# What are some things about your own culture you understand "foreigners" would find weird? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 25, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-about-your-own-culture-you-understand-foreigners-would-find-weird/500906 "2009-06-25T03:21:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-about-your-own-culture-you-understand-foreigners-would-find-weird/500906/61 "2009-06-26T11:44:03Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > Hell, I can do you one better, **Things about Wisconsin culture those in large parts of the US would find weird** > > -Ice fishing > -Meat raffles > -gun lotteries > -White fish boil > -cheese curds > -drive-thru liquor stores > > I don’t understand some of this crap and I’m FROM here. Don’t forget cannibal &/or ghoul serial killers. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-about-your-own-culture-you-understand-foreigners-would-find-weird/500906/62 "2009-06-26T11:46:11Z")
> [@Animastryfe](#): > > [xkcd: Small Talk](http://xkcd.com/222/) > > I’m rather like the guy on the right. I’m from Canada, and although I’ve grown up with this common usage I still find it puzzling. Sheldon Cooper! ---
**Author:** ![willthekittensurvive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@willthekittensurvive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/willthekittensurvive)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-about-your-own-culture-you-understand-foreigners-would-find-weird/500906/63 "2009-06-26T12:45:34Z")
Dutch here, In Holland we have Sint Nicolaas, each year in December he brings all the children who were nice gifts and all the kids who were naughty are put in a cloth sac and taken back to Spain But that is not the weird part, Sint Nicolaas has a small army of slaves/helpers [“Zwarte Pieten”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwarte_Piet) (Black Petes) here a [image search](http://images.google.nl/images?hl=nl&q=zwarte%20piet&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi)of some of them, Come December adults put on lots of black/brown make up and put on a nappy wig, and go around throwing out sweets and threatening to abduct sinners, in what kind of looks like blackface/minstrel makeup I know some sources have the Sint Nicolaas/Zwarte Piet relationship as a liberator/ex slave, I don’t think it’s meant as Racist, but I know some Suriname people who get really uncomfortable each December ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-about-your-own-culture-you-understand-foreigners-would-find-weird/500906/64 "2009-06-26T13:09:32Z")
> [@willthekittensurvive](#): > > Dutch here, > > In Holland we have Sint Nicolaas, each year in December he brings all the children who were nice gifts and all the kids who were naughty are put in a cloth sac and taken back to Spain > > But that is not the weird part, Sint Nicolaas has a small army of slaves/helpers [“Zwarte Pieten”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwarte_Piet) (Black Petes) here a [image search](http://images.google.nl/images?hl=nl&q=zwarte%20piet&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi)of some of them, > > Come December adults put on lots of black/brown make up and put on a nappy wig, and go around throwing out sweets and threatening to abduct sinners, in what kind of looks like blackface/minstrel makeup > > I know some sources have the Sint Nicolaas/Zwarte Piet relationship as a liberator/ex slave, > I don’t think it’s meant as Racist, but I know some Suriname people who get really uncomfortable each December For a hilarious look at the American take on this, google up “David Sedaris” and “Six to Eight Black Men”. There was also a SNL skit years ago with Eddie Murphy (I think) as “Black Pete”. ---
**Author:** ![Marienee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Marienee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marienee)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-about-your-own-culture-you-understand-foreigners-would-find-weird/500906/65 "2009-06-26T13:09:32Z")
> [@willthekittensurvive](#): > > Dutch here, > > In Holland we have Sint Nicolaas, each year in December he brings all the children who were nice gifts and all the kids who were naughty are put in a cloth sac and taken back to Spain > > But that is not the weird part, As the foreigner who lives in Holland, may I share with you that that is the weird part. That _anyone_ would consider it to be a punishment to go to Spain rather than remain in Holland in December is incomprehensible. The other is just a certain level of racial insensitivity which is jarring (in this and all its manifestations) but not at all weird. