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.
It all started when Redditor J3nnyDoll asked:
What's the weirdest/scariest thing you've experienced in a foreign country?"
In Parents We Trust?
"I got lost in an underground city in Tukey as a child. I stepped away from my parents and group to look at something, and when I turned around, they were all gone. I couldn't find anyone who spoke English for a while until finally a man who spoke a little English helped me find my way back to the surface to wait for my parents to come back out. Thankfully, one of the women from our group was already there because she had gotten claustrophobic. Being "lost" was scary enough, but not being able to communicate terrified me. Then, when my parents came up, they didn't even realize I had been lost. So that became the scariest thing, realizing I wasn't exactly "safe" with my parents' inattentiveness."
– fleurdwoman
The Other Side
"A few years ago I'm in Saudi Arabia on business. The company CEO had advised me to use Uber there, because it would be easier than talking to a cabbie who probably didn't speak English. At the end of the trip, I get an Uber to head back to the airport. I notice that the driver blows right past the airport turn-off. It feels like we're heading out into the desert. Pretty quickly, I'm starting to get nervous. I try to ask what is going on, but the guy just looks in the rearview mirror and smiles."
"A few miles later, he's finally taking a turn into, not the airport, but a Saudi air force base! He pulls up to the gates, and out come the guards, yelling at him and pointing their weapons. Now I'm practically crapping my pants in the back seat! WTH is going on? I'm going to be shot or arrested trying to enter a Saudi base illegally because of a f*cking Uber driver!"
"The guy eventually backs up and turns around. We get back on the highway, go a few miles, and he turns off, again. This time, he chose the entrance for all the highway coaches (buses) for people going to the Hajj at Mecca! It's Ramadan, and the place is packed with Muslims making the sacred journey. It's another repeat of this idiot getting himself yelled at again for being in the wrong place. At least this time the guys doing the yelling are not armed, but still..."
"We're back on the highway again in a few minutes, and for the second time, the guy drives right past the correct airport turn-off. I'm in the back wondering how hard I can punch the CEO in the face without getting fired. FFS now where are we going?"
"He follows the highway into town and does this big arc and now we're driving parallel to the previous path of chaos, but about 5 or 6 kms away. The airport is on my right now (it was to the left, previously). This time he takes the first exit, but I'm not familiar with it, but it's the airport, so I'm not complaining."
"As we get closer to the terminals, I realize we're on the wrong side of the airport (like domestic flights versus international flights). He needs to reverse his course, and drive all the way around the outside along that big loop, again. F*ck that. I'm getting out without saying anything. At least I'm at the airport, and maybe there's a shuttle."
"Nope, no shuttle. There are, however, about 50 cab drivers all offering to take me, somewhere, but all they can say is "you need cab?" That's it. One guy sorta steps forward. I'm asking for someone who speaks English and he finally brings a young guy around. In addition to saying "you need cab?", this guy can also say "no problem, I drive you there." It's progress. I show him my airline ticket and he realizes right away I'm on the wrong side of the airport. I ask him how much to go to the other side, and he says it will be the equivalent of $50USD. For a 10 minute ride!"
"Seemed like a better rate than Uber."
"FWIW I wrote a complaint to Uber. They reimbursed me immediately."
– dromard666
Summoning
"I used to teach English in Japan. I didn’t get off most nights until 9pm, so it was close to 10 by the time I made it to the train stop near my apartment. One night I’m walking home and the street is dead, except for this elementary school boy walking towards me and whistling."
"In Japan, whistling at night is said to attract demons so I was a bit unsettled by his behavior. The kid just kept whistling. I hurried home, demon free."
"I also used to find long thick black hair in my apartment in places I’d recently cleaned. I don’t have thick black hair, my hair is fine and red, so that was weird. I also didn’t have guests with hair like that so, who knows!"
– Lost_Feature8488
An Unsung Hero
"In Egypt, as I was leaving, an official guy in uniform came over and asked to see my passport and put it straight into his pocket and said I was being detained. Walked me over to a side office and told me to wait inside."
"I didn't go in and told him (maybe stupidly) that I was about to miss my flight and he said, he could 'make the process faster' if I paid the 'administrative fee'. Fine - a bribe whatever. Wasn't the first time on this trip. I take out the literal last of my cash and hand it to him, he puts it straight into his pocket and says 'not enough.'"
