Ask HN: Did you ever travel or live in a country with different culture?
If you ever traveled or lived in a country with a culture completely different than yours, can you share how did this experience change your perspective? any interesting anecdotes?
19 comments
Every country has a very different culture and it helps you understand that there is other way to live your life than the education that you get from your parent.
I'm French living in the Netherlands and I learned:
- a kid is a human being and should be respected as an adult. They don't need to be the parents subordinate
- you can disagree without being angry
- my English and Dutch. I can now see all video/ film (tedx / universiteit van vlanderen) without any translation
- Most of the time, you don't need any medicine when you are sick. Sleep, sport and a balanced diet is all you need.
- French have the best food on the planet.
- when hosting, Dutch care more about the atmosphere than the food
- you can learn a language by watching the television (in France, the content is only in French)
Anecdote: they can put pineapple in a 'choucroute garnie'. The Italians version of pineapple on pizza ;)
The cultural shock in all greatness.
I'm French living in the Netherlands and I learned:
- a kid is a human being and should be respected as an adult. They don't need to be the parents subordinate
- you can disagree without being angry
- my English and Dutch. I can now see all video/ film (tedx / universiteit van vlanderen) without any translation
- Most of the time, you don't need any medicine when you are sick. Sleep, sport and a balanced diet is all you need.
- French have the best food on the planet.
- when hosting, Dutch care more about the atmosphere than the food
- you can learn a language by watching the television (in France, the content is only in French)
Anecdote: they can put pineapple in a 'choucroute garnie'. The Italians version of pineapple on pizza ;)
The cultural shock in all greatness.
Agree that French food is the best. Of all the many places I’ve traveled (as an American) I wish to return to France to eat.
Mee too :)
Just one comment about Americans in Mexico. Many of my fellow Americans expatriates deny that there is any significant difference, and they are antagonistic to suggestions that Mexican values are different from theirs. That is, they reject any change in their perspective.
Culture is very similar, values the same, historically we both were Spanish territories
No. Modern Mexico was founded by Conquistadors who came to Mexico to seize gold and return to Spain. The U.S. was founded by colonists who came to build a new world. One could argue that this accounts for the tendency toward short-term goals in Mexico vs the tendency toward long-term goals in the U.S. As someone who lives in both countries these tendencies seem obvious.
> Modern Mexico was founded by Conquistadors who came to Mexico to seize gold and return to Spain.
No, it wasn't. What the Conquistadors (or, rather, Spanish colonial administrators after the Conquest) founded wasn't “modern Mexico”, and the Viceroyalty of New Spain was very much a settler/colonialist state—including the domains of conquistadors like Cortés, who became Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca; in fact an early and important part of the early formation of New Spain was the Viceroys refusal to implement crown-issued laws limiting the extent and permanence of the fiefdoms that had been granted to the conquistadors.
> The U.S. was founded by colonists who came to build a new world.
The British North American colonies (not US, which was founded much later, by people with somewhat different interest who were already the local landed elites) were founded by colonists who wanted to populate an empty wilderness (which it wasn't), and displaced the local population to do it.
The Spanish North American colonies were established by conquistadors (literally, conquerors) who, rather than displacing the local population—or looting and leaving, as you suggest—came to conquer and rule, and did exactly that.
> One could argue that this accounts for the tendency toward short-term goals in Mexico vs the tendency toward long-term goals in the U.S.
One could, if one ignored the fact that the foundational narrative you spun is false. To the extent such a difference exists, its probably because of Mexico’s less developed and less stable status, which rewards long term planning less than a more stable, more developed environment.
No, it wasn't. What the Conquistadors (or, rather, Spanish colonial administrators after the Conquest) founded wasn't “modern Mexico”, and the Viceroyalty of New Spain was very much a settler/colonialist state—including the domains of conquistadors like Cortés, who became Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca; in fact an early and important part of the early formation of New Spain was the Viceroys refusal to implement crown-issued laws limiting the extent and permanence of the fiefdoms that had been granted to the conquistadors.
> The U.S. was founded by colonists who came to build a new world.
The British North American colonies (not US, which was founded much later, by people with somewhat different interest who were already the local landed elites) were founded by colonists who wanted to populate an empty wilderness (which it wasn't), and displaced the local population to do it.
The Spanish North American colonies were established by conquistadors (literally, conquerors) who, rather than displacing the local population—or looting and leaving, as you suggest—came to conquer and rule, and did exactly that.
> One could argue that this accounts for the tendency toward short-term goals in Mexico vs the tendency toward long-term goals in the U.S.
One could, if one ignored the fact that the foundational narrative you spun is false. To the extent such a difference exists, its probably because of Mexico’s less developed and less stable status, which rewards long term planning less than a more stable, more developed environment.
