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Thread: Cultural differences

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    Default Cultural differences

    Hello,

    I’m interested in your cultures weird little things. Add yours for your country or even more local location

    Slovenia:
    -we’re very pedantic about cleanliness. Trash bins everywhere, streets are cleaned every day, throwing stuff on the floor is heavily looked down upon. Especially outside of urban centers, it’s a big no no. Also in nature, we’re taught already as kids you should be as quiet as possible to not disrupt the animals. This one stood out as national quirk to me when I see Italian tourists here, who do not get it at all.
    -we say hello to everyone we meet in nature. Rule is that the person going downhill greets first, because he is the one that is less out of breath.
    -we say hello at entry and upon exit at doctors/dentist waiting room to everyone there. Hello and goodbye is also kind of a rule at entry and exit of elevator - this one especially got me lots of weird looks abroad.
    -we’re absolutely, positively sure that cold weather causes cold (the virus) on a national level. A single breeze is surely going to cause cold!
    -it’s nice to pay someone else a drink, but if you’re buying one back, we’re getting drunk
    -our anthem is basically a toast to drink and glorifies all nations that want peace, but doesn’t actually talk about our own country
    -nobody can drive here. We were rated as least knowledgable nation of driving rules in Europe. Probably because more than half of our population lives outside of urban city centers, where even roundabouts don’t exist.
    Last edited by adhoc; May 9th, 2019 at 06:50 AM.

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    Senior Member SIR's Avatar
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    Cool Re: Cultural differences

    Where i live... is it England or Britain?

    I wouldn't like to pass judgment or classify anyone who lives within this domain - all i will say is class and inequality are longstanding divisions (like everywhere, right?), but mostly people make do and mend.

    BTW, and adhoc know this, i would really love to visit Slovenia for a little while.

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    Senior Member Deb's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    Apparently the US and Britain have the greatest financial inequality (according to the BBC today.) I like to think of where I live as Britain though it may not remain so. Being a US citizen I don't have a dog in the fight.
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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    Sadly, the most people i empathise with consider themselves 'English' and those whom I hold most objection 'British'; but i get on great with the Welsh, Scots, and Republican Irish... so go figure.

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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    Quote Originally Posted by SIR View Post
    Where i live... is it England or Britain?

    I wouldn't like to pass judgment or classify anyone who lives within this domain - all i will say is class and inequality are longstanding divisions (like everywhere, right?), but mostly people make do and mend.

    BTW, and adhoc know this, i would really love to visit Slovenia for a little while.
    Interesting! We have the lowest income inequality in the world and I don’t think class divisions are apparent here or at the very least they have never touched me. Could you specify a few examples how this shows up in day to day life or how it could impact someone?

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    Senior Member ethernautrix's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    In Poland also, people entering an establishment will call out "Dzień dobry" and exiting say "Do widzenia!" When I observed my friend replying "do widzenia," I thought it was just my friend's being quirky.

    Now I reply, dzień dobry or do widzenia. I like it!
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    Senior Member carlos.q's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    Quote Originally Posted by adhoc View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by SIR View Post
    Where i live... is it England or Britain?

    I wouldn't like to pass judgment or classify anyone who lives within this domain - all i will say is class and inequality are longstanding divisions (like everywhere, right?), but mostly people make do and mend.

    BTW, and adhoc know this, i would really love to visit Slovenia for a little while.
    Interesting! We have the lowest income inequality in the world and I don’t think class divisions are apparent here or at the very least they have never touched me. Could you specify a few examples how this shows up in day to day life or how it could impact someone?
    Your country seems like a paradise! I would really like to visit some day.

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    Senior Member SIR's Avatar
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    Cool Re: Cultural differences

    Quote Originally Posted by adhoc View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by SIR View Post
    Where i live... is it England or Britain?

    I wouldn't like to pass judgment or classify anyone who lives within this domain - all i will say is class and inequality are longstanding divisions (like everywhere, right?), but mostly people make do and mend.
    Interesting! We have the lowest income inequality in the world and I don’t think class divisions are apparent here or at the very least they have never touched me. Could you specify a few examples how this shows up in day to day life or how it could impact someone?
    Inequality of wealth is a massive problem, but so also is inequality of opportunity... one of my long standing gripes is the ignorance and lack of attention the state gives to educating the young in basic literacy of the nation's laws and legislative systems; we can't expect people to behave responsibly and feel 'enfranchised' if still, after hundreds of years, knowledge and understanding of the law continues to be the preserve of an extreme minority - they say 'ignorance of the law is no excuse', but really they could at least give the general population a chance.

    There are some other standout examples of particular inequalities which are largely due to 'class' divisions, including; the lack of separation between church and state, lack of proportional representation, the horrendous disparity of land ownership and political influence exercised by a few related families to the prejudice of everyone else, the mere existence of the unelected house of lords and church of England's bishops' automatic right to sit there, and the fact the monarchy still exists... to name but a few!
    Last edited by SIR; May 15th, 2019 at 07:36 AM.

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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    Quote Originally Posted by ethernautrix View Post
    In Poland also, people entering an establishment will call out "Dzień dobry" and exiting say "Do widzenia!" When I observed my friend replying "do widzenia," I thought it was just my friend's being quirky.

