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what did you not "get " until you got there?

what did you not "get " until you got there?

Old Jul 13th, 2001, 03:07 AM
  #1  
david west
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what did you not "get " until you got there?

This comes out of the "culture shock" thread. But isn't as deep. What, blindingly obvious, thing did you not realise until you got to the country/place? Here are a few of mine.

1) The Eiffel Tower is very big. Very, Very big. I was aware of this in a general sense, but until I actually saw it and how it dominates the Paris skyline I never really understood how big it was.

2) Ditto american skyscrapers.

3) And the Grand Canyon.

4) Spanish people like bullfighting. It's not for tourists and is followed fanatically. I always assumed it was a subsidiary of the placemat industry.

5) Turkish people smoke turkish tobacco. A lot. And thay have a choice. They drink turkish coffee too, without being made to.

6)The tropics are hot and "rainy season" means it will rain on you. A lot.

7) In Cuba they really do drive old american cars.

8) Thai people like thai pop music.

I realise that I am spectacularly dense about these things. Is it just me?
 
Old Jul 13th, 2001, 03:14 AM
  #2  
hiho
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I did not get any Thai baht until I got to Bangkok. Ditto for Chinese Yuan until I got to Beijing.
 
Old Jul 13th, 2001, 03:45 AM
  #3  
Karen
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That there REALLY are no streets in Venice, only water! And that you can be standing just across a little canal from the place you want to go, with no way to get there except back around and about until you find a bridge or a traghetto.
 
Old Jul 13th, 2001, 03:47 AM
  #4  
Chris
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No David, you're not the only one.

1. Europeans really do smoke -- A LOT!

2. You CAN get French onion soup in France!

3. I realized why the Romans had "vomitoriums" or whatever they called them -- the meals really don't end.

4. The French do eat snails.

5. There really is "weinerschnitzel" (it's not just a word that makes you snicker when you say/hear it).

6. Italian drivers really are crazy.

7. People in the US south really do speak s-l-o-w.

8. That the Louvre was so big.

9. That Monte Carlo was so small (my NJ nasal, "so this is it?" resounded through the tiny streets).

9a. That Monte Carlo is REALLY RICH (I saw more Rolls Royces, Bentleys, etc., in one day than I've seen in all my *ahem* years).

10. Drum roll please...THAT FRANCE HAS IT'S OWN MUSIC "SCENE". (Hey, I'm American - 'nuff said.) Figured about Germany (here's an age clue -- David Bowie and Iggy Pop in Germany, yes, I remember), know about G.B., but not France. Gee, I suppose Spain has their own music thing too...

Here's a bonus -- I didn't realize Europe is so BIG.
 
Old Jul 13th, 2001, 04:16 AM
  #5  
Sheila
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Mostly American

1.That Yosemite is more breathtaking than the Highlands

2. That there really are boardwalks

3. That Americans really say "Have a nice day"

4. That it can take 20 minutes just to order breakfast in an American diner

5. That the French really are AWFUL drivers.
 
Old Jul 13th, 2001, 04:31 AM
  #6  
Ursula
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Here is, what I did not "get", unti I got to the States:

1) I did not realize how impressing Manhattan's skyline was, until I got there with the Staten Island Ferry.

2) I did not realize that "a block" in the States can be endless... especially in Manhattan.
People are told: Oh, it's three blocks further down and you walk, walk, walk...
Why don't you speak about the necessary minutes (or fractions of a mile) you need to get there?

3) I did not realize that it would be that cold in shopping malls, restaurants, hotel lobbies due to A/C.

4) I did not not realize that the "smallest" size (pizzas, ice creams, soft drinks,..) would look like "large" here. I was always ashamed, because I never managed to finish my meals.

5) I did not believe that some Americans confound Switzerland with Sweden.

6) I did not believe you hear so little about Europe when in the States (TV and press).

 
Old Jul 13th, 2001, 04:45 AM
  #7  
rhrwh
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the tower of pisa seemed bigger in photos, and the eiffel tower smaller, and in fact is the other way around
 
Old Jul 13th, 2001, 04:49 AM
  #8  
Paige
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1) Bavarians really do occassionally drink beer for breakfast. This morning where I work (near Munich), they had a birthday party and served weissbier, weisswurst and brez'n (beer, weenies and pretzels).

2) It is unbelievably hot and humid in the Seychelles. Especially humid. New Orleans in August doesn't even compare.

3) It's not a good idea to wear tennies to the top of a mountain in the winter.

4) Bavarians really don't have a problem with public nudity. I mean, full nudity.

5) I second the wienerschnitzel comment.

6) There really are pretty cows with cowbells roaming the mountainsides in Switzerland.
 
Old Jul 13th, 2001, 04:58 AM
  #9  
Judy
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Hi David, I did not realize that: trains can be so wonderful, Metros are great in Paris and London, Rome is so big(when looking from St. Peter's Cuppolla), Sistine Chapel's magnificence, Paris is so beautiful!
Judy
 
Old Jul 13th, 2001, 05:46 AM
  #10  
PostGirl
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Ursula, I particularly liked your posts on America! Especially about the cold A/C in malls/restaurants and the large servings of food. As an American, I myself think the portion sizes are ridiculous. And I freeze with the A/C, always have a sweater with me even in summer! It's just fun to see a foreigner's perspective on things.

Mine:
1. The fuss about Italian food til I went to Italy.
2. How convenient it is to have a train system - It's a shame that the US doesn't have one.
3. How our society is so "Americanized" that most Americans (including myself) live in this little "box" unaware of how others live/what is going on in the rest of the world.
 
