Discussion Culture Shock

RekNepZ

GMC Historian
So,as some of you know, I've been spending this month studying abroad in Spain (Granada, to be exact). While a lot of cultural things are the same, standard for most first-world nations, there are a lot of differences too. Some I like, but others not.

  • I can't decide what I think of the city street system. On one hand, you can get just about anywhere just by knowing the general direction you wish to go. However, it's more difficult for me to find constant routes to places as there are so many similar-looking roads.

    [*]As you can see, US/Canadian roads are much more grid-like.
  • Men's fashion is one thing in Europe that sort of bothers me (though for no real good reason). Somehow, the locals look much more "styled" than those back at home. The hairstyles and clothing choices popular here are generally only used by gays and douchebags back in the US.
  • The beach is where I had one of my biggest shocks. It was mostly normal, until I started seeing some woman (mostly 40 years+) going topless. This isn't something that would fly at all in most parts of the US. Also, for some reason, it seems most men shave their chests. Not sure what's up with that...
  • One positive thing is the cars. I've seen very few SUVs and no giant pickup-trucks driving around. Most of the cars are more compact and eco-friendly than in the states. I just also realized that I don't believe I've seen any cars with bumper-stickers. I sort of miss those now.
That's all I can think of atm. I'm curious. Has anyone else experienced any of these things while traveling to Europe? What about traveling to the US? Or other places?

Edit: 50th topic in OT! Woooooo!
 

Yal

šŸ§ *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
I've been living my whole life in Europe and only ever travelled within Europe, so I'm probably a bit biased here... :p Also note that there's pretty big differences between southern and northern Europe when it comes to fashion (take a wild guess why down jackets are more popular in Sweden than in Spain, for instance :p)

As for street layouts... Europe has a much longer history of HAVING streets, since we had cities more than 500 years before the US got their first cities, and as a result we have many more old city cores, that generally were built without prior planning, resulting in these mazelike layouts. It's also worth keeping in mind that a large part of the US is plains while Europe has a much more mountainous terrain (and a coastline defined by irregular jagged terrain) so that it's more work building in straight lines than it is to follow the shape of the terrain.
 
A

Aura

Guest
The greatest culture shock for me was a trip to Japan.

  • Japanese culture is very hierarchical. Elders command respect and their wisdom in the family or community is highly valued. Direct eye contact when speaking to someone who is elder or who has greater authority is frowned upon. When greeting one another, Japanese people will often bow. The bow is a sign of respect and is common between strangers.
  • The Japanese work ethic is absolutely remarkable. The vast majority of citizens are hard-working, driven, and highly punctual. During my trip in Japan, I rarely saw a train arriving later than it was scheduled. When the triple disaster rocked Japan, you did not see looting and chaos in the streets- people lined up patiently to receive their food supplies and helped each other wherever possible.
  • Japan has arguably the most homogeneous population in the world, which provides for common understanding and largely common behavior.
  • When eating noodles, especially soba (buckwheat), you must slurp loudly. That indicates the food is delicious. It is considered rude not to slurp.
  • Sniffling, clearing oneā€™s throat, or swallowing phlegm is not considered rude, but eating or drinking while youā€™re walking is.
  • When you have a bowl of food ā€” rice, for example ā€” you must pick it up and bring it up to your mouth to eat. If you donā€™t pick up the bowl, people think you are eating like a dog.
  • Bike riders wear gloves to protect themselves from the sun, but no helmets.
 

Nocturne

Friendly Tyrant
Forum Staff
Admin
I can't decide what I think of the city street system. On one hand, you can get just about anywhere just by knowing the general direction you wish to go. However, it's more difficult for me to find constant routes to places as there are so many similar-looking roads.
European cities have mostly grown organically around a central "hub" over the course of hundred, if not thousands, of years, where-as the US cities have been "designed" more or less from scratch. Personally I MUCH prefer the European cities... it's more interesting and more fun to get lost in them!

Men's fashion is one thing in Europe that sort of bothers me (though for no real good reason). Somehow, the locals look much more "styled" than those back at home. The hairstyles and clothing choices popular here are generally only used by gays and douchebags back in the US
Us Europeans (and the spanish in particular) are just STYLE GODS. Get used to it... ;)

The beach is where I had one of my biggest shocks. It was mostly normal, until I started seeing some woman (mostly 40 years+) going topless. This isn't something that would fly at all in most parts of the US. Also, for some reason, it seems most men shave their chests. Not sure what's up with that...
Topless is absolutely normal here. No double standards and hypocritical laws... As for men shaving their chests, some do some don't, but in general the younger generation of 20-somethings do. It's partly for fashion reasons, but also partly because body hair traps sweat and in a hot country it's unhygienic.

One positive thing is the cars. I've seen very few SUVs and no giant pickup-trucks driving around. Most of the cars are more compact and eco-friendly than in the states. I just also realized that I don't believe I've seen any cars with bumper-stickers. I sort of miss those now.
This has less to do with ecology and more to do with the actual road system and the city layout. European roads are NOT massive straight highways and most of them are narrower and have far more twists and turns. So, it's just not practical to have a huge car, and those that do have them are generally from South America or showing off...
 
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