If you've never been outside the United States, odds are you don't know how people live, day-to-day, in other parts of the world. Sure, you can watch movies or check out the occasional documentary for a small peak at what it might be like in another country, but until you go there, meet its people, and live like they do, you won't understand all the odd quirks and traditions they exhibit.
Reddit user, u/PowerHAUS_, wanted to know what you've picked up on when overseas when they asked:
What's the weirdest thing you noticed when you visited a foreign country?
Give It Up For Italy
swinging the simpsons GIFGiphyI don't know that this is weird, but I did find it interesting that when I visited Italy most of them appear to use clotheslines to dry their clothes (at least in Naples and Sorrento). Like even really expensive, nice-looking places had clotheslines with stuff on them in their yards or balconies. I actually respected Italy for it. Like they're a rich enough country that the average person could easily afford to use a dryer, but they choose to use air-drying. I don't know.
My world-traveling friend who has been to every continent but Antarctica once told me of Italy: "The whole time you're there you get this strange sense that they're just better at life than we are." I couldn't have agreed more. It's difficult to describe why to someone who has never been there, but they seem to know how to allocate their time, efforts and resources in a balanced, thoughtful sort of way that's more tailored to human happiness and well-being than the way Americans live.
Good Luck!
China...they have painted lanes on their roads...they don't use the painted lanes.
Driving in China is nuts.
I don't know why they even have rearview mirrors, because they drive as if nothing behind them matters.
Hold up traffic for five minutes while you stop for no discernible reason? Sure, why not. Nothing else exists behind your car.
Be Ready
woman kissed me on both cheeks as a greeting. There never feels like there is a warning, just happens.
I m from France. We call it « la bise » and it is an extremely common way to greet your friends. Can't do it anymore because of Covid and I really miss it ! But i get that it is strange if you are not use to it.
Grabbing A Bit Of A Rest
Elderly people in rural Japan squatting in the middle of the sidewalk. Not pooping, just squatting to rest. I mean, self-care is important but I almost tripped over an old lady early in the morning.
Overstuffed Bellies
homer simpson mess GIFGiphyThe USA serves much more food per plate at restaurants than any other country I have traveled to.
The same seems to apply to a "family size" pizza. In Australia a "Large" pizza is 12 inches, in the U.S it seems to range from "Manhole" to "Good luck getting this through a door" size.
*knock, knock
In Taiwan, when you knock on a toilet stall, the person inside knocks back to let you know it's occupied.
Props If You Ever Pooped In School
In the USA for some reason toilet cubicle doors are half the size of everywhere else in the world
US public school bathrooms are a nightmare
You Look Different Than Me. Can I Have A Picture?
Lived in a village in Central China for a year, strangest thing was people constantly recording me then having strangers come up to me to show me pictures of myself from like 2 days ago walking around a supermarket that popped up on their social media feed. Bizzare.
In rural India, people would basically swarm me and ask for photos because I'm pale. A few people wanted me to hold their babies which, fine, you can take my photo if I get to hold your baby.
I always liked to imagine that years later they'll be flipping through the family photo album; "This is our trip to Hampi, this is your mother getting blessed by an elephant, oh and this is a white lady holding you when you were a baby!"
Naturally Heated Smells
I wasn't prepared for how hot water would smell in Iceland. Because it comes from being heated geothermically it smells like sulfur. Showering the first time was a little bit of a shock.
Oh God, right? I had a very hard time convincing my brain that I was clean after showering in Reykjavik.
We Stop Down To Focus
praying bart simpson GIFGiphyWhen I was working as a volunteer in Sri Lanka, there were little Buddha shrines dotted all along the road at various intervals. I found out what they were for when I tagged along with a local guy who worked at the centre where I was working as he was driving into town to pick something up from the market. He looked at the time on his car clock, realised what time it was, and pulled up next to one of those shrines. He told me he'd be five minutes, then got out of the car, grabbed a few sticks of incense from a basket next to the shrine, lit them up with his cigarette lighter, and then sat before it and started meditating. Then when he was finished, he just got back in the car and we carried on as normal.
I've always found it interesting how people in non-Christian countries have managed to accommodate their faith whilst going about the hustle and bustle of daily life, but this one was particularly interesting to me.
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Redditor FroyoNecessary5999 wanted to hear about the things we could all change about the past, so they asked:
"What is something you did that you deeply regret doing?"
Sometimes I feel like my whole life is one big regret.
Time
GIF by Ariana GrandeGiphy"Putting time and efforts into relationships/friendships that I should have just let go the first chance I had."
illeatyoura***
"Alternatively, not putting enough time and effort into relationships/friendships that actually were worth it."
TCSK8
We just can't...
"Probably rejecting my grandpa when he wanted to play chess, he then fell from a roof like a week later and I never had the chance to play chess with him again, still bothers me that I kinda never had this moment with him.."
nemgtas
"I have this fear now, while my parents are still alive. And my psychologist says the most sensible thing: we can't spend every moment with the people that love us. We just can't. And they don't expect us to. It wouldn't be healthy. And so we will ALL have SOME moments where we have said no. And that's okay. Or else we'd be resentful."
fanghornegghorn
Good Night
"I was seven years of age, I had an argument with my mother the night before she died. Before I went to bed she asked me for a hug I told her NO and stormed off to bed. The next morning I woke up to find everyone in the house was gone, it was very surreal and confusing. My father came back in that morning crying and told me my mother had died of a brain hemorrhage."