Isn't that just politics? You wouldn't find many with that opinion if they moved to for example France or Italy.
I did, for several years. I’m not going to write about it in a HN comment. You can find thousands of blogs written by travelers, expats, and digital nomads — just start with Google. Or join Nomad List’s message boards. There’s a large group of nomads and travel bloggers out there.
I live in a foreign country that is very different from my own.
Of many interesting observations , I’ll say that it’s taught me that different cultures can have objectively better and worse aspects.
Not everything is better or worse, most things are just different, but some things both here and in my home country make me want to grab and shake people and scream “there is a better way!!”
But also, if you want to live a happy life, you need to accept what you cannot change and plan ahead for disturbances.
Of many interesting observations , I’ll say that it’s taught me that different cultures can have objectively better and worse aspects.
Not everything is better or worse, most things are just different, but some things both here and in my home country make me want to grab and shake people and scream “there is a better way!!”
But also, if you want to live a happy life, you need to accept what you cannot change and plan ahead for disturbances.
Yeah, grew up in America and live in Bangkok now.
I realized there are many, many things about Thai culture I prefer and that I generally get along with Thai people much better than Americans.
So I guess the moral of the story is that just because you grew up somewhere doesn't mean it's the right culture for you.
It's not like everything is perfect here though, far from it. And if you are a miserable person you'll be miserable anywhere you go. A combination of changing myself and changing where I was living is what really has helped me, not just one or the other
I realized there are many, many things about Thai culture I prefer and that I generally get along with Thai people much better than Americans.
So I guess the moral of the story is that just because you grew up somewhere doesn't mean it's the right culture for you.
It's not like everything is perfect here though, far from it. And if you are a miserable person you'll be miserable anywhere you go. A combination of changing myself and changing where I was living is what really has helped me, not just one or the other
I miss Bangkok and Thailand. Lived there for six years, back home in the US now. Can’t really compare two cultures in terms of better or worse, just different in ways that may or may not appeal. The longer I lived there the less I understood Thai culture, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing — the constant surprise and mystery is part of the appeal.
I'm an American who has lived in Japan for the last couple of years. I think my quality of life is higher in Japan than it was in America. The streets & public spaces are cleaner, I always feel safe, and the public transit is incredible. Generally, it just seems that the Japanese city governments do a better job than American cities.
The only real pain point is communication, but my Japanese has gotten good enough that I can always express what I'm trying to say, and generally understood what other people are saying. Studying Japanese everyday does consume a lot of time though.
I expect to stay here for a least a couple of more years.
The only real pain point is communication, but my Japanese has gotten good enough that I can always express what I'm trying to say, and generally understood what other people are saying. Studying Japanese everyday does consume a lot of time though.
I expect to stay here for a least a couple of more years.
European living in Asia for substantial amount of time by now, staying in Singapore, Japan, HK.
Not sure what OP likes to hear, but the most important thing is to live with intellectual and cultural curiosity. I've seen a lot of expats tossing away local peculiarities just because they were conditioned things should have been done differently. In other words, keep remembering about Chesterton fence [0]
[0]: https://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Chesterton%27s_Fence
Not sure what OP likes to hear, but the most important thing is to live with intellectual and cultural curiosity. I've seen a lot of expats tossing away local peculiarities just because they were conditioned things should have been done differently. In other words, keep remembering about Chesterton fence [0]
[0]: https://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Chesterton%27s_Fence
Australian who lived in the US for a year. Before I went I thought our cultures were similar. Alas, no, there are many very fundamental differences.
The health system, the racism, the poverty, the inequity all amazed me. So did the fact that the US has its own definitions for words like:
Freedom, democracy, socialism, conservation amongst others.
Would not live there again.
The health system, the racism, the poverty, the inequity all amazed me. So did the fact that the US has its own definitions for words like:
Freedom, democracy, socialism, conservation amongst others.
Would not live there again.
I lived in Germany and Sweden in the past 6 years, and traveled to the US (West Coast) and several African and European countries multiple times. Traveling helped me grow personally (in a way that I couldn’t in my home country). I always found the experience of arriving in a new country, where I barely speak the language or know any people, invigorating because it forces me to get out of my comfort zone, let go of some of my inhibitions, and put myself out there. An interesting fact I noticed is that despite all the different cultures, languages, etc., all humans are fundamentally the same and share the same basic folklore. On the negative side, in Europe I quickly realized that one’s mental health can be negatively affected by how different they look from the locals (I’m Black and African). This varies more or less depending on personality and means ($).
>On the negative side, in Europe I quickly realized that one’s mental health can be negatively affected by how different they look from the locals (I’m Black and African).
In what particular way were you negatively affected? Loneliness?Homesickness?
In what particular way were you negatively affected? Loneliness?Homesickness?