"I'm explaining that it's literally all of the money I have and this woman, not in any kind of uniform, walks over to the guy, says something to him quite quietly (like speaking into his ear) and he looks petrified. Just absolutely terrified. Immediately gives me back my passport and not just the cash I gave him but some more that I guess he got from someone else before me and starts apologising to me profusely and even offered to escort me to my gate."
"She just smiled at me and told me to have a nice flight."
– PhiloPhocion
Mysterious, Very Mysterious
"Few years back I was in Russia (I don't recall what was name of that place I was in) and well..."
"If I remember it correctly then I was in some smaller town that looked like ghost town. You could see outside only few people and buildings looked abandoned. Also almost no cars. Prety weird and scary, but the peek was at one of outer edges there was a small forest and small wall in front of it. Nothing else around. Just small forest with small clean untoutched concrete wall. And on some trees in that small forest I saw hats just hanging from there. I sadly don't have photos of that place, but I know I never will return there."
– Omikron_1
Racing The Sun
"A few years ago I was visiting Colombia and need to travel into the interior from Cartagena. It was about a 6 hour drive to where I was going so I arrange for a car the next morning and off we go."
"As we get deeper into the countryside I notice the driver seems a little hurried. Like tires screeching around corners and weaving through moving traffic. I was already a little nervous and he was making me more nervous, so I ask him if everything's okay and that I'm not in that big of a hurry so he can take his time."
"He looks in the mirror back at me and says "it's not safe for you to be out here at night so we need to hurry.""
"Of course I'm just sitting there kinda thinking well, sh*t. So I ask him if it's that serious and he looks back in the mirror at me again and says "dangerous for you and dangerous for me to be with you.""
"And then it clicked he wasn't just worried about me, he was scared for himself. Last hour or so of that drive, racing the fading Sun was absolutely panic-inducing."
"I've been to the country a few more times now and have yet to experience anything bad but that car ride seriously freaked me out in the moment."
– Kodiak_Runnin_Track
Keep Your Information Private
"In Tunisia cops stopped our Taxi, wanted our papers and to know where we stay. Soon afterwards taxi driver said we shouldn’t have told him. A few days later the cop comes to reception saying he’s our friend. That was a mess. Luckily I ran into our tour guide who got rid of him. Seems the cop was hoping some ”donation.”"
– mrSunshine-_
Shiver Me Timbers!
"Real pirates rolled up on our beach in Jamaica. The local police had to chase them off. Crazy site for sure."
– Str8Thuggin13
No Peace
"Taking an overnight ferry during a People to People program in the summer with a bunch of high schoolers. Overnight from Italy to Sicily."
"Bunch of younger to middle aged dudes not in the group were constantly hitting on the girls and were trying to proposition them back to their cabins on the ship. A few of us saw some trying to follow us back to our own rooms and a male teacher had to intervene."
"Later that night when in the room with the three other girls we heard our door being tested to see if locked. I was fully prepared to claw the eyes out of any motherf*cker who successfully got in but it was a f*ckin scary sleepless night."
– SeaOfFireflies
Man's Best Friend
"I have a friend that's from South Africa. He was going to go back for a bit to visit some family and friends. He invited me along. We stayed with one of his friends who live in a really old colonial house in, quite literally, the middle of nowhere. This house has a fence around the entire property."
"We were returning to the house one night. It was very dark. No street lights or anything. We pulled up to the gate to the property. I was in the passenger seat so I hopped out to open the gate. As I opened the gate I thought I heard something run past me, but a bit in the distance. I was a bit spooked so I quickly closed the gate after the vehicle passed through. When I fully closed it I heard the same thing run past me, but this time much closer."
"I knew I wasn't just hearing things this time. I was absolutely freaked out. Here I was in the middle of nowhere in a country with plenty of animals that can quite easily tear me apart. At this point I started running back to the vehicle. As I was running I heard the same thing run after me, but it was gaining on me. As I reached the door the thing reached me. This time, I could see it and it was indeed an animal. It was the house owner's friendly dog excited to see me. I never felt so relieved in my entire life. I thought for sure I was going to die."
