What can we learn from foreigners?

[Quackers]

At the World Cup Japanese fans were photographed cleaning up after themselves in the stadium after a match. This form of consideration for others in the public sphere appeals to my values. I would like to see more of that in the UK.

What aspects of foreign beheviour, social norms and such would you like to see in your country?

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

At the World Cup Japanese fans were photographed cleaning up after themselves in the stadium after a match.

I'm upset this is considered remarkable as opposed to something that follows naturally.

 

[salty mud]

Manners.

Where I live, English people really lack in basic manners. They don't apologise when they bump into you, they don't offer to shake hands when first meeting, if you aren't a regular in their group you'll be made to feel sidelined, people burp and such in public and don't excuse themselves... it's much rarer for me to see a foreigner do these things.

 

[Cheetah]

I'm upset this is considered remarkable as opposed to something that follows naturally.

But you know it is remarkable. So I'm not sure if your reaction of upsetiness is a proper response to Quakers thread.

Norwegians could learn a thing or two about service mindedness and punctuality from the Japanese I think. Also we have a lot to learn about not starting fights while drinking, and that it is okay to drink in public parks, etc. Oh, and standing to one side in the escalators!

And our politicians could certainly learn from several places in the world that a proper mass transit system should not be based on buses or a lightrail in the middle of the same roads that cars are going in!

And we really need to learn what actual tall buildings are, so we can stop building on the little farmland we still have.

Other than that, I think most of the world has a great deal to learn from Norwegians! We are #1 after all...

 

[Borachio]

At the World Cup Japanese fans were photographed cleaning up after themselves in the stadium after a match. This form of consideration for others in the public sphere appeals to my values. I would like to see more of that in the UK.

What aspects of foreign beheviour, social norms and such would you like to see in your country?

I don't dislike much I see (or I try not to), but I really don't like to see litter.

The only thing that saves me from blowing a fuse is the recollection that I've done a fair bit of littering myself, in the past.

(By the by, and for reason at all, I was lying in bed only the other night, either waiting to go to sleep or waiting to get up - I often just can't be bothered moving; too lazy, see? - when it suddenly occurred to me that I could view litter like Christmas decorations: although I don't like them, other people have a perfect right to festoon their own homes with them. All that litter! Just twinkling in the twilight, and wafting about in the wind!)

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Since Canada is a mosaic of people from all over the world, we probably have it already; we really need to subtract the negative stuff.

But yeah, tidying up after oneself in a public venue is something we need more of. If I spill something on the table at a restaurant, I mop it up myself.

 

[Yeekim]

This.
Edit: Damnit, meant to quote SS-18 ICBM.

Cleaning up after yourself is just basic decency.

Sent from my G740-L00 using Tapatalk

 

[Farm Boy]

There is taking that too far though. The degree to which normal body odor is stigmatized even amongst people doing physical labor in the heat is probably too much. I mean, I'm taken aback by it too, but it seems like coating oneself in antiperspirant in all situations in order to not be a pariah is a bit much.

 

[Borachio]

Fresh sweat doesn't smell that bad, though. It's when you leave it festering that it can start to reek.

Still, I dunno. I don't make a habit of smelling sweaty people.

I have worked with smelly people. And as far as I can tell it's not them that smells so much, but their clothes.

 

[Farm Boy]

Dunno, even fresh sweat seems to get an "ew, that's revolting" when the subject is male(with some allowance if he's actually welding or something at that moment) and an enormous "WTH" when it's female(largely lacking that allowance).

 

[Borachio]

I'd rather have it than the stuff that's used to mask it. The mix of sweat and rose-water, say, is abysmal.

In any case, anti-perspirant applied to the entire body is a decidedly bad idea.

I suppose those who can't abide the effects of real work should stay indoors in their air-conditioned offices where they obviously belong.

 

[aelf]

Manners.

Where I live, English people really lack in basic manners. They don't apologise when they bump into you, they don't offer to shake hands when first meeting, if you aren't a regular in their group you'll be made to feel sidelined, people burp and such in public and don't excuse themselves... it's much rarer for me to see a foreigner do these things.

