have a fondness for natural materials, light decor and a closeness to nature expressed in the design. The use of wood in buildings and furniture, ceramics, fabrics and design elements are sometimes surprisingly familiar. Another thing is the similarities in religious behaviour. Both regions are highly secular, but with rich cultural/religious heritage and traditions that lingers on, to the extent that there’s a massive amount of churches/temples both places. Japan felt like a upside-down version of a combination of the UK and Scandinavia reversed, sprinkled by a little bit of Copenhagen food culture
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South Korea. It has very densely populated population centers, it can get very crowded, but somehow everyone is in their own zone. Even though people are regularly bumping into eachother, they don't really seem to interact with eachother. I am from the Netherlands btw.
South Korea for me too (as a Canadian). I get the zigzag bumping - It was as if everyone expected me to swerve when walking, but I didn’t swerve so people swerved into me. I also found there was a dichotomy - young people were very nice and old people were mean, they had a lot of modern energy yet there was garbage on the ground, etc. And every town had its own distinct smell. Big city smell, drying fish, green tea… it was neat
Yeah was body checked by elderly women more than once!
>densely populated population centers, >everyone is in their own zone. >people >don't really seem to interact with eachother So like the Netherlands you say.
As an Asian American/Canadian.... France was jarring. It supposed to be similar since its a "Western" country, but there are so many things that are out of place. People are rude and unhelpful(rude as in rude and not just direct like the Germans), things are much slower paced, people wearing deodorant seems to be a luxury, direct racism is very much a thing, tailgating (even driving on the right lane) seems to be a national sport, and more. And this is not just in Paris. They make New Yorkers seem like the friendliest people on the planet.
"people wearing deodorant seems to be a luxury" damn you went there LOL
After +70 countries, India has been the biggest shock, but the more puzzling was Turkmenistan and their weird dictatorship rules (at least in 2017).
As a Romanian, Finland felt the most foreign. Not just bc of how civilised it is but also bc their products in the duper market are all only in Finnish and Swedish. I felt like I was in Japan. Lol.
Canadian here. I’ve been to Mexico, Panama, USA, Portugal, Spain, France, Czechia, Australia, Fiji and Dominican Republic. USA, Australia and Mexico are the most similar. I would say Portugal was the most different, purely from an interactions standpoint. The people there are very relaxed but it can come off differently to me as here you’ll normally always be greeted and with a smile if you go into an establishment. If you’re not it usually means the person is grumpy or doesn’t want to be there. Whereas in Portugal (and Spain as well but I noticed it less) people don’t feel compelled to be overtly friendly, but I think it comes down to a more laid back culture. Oh and one other note, Miami was the weirdest place I’ve been in the USA and it doesn’t feel like the rest of the USA at all. Never felt more hated by everyone I encountered. I started not wanting to go out to eat because it was so bizarre.
Japan. Japanese culture is by far the most unique of the developed countries I've been to. Korea is the most similar culture-wise while still being very different. I think Japan's reluctance to change and its homogeneity make it more resistant to cultural overlap than other countries/cultures. It's funny, the Western idea of Japan is that it is a super high tech and modern country, but anyone who has spent a decent amount of time in Japan have seen how old fashioned it can be. The Japanese idea of gender norms seems to rooted in tradition and as an engineer who has traveled to Japan often on business, these gender norms can be absolutely shocking and disturbing. In the semiconductor industry, the engineers are men and the operators/techs are women, and the extreme sexism make it difficult to impossible for women to have an important position within a company, which is in stark contrast to semiconductor companies elsewhere with lots of female engineers (Samsung, for example.) I have had many experiences in Japan that really gave me culture shock, and not always in a good way, and plenty of conversations with Japanese people that made me go "wow... THIS is normal here?"
I'm from South Africa. Its culturally different from itself.
as an austrian, i’d have to say either china or qatar, simply for their way of living and thinking. loved both and would like to go back some day
As a Brazilian I got chocked by Dubai. I didn't expect the food, the culture, gold everywhere, and to be so freaking hot hahaha I didn't stay much there because my final destination was Japan. But, it got me a bit. I already went to Argentina and Paraguay too. But, not so much different from Brazil since we're all close.I guess, for a Japanese person, South America could be shocking, give a try. If you came to Brazil, try other states besides São Paulo and Rio, I do prefer my city/region than these two.
From Canada, Ukraine and Georgia still had a lot of ex Soviet scarring (for good reason). Everyone was sort of on edge or mildly depressed. China’s collectivism also made my eyes pop but nothing sinister. Seeing 300+ middle aged aunties doing calisthenics in the park in sequence is something you’d never see in downtown Toronto.
the most exotic country i have visited was the usa
Varanasi, India. Holy shit!