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-about-your-own-culture-you-understand-foreigners-would-find-weird/500906/66 "2009-06-26T13:45:46Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Witchetty Grubs Had to know what these were. . . . > [@](#): > > Witchetty Grubs Recipes. … The reason this recipe is for only one serving is that it is almost impossible to find anyone else to eat them … LOL! No question, this is my new favorite phrase. “That boy ain’t got the good sense God gave a Witchetty Grub” “I’m hungry enough to eat a Witchetty Grub” “She had the body of a Goddess and the face of a Witchetty Grub” It just fits so beautifully into every context. . . ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-about-your-own-culture-you-understand-foreigners-would-find-weird/500906/67 "2009-06-26T13:51:04Z")
> [@Arglefraster](#): > > My coworker is from Germany. She told me she was a bit taken aback by American customer service. The first time she went to a fast food place and the cashier smiled and said “Hi, how are you?”, my coworker actually looked over her shoulder because she thought the cashier must have seen someone she knows. In Germany, both you and the customer service person know that neither of you really care how the other is doing, and you both just want to get your transaction done. Being friendly and chatty in that situation would be considered a bit silly and a waste of time. I totally agree with your co-worker ( and I completely GET the german efficiency stuff.) When I pull up to TACO BELL and the Invisible FAST FOOD GODS ask me, " Hi, how are you?" I swear one of these days I am going to start rambling about my PMS, migraines, sore toe, no money, and my cat who likes to barf up furballs. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-about-your-own-culture-you-understand-foreigners-would-find-weird/500906/68 "2009-06-26T13:52:35Z")
Eating Corn on the Cob. Zee German relations were a bit off-put by the fact we eat corn on the cob. ( Eating with your hands !!! it’s sooo very wrong!!!) and it is sweet corn. The few bits of corn I’ve had in german were blech. Corn is for the animals, apparently. moooo ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-about-your-own-culture-you-understand-foreigners-would-find-weird/500906/69 "2009-06-26T14:00:14Z")
Ireland: treating drinking water like molten gold. Every time I go there I dehydrate at some point. Ask for a drink of water nad you’ll get what Americans used to call a “juice glass” a tiny four ounce serving of lukewarm water. Corollary: I’m sure that to outsiders the American “Big Gulp” (and equivalent self-service mega sodas) must seem ridiculous. Especially since the 30 oz. cup has only about 8 oz of soda in it due to all the ice, which the American customer has added themselves, and actually shaken the cup to pack the ice more tightly before adding the token drizzle of soda. Also Ireland: The utter terror, approaching phobia, that one’s dog will be “spoiled” by people petting it, or otherwise acknowledging it’s existence. Also the horror of actually feeding, washing, or allowing the dog into the house. I often wonder how Irish dogs know that they belong to a given owner at all. (Add on, speaking to the dog in English and the Cat in Gaeilge, though it makes sense in context.) Corollary: Americans having the mobile grooming van come to their house to wash and style their dogs. Even people who themselves go to Hair Cuttery. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-about-your-own-culture-you-understand-foreigners-would-find-weird/500906/70 "2009-06-26T14:05:12Z")
Also the German thing about drafts (Es zieht!)… I think there was a thread on this being a wider central European thing too. ---
**Author:** ![Marienee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Marienee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marienee)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-about-your-own-culture-you-understand-foreigners-would-find-weird/500906/71 "2009-06-26T14:10:20Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > Eating Corn on the Cob. You can get sweet corn in Holland, it costs about a euro and a half per cob. Comes in packets of two. Which causes me to miss the tables piled high in the grocery store in Georgia. Oddly, the fields are full of corn. But as you say, corn is evidently for animals mostly. My husband thinks it’s icky. (Though this and black pete are not by any means the weirdest thing about the dutch. Though there are so many candidates… ) However it must be said that my father and his Alabama relatives consider white corn to be for people and yellow corn for pigs so it’s not entirely unique to this part of Europe. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-about-your-own-culture-you-understand-foreigners-would-find-weird/500906/72 "2009-06-27T19:20:02Z")
One thing that I just recently learned, from [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=522352), is that _Frauenparkplätze_ (parking spaces near the entrance/near well-frequented areas reserved for the use of women), common in Germany, seem to be unknown in much of the rest of the world (except possibly Korea). Specifically: “There aren’t any” from US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, NZ, Sweden; “there are some” in Venezuela, Korea. _Frauenparkplätze_ ([some](http://www.hs-pforzheim.de/De-de/Hochschule/Ansprechpartner/Gleichstellungsbeauftragte/Sicherheit/PublishingImages/frauenparkplatz.bmp) [examples](http://www.funnyparking.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/naturlich-ein-frauenparkplatz.jpg) [of](http://www.binnen-i.de/Frauenparken%20017.jpg) [signage](http://www.andreas-dahm.de/wp-content/gallery/einzelbilder/frauenparkplatz.jpg) - note the ‘female’ symbol on the ground in the last example) were introduced in the 1980s, to further women’s ‘subjective safety’ in public, particularly in the evening and at night. (The concept of subjective safety was introduced after it was pointed out that men are subject to more violence from strangers in public spaces than women are). It is meant not for _encumbered_ women (pregnant or with kids), as with spaces for this group encountered in other countries and also in Germany ([example of signage for that](http://www.pitopia.de/pictures/standard/r/ringa111/14/ringa111_90214.jpg)), but for women who feel unsafe walking from a distant, badly lit parking space to the public road/to a restaurant etc. ---
**Author:** ![alexandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@alexandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alexandra)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-about-your-own-culture-you-understand-foreigners-would-find-weird/500906/73 "2009-06-27T19:25:14Z")
> [@willthekittensurvive](#): > > Dutch here, > > In Holland we have Sint Nicolaas, each year in December he brings all the children who were nice gifts and all the kids who were naughty are put in a cloth sac and taken back to Spain > > But that is not the weird part, Sint Nicolaas has a small army of slaves/helpers [“Zwarte Pieten”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwarte_Piet) (Black Petes) here a [image search](http://images.google.nl/images?hl=nl&q=zwarte%20piet&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi)of some of them, > > Come December adults put on lots of black/brown make up and put on a nappy wig, and go around throwing out sweets and threatening to abduct sinners, in what kind of looks like blackface/minstrel makeup > > I know some sources have the Sint Nicolaas/Zwarte Piet relationship as a liberator/ex slave, > I don’t think it’s meant as Racist, but I know some Suriname people who get really uncomfortable each December Oh my god, David Sedaris’ piece about this is absolutely brilliant. It’s called “six to eight black men” or something. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2009, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-about-your-own-culture-you-understand-foreigners-would-find-weird/500906/74 "2009-06-27T22:00:50Z")
> [@willthekittensurvive](#): > > Dutch here, > > In Holland we have Sint Nicolaas, each year in December he brings all the children who were nice gifts and all the kids who were naughty are put in a cloth sac and taken back to Spain Oh yes. Also: [soused herring](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soused_herring). It’s herring season now, and boy are they TASTY!. And the multitude of bicycles and (to american eyes) small cars in the cities. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-about-your-own-culture-you-understand-foreigners-would-find-weird/500906/75 "2009-06-28T00:55:17Z")
Not something that would be considered odd, exactly, but something that seems to be unique to the UK: crisps with dozens of different flavours. What probably would seem odd is Pantomime. Not the Marcel Marceau kind of mime, but a traditional play, usually based on fairy tales, that appears around the Christmas season. The stock characters are the Dame (a woman played by a man, though with no effort to actually look like a woman), the Principal Boy (played by a girl in tights - usually Dick Whittington or somesuch is the character), Buttons (a servant, often camp, always in love with the princess) and the pantomime horse or cow (played by two unlucky actors in one costume). There is always lots and lots of innuendo and celeb D-listers as the main attraction, except for the Dame, who’s probably been doing the same job for twenty years. Sometimes it can be like a Catholic mass with its expected call and responses. ‘It’s behind you!’ ‘Oh no it isn’t!’ ‘Boooooo!’ and so on. They’re bloody great, but also rather odd. > [@tumbleddown](#): > > Apparently, from the reactions of my British friends to my AIM status messages, the widespread availability of free wifi in coffee shops and libraries is unusual, as is the idea of going out somewhere with one’s laptop to make use of that wifi. Where do your friends live? It’s common in London. ---
