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In north america, no-one shakes hands except for formal meetings. In Poland, you trip over your self shaking hands with every person you meet.
I prefer Polish social norms.
Oh, and one Im trying to figure out is alcohol and chocolate giving. It seems you give this to good friends and relatives for every holiday, every time you meet after a very long time, and even if they only drove 30 minute to get to your house sometimes. If you think chocolate companies make a lot in Japan, Polish companies must have equally as much revenue because of these social trends. The difference being, the giving never stops. Ever.
An example of this is when Tarson kept giving chocolate to MVP at IEM?
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Very interesting. Looking forward to more of these hopefully ^^
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On September 22 2012 04:59 Chef wrote:Restroom ettiquette observations, how novel!  Bus ettiquette in Ottawa is about the same as bathroom ettiquette. Don't sit beside someone you don't know if possible, don't sit across from someone if possible. And if you think about it, yes it's pretty weird to sit beside someone on a nearly empty bus and just be silent. Maybe if you wanted to talk to them its ok, but now you are probably creepy and they probably didn't want to speak to you. It has nothing to do with homophobia. If anything at all, it has to do with a concern for personal space and not making others feel uncomfortable since this never happens otherwise. On the other hand, when the bus starts emptying, I won't move from my seat if I'm sitting beside someone, because I think that's rude. But I know some people do and I'm not sure if they realise what it implies or if they just want more room. I don't see why it's conformist for guys to do this, but not conformist for girls to go to the bathroom together. They are still conforming to a stereotype. I actually don't see it happen that often either ;p If it happens it's because a girl is insecure or worried about something and wants to discuss it, not because she actually needs to use the washroom. IE there is a creepy dude they wanna ditch lol. Guys use other excuses to get away, but maybe less often since people consider it more okay for guys to hurt a person's feelings and be blunt than for girls, who must worry about being assaulted lest they protect someone's ego (and obviously some girls don't care and will be just as blunt).
Yeah the urinal thing is exactly the same as the bus/train seat custom.
In Sydney, almost all our trains have three seats on one side of the carriage and two on the other. What ends up happening is that people will sit on the edges of the three-seaters to begin with (it being odd to sit right next to someone) and as the train fills up won't move. On first glance it appears like most people are selfish and want the extra room, but in reality most of them don't want to move closer to the other person unless someone else looks like they want to sit down. In turn people boarding don't really want the hassle of squeezing past a person and sitting between two people, so invariably a fifth of the seats on trains are almost always empty.
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I noticed when I lived in Germany that when you meet up with a friend and assuming you are both guys, you shake hands. No matter how big the group is, you have to shake with everyone. If it's a girl you hug. That was very new for me as we normally just wave to each other in NZ, or shake hands/hug if we havent seen a person in a long time or are exceptionally close with them.
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On September 22 2012 15:15 fuzzy_panda wrote:
I noticed when I lived in Germany that when you meet up with a friend and assuming you are both guys, you shake hands. No matter how big the group is, you have to shake with everyone. If it's a girl you hug. That was very new for me as we normally just wave to each other in NZ, or shake hands/hug if we havent seen a person in a long time or are exceptionally close with them.
Yeah Australia is the same as NZ for the handshaking stuff (as to be expected, I guess). In my mind it seems like the value of the handshake is lessened if you do it 24/7 or shake the hand of everyone in a big group regularly.
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At first I was confused when my friend from Mauritius kept shaking my hand everyday I was like wth we already met before/ wth why the formality.
After some time I got used to it haha it's just their way of saying hi to everyone.
Then one girl from Mauritius kissed her Malaysian friend on the cheek during her birthday. She told me later that it felt really awkward because we don't do it here haha
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On September 22 2012 08:18 snively wrote:Show nested quote +On September 21 2012 14:09 Efekkt wrote:
People in the United States need to stop saying bless you after we sneeze. I don't say it when other people sneeze anymore and neither do my friends although we have never discussed it. need to? why? what's wrong with saying bless you?
Historically, the "bless you" originated from sneezing being a symptom of disease/the flu/the plague and "blessing"
someone was like giving them their last rites (in Christianity) in case they died soon. I guess some people might find the idea rude if they are not religious, or specifically, not Christian, in the same way that some people are offended by people wishing them "Merry Christmas" if they don't subscribe to Christianity.
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One REALLY nice social norm in Bulgaria is to take off shoes when you visit someone's house. If you think about it, you may feel more comfortable without shoes, and you don't leave dirt on floor. I've also noticed no one does this in UK. 