Old Jul 13th, 2001, 06:06 AM
  #11  
Ursula
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PostGir, forgot about one which really did surprise me:

How many people (in shops, restaurants) do call you Darling or Honey when, they absolutely do not know you.

And I am glad to see that there are Americans too that are not that keen about A/C! Thanks.
 
Old Jul 13th, 2001, 06:40 AM
  #12  
Book Chick
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Ursula,
Gosh, yes, the grocery store is almost unbearable. The refrigeration of the produce, dairy, meat & seafood sections permeates the rest of the grocery & it's pretty close to utterly ridiculous.

Okay, what I "didn't get" til I got there:

1) Parts of Italy are really in a semi-tropical climate, evidenced by the lizards crawling on the exterior walls of the villa I lived in & the potted lemon trees (heavenly!) growing in our "backyard".

2) When you learn to speak the language prior to going & you practice a LOT & you get over there & use it, IT WORKS!!!

3) The water on the French & Italian Rivieras really & truly is the clearest, most delightful shade of aquamarine I have ever had the pleasure of sensing.

4) The "David" & Piazza San Marco are real & amazing.

5) A cappucino at a cafe in Piazza San Marco is way expensive, but WAY worth it for the service, atmosphere & quality of the coffee itself.

6) On a sunny, cloudless day Avignon is very photogenic.

7) The most stunning, gorgeous views are the Florence skyline from Fiesole & the Bay of Angels from my hotel room window in Nice.

8) Even on the hottest day of the year, there is not much ice in your beverage.

9)We have more in common with people than we realize, depite language/cultural/historical differences. Most people are pretty kind.

10) Gelato ROCKS!

BC

 
Old Jul 13th, 2001, 06:51 AM
  #13  
joy
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Ursula:

You are so right RE: hearing so little about Europe on TV or in the Press, here in the States. I have to tune in to our local PBS at 10:00pm because they have ITN news or at 6:00 am for BBC news. I'm in no position to criticize the networks but I find they devote so little of their news to outside of the US (Europe, Asia, Africa, S. America) but would devote the whole day to discussing Condit's affair with Chandra Levy!!
 
Old Jul 13th, 2001, 07:10 AM
  #14  
elvira
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1) How many Europeans speak several languages. At a train station in the Netherlands, I had asked someone for help (my Flemish is hello, please, thankyou, etc.) in English. As I sat waiting for the train, a young woman with Down's Syndrome sat next to me, and asked in Dutch-accented ENGLISH if I was American. We held a basic conversation in English; no way could I have done it in Flemish.
2) French food is as good as everyone claimed.
3) How really small everything is outside of the U.S. (like cars, food portions, homes), and how really big castles are.
4) Poverty: I've seen it in the U.S., it's terrible in Mexico, but absolutely nothing compared to the area just outside the medina in Marrakech.
 
Old Jul 13th, 2001, 07:13 AM
  #15  
Laura
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Hello again, David....

I totally did not understand the depth of the dismal poverty in Russia....

I was delighted to see the joy of life shared by so many Australians...

I "don't get" the willingness with which so many Europeans accept the things they feel that they cannot change....

And I was truly touched to see the love the Scots show to the children...all children, not just their own.....

I was amazed at the enthusiastic way Germans gather and sing at any occasion...

I was blown away by the absolutely stunning beauty of the architecture in Paris....

I did not know the glorious way I would feel as I gazed at the exquisite art in the Louvre and in the Musee d'Orsay..I actually teared up more than once.....

I did not get how ..well, I guess maybe thrilled is the word...I would feel walking in ancient towns throughout Europe...seeing hundreds of years old houses still occupied and in excellent condition, the cobblestones, the rock walls put there centuries ago...if only that feeling could be bottled........

How friendly, even tho they are at first so "reserved", the Brits are once you get them talking.....

How willing the Irish are to share their country with you and to welcome back any and all Irish .......

How many people still smoke in Europe and who don't seem to be concerned about keeping the smoke away from children and other people....

I didn't realize how beautiful the Norwegian Fjords are nor how clear the water....

And I had no idea that that the food in California is so spectacularly delicious!

And I did not know that it would be so wonderful to swim in the ocean in Hawaii....




 
Old Jul 13th, 2001, 07:18 AM
  #16  
joanne
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1. Walking the marble road in Ephesus
and knowing Romans walked there too.

2. Seeing documentaries on Pompeii and
then being there.

3. Me too with the Eiffel tower and how
huge it is.

4. How delicious gelato is and how true
the flavors are.

5. Seeing paintings in books and then
really seeing them in the Louvre,
Musee D'Orsay, Prado, etc.

How wonderful Europe is in so many ways!

 
Old Jul 13th, 2001, 08:24 AM
  #17  
Cindy
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I didn't get:

1. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is REALLY leaning.

2. When you've seen one priceless piece of art, you REALLY have not seen them all.

3. Things in Europe are REALLY old.

4. French people REALLY speak French all the time.

 
Old Jul 13th, 2001, 08:42 AM
  #18  
s.fowler
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I'm with Cindy!

The Eiffel Tower DOES dominate the Paris skyline.

The Turkish soldiers at Ephesus [in 1979] DID have big guns.
 
Old Jul 13th, 2001, 08:48 AM
  #19  
Beth
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1. The sheer sense of awe that comes from standing on burial stones at Westminster Abbey dated 9-(something)

2. Just because something is in the same alphabet does not mean I can read it! (First experienced in Amsterdam)

3. The kindess of strangers...
 
Old Jul 13th, 2001, 08:49 AM
  #20  
Beth
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Oops, kindness. And yes I do make my living at a keyboard.
 

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