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Culture shock

siddhesh.substack.com

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Re: Culture shock

#111

Post by Aperocky »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #84
throwawaygh wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a multi-national company that frequently flew people to the United States HQ offices... > The people that I see day to day are generally extremely fit. (Or is it just students?) To be fair to your guests, replace "students" with "folks you'll tend to see around the HQ of a multinational / the places those offices tend to be located", and they hit the nail on the head. The US is interesting because it's a HUUUUGE si…

> I guess what I'm trying to say is that multinational corporate HQ campuses and their surrounding communities definitely aren't Real America (TM)(R). The company actually moved away from HCOL cities, so this wasn't NYC/SF/Seattle or whatever top-10 city you might be thinking of. But your comment is precisely the type of Internet comments that create the pessimistic view of the United States: Everything positive is d…

The smaller city where these HQs are is nicer IMO.

New York and Los Angeles, maybe throw SF in the mix, is in my experience the places that are furthest from the 'norm' in US.

Even the rust belt towns feels closer to normal than those cities.

Let's see how suburbia survive the 21st century - It surely was a unifying feature across America.

Re: Culture shock

#112

Post by Aperocky »

latchkey wrote: post #31

> No toilet jet sprays too, because Americans famously use toilet paper for poop stuff. But my roommate installed one even though it’s not allowed. Don’t tell our landlord. The infamous "bum gun" in SE Asia. That's because USA people believe that if they got poop on their hands, wiping it with only paper would clean it off. Why do you bring up hands?! Well, that is what is left on your ass when you wipe it with paper…

That towel sounds disgusting though.

Re: Culture shock

#113

Post by baby »

the_af wrote: post #44

Is the car respecting pedestrians a thing everywhere in the US, or just where this person has been? My very limited experience in the US (NYC, San Diego and Miami) has been hit or miss regarding traffic, and I wouldn't trust drivers to stop. I know the story in some European cities is different. I was impressed in London, and a Belgian friend of mine often crossed the streets of Brussels without stopping to look at t…

Living in SF, I’m always impressed that people stop so quickly to let you pass. Doesn’t happen that much in France. But also: streets in France are much narrower so it’s easier to just jay walk.

Re: Culture shock

#114

Post by baby »

soumyadeb wrote: post #13

Another big difference for me was the lack of people around and how empty US was. I came to University of Illinois (UIUC) in the middle of winter (was starting grad school in spring). Granted UIUC is in a small town but still it was a campus town and yet I probably saw 50 people in the first week. Saw as in not said hi but just "saw". Was the biggest shock coming from India. In India, walk into any market and you wil…

Living in SF that’s what I find the hardest about living in the US. Everything is empty, there isn’t much life in the city. Unless you live in new york I guess. I really miss the density of european or asian cities :(

Re: Culture shock

#115

Post by nindalf »

The biggest one most people from India might experience is tap water - drinking it takes getting used to. The idea that tap water isn’t safe to drink unless it’s treated in some way is ingrained. And when you start drinking the tap water, it takes a while to get used to the taste (charcoal filters can help).

The author hasn’t started driving a car yet, but when they do they’ll discover that the rules of the road are actual rules, not guidelines.

Lastly, electricity is always available although that might not be surprising to someone from a wealthy, urban background in India.

Re: Culture shock

#116

Post by distantaidenn »

latchkey wrote: post #31

> No toilet jet sprays too, because Americans famously use toilet paper for poop stuff. But my roommate installed one even though it’s not allowed. Don’t tell our landlord. The infamous "bum gun" in SE Asia. That's because USA people believe that if they got poop on their hands, wiping it with only paper would clean it off. Why do you bring up hands?! Well, that is what is left on your ass when you wipe it with paper…

I get what you are saying, but I'd take TP over the bum gun any day of the week. Lived in Thailand for a couple years, and was a bit shocked when I noticed no TP in many (most) bathrooms, until my co-worker explained it to me. Yeah, it definitely gets your underparts cleaner, but at the expense of your hand -- not everywhere has soap.

If you are using TP, unless you have pretty bad technique, I don't see how you can get any refuse on your hands.

I'd take my risks with a co-worker with a slightly unclean bum using TP, over one with poor hand washing habits that's using a bum gun.

However, I live in Japan and find the washlet to be the happy and cleaner medium. Also, no thanks on the communal arse rag.

Re: Culture shock

#117

Post by tartoran »

lordleft wrote: post #11

This reminds me of a post by another Indian student visiting the US. The observation that that person made which stuck with me the most was his realization that rich people dressed in a manner that wasn't very different from folks in other social strata -- it was much harder to tell at a glance how much money someone had. I think this is broadly true.

Old rich vs new rich who are mostly desperate to display it out

Re: Culture shock

#118

Post by MarkSweep »

Aperocky wrote: post #112
latchkey wrote: post #31

> No toilet jet sprays too, because Americans famously use toilet paper for poop stuff. But my roommate installed one even though it’s not allowed. Don’t tell our landlord. The infamous "bum gun" in SE Asia. That's because USA people believe that if they got poop on their hands, wiping it with only paper would clean it off. Why do you bring up hands?! Well, that is what is left on your ass when you wipe it with paper…

That towel sounds disgusting though.

How do you dry off after taking a shower?

Re: Culture shock

#119

Post by hguant »

e4d5 wrote: post #2

Hey, as another Indian immigrant here I do want to say that most of these observations are spot on. There's a couple of things in there that are just correlated to the fact that the author is around young/wealthy people, like the low obesity rate, fancy cars, shirtless dudes, book-reading in public. I had quite a surprise when I started working at a smaller town and consistently started seeing older and grumpier peop…

> There's a couple of things in there that are just correlated to the fact that the author is around young/wealthy people, like the low obesity rate

The other issue is geographic - the author is a grad student in DC, which is one of the more fit areas of the country. This is one of the few cases where I'd say it's more a class thing than a wealth thing. Political staffers and the generic military types by and large, are not wealthy people, but are very scrupulous about avoiding obesity.

Re: Culture shock

#120

Post by danans »

com2kid wrote: post #105
astura wrote: post #54

Lots of people don't like carpeting but I prefer it in the living areas. Benefits: Provides dampening of sounds Not freezing cold on my feet Comfy, welcoming and homely feeling (subjective) Spills are very rare and permanent damage can, in most cases, be avoided by cleaning the mess properly right away. Carpeting should be shampooed once in a while too. Carpeting does not last forever, however. I can't stand carpetin…

> Spills are very rare You aren't accident prone, or you don't have kids, or you don't host large holiday parties! My floor gets spilled on all the time. > I can't stand carpeting on stairs though, such a pain to clean! I insist on carpet on stairs because of how often I slip and fall down the stairs (3 or 4 times a year, I'm not the most graceful person on earth), carpet keeps me from getting hurt too badly. It is a…

> Really if it wasn't for the environmental and health downsides of vinyl, it'd be an ideal flooring material!

Linoleum is what you want. Plant derived (linseed oil) and the modern stuff looks great and not like your aunt's kitchen.

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