– slicedbread1991
Shopping Can Be Scary
"When I was in Turkey my friend and I (F23 and F28) were walking through a small market just browsing. We stopped next to one shop to take a look on something. Owner immediately jumped in trying to persuade us to buy (which is normal) or for my friend (and only her) to go with him upstairs to see more goods. When we refused and turned to walk away he grabbed my friend by upper arm and hauled her to the stairs. We both were screaming and hitting him but he only let go when I twisted his thumb making him loosen his hold. My friend had huge bruise on her arm for the rest of vacation."
– Milhent
I'm thankful all I had to deal with was a monkey!
Do you have any travel experiences to share? Let us know in the comments below.
People in the United States know that our culture differs from that of other countries, but it is not always obvious how.
Many European countries house historical castles, cars are unnecessary in several cities, Europeans are practically expected to speak more than one language fluently, and of course, the chocolate is a million times better!
There are plenty of other things Europe has that the United States doesn’t. Redditors know what these things are, and are ready to share.
It all started when Redditor QuintessentialPies asked:
“What does europe have that the US doesn’t?”
Cultural Diversity
"Cultural perspective. Each country is closely adjacent to another with a different culture so there is much more understanding of diversity. There are often multiple languages spoken in each country. The US has some cultural variety from one state to another but nothing quite like having multiple other countries so close. Mexico and Canada aren’t quite the equivalent version of this."
– TheWreckaj
"Well for starters, USA is a country while Europe is a continent. So Europe has many countries but USA has only one"
– GauAp
It's Like A Rainbow!
"Colorful money of varying sizes"
– LongtimeLurkerIsHere
"Did you know, the reason the bills are different sizes is in part because it helps the blind distinguish between denominations. Because all US bills are the same size, you cannot tell from feel if a bill is a $1 or a $10, so it's easier to get ripped off. (Some blind people fold their bills in special configurations depending on value so they can identify their money by touch)"
– cinemachick
"They have braille on them too! I was genuinely surprised of the accessibility when I visited the UK!"
– BillCatsby
The History Is Here
"Medieval castles and ancient structures. As a history nerd, I don't know how I'd survive in a modern country like the US."
– JS569123
"I was an exchange student with Italy. The Sala Borsa Library in Bologna is built on *top* of ancient roman ruins, and the floor of the library is actually glass so that you can look at the roman ruins beneath your feet and watch archaeologists excavate the ruins while you're checking out books. You'll never see anything like that in the US."
– DoctorWatchamacallit
"'I'm from Europe, where the history comes from'"
"Eddie Izzard performing in San Francisco."
– Wyvernkeeper
Let's Take A Walk
"Cities that expanded before the popularisation of the motor car."
– housemuncher
"TBH, living in Ireland has been wonderful for my health. With no car, cities unsafe for biking, and sub-optimal public transportation, I have to walk everywhere whether I like it or not."
– WednesdayAddams3001
"Bicycle paths. I mean separate dedicated 2 lanes."
– bemest
It's All Greek...And Italian...And French...To Me
"A significant percentage of the population that is bi or tri lingual"
– Rdr1051
"An expectation that you speak more than one language."
– nattylite100
Tea Time
"220v electric kettles. They boil water insanely fast"
– Mental_Ascent
"Tea kettles being commonplace in most home"
– Maximum_Vanilla_Cone
"How can anyone live without kettle? Do you guys over the pond don't start you're day with cup of coffee or tea?"
– Australian_Wombat
Healthy Living
"Free healthcare, 4 week PTO, paid maternity leave, cheap/free college education"
– dimap443
"a working health care System"
– GayNon-BinaryLeo
"Oh it works and it works really well, it just costs a f**k ton of money."
– elchignacio
The Cost Of Learning
"Affordable higher education"
– Dooshbaguette
The Metric System
"Apart from the walkable cities, affordable education, modern infrastructure like high speed railroads, a humane healthcare system, wine, public order, strict gun control, limited lobbying, less obesity, guaranteed vacations, and lower prison population, what did the European ever had better than us?"
"A good system of measurement?"
"Oh. A good system of measurement? Shut up!"
– FeaturePotential4562
Who To Vote For?
