Hey Pandas, What Did You Learn About The Culture Of Another Country, Not From A Book? (Closed)

In some Muslim countries, when you're a woman and your husband dies, you are supposed to marry his brother.
Found this out when my Gambian husband died.
It sounds disgusting but no, it is not about that, it makes sense in a country without any form of social security.. As a lone woman with lots of kids and no income (many women there do not have paid jobs) this make sure you wil be cared for and your kids too. Also, this way the kids stay in the family.
I politely declined the offer. Brother in law was relieved, he just got married a year before. But I know several men who have like 3 wives, only one chosen and the other ones elder ladies that survived his older brothers.

Texans are just as crazy as they are made out to be. (I'm from Wales)

I learned when in Paris to greet people with a hello or good morning, etc. BEFORE asking for directions or a question from a local. Got chastised by a cab driver during the entire ride! In retrospect, he was soooo right to school me. 'Merica we are rude generally, and self-absorbed.

That people in Paris are not rude if you make an attempt to speak to them in French. I visited 10 years ago and was warned about how rude they were, but when speaking with them, I greeted them in French explained I wasn't fluent and they then greeted me in English and were very friendly.

I learned from my sister in law who lived in Romania that there you shouldn’t accept an offer to (for example) lunch until it has been made three times. If they genuinely want to have you for lunch they’ll keep asking. Otherwise it was just a courtesy and they ask only once.

She once made the mistake of accepting straight away (before understanding this ‘rule’) and found her hosts soon disappeared for a while… running off to the shops to buy food!!

Oh this one might be more fitting. I remember that they would dim or turn down the lights near the beaches close to turtle or tortoise (can't remember) season since when they crack out of their shells they follow the light of the stars and moon towards the ocean. Extra light sources can throw them off and cause dangerous situations.
This is stuff I heard 26 years ago when I was 6 so can't attest to how accurate it is xD

I learnt firsthand that Germans may seem unfriendly and harder to get to know, but once you're a friend, you're really in! It's hard to find more loyal friends than Germans!

Not really about culture but I remember my first vacation to Crete a gorgeous Greek island that we should not kill cockroaches if we find them at the hotel because the smell they emit summons more if them. This info stuck with me my whole life even though we don't have them in my home country

I am a great fan of the Portuguese inventiveness...There is NOTHING a kind neighbor or sr.Batista,living around the corner, cannot do if you find yourself without electricity or a leaking washing machine etc. during the week-end. Not lasting repair,but it will do till you get the proper tecnician. I remember I wanted to paper my husbands room while he was away..having stripped off the old paper I realized my ambition was bigger than my expertise....and went to my local cafe and begged for help.Long story short...by 6 pm the room was done to perfection...

I just learned, (from my son): In the UK, there is a TV Tax

The TV license fee is a tax on receiving live broadcast television. Broadcast receiving licenses were introduced by the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1904, and were made permanent by the 1924 act. When the BBC introduced television services in 1936, it was covered under the existing license.

Since April 2021, the annual cost has been £159.00 for a color license and £53.50 for a black and white license. Income from the license is primarily used to fund the television, radio and online services of the BBC.

Source:

https://www.taxpayersalliance.com
Wikipedia.org

In the far east you must offer your business card with two hands, otherwise you look like a card dealer in a casino, and it's considered rude. Also, if you clink drinks glasses, yours must be lower than your host's.

I was playing Fallout 3, and in the area of the Museum of History, I discovered that John Hancock was the first to sign the US declaration of independence, and it occurred to me why people ask for your John Hancock on the dotted line.

Being married to an Egyptian as a French chick... insha'Allah (if God wants / if it's God's will) means f**k no 90% of the time

I have a friend from Morocco and she once was eating at my place and after dinner i wanted to trow the leftover bread in the bin. She told me that muslims never trow away bread out of respect for people whit hunger. In her family they fed it to ducks, deers (we have a deerpark were we live) and ofcourse on the roof for the birds. It filled me whit respect that they do this, do Ramadan and pay the Zikkat to help and think about hunger in the world. From that day (i was 10 years) till now (48) i never trow away bread and donate to foodbanks in my area.

How damn good the food is, even the fruit! Picked ripe and not carted across the country, wow so juicy. The butter! The cheese! the bread! Everything here in the US seems to be grown or made for cheapest possible prices, rather than for deliciousness. Except for what you can get from farmer's markets.

The Spanish they speak in Ecuador is different for the Spanish you learn in Spanish class.

When you're in Russia, you must take off any gloves that you have on to give a handshake to someone. Also, you can't shake someone's hand through a doorway to greet them; you must go out on the porch or they must come into the house.

"Pura Vida" its a expression used in Costa Rica to express the enjoy of life , i had an wrong assumption that was a tourist thing,but afer living 4 years here thats clear people live and enjoy life and all aspects of life , late is never late , and it doesnt matter how rich or poor you are people always smiling and open souls to all situation!

If you're drinking in South Korea, you must pour drinks with both hands, and when you clink glasses the younger person's glass must touch below the top of the older person's glass. Both of these actions show respect, and to do otherwise is considered rude.

OK, another one about the French - I've lived in France (not Paris) for 8 years and despite receiving the diplômé de la langue at B2 level (which means I supposedly speak and understand French very, very well), when the French speak normally, they talk REALLY fast and I still don't understand half of what they say, because there's a nuance to the French language you won't get unless you are a native. But if I ask them to slow down, they generally accommodate me, and will even explain phrases to me so I'll know in the future. How cool is that??