Note: This doesn't work for hired service (e.g. workers). They don't do that. Assholes. ^^
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On September 21 2012 15:24 Release wrote:
I'm in America and what you describe is not an unspoken social norm. It is the result of an extremely homophobic culture in which seeing another guy's weiner makes you gay, while at the same time, showering with another dude in the locker room makes you straight.
Having been raised elsewhere, I can attest to the fact that we saw each others' weiners all the time but at the end of the day, we wanted the women. And we always went to the urinal closest to the door.
W3rd!
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As a Chinese Christian living in the US, I can attest to the validity of the Christmas section. We always make a large deal out of it in the US--our church holds some large celebration and we have some party at home. But in China, even though my relatives are Christians, they don't do much to celebrate Christmas.
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On September 22 2012 01:39 bonifaceviii wrote:
Moral of the story: you never know when the guy beside you is gonna go piss-haywire.
Proof 
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On September 23 2012 04:20 darkness wrote:One REALLY nice social norm in Bulgaria is to take off shoes when you visit someone's house. If you think about it, you may feel more comfortable without shoes, and you don't leave dirt on floor. I've also noticed no one does this in UK. Note: This doesn't work for hired service (e.g. workers). They don't do that. Assholes. ^^
We do that in sweden as well. However, I have dutch family that comes to visit and they dont..I find it both offensive and frustrating.
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On September 22 2012 23:45 khaydarin9 wrote:Show nested quote +On September 22 2012 08:18 snively wrote:On September 21 2012 14:09 Efekkt wrote:
People in the United States need to stop saying bless you after we sneeze. I don't say it when other people sneeze anymore and neither do my friends although we have never discussed it. need to? why? what's wrong with saying bless you? Historically, the "bless you" originated from sneezing being a symptom of disease/the flu/the plague and "blessing" someone was like giving them their last rites (in Christianity) in case they died soon. I guess some people might find the idea rude if they are not religious, or specifically, not Christian, in the same way that some people are offended by people wishing them "Merry Christmas" if they don't subscribe to Christianity.
I am not Christian, but I say it anyways, every single time someone I see or hear sneezes, even if I don't know them. I do it because sickness could kill anyone (not that sneezing really has anything to do with that). Its just kind of a respect thing, I care about other people (even if I don't always do a great job of showing it). I believe in a god of my own understanding and I just think its nice to grant other people respect and show that I notice them. Its kind of like when I think of a co-workers wife dieing of cancer I pray for her, whether or not she believes in a god of MY understanding (which seems implausible).
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I was only told "bless you" once when I sneezed in a plane on my way to California. It came from like 5 seats in front of me, on the other side of the plane. The lady was determined to cast some Christian voodoo upon me. But really if you want to be nice to me, don't try spells of a religion that is not mine, you crazy warlocks
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In Saudi Arabia, it is polite for men to hold hands
![[image loading]](http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/archive/2005/04/1_123125_123063_2111846_2116263_050426_bushabdullah_sm.jpg)
You don't see this in the USA though
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When entering an elevator you turn around to face the door, otherwise you seem like a weirdo
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On September 25 2012 23:25 Digitalis wrote:
When entering an elevator you turn around to face the door, otherwise you seem like a weirdo
That's because you'll have to leave through there x_x
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On September 25 2012 23:27 Djzapz wrote:Show nested quote +On September 25 2012 23:25 Digitalis wrote:
When entering an elevator you turn around to face the door, otherwise you seem like a weirdo That's because you'll have to leave through there x_x
Seriously. People generally don't stand and stare at the wall unless they've been naughty or the Blair Witch got them
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On September 25 2012 23:25 Digitalis wrote:
When entering an elevator you turn around to face the door, otherwise you seem like a weirdo
I lauged a lot. Is this even cultural protocol or is it just sort of a natural tendency like not putting your hand on a hot stove? ALSO Blair witch facing walls joke. very good.
Peeing directly next to someone is uncomfortable for me because I am accustomed to the privacy offered by most North American homes. I have learned by drinking many beers at bars with very un-private urinal set ups that side by side peeing is a good skill to have.
I was surprised one night to learn that a little casual conversation with the stranger guy next to me loosened me up and heigtened the comfort of my bladder drainage. For this reason I recommend to any young guns out there to just be comfortable with your body functions. stand comfortable don't shield too little, don't shield too much and control your genital muscles.
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. I distinctly recall my 4th grade teacher at Stanley Clark School, Mr. Cox,
whoa. My 4th grade teacher was Mrs. Cox!
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EPT