"More than two political parties"
– HyenaElectrical4530
Ah, the choices!
Is there anything we missed on this list? Let us know in the comments.
Everyday Occurrences In Other Countries That Would Scare Americans
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!
Wanting to find out more, Redditor TotallyBrandName asked:
“What’s something that happens in your country that would scare Americans?”
Not Like 'The Lion King'
"Kenya- Lions frequent the villages at night. Hyenas actually take small kids way at night."
– Sikh001
On The Lookout
"Drug cartel convoys (groups of 4-6 trucks) in full tactical gear patrolling the city..."
– ramossaenz
"Ngl i think that would scare most ppl in most countries"
– TophatOwl_
We Need Power!
"Load shedding- in South Africa we can have up to 14 hours a day without power. They are ‘planned’ outages. This is due to the corruption and lack of maintenance to the infrastructure. We even have an app to let us know when to expect our electricity to be stolen."
– Reasonable-Media-550
"As an American, idk that it scares me but it’s such a foreign concept. If we are without power, there’s either a storm or a car hitting a pole"
– ProcedureEfficient86
I Prefer Charlotte
"Spiders the size of your palm just casually chilling on the wall every summer. I normally just let them be. They are active at night and will get about your house, they move surprisingly fast for their size also and suddenly vanish. They also get in your car and shoes."
– Hollybums
"you win. please confirm where you live so i can never go there."
– earlytuesdaymorning
"I'm not an American and that terrifies me. Australia is a scary place."
– Hellion_shark
"As an American the walls of my house would be riddled with bullet holes if this were the case"
– iamquiteunhappy
Abduction
"In my country Uganda, the Army kidnaps people and it has become so normal. The cars they use were nicknamed "Drones" because of it kidnaps you, it disappears at lightning speed. They are always numberless, so intractable. They do this in broad daylight, and when they arrest someone like that, you are sure that even if you go to any Police Precinct or Army Barracks, they won't have him because "Officially" you are not arrested anywhere."
– Banana-Republic1
"We drive on the left hand side of the road (Ireland) and that terrifies a lot of American tourists who were hoping to rent a car and drive while here."
"I know exactly how they feel because I spend a lot of time in the USA and anything to do with roads scares me. I instinctively look right first, then left when crossing a road, whereas in America it's the complete opposite because they drive on the right hand side. Also, sometimes I'll be driving there and just get a complete brain meltdown and forget where I am - OMG am I on the wrong side of the road or not??!!"
– FifiLaFifi
"This is the big one for me, and probably the only one in this thread I agree with. I travel a fair amount. I'm terrified of having to rent a car and drive on the other side of the road. I'm a pretty good driver, I just feel like I'll turn wrong or do something wrong and get into an accident."
– illini02
All Work And More Work
"Have a beer with lunch and then drive with 160mph+ back to work only to have my boss to yell at me that i still have 15min of break and i should not work more than asked. Mind you, all of this is legal."
– Ok_Sherbet_8026
"i still have 15min of break and i should not work more than asked"
"This is 100% foreign in the US."
"My swiss friend was forbidden to come to work for the last weeks of December because he had forgot to use all his vacation days."
"In the US it's common for managers to deny you going on vacation"
– FailFastandDieYoung
Employee Rights
"The client isn't always right. Actually, if the client complains they might get their butt kicked"
– Average_perfection
"Now I wanna know where that is lol"
– ho-lee_-sheet
In A Rich Man's World
"Argentina. Anually inflation of 100%"
– MxAxX
"Inflation"
"Americans are freaking out about a little 8.5% inflation, meanwhile in Argentina we're looking at 85%."
– ObviousExit4037
Walk Right In
"I don't know any Americans really, but people seem concerned when I mention that we occasionally have baboons invading our houses and full on social media groups dedicated to alerting people so we can lock up and bring animals inside before it happens. Granted you have to live in an are where there is a troop of baboons for this to happen, but still. Edit: I'm sure this isn't unusual in rural American areas, though with other animals. But still."
"Also loadshedding."
– NiddTheBat
"I don’t think just Americans would be afraid of that. I think most human beings would be afraid of that."
– Hunnybunchesoflove
That last one definitely convinced me! I’m not nearly as worldly as I thought.