Weird or Humorous Foreign Customs

[chatfsh]

True story:

I was at a party a few years back hanging out with Inga, a friend of mine visiting from Norway.  She says,

[Mihail]

:O

Can't say I have, really, but then again, I'm not much of a traveler.

[Cyborg]

Quite a funny friend you have. I'm Norwegian, and both men and women like their privacy. Here, men usually don't even use urinals because of the limited privacy.

I haven't been with girls in their lavatory, though...

[Edric O]

Heh, nothing of that magnitude ever happened to me, though I don't really pay a lot of attention to people's customs and so I miss a lot of things. (not that I would miss someone sitting on a toilet in front of me, but I'd probably forget all about it in a few weeks)

On the other hand, I have discovered that Americans tend to do an excessive amount of eating with their hands. And they put so much ice in drinks that they're always nearly frozen.

[Dunenewt]

Ah, the American view of the rest of the world...

[chatfsh]

On the other hand, I have discovered that Americans tend to do an excessive amount of eating with their hands. And they put so much ice in drinks that they're always nearly frozen.

Well some foods are more suited for hands vs. eating utensils:  hamburgers, french fries, pizza, nacho platters, chicken wings, etc.  However, when it comes to steak, mash potatoes, spaghetti and such, I

[Cyborg]

We very seldom use ice in our drinks here... About the American finger eating: We do that too; we eat with whatever is more practical for the served dish. However, that is only in informal surroundings.

[MrFlibble]

Hey chatfsh, I believe the story that happened to you has much more to do with personal views of "privacy" or "intimacy", rather than some cultural stereotypes. The latter shouldn't basically differ that much between the European-type cultures, at least in the matters related to the discussed subject.

I also think that in the animal world, it's natural for any highly organized mammal to isolate itself when it needs to "do the private business", as it is most vulnerable to external threats during the process. We humans also have such an instinct, but, thanks to the duality of human nature, it can be overridden by our social aspect (although generally people don't do it).

[gunner154]

And they put so much ice in drinks that they're always nearly frozen.

I really can't stand the ice in drinks. Always make sure I get little or no ice at all in my drinks whenever possible. Especially when the ice melts and all that...

You can be sure most Chinese value privacy and all that a lot. ;)

[Khan]

Regarding the ice…guilty as charged.  I insist upon ice in my beverages!  Be it water, soft drink, alcohol (wine and beer must be chilled or I will not suffer it).  That was one particularly annoying thing about my stay in England….I had to keep asking for ice and the waiters would look at me as if I were asking for bleedin’ diamonds.

Wow you havve to tell me where you went waiters are always putting ice in my drinks and it really annoys me.

[alchemi2]

urgggggggggg ice in Wine! Beer !! Lager!!! how wierd. No wonder you got strange looks, yes these things need to be cold but you don't put ice in them you put them in ice !!!!  ::) ;) Americans  ??? :O ;) :D

[chatfsh]

No, no, no...I clearly said wine and beer must be chilled (served cold, as if refrigerated).  I don't like ice in those items.  Warm beer is awful. :P

The strange looks were for wanting ice in my Coke or Pepsi. Is that asking for too much??  :) :)

Mr. Flibble - I agree that it may have been just her personal concepts of privacy vs a whole European cultural thing, considering I've never had another European do that...or anyone for that matter.  I just thought I'd ask.

Khan - I was in Thetford, England

I wonder why ice cold drinks are such an American thing.  Oh, milk and fruit juice are two other items that I like nicely chilled, but no ice.

[Cyborg]

We use refrigerators to achieve the "nicely chilled" effect.

[chatfsh]

Yes, I was going to ask how popular refrigerators were over there.  I recalled seeing them while in Europe, but for some reason I

[gunner154]

I always have them chilled, but without ice, ie. use the refrigerator! And yes, refrigerators are common here...

[Tezcatlipoca]

No, no, no...I clearly said wine and beer must be chilled (served cold, as if refrigerated).  I don't like ice in those items.  Warm beer is awful. :P

Cold wine.... yeck... Completely depends on the type of whine but I prefer dry so.. yeck :P. As for the beer, only the low quality crud needs to be cold to be decent. Get a good quality beer and serving it cold just distracts from the taste.

[Cyborg]

Yes, I was going to ask how popular refrigerators were over there.  I recalled seeing them while in Europe, but for some reason I

[chatfsh]

Cold wine.... yeck... Completely depends on the type of whine but I prefer dry so.. yeck :P. As for the beer, only the low quality crud needs to be cold to be decent. Get a good quality beer and serving it cold just distracts from the taste.

Whether sweet or dry wine it should never be served greater than 65F degrees, better yet chilled to well-chilled.  Otherwise, don

[Cyborg]

Cold wine.... yeck... Completely depends on the type of whine but I prefer dry so.. yeck :P. As for the beer, only the low quality crud needs to be cold to be decent. Get a good quality beer and serving it cold just distracts from the taste.

:O :O :O How can you not think cold beer is the best? Even the best of the best ( Heineken is among those ) is best cold.

And American beer is just water...

[Andrew]

And American beer is just water...

And a flamewar has started.

Although I'd have to agree. Everyone makes fun of American beer. :O

I don't understand why people buy light beer. You have to drink twice as many and piss more.

I currently got Keiths Red Amber Ale 5% and Moosehead Premium Dry 5.5% sitting in my bedroom.

And Canadians drink their beer cold (had a friend go to england and was surprised that it was all warm beer). I drink it whether its cold or not, but preferred cold.

[chatfsh]

And American beer is just water...

I will not argue this point as I am by no means a beer connoisseur.  If anything, I'll give you that the Europeans probably do beer better than Americans. But even if I were over there again, I'm sure I'd prefer it cold. ;)

[Dunenewt]

Its always cold over here. We even have extra cold beers. I've never been to a pub where the beer is warm.

[chatfsh]

Always cold?  Yet I distinctly recall in Thetford being subjected to warm/room temperature beer.  And I

[Cyborg]

Well, decently cooled beer would be about 10

[chatfsh]

I suppose that makes sense.

I can