You can get pseudo indian filter coffee with a little bit of money and effort. You have to choose a coffee grinder at your price range, and there are websites that sell good coffee beans (you have to experiment to find the one you like). Buy the indian coffee filter in an indian grocery store. Milk is the biggest problem -- you just cannot get that taste without fresh milk (usually delivered in early mornings in india). If you're willing to drink tetrapack milk, you have something approximating filter coffee.
Culture shock
121–130 of 260 posts
Re: Culture shock
#122> 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…
I got my experience in Vietnam. Yes, it is much cleaner than smearing shit around with paper.
I never said "communal", that's just gross.
Re: Culture shock
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
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…
I got my experience in Vietnam. Yes, it is much cleaner than smearing shit around with paper. I never said "communal", that's just gross.
Yes, given you have soap and a proper hand washing technique.
Re: Culture shock
#124Hey, 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…
Can you give examples of choices which in retrospect seem likely to be a result of culture shock?
Re: Culture shock
#125Earlier quoted context omitted.
As someone from Europe, who's visited the states many times, the idea that the US is comparatively pedestrian friendly to India to a level worth commenting on is surprising. I think I'd definitely be run over if I ever went to India now
Yes, that is one comment that really stuck out for me, too, since I have read, listened to, and seen (YouTube) pretty much the opposite. Might be a (highly?) localized "phenomenon", due to university campus closeness and local drivers' awareness.
There's a difference between a walkable neighborhood and cars that look out for pedestrians. There are a lot of US neighborhoods where you wouldn't particularly want to walk through them since they're suburban wastelands, but cars will respect you if you do.
Re: Culture shock
#126I worked at a multi-national company that frequently flew people to the United States HQ offices for short visits or sometimes longer stays. For many of the younger developers this was their first direct exposure to the United States. Interestingly, most of them had built up a lot of preconceived notions about the United States from social media sites like Reddit. Many of those sites project an extremely pessimistic…
Hm, I wonder how accurate this reddit thread about third world countries is: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/imky2m/people_li...
Re: Culture shock
#127I moved from Dhaka to Albuquerque, then to Atlanta. I like to tell people that I got bigger cultural shock from the second move compared to the first. I think it is unexpected how similar life is in large metropolis even though they are halfway around the world. I am referring to the hectic traffic, dirty downtown, humid weather, rude people with a sense of urgency to everything etc. Even the level of bureaucracy in public offices and schools reminds me of back home.
Re: Culture shock
#128I worked at a multi-national company that frequently flew people to the United States HQ offices for short visits or sometimes longer stays. For many of the younger developers this was their first direct exposure to the United States. Interestingly, most of them had built up a lot of preconceived notions about the United States from social media sites like Reddit. Many of those sites project an extremely pessimistic…
Don't even have to go as far as Reddit. Try HN comments threads about SF or "Silly Valley" (Silicon Valley). Thing is, for those that are here as interns at a FAANG, things really aren't that bad, because, well, around 6-figures they're rich, and America really isn't that bad for the rich. Never has been. It's the poor that are continually screwed and unless the internship has a module on SNAP/EBT, the interns aren't…
Of course it is better to be rich than be poor in the US. By that standard, the poor are "screwed". However, if someone got a chance to experience poverty in both the US and in India, I'll bet they would choose poverty in the US.
Re: Culture shock
#129I don’t think I could ever get enough of this type of writing and observation. The good, the bad, and going to and from possibly every combination of societies.
People are often too polite to be as purely candid as I might personally prefer.
This take on the U.S. from an Armenian perspective was also very enjoyable https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22777745
Re: Culture shock
#130> Sugar here is powdered, it doesn’t come in tiny cubes like I’m used to. It’s very easy to confuse salt and sugar (as I have done) because they look exactly the same. Made me snort. I grew up here and I've still mindlessly done this. > There’s no kiraana stores (i.e. small local stores) that sell grains and rice and vegetables here, it seems. (Or small stationery shops, or shops of any kind.) Almost all shopping has…
Sugar here is powdered, it doesn’t come in tiny cubes like I’m used to. It’s very easy to confuse salt and sugar (as I have done) because they look exactly the same. What? Yes, it does. It's actually the cheapest to buy if you are a bit poor. https://www.walmart.com/ip/C-H-Premium-Pure-Cane-Sugar-Cubes...
No, he's talking about sugar that looks like this - https://www.gomothers.in/store/garg-traders/product/sugar-lo.... It's small enough but clearly distinct from salt