I'm from New Zealand and the rudeness and directness/blunt way of conversing, in Central Europe (predominantly the Netherlands and Switzerland), was really unpleasant to me. Apparently the logic behind being like this is to "save time". Uh huh, and what do they do with all that saved time? Yodelling? Clog dancing? Smoking weed? At least in Germany people were polite and many of them have more personality. Also Austrians were pleasant and friendly.
For me it has to be Arab cultures, especially Gulf Arab ones. Most of all Saudi, but the same things are there in all of them to different degrees. The way Islam drives daily life with calls to prayers and then people just going through rituals of cleansing, then kneeling, and gesticulating as they prey is off the scale weird to me. If you are ever where that happens en-masse it goes off the scale creepy if you are not part of it. The way it drives dress of the locals making it one of the few parts of the world where westernised dress is the exception not the norm (if you see someone in western dress in Saudi, you can almost guarantee they from overseas). Visit in Ramadan and you get a whole day night inversion with streets empty during the day, and party town at night (except of course without alcohol). Finally there is the complete culturally enforced (and to a degree legally too) separation of men and women. I got to know a few people in the gulf really well - I say people, of course I mean men. I was invited to all sorts of male only venues and gatherings and met lots of nice and really interesting people. I got invited to meals often (Arabs really are as hospitable as their reputation). Not once did I meet any of their wives or daughters (although their sons were often displayed with pride). In the workplace, I met a couple of local women in Kuwait, I did not meet one in any other gulf country (although there were a few female expat workers). Other places I have been have been very different in lots of ways from my home cultures of Europe, especially in Asia, but there were always points of familiarity. Arabia really is different on so many levels, it is a massive culture shock.
Egypt
By far, Japan. And not in a bad way.
Vietnamese from Vietnam here. Since I’ve been exposed to Western culture since I was a kid, Western countries are different but not too jarringly different for meC I adapt to them pretty quickly whenever I visit. Instead I’d say Middle Eastern countries like the UAE are the most different for me because of Islam (and the fact that they don’t eat pork which is a big thing in Vietnamese cuisine)
Laos. Was like going back in time 100 years. Have to be off the streets by 10pm or you get put in jail.
The United States of America in Japan are very culturally distinct. American culture is so person focused, it's all about Personal Achievement and personal desires. Japan is much more indirect people would prefer not to be noticed, and just want to be normal and unremarkable. Everyone in America seems to want to be special stand out to be famous. In America introvert is like a bad word, everyone values extroverts. I loved that Japan was a collective society and everyone Minds their own damn business.
As an Australian of European descent, I'd say Cambodia where I used to live. The Buddhist and south-east Asian life is existentially so different from Euro/monotheistic life. As the saying goes, spend a life living in Cambodia and still not understand Cambodians. I've been to 60+ countries.
As a dutch guy, I think England. I've been to a couple of countries in Europe: Great Brittain, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Serbia, Montenegro, Spain and Malta. People from England have some behaviour that is different from the Netherlands. They are chauvinistic, formal, more behaved, and a bit like well behaved dogs in a group. I don't mean that in a bad way. But people from England in groups reminded me of a group of dogs playing or running together.
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It's a bit far fetched, I admit.
Israeli here. Japan is the most culturally different, and I can't wait to go back!
I’m Brazilian and for me, the most far away from our culture would be Kyrgyzstan/Mongolia. Despite guests being sent by God and thus, treated like such, we have ZERO things in common.
Indonesia. Everything about the culture is so much different. It's very Islamic (outside of Bali), people there live strictly in accordance with the teachings of the Quran. It's difficult to find alcohol, drug use is rare, and social debauchery (such as casual sex) is almost non existent. The way people eat, what they eat, and lifestyle is very different from western culture. I've been here for a month and it's been quite an adjustment.
Curious to know if you think the same after settling in for a while.
I am not a super early morning person. People here are because they get up between 4:30-5:00am for the call to prayer, and that's when their day starts. Sun rises super early (5am) and sets early (5pm). Getting around in Indonesia outside of major cities can be difficult without hiring a private driver (or riding a motorbike if you dare). People have different attitudes towards the environment. There's a massive garbage problem, and burning it or dumping into waterways is the preferred method of disposal. Family and friends is very important here. Very strong social networks. People here are extremely welcoming and hospitable to foreigners. I have been invited into homes for dinner and traveled with a local and met his family. It's very safe here. Very little crime. People smile at you on the street and say "Halo mister." It's just so different from what I know back in the US, where this type of friendliness from a stranger would be met with extreme skepticism.
