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People Share Common Insults From Their Country That Don't Make Sense To The Rest Of The World

Reddit user THEREAPER8593 asked: 'What insults are common in your country but you think most of the world would not understand/ever use?'

Rather than resorting to simple name-calling, many people will rack their brains for a clever insult that leaves their adversary speechless.

Of course, there are some fairly common insults that everyone knows and can keep in their back pocket when needed, also guaranteed to leave their conversation partner speechless as well.

Sometimes, however, they are not left speechless because they can't find a clever comeback to the insult just thrown at them, but rather because they have no idea what was just said to them.

Owing to the fact that this particular insult might be commonplace in another country, but makes no sense elsewhere, with it's meaning garbled, if there was any meaning left at all.

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yellow and green map illustration
Photo by Joshua Olsen on Unsplash

The first time I went to India on vacation to visit family, I had a terrifying experience.

I was nine years old. My grandma called my name, so I turned to face her. She told me lunch was ready and asked me to tell my brother, who was in another room. I turned around and saw a large monkey standing in the middle of the living room!

I let out a short yell but couldn't move to say anything. Luckily, my grandma saw the monkey as well. I didn't know what to do; I knew there were monkeys everywhere. I saw them in the trees. However, I never expected one to come into the house!

My grandma was able to scare it away. She closed our front door so it wouldn't happen again and explained to me monkeys sometimes liked to come into houses if they smell food, like our lunch.

Looking back on it, the experience was more interesting than anything, but nine-year-old me refused to go outside again for three days and made sure all the doors were closed and locked, not trusting monkeys not to be smart enough to use a doorknob.

I'm definitely not the only person who has had a terrifying experience in a foreign country.

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Green traffic light
Clay Banks/Unsplash

It's easy for Americans who haven't traveled outside the country to assume citizens in other parts of the world have access to the same amenities offered in the US.

But people who were not born in the States know very well how what a world of difference life in North America is compared to where they've come from.

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"Goodbye" signs in various language seen at Disneyland's "it's a small world" attraction
JACQUELINE BRANDWAYN/Unsplash

All languages have certain words that roll so beautifully off the tongue.

It's no wonder why listening to vocal arias from operas and oratorios–which are typically in languages other than English–can be such a satisfying experience.

Examples coming to mind that are pleasant to the ear include, "Un Bel Di Vedremo" from the Italian opera Madame Butterfly and "Au fond du temple saint"–a duet from the French opera, Les pêcheurs de perles.

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Everyday Occurrences In Other Countries That Would Scare Americans
Photo by Amy Humphries on Unsplash

We all know that people live differently based on which country they reside in. However, it’s not always something we think about unless we go to foreign countries a lot.

In India, where I go to visit extended family, people tend not to wear jeans, teenagers don’t date or have part-time jobs, and there are cows and stray dogs on every street. Once, I even turned around and saw a monkey from outside sitting in the middle of the living room, and I was the only one who was freaked out!

Parents, of course, have the right to ban their kids from dating or working part-time, but it’s not a cultural abnormality like it is in India. And we definitely don’t have cows lining the streets or monkeys acting like house guests here in the States!

India is not the only country in which things are different. In fact, lots of other countries have different qualities of life and different everyday occurrences. According to Redditors, some of these everyday occurrences may even scare Americans!

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