Cultural (In)Sensitivities

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Was in Scotland one time when the then "British" Open was in Troon that year (late 80's) and while having a couple pints at the local pub watching it on TV. Stupid American (me) says who's winning the British open? On the TV it clearly says British Open. Couple disgruntled guys say in thick Scottish accent "The Open is at Troon this year, it's the Scottish Open!" The tournament has since been renamed "The Open."

One of my first days in Italy a large group of us went out for dinner. I ordered a seafood pasta, some others ordered non seafood pasta. When the food was delivered the waiter asked if anyone wanted parm. cheese? several said yes, and so did I. The waiter lost his mind and practically cussed me out in Italian. Others informed me afterward that parm. cheese doesn't go on seafood.
 
Ex-Calif said:
They drink this firewater that tastes like nail polish remover smells. But they do "individual" toasts. So one guy looks at me raises his glass (shot glass held and cupped by the second hand) By the time 10 guys individually toast you, you are on your way to LaLa land.
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Reminds me of my first meeting with a group of subordinates in Taiwan. Can't recall for sure what they were drinking, but I think it was something like 'rice wine'.
 
Ex-Calif said:
They drink this firewater that tastes like nail polish remover smells. But they do "individual" toasts. So one guy looks at me raises his glass (shot glass held and cupped by the second hand) By the time 10 guys individually toast you, you are on your way to LaLa land.
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The Japanese drink white liquor mixed with fruit juice. We were ate a Sayonara party for a colleague when when one of Japanese friends suggested we go to a bar owned by a JSDF officer. We piled into a friends Datsun 240Z and headed to the bar. It had 5 bar stools so some of us had to stand. Each of us paid for a bottle of white liquor which was mixed with juice. Our names were out on the bottles and we were told they belonged to us and will be stored on the shelf above the bar.
There was an aquarium on a shelf with some pretty good size fish. The owner asked me to pick a fish which I did. He took a net from under the bar and dipped my fish out and took it in the back. He came out a few minutes later with the fish sliced up with the head and tail still attached. The head and tail were still moving. He provided several sauces to dip the raw fish in. It was oishii des (delicious).
 
This talk of cultural differences brings back an interesting event I remember from the early '80's when I worked air traffic in the Canadian Arctic at one of the DEW line sites.
One of my friends up there was a builder who got a contract to construct 8 new homes for the locals, provided he employ 1/3 of his crew from local Inuit.
Job was proceeding reasonably well until one day when the 1/3 of the crew never showed up. Same with the next day, and a couple more.
Finally, several days later, the Inuit crew all showed up for work.
He asked them what was going on and the answer he got was: "Caribou herd passing by, we went hunting".

Actually, culturally it makes sense, when you think about it...
 
In all our travels we have found if we are courteous the majority of the locals are too. I cringe when I see Americans in foreign countries wearing inappropriate clothing and acting rudely. Foreigners already perceive us as brash, loud and rude.
 
Skookum said:
When you see two men walking a dog at an RV resort, maybe think twice before you ask if they’re brothers? Similarly, when two men are in the checkout line at the grocery store with one cart of groceries. I mean, it’s fine if you do, nobody will stop you. But please be prepared to be informed that no, the two men are not brothers. That would be weird. We’re married.

I’m sure you straight people take RV vacations with your brother or sister all the time, just the two of you. That’s kind of unusual to me, I typically go with my spouse.

If you do get to talking, it’s kind of boring to ask things about how we play house. Both of us cook. Both of us hate doing laundry and cleaning bathrooms. We experience things just like other people in relationships do. I’m a better getaway driver, though, we’ve established that at least.

It’s OK to say hi to us in an RV park. Most people do. Some don’t say hi or wave back when we initiate friendly greetings, and it’s just as rude in our culture as it is in yours.

:)
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Interesting. It has never occurred to me to ask strangers about their relationships or other personal business. I am fairly intuitive, but If they offer no clues or information, it is probably none of my business.
 
LarsMac said:
Interesting. It has never occurred to me to ask strangers about their relationships or other personal business. I am fairly intuitive, but If they offer no clues or information, it is probably none of my business.
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A great example of being culturally sensitive. I too prefer to let people share things like that.
 
