#1
Sundays are for silence. No mowing lawns, no working outside, no loud parties, no annoying anoyne with your choices.
Sundays. Are. For. Silence.
And it's the best thing ever.
#2
#3
Here in Switzerland, it is considered rude to disturb others, so you'll talk in a volume that does not bother others. Especially in public transport. And don't you _dare_ to talk in a cinema.
If you’re an avid traveler, it’s likely that at least once in your life you’ve experienced a culture shock. It’s an experience a person feels when they come to a place that is different from their own, where they witness a deviation from what they consider “normal.” Technically, culture shocks are more common with people who stay in a country for a longer period, but they can happen to short-term visitors as well.
In today’s list, you’ll find quite a few examples of things that people usually view as normal, but they realize that for a person from somewhere else with different customs, they might be rather weird.
#4
Heard of foreigners asking, "What's the deal with all the gay nannies?"
Apparently, it's easier to assume that men taking care of kids have to be paid for it and gay than to assume that dads are actually parenting.
Edit to add country: Sweden, and to specify dads taking care of their own babies. It is very common for dads to take parental leave.
#5
#6
In fact, if you go to the Yrjönkatu public pool in Helsinki, you can be naked *in the swimming pool* during dedicated times. Certainly, at most private homes or cottages, you'll be naked in the sauna possibly in mixed gender company, and naked into the frozen lake to swim too.
It's just human bodies. We all have them.
For instance, in Germany, Sundays are for silence, where it’s frowned upon to do anything that causes too much sound. It includes any noisy housework, like vacuuming or lawn mowing. And it’s not just a simple understanding – if your neighbors deem you too loud, you can even get fined for it.
While viewing Sunday as the so-called “rest day” isn’t so uncommon in Christianity-focused countries, not all of them take this as seriously as Germany. So, for a newcomer in this country, it might cause a little cultural shock.
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Interestingly, these shocks usually have 4 stages. The first one is dubbed “the honeymoon stage.” That’s when a person is thrilled to be in a new place and sees it as an adventure. That’s usually what short-term tourists only experience. But for some of them, or for those who stay a little longer, a second stage awaits.
This one is called “the frustration stage.” It’s when a person starts becoming irritated and disoriented as the initial glee wears off. This can bring fatigue, homesickness, and even depression due to misunderstanding people’s actions, language, customs, and other things. This is the most prevalent when there’s a language barrier involved.
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#11
We just don't consider feeding your baby as sexual. I know it's shocking to people from the western world but it's equally shocking to us that some people, somewhere consider something as basic as feeding babies, sexual and will refuse a baby's basic needs in public because of this.
#12
Luckily, after these bad days, the sun usually rises and “the adaptation stage” comes. As the name suggests, it’s when a person starts feeling more at home with their new surroundings. While they might not be able to wrap their head around every single cultural cue, they’re starting to become more familiar with an increasing number of them, which helps the adaptation.
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Then, “the acceptance stage” starts. That’s when most misunderstandings get resolved, and if there are still any, they don’t bother a person too much, as they take it as an inevitable part of their life.
As we said in the beginning, our world is diverse and we all have different understandings of what is conventional and not. When we get face-to-face with these differences, it’s normal that it takes a little time to get used to, as long as it leads to acceptance and a celebration of our diversity, not hatred.
What thing from your country would seem odd to newcomers? Share with us in the comments!
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#18
Its a long process initiated by a knee slap and a "welp I s'pose." It has been known to last hours and if you navigate it incorrectly you'll be labeled as rude until the day you die.
God speed trying to navigate that one!
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