Culture shock is the shocking experience of encountering customs, practices, and behaviours in a foreign culture that diverge significantly from one’s own. For avid globetrotters, travelling across the globe often leads to the following eye-opening cultural shocks:
- Chinese Lavatories:
When in China, prepare for a striking contrast in restroom facilities. Toilets in China come in various forms, featuring lids, levers, pulls, or balancing mechanisms; some even require squatting over a hole in the ground. What may catch you off guard is the absence of doors in many public toilets. Instead, you’ll find small walls flanking the toilet, providing limited privacy, which can result in unexpected interactions with fellow bathroom users.
- London’s Urban Foxes:
London boasts an unexpected urban inhabitant – foxes. With an estimated population of approximately 60,000, these city-dwelling foxes are far from destructive and dangerous. Their presence is attributed to the development of suburban housing in previously rural areas, enabled by new transportation systems, which have allowed these adaptable creatures to thrive.
- Leftovers in China:
In China, a peculiar dining etiquette dictates that you should intentionally leave some food on your plate, as scraping your plate clean is considered rude. While a delicious meal might tempt you to finish every morsel, it’s essential to resist the urge, as licking your plate or consuming every last bite might be construed as a signal that you desire more food, or worse, as an offensive act.
- Japanese Decorum:
Japan is renowned for its stringent adherence to social decorum, particularly when using public transportation. Noisy behaviour is considered bad manners, and making phone calls on the train is deemed rude. To avoid disturbing fellow commuters, it’s advisable to keep all electronic devices on silent until you’re in a private setting, as disrupting others is seen as a breach of etiquette.
- Entomophagy in Thailand:
In Thailand, you’ll encounter a captivating culinary culture that includes a vast array of insects on the menu, ranging from bamboo worms to silk larvae, red ants, crickets, scorpions, spiders, and water bugs. You’ll also notice street vendors selling these insect-based delicacies to locals and visitors alike as a part of their daily dining experience