    Now I reply, dzień dobry or do widzenia. I like it!
    Yup, it’s considered very rude to not greet back here. It’s “dober dan” (and yours is dan dobri; dzien dobry), and nasvidenje (dosvidanya in russian or however you spell it). Dovidzenja is in serbocroatian, though (like your do widzenia), meaning “until we meet again”. Are you an immigrant to Poland, by the way? Or why did you find it weird? I definitely get strange looks when I say hello and goodbye in an elevator when foreigners are with me

    @carlos - it’s pretty OK. Our economy is in the bottom of first world countries, around on par with Italy for example, and that’s the worst thing about it I think.

    @SIR - I see how that could be very annoying. :/

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    Senior Member carlos.q's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    @adhoc - According to a recent study Puerto Rico has one of the world's highest inequality rates in the world. 54% of the poorest families receive only 20% of all family incomes, while the richest 26% receive a whopping 60%. We got hit by two major hurricanes in late 2017 and have still not recovered. Our economy is in shambles and the government is quite literally bankrupt.

    So from my perspective Slovenia seems to be quite a paradise.

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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    What about USA wealth gap?! 1% own something like 95% percent of the nation's wealth!! (not so very different from UK, i would think).

    if you find any of this concerning - please watch Max Keiser's 'Keiser Report'.

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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    Quote Originally Posted by carlos.q View Post
    @adhoc - According to a recent study Puerto Rico has one of the world's highest inequality rates in the world. 54% of the poorest families receive only 20% of all family incomes, while the richest 26% receive a whopping 60%. We got hit by two major hurricanes in late 2017 and have still not recovered. Our economy is in shambles and the government is quite literally bankrupt.

    So from my perspective Slovenia seems to be quite a paradise.
    Fuck. I'm sorry to hear that. Yes, compared to what you wrote, we really are better off. But Puerto Rico is absolutely beautiful - from what I've seen online. I've never been and would love to go, though.

    What are some of the local quirks of Puerto Ricans?

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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    Indeed Puerto Rico is a beautiful island. And even though we have suffered a decade long economic depression people are still generally warm and welcoming. Everything is celebrated with food and drink. And if there is enough to drink we will surely add music and dance.

    We prize ourselves for having the world's longest Christmas season: a two month period from late November to late January the following year.

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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    France:

    Saying 'bonjour' and 'au revoir' to the queue in the baker's and indeed anywhere else - the doctor's waiting room, a bar... That I think is quite similar to Slovakia. If you don't say 'bonjour' in the shop expect a frosty response!

    French women don't wear shoes. I played a concert last weekend and every single woman in the orchestra was wearing boots. Riding boots, biker boots, boots with stilettoes, Doc Martens. And the chaps turned up in "baskets". (Trainers)

    Everything demands huge amounts of paperwork and system and documentation. And you will fail to provide it. And at some point you will meet the *nice* person who says "bof, you're supposed to have this... and this... and this... but in your case, we can make an exception". It doesn't always work, but often enough to make life livable!

    Everything stops for lunch. Most things stop for hunting. And associations for independent tradesmen never have meetings on Monday in the hunting season.

    and...

    coffee!

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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    Whereas England...

    if you say "hello" to someone on the Tube, they call the local mental hospital. Seriously. Don't do it. :-)

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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    Quote Originally Posted by amk View Post
    Whereas England...

    if you say "hello" to someone on the Tube, they call the local mental hospital. Seriously. Don't do it. :-)
    And yet if you dont say Hello to someone in other parts of England they take offence. I was walking along having been to the paper shop, thinking about what I was going to have for breakfast, on the other side of the road a man approached and said something, a few seconds later I crossed the road and looked over my shoulder to check that there were no cars coming.

    The man looked at me, somewhat indignantly, and said 'I said Hello, you know'.

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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    Yes, I think in the street things are different; Norwich is like that, very chatty; but get down to London, and the Tube is its own little world :-)

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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    Quote Originally Posted by amk View Post
    France:
    French women don't wear shoes. I played a concert last weekend and every single woman in the orchestra was wearing boots. Riding boots, biker boots, boots with stilettoes, Doc Martens. And the chaps turned up in "baskets". (Trainers)

    Everything stops for lunch. Most things stop for hunting. And associations for independent tradesmen never have meetings on Monday in the hunting season.
    Amk, you should not evoque these as french cultural characteristcs, as they are occasional (the boots), or regional (hunting) - and not to all regions.

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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    Quote Originally Posted by adhoc View Post
    Yup, it’s considered very rude to not greet back here. It’s “dober dan” (and yours is dan dobri; dzien dobry), and nasvidenje (dosvidanya in russian or however you spell it). Dovidzenja is in serbocroatian, though (like your do widzenia), meaning “until we meet again”. Are you an immigrant to Poland, by the way? Or why did you find it weird? I definitely get strange looks when I say hello and goodbye in an elevator when foreigners are with me
    I'm an American in the Land of Po (Polska!), so the general greeting was foreign to me.

    I do notice when not-Americans say to me, "Have a nice day!" *smiling*
    _____________
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    Default Re: Cultural differences

    In this red part of a blue state USA my one neighbor grows pot while another still hasn't taken down his Trump/Pence sign. Everyone (except us) is armed. I smile and give the one-armed wave to my neighbors as a drive down the one-lane road and try to keep my opinions to myself.
    JBBPensPaper an Etsy store

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