"Never go to bed on an argument."
Kellbag91
Gift Horse
"When I was 7 or 8 years old, I snapped at my dad for getting me the wrong video game and I can still see the disappointment in his face. Haunts me to this day."
Caxozma
"I remember my grandma taking me to the mall as a kid, and I was getting super upset I couldn’t get this $50 Pacsun hoodie. $50 hoodies are common now, but it was very expensive then. I freaked out and even said I pay her back. We ended up going back for it. What haunts me most is I didn’t even wear it. I really don’t know why I acted that way and still feel terrible."
Cobonmycorn
Too Young to Know
Make It Rain Money GIF by SpongeBob SquarePantsGiphy"Not opening a retirement account when I was 18 like I was told to."
"That and not investing my money I made bartending in my 20s. When you're that young you don't think about things like that unfortunately."
buthomeisnowhere
I'm still at a loss about investing.
I need to figure that out.
Maxed!
credit card debt GIFGiphy"Use my credit card too much to buy things I didn’t need. Now I’m dealing with a maxed out credit card that’s killing me every month."
MrRontendo
Practice is Perfect
"I deeply regret letting my creative writing and piano playing skills go to sh*t. Ever since I entered the corporate world 19 years ago, it has consumed me, and I no longer feel passionate about those things. I stopped practicing everything. When I try to make myself do them, it feels like just that, like I am forcing myself and it is no longer fun. I feel like I’ve become a shell of my former self in so many ways."
La_Reina_Rubia
Too Young
"Getting married to my first girlfriend at 19. I rushed the relationship because it felt good to not be alone and I thought that I could help her with her depression and anxiety, was hoping to have kid with her as well. However as time went on she just got worse and worse and kept using her depression as a crutch to justify every shi**y thing she did."
"When I started experiencing depression I stopped trying to keep things together and we got divorced a few years ago. I still haven't recovered mentally from it and between that and the pandemic I feel like a shell of the man I used to be."
ancap_attack
Peace Out
Phaedra Parks Bye Felicia GIFGiphy"Being too loyal and putting up with poor treatment from so called friends to the detriment of my mental health... not anymore *itches."
"Cut them all out when I realized they were unable to respond to me in a healthy way and still expected me to be on default fawning mode."
No-Conference-6242
Biggest Lesson? Don't let life slip by.
Redditor param_T_extends_THOT was curious to find out which companies people fell into this less than prolific category, leading them to ask:
"Which company could go out of business tomorrow and it would be to the betterment of this world?"
Nothing Express About It
"Express Scripts."- BadDadJokes
Wildly Different, Yet Equally Unnecessary
"Privatized prisons."
"Glitter manufacturers."- Sped-Connection
Where To Even Begin?
"The church of Scientology?"- dipshipsaidso
church building GIF by South Park GiphyBeware The Pyramids
"Any MLM bullsh*t."- Work-Alone
Taylor Swift Would Probably Agree
"Ticketmaster."- Tynesand
You Really Want To Trust Them With Your Money?
"HSBC, one of the largest banks in the world, is a criminal enterprise:"
"In 2012, the bank paid $1.9 billion to settle charges brought by U.S. authorities that it had failed to prevent money laundering by Mexican drug cartels."
"In 2013, HSBC was fined $1.92 billion by US and UK regulators for its role in the manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), a benchmark interest rate."
"In 2014, the bank was charged by the U.S. Department of Justice for violating sanctions against Iran, Sudan, and other countries."
"In 2018, the bank was charged by the US Department of Justice for violating the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering regulations."
"Also, Nestle."- alecsputnik
Amen!
"Joel Osteen's ministries."- ststeveg
Joel Osteen Highwire Live GIF by Volcano Live! with Nik WallendaGiphyMaybe All Big Pharma?
'Seems like the general consensus is Nestle, but I’ll be weird and say DuPont."
"They’re the reason every living human on the planet has Forever Chemicals running through their bloodstream."-poppidypoppop
"Blinded By The Light"...
"Everyone one that makes blindingly bright low beam bulbs."- RetinaMelter9000s
One Bad Experience Can Ruin It Forever
"Mark's plumbing."- GreenieMachinie93
Rockos Modern Life 90S GIFGiphy"Oh The Wells Fargo Wagon Is A Comin' Down The Street..."
"Wells Fargo."- Itchy_Focus_4500
Honestly, Can't Agree With This One
"F*cking TurboTax."- camilofl20
Absolutely Frightening
"Wagner Group.'
"Dirty mercenary army with soldiers for hire."
"They have caused chaos where ever they have gone."
"Syria, Central African Republic, Madagascar, Libya, Venezuela, mali, Mozambique and a few other places, they have no desire to see a peaceful world as that would financially cripple them as a organization."
"Look at what they are doing to the Ukrainian people."
"Despicable organization and they have zero moral compass."- Weary_Violinist_3610
Maybe all Credit Reporting?
"Experian, Equifax, and/or Transunion."
"Leeches on America."- compusmack
Smiley Face Thumbs Up GIF by Tier One CreditGiphyCan't Help But Say It, Did She Really Think "goop" Was An Appealing Name?
"Comcast & goop."- celeresaharano·
Be it poor customer service, questionable business practices, or just plain fraud, it's hard not to agree that any or all of these companies would not be missed should they close their doors.
After all, when a health and wellness brand openly tells you that some or all of its products may not actually improve your health or wellness, that just about says it all.
...even if Shakespeare in Love remains a romantic gem...