HowLin said:
He asked them what was going on and the answer he got was: "Caribou herd passing by, we went hunting".

Actually, culturally it makes sense, when you think about it...
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LOL reminds me of the time in the 70's when the New Zealand national rugby team was playing a local team in Wales. Our then-American boss couldn't understand why most of the guys didn't show up for work that day, or left at lunch time.
 
Kirk said:
As I read this thread, I find myself wondering if those posting realize just how unique the American culture is? Nowhere else are individual rights put above the good of the community as we do.
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Reminds me of something I once heard as someone was equivocating America with authoritarian nations. He said if one old white man pushes little old ladies in front of buses and another old white man pushes little old ladies out of the way of buses, you’re telling the truth if you say both old white men push little old ladies around.
 
Kirk said:
As I read this thread, I find myself wondering if those posting realize just how unique the American culture is? Nowhere else are individual rights put above the good of the community as we do.
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That is a good point. But, without individual rights we are nothing but a bunch of sheep, all following the same shepherd. An homogenized culture is not a culture, it's a carton of milk.
 
Tulecreeper said:
That is a good point. But, without individual rights we are nothing but a bunch of sheep, all following the same shepherd.
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Sheep? Shepherd? Hmm.... where have I heard that analogy before. Oh yeah, add ignorance and you've got the making of a genuine cult.
 
jymbee said:
Sheep? Shepherd? Hmm.... where have I heard that analogy before. Oh yeah, add ignorance and you've got the making of a genuine cult.
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I heard an interview with the guy who accidentally started the “birds aren’t real” cult. He wrote an article ( like an Onion piece) claiming the CIA had secretly replaced all the birds in America with drone birds that had cameras for eyes. That bird in the trees outside your house is actually a spy bot. It went viral and developed a real cult following of morons who actually believed it. Scary thing is they vote, sit on juries, school boards, can buy guns, …..
 
Tom said:
On most of my trips I'd take along an interpreter, typically a bilingual born in either country to Japanese parents, but grew up and went to school here in the US; Often having a BS or masters in business, and working for an international company. Japanese was all they spoke at home, but they were quite fluent in English, thanks to school and business experience here.
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One young lady who accompanied me on trips had a binary change in attitude. Like so many such young ladies, to survive in US business she felt the need to be in your face, demanding replies, etc. When the plane touched down in Tokyo, she would immediately switch to a mode of serving Tom and satisfying all my needs. When the plane touched down back at SFO, she reverted to 'in-your-face' mode.
 
Tulecreeper said:
That's interesting. About 10 years ago, my wife and I were watching an episode of Wheel of Fortune and one of the contestants was an English teacher. At one point she said, "I would like to buy a vowel - a 'Y', please". Pat said, "I'm sorry. In the real world a 'Y' might sometimes be considered a vowel, but here in TV Land it's a consonant."

I always thought she got a raw deal on that.
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Not sure why an English teacher would request Y as a vowel :confused:
 
Tom said:
Not sure why an English teacher would request Y as a vowel
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Every word must have at least one vowel (A, E, i, O, U and often "y").

For a few examples:

Where is the vowel in the words "cry" "why" and "myth"?

Notice every word used here has a vowel unless "Y" isn't. Same with every message ever posted in this forum. At least if it's a true English word.

IOW, I agree with the English teacher. But I have never watched the "Wheel of Fortune " and I do not know a thing about it, in case you meant something else.

-Don- Reno, NV
 
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Onyrlef said:
I heard an interview with the guy who accidentally started the “birds aren’t real” cult. He wrote an article ( like an Onion piece) claiming the CIA had secretly replaced all the birds in America with drone birds that had cameras for eyes. That bird in the trees outside your house is actually a spy bot. It went viral and developed a real cult following of morons who actually believed it. Scary thing is they vote, sit on juries, school boards, can buy guns, …..
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I've actually heard about this. Similar to how Pastafarianism was started as a legitimate religion. It's the only religion that makes any sense to me. He boiled...for your sins.
 
in our business dealings in the far east, drinking mao tai from Confuscius home town to gam beys was more than I could handle.. :oops:

Kam pai's in japan drinking saki took their tole on me as well. :confused:

In Japan it is considered bad luck to give a man a knife.. We had little pocket knife handouts that got hidden during one trip.
 
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