What was your biggest culture shock while traveling?
你旅行时感受到最大的文化冲击
来自@Christine De Benedetto的回答:
Some of my family lives in Poland. I was visiting my aunt there and out shopping at Tesco. We went to the checkout line and I smiled widely at the cashier.
She gave me a dirty look and then started yelling at me. My Polish language skills aren't the best and I looked at my aunt in confusion.
她轻蔑地看了我一眼,然后开始对我嚷嚷。我的波兰语不是很好,所以我就一脸疑惑地看着我姨妈。
She responded to the cashier, “Relax, she is just an American. They are a lot less miserable than us Poles.”
她对那个收银员说:“放轻松,她是个美国人。她们的日子没我们这么惨。”
The cashier was not used to smiles and pleasantries and just assumed that my smile was because I was making fun of her.
那个收银员并不习惯微笑和幽默,她以为我对她笑是在取笑她。
来自@Chris Northcutt的回答:
I'm American, and used to work in SE Asia for a company headquartered in London.
我是个美国人,以前在一家总部位于伦敦的公司工作,工作地点是东南亚。
On one summer trip to the London HQ I was staying in a nice hotel that included a traditional British breakfast. One morning I was seated near an American family, and thought my goodness they are so loud! I noticed others sometimes glancing at them.
The children were all very well behaved but obviously very excited anticipating their first full day exploring London (I eavesdropped a little).
孩子们都挺有礼貌,不过显然对他们第一天的伦敦探险感到非常兴奋。(这是我不小心听到的)
I realized if this had been a restaurant in the USA their speech volume would have been quite normal and acceptable , and I wouldn't have noticed. As I had not been around Americans for several months, I had become used to a lower decibel level while dining without realizing it. This was kind of a re-entry culture shock.
I made it a point to introduce myself, that it was refreshing to hear other Americans after so long away, and with a bit of a twinkle said it was very nice to clearly hear how excited they are about the day ahead. The parents picked right up on it, and I later heard them nicely and quietly telling their children they could still hear them even if they spoke more softly..
I wasn’t traveling but had moved to the UK from Canada.
我并不是在旅行,不过我从加拿大搬到英国来了。
I was standing at the bus stop with a few other people.
我当时正和其他一些人一起站在一个公交站。
When the bus pulled up, it stopped right in front of me.
当巴士停下来的时候,正好停在了我面前。
The doors opened and I go to step on the bus, then I feel a thud on my shoulder.
门打开之后,我马上就上去了,结果感到有什么东西戳了我的肩膀一下。
I turn around and an elderly lady was hitting me with her umbrella.
我转过身来发现一位老太太正在用她的雨伞戳我。
When I looked at her she said something about not pushing in line.
当我看着她的时候,她告诉我不要插队。
I apologized and explained that I had just moved from Canada and there we just get on the bus from where it stopped.
我道歉了,然后解释说我刚刚从加拿大搬过来,而我们那都是巴士停在哪就在哪上。
She replied, “In England we respect the queue!” I didn’t even know what the word queue meant, but I soon learned that they do indeed line up for everything and they board the bus in the order they arrived at the bus stop.