**Author:** ![Reepicheep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@Reepicheep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reepicheep)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-about-your-own-culture-you-understand-foreigners-would-find-weird/500906/76 "2009-06-28T02:32:36Z")
This drove our Latin American exchange students nuts – asking permission from family members. I ask my brother to use his drill, even though he is my brother. My mom asks me to use my pannini maker, even though she is my mother. The idea that family members retain possession of something \*\*and can deny use \*\*to other family members confused each of our exchange students greatly. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-about-your-own-culture-you-understand-foreigners-would-find-weird/500906/77 "2009-06-28T05:12:33Z")
Apparently people find it weird in Canada that we take our shoes off when we come into our own house or someone else’s. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-about-your-own-culture-you-understand-foreigners-would-find-weird/500906/78 "2009-06-28T05:28:00Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > …Gun ownership as a right… What baffles this Canadian is gun ownership as a _hobby_. More than once I’ve been surprised by an American being able to rattle off, say, the specs of sixteen different types of assault rifle at the drop of a hat. It’s somewhat jarring when I’ve known said American for a while and they’ve never before indicated a particular interest in guns. I’ve noticed that even foreigners who are familiar with peanut butter do not consider peanut butter and jelly (or jam) to be a valid combination for sandwiches. They have for some reason declared peanut butter to be “in the savory category” and therefore completely incompatible with anything sweet. My kind, of course, prefer peanut butter when it is combined with strawberry jam or honey or somesuch. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-about-your-own-culture-you-understand-foreigners-would-find-weird/500906/79 "2009-06-28T05:35:12Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > Not something that would be considered odd, exactly, but something that seems to be unique to the UK: crisps with dozens of different flavours. Not so weird for Americans. The UK _choice_ of flavors may be odd in the US (and vice versa), but American crisps/potato chips come in dozens of flavors as well. Off the top of my head, at the local Wal-Mart I can pick up plain, salt and vinegar, malt vinegar, dill pickle, barbecue sauce (several varieties, ranging from spicy to sweet to smoky), sour cream and chive/onion, sour cream and cheddar, plain cheddar, barbecue cheddar, jalapeno, lime, pizza, chipotle, ketchup (spicy or regular), loaded baked potato, baby back rib, sweet corn, Mediterranean, steak, black pepper, potato skin, ranch dressing, guacamole, curry, cheeseburger, mustard… I’m sure I’m missing a bunch, as Pringles crisps come in a mind-boggling array, and there are always seasonal or limited-edition flavors from Kerrs and Lays. In addition, there are multiple varieties of chip/crisp texture-- “crisp” (processed potato substance, like Tato Skins, Pringles, Lays Stax, Munchos), baked chip, normal fried chip (in organic or regular forms), ripple chip, waffle chip, and kettle-fried chip. Yes, I have an odd fascination with junk food. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-about-your-own-culture-you-understand-foreigners-would-find-weird/500906/80 "2009-06-28T08:10:26Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > Where do your friends live? It’s common in London. My friend in Manchester has a horrible time finding wifi. When his internet at home went down, he was quite put out until the modem could be replaced the next week. He wishes he could easily go somewhere and get online. But it was my friend in London who was completely flabbergasted that I’d go to a library to use their wifi when my internet connection at home was fine. Why bother, was her perspective. I wanted to be somewhere without the distractions of home. That didn’t seem to resonate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-about-your-own-culture-you-understand-foreigners-would-find-weird/500906.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-things-about-your-own-culture-you-understand-foreigners-would-find-weird/500906.md?page=5)