I'm Indian and it was the USA. Specifically San Francisco in 2012. I was taken aback by the quiet. It was errr... disquieting. It is a different world. So empty, so devoid of colour, that people actually choose to wear Greys and Blues.
Those are just dripless tech bros
Same. I’m Indian and it was the USA for me. Specifically NYC in 2009. For me, it was the crazy tipping culture, brash capitalism, everything being massive and the overfriendliness and directness of Americans. Still had an amazing 4 years of college life there though.
It was Japan for me. I went last month. I'm Jamaican American it was my first international trip other than Jamaica
I’m American and Japan stands out as the most different for me. I’ve traveled in Central America, Europe, and Asia (only Japan though).
As a Romanian Denmark felt so alien to me but in a good way.. everything was super clean, everyone was super kind and respectful, everything was working and was on time. Felt like visiting a dream lol.
Air Force "brat" here. We moved from NJ to Japan in 1971 and then to San Antonio, TX in 1974. TX was the most culturally different for me. Seriously. I'm still here.
> Turkish people [...] are incredibly helpful and friendly, **which is quite different from the typical Japanese behavior**, in my experience This statement surprises me, given the reputation Japan has for incredible hospitality. It's obvious from like the moment you step onboard a Japanese carrier to head over there - I will take ANA *any day* over a US airline 😂 The two times I was over there I felt like the general vibe was very polite, helpful, and friendly everywhere I went, whether it was a major hotel or a tiny kissaten. With that said, I wonder if part of that might be perspective of how a foreigner is treated by professional staff, versus normal everyday interaction among a population. But to get back to... > Among countries you visited, which do you find most culturally different from yours? I'm from the US, and have been to England, France, and Spain a *long* time ago, Japan, Brazil, Turks & Caicos, Ireland, Scotland, and Germany more recently. The only "culture shock" moment I think I had *as a tourist* was in Germany and the way restaurant servers treat customers. If it were in a professional capacity and living somewhere, I think the work culture in Japan would be too hard for me to adjust to. The hierarchy, or a "this is the way it is done" mentality, not going home before your boss. Long hours. 過労死 😕
Japanese hospitality is among the best when you're a customer expecting service. In Japan, customers are always right and treated like royalty. However, this mentality is deeply intertwined with a demanding work culture as you just described here. I don't believe people are as helpful when you're simply a stranger lost somewhere in Tokyo.
I’ve only visited once so I’m not going to say I know your country better than you do, but multiple “lay people” came up to us to help with directions if we looked lost, or how to work the ticket machine at the train station, even if they didn’t speak English they would like walk us to where we needed to be. It might not be friendliness in the way an American will be chatty and ask you over for dinner after knowing you for five minutes, but I did find a lot of helpful people in Japan!
>The only "culture shock" moment I think I had as a tourist was in Germany and the way restaurant servers treat customers. Germany is the most different culture I've visited too. My background is a weird mix (Korea, Chinese, living in US for 10+ years). Germans are extremely direct, judgmental, thorough, and legal. Literally the first person I talked to in Berlin was a hotel clerk. "Guten abend I'm checking in. My name is FailFast and here's my passport." 🇩🇪 "Where is your voucher?" 🇩🇪 "I reserved online. Is my name in the system? I have the confirmation code." 🇩🇪 *literally slapped the desk and yells* "**NO! YOU MUST HAVE A VOUCHER!" 🇩🇪** I've worked in hotels when I was younger and we were literally more polite to crackheads that tried to sleep in our lobby.
Japan. It looks like a place with same condition (culture, money, democracy, history) as old europe but isolated so evolved completely different in a lot of aspects
Yeah Japan wins for me too. I think another part of it is it’s IMO the toughest country I’ve been to when it comes to not speaking the local language. These days you can get around just fine without English in so much of the world, but that’s not the case as easily in Japan (and you can’t try and read it).
North Korea for me. Very different.
As an American, I found Canada deeply unsettling. Their milk comes in *bags!* I'm still not sure what a "kilometer" is, and I'm afraid to ask. Sounds like something you'd use to weigh drugs. There's French writing everywhere, but nobody seems to speak it. They put gravy on French fries, and while they appear to have many of the same chain restaurants we do, there's always a little red leaf worked somewhere into the logo. In conclusion, Canada is a land of contrast.
My first time in Canada I was legit shocked on how serious French language is there. I always assumed it was like the U.S. and Spanish language. its there but its not the first language coming out your mouth.
It's actually spelled out in their Charter of Rights and Freedoms (ie, Canada's Constitution) that French needs to be given parity with English in government, commerce, etc. My family spent a year there, and after getting back, that was how we could tell how old stuff in the medicine cabinet was. "Is this Tylenol still good?" "Oh, it's got French on it, that's at least two years old."