In some parts of the world, having no manners is like part of the culture or something.

There is taking that too far though. The degree to which normal body odor is stigmatized even amongst people doing physical labor in the heat is probably too much. I mean, I'm taken aback by it too, but it seems like coating oneself in antiperspirant in all situations in order to not be a pariah is a bit much.

I do expect people in public transport not to smell awful, though. I think that's reasonable. Unfortunately, I think some people are simply not intelligent enough to have that much self-awareness.

 

[Farm Boy]

I do expect people in public transport not to smell awful, though. I think that's reasonable. Unfortunately, I think some people are simply not intelligent enough to have that much self-awareness.

Yea, that is nice. Sometimes being unwashed is just inconsiderate. Not sure it really has anything to do with intelligence, though.

 

[aelf]

I believe it does. There's no way in which you can live in a highly-urbanised place with relatively high standards of living and yet have no idea about the effect of your own hygiene levels on other people and what to do to be considerate unless you're a little bit stupid or just willfully ignorant. I mean, you have to be completely oblivious to people's reactions to you. Unless you only associate with people who are like you or something.

 

[Farm Boy]

I believe it does. There's no way in which you can live in a highly-urbanised place with relatively high standards of living and yet have no idea about the effect of your own hygiene levels on other people and what to do to be considerate unless you're a little bit stupid or just willfully ignorant. I mean, you have to be completely oblivious to people's reactions to you. Unless you only associate with people who are like you or something.

There are just a lot of variables. Public transit seems to catch a pretty broad cross section of the population. And even downtown you have the people who do the grunt work, and they probably use the less expensive transportation options. Like Sir B said, oftentimes the stench is from the clothes, so unless they have an opportunity to change them a quick spruce up at the end of the day isn't going to cut it. They may also work with people who wind up stinking at the end of their shift and share Sir B's opinion on those who take issue with them. Or maybe it's (sub)cultural. The running joke around here used to be to avoid computer labs, especially on hot days, since the Indian students would be in there and it would smell. Which, honestly, it did.

 

[Borachio]

I had a girlfriend once who seemed to have a fetish for sweaty armpits, and she'd regularly bury her nose in mine on the flimsiest of excuses. I kind of enjoyed it.

As for not wishing to mix with the great unwashed, that's kind of snooty, I think.

Snooty people are advised not to use public transport at all. Nor public lavatories for that matter.

Come to think of it, everybody smells. I've noticed this really strongly after having spent time away from people altogether. I wouldn't say the human scent is a particularly unpleasant smell, but it's not particularly attractive either.

 

[Camikaze]

I find it interesting that you've asked a 'we' question about foreigners on an American forum. Are you asking what Americans can learn from you? What you can learn from Americans? Who are 'we' and who are 'foreigners'?

 

[salty mud]

I find it interesting that you've asked a 'we' question about foreigners on an American forum. Are you asking what Americans can learn from you? What you can learn from Americans? Who are 'we' and who are 'foreigners'?

I think you're asking questions no one else asked and everyone else understood.

 

[warpus]

I learn a lot from foreigners each time I cross the border and end up in Peru, Thailand, America, or wherever. There's always something you can learn from people different than you.. or even the same as you - but it's easier to learn from differences.

So.. what exactly can you learn from foreigners? Depends. Last time I was in South Carolina, I learned a lot about foreigners... i.e. the locals, who are weird. But now I understand their weird ways a bit better, after having spent a week or so there.

 

[Phrossack]

I learn a lot from foreigners each time I cross the border and end up in Peru, Thailand, America, or wherever. There's always something you can learn from people different than you.. or even the same as you - but it's easier to learn from differences.

So.. what exactly can you learn from foreigners? Depends. Last time I was in South Carolina, I learned a lot about foreigners... i.e. the locals, who are weird. But now I understand their weird ways a bit better, after having spent a week or so there.

Please don't draw any lessons about America from South Carolina.