34 Things Unique to Certain Countries
Outsiders just won't understand.
Published 2 years ago in Ftw
Every country has their own traditions. Some overlap, and some don't. Here are a few things that only happen in specific countries, as pointed out by AskReddit and collected on boredpanda.
3
Finland. Saunas in most apartments or at least apartment buildings, haven’t lived in a building that doesn’t have one.A lot of great well known (and underground) metal bands.And a nuclear power plant that is at this point 11 years behind schedule and according to Wikipedia the 3rd most expensive building in the world.
4
People count out loud the number of fouettés in the theater at the live performance of Swan Lake.In Cuba, due to reasons too long to explain but definitely having to do with communism, classical ballet is a popular art form in the sense of "not bourgeois". So the social composition of the crowd that comes to the theater for the classical ballet is not what you would expect in any other country. Mix that with natural latin irreverence and what happens is that people have ended up cheering the ballet dancers as if it was a sport. In particular, in the classical choreography of Swan Lake, there is a point where the black swan does about 30 fouettés or so and the crowd (that has seen the choreography before) goes like "ONE! TWO! .... SIXTEEN! SEVENTEEN! ... THIRTY!!"
9
In New Zealand it is normal to be barefoot in public. In the mall, the supermarket, fast food places etc. It's even normal for kids to go to primary school barefoot. It's recognised this is unusual and has become a point of national pride for some people.Don't get me wrong, it's not like everyone is doing this, but it's a noticeable minority and would be seen on a daily basis, even in winter.
11
I live in Belgium and I doubt there are many other countries where two people who are both lifelong citizens of the same country cannot speak to each other.This happened to my friend, a Walloon, who met an old Flemish lady. She didn't speak English or French, he didn't speak Dutch. They legit could not speak to each other, but they were both Belgians through and through.
23
In Mexico we experience paranormal stuff very close. Even people like me, who doesn't believe in it, have parents, siblings, children or grandparents who have experienced ghosts or other entities very close.Not in the "friend of my friend" kind of way. It is really really common to be in the same room, and someone just says: "I saw my great-grandfather coming out from the well" or stuff like that. And nobody makes a fuss about it. We just process it and move on. But really, I don't know anybody who hasn't experienced a close encounter with something paranormal in one way or another.And again, I'm an atheist and a skeptic. I haven't experienced something at first hand. And that makes me an exception. Not the average.
29
Italy. Bidet, apparently. Also, the fact that every supermarket here has a section with fresh cold cuts, cheeses and bread-like products. Couldn't find a single one in CaliforniaLunch break is an actual break, where you sit at a table and have a 2/3 course meal. People won't likely just eat a sandwich and get back to work.
32
USA. Screens in your windows.I didn’t know that wasn’t a thing all over the world until I commented on a post here on reddit.There was a post showing a person with a personal bug net around their bed to keep the bugs out. I was like “wait why don’t you guys have window screens to prevent bugs getting in your house in the first place”Apparently a ton of people don’t? I never knew that, thought it was interestingMosquitos, black flies, and horse and moose flys here in Maine are super bad during the summer, I can’t imagine somewhere like the tropics.
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