#1
Snow And Ice In Canada
Everyday he'd bring a glass of water and sit by the window and all he would do is watch the glass of water throughout the whole course.
Eventually my friends and I started noticing so we went up to him and asked him about the glass of water and the open window.
He looked at us with big round eyes and told us "I've heard that if you leave water next to the window and it gets cold enough outside... The water turns INTO ICE!"
We all had a laugh and everyday came for an update on his water cup. Eventually winter did arrive. The teachers let us keep our winter coat in the classroom so that he could leave his glass of water next to the open window. Surely enough after a little while ice was starting to appear on top of the water.
He was so happy.
#2
The Postal System
#3
Driving Discipline
I visited Germany once with my family. We were about to cross the road when a Porsche came racing through. Living in India, we experience daily traffic mishaps and there is negligible concern regarding pedestrian safety and courtesy. So we were actually shocked when the driver literally halted to a stop and insisted on us crossing the road. There was no traffic light, no zebra crossings nothing and we actually were used to letting cars pass by before walking, so this was the biggest shock to us.
MaxThrustage added:
Coming from Australia to Germany this weirds me out too. I recently started cycling for the first time in 18 years, so I ride with the skill of a toddler and the grace of a drunk. But never once has any car honked at me, no one has gotten impatient as I wobble my way around them, no one has gotten mad about having to slow down because of this d***head on a bike. Back home I would have been mangled by now, but in Germany people are generally very accomodating. (Although I think it helps that I'm in a small city -- no one's in that much of a hurry here.)
#4
Things Would Get Fixed
#5
Garbage Truck With A Motorised Arm
A Tsongan African man who was staying with me came rushing in the first week he was staying me and woke me up. He was extremely excited that there was a garbage truck with a motorised arm and was picking up the wheely bins as it went down the street "Have you seen this! Have you seen this!" He kept exclaiming over and over again, "Amazing, amazing!" It made me laugh very hard, but he was a lovely guy.
XandelSA answered:
South African here. The thought of a garbage truck with a motorised arm literally blows my mind. There's absolutely no rules here that state where our bins should be placed which I imagine is the foundation you need before you can have a truck pick em up by itself.
#6
Houses Without Walls Around Them
edit: To the people asking I'm from the Philippines but its n̶i̶c̶e̶ interesting to see that other countries carry this t̶r̶a̶d̶i̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ practice.
edit: Not really a wealthy family but not really a from dangerous neighborhood. It pretty standard here to have at least a 2 meter tall concrete walls if you have middle income but those poor ones just settle with barbed wire
#7
Perfect Order In Everything
You can rely on your electricity not going out at least twice a day. If you buy something and it breaks, there's warranty with little to no hassle. Internet actually works more than it doesn't. Public transportation actually arrives and shockingly, it does on time. If you hire a service, it'll actually be done and with an expectation of quality. The list goes on.
Of course it's not perfect and there's s***ty people everywhere, but that's the exception, not the rule. And it's a massive difference.
#8
You Can Actually Live Off Minimum Wage
Also the fact that most of the UK born citizens think this is a terrible place to live is just beyond me. I always get asked why’d I leave sunny South Africa to come to this “s***hole”. They just don’t understand how good they’ve got it.
#9
4-Way Stops
#10
People Sometimes Don't Lock Their Doors
The general sense of safety and the fact that I could walk home alone at 4AM and still be safe, if a bit nervous.
#11
Grocery Stores Full Of Different Food
Giant grocery stores are full of food and always fully stocked.
Coming from Ukraine to USA in the 90's, my entire family's jaws dropped for hours.
polishfurseatingass answered:
Hah, my dad's from Munich and my mom's from Kraków and the stories about their childhoods are sometimes so different because of that.
Like my mom will tell you how oranges were a delicacy that you only had for special occassions while my dad will be like "oh when we were bored we used to throw them at each other for fun".
#12
3D Shows
So we took him to 3d shows and such. He had been in the US for around 6 months but even things like tv was an amazing luxury to him. Someone in the group picked up one at a pawn shop off post and gave it to him and he was just amazed that someone would just give him a TV.
Something nifty. He had it set up so direct deposits would go to an account his village had access to. His salary as an E2 in the Navy made his family semi royalty in the village.
#13
Multilingual People
When I first came to The Netherlands, I took the train from Schiphol Airport to Rotterdam. As I was sitting in the train, wondering how a country could be so flat, a guy, that looked like an obvious beggar, approached me and told me something in Dutch. I told him in English that I do not speak Dutch. Without hesitation, the guy proceeded to beg in fluent English. That was such a cultural shock...
Even after all these years in The Netherlands, I can not speak Dutch all that well, not for lack of trying but because Dutch people absolutely have no problem switching to English instantly the moment they realize I am not a native speaker.
ifeardolphins18 answered:
To be fair the Netherlands has a higher literacy rate in English than most English speaking countries. A Dutch friend told me that if you’re under the age of 40 and can’t speak English you’re basically shamed for it.
#14
A Lot Of Water In Toilets
#15
Great Public Infrastructure
It truly is a joy to just walk through the city.
Also, dogs are more polite that people where I come from.
#16
Free Protest Culture
#17
City Lights
I was 6 and I’ll never forget that first drive from the airport to my new home in December. It was also my first time seeing snow.
#18
Domestic Dogs
They were straight terrified of any bodies dogs. Anybodies.
In their home town, kids were regularly attacked and killed by wild/street dogs.
#19
No Sound Of Gunshots In The Evenings
#20
Toilet Paper
#21
People Are Way More Informal In Communication
In Brazil I always get comments (good or bad) about how I look. Mainly from friends or family but it’s common to always talk about it.
When I moved to Australia I made friends, and never got a comment about any of these things. It was a big relieve to find out that I can be myself and not worry about the tons of comments about something that doesn’t matter at all.. :)
#22
The Quantity And Great State Of Old Buildings
How old the houses are. I was expecting modern construction like in my country, buy instead saw old buildings which, ironically, valued more than even the more modern ones
collegiaal25 commented:
Old buildings are often closer to the city center, so it's also location. Plus they may have historical value.
#23
Really Fast Ambulance
#24
Clean Water
drinking water directly from water taps
gnarley_quinn commented:
I tried to explain this to my kids. They had trouble understanding where water comes from before it arrived at the two.
#25
Being Able To Walk Around The City While Using Phone
If I use it where I live, I get murdered, raped or kidnapped over a phone.
Honduran :)
#26
Women Driving Cars
#27
Online Services
Apply visa? do it online. They will notify you once they need documents, once you are ready, etc. Every step of the process.
Pay bills? Fine, do online banking.
Order food, groceries? Do it online, call for delivery.
Schedule for appointment? Call, Do it online.
Meanwhile in my country, you need to do all this PHYSICALLY. Fall in line for hours. Registration done?
On to the next step - payment. Uh oh, you need to go the bank, collect the receipt and come back here.
You want to do it online? Good luck with the s***ty websites and slow internet. I could go on and on.
Its day and night comparison.
#28
Being A Girl, You Can Live Alone
Being a girl, you can live alone.
gordonjames62 answered:
I have a daughter living in Toronto, Canada, and another living in Halifax Canada. They would never worry about physical safety or being robbed.
Then my oldest went to work with street kids in Bogata Colombia. It took her a long time to fully understand why people got upset with her wanting to go out for walks at night.
#29
Buses Always Arrive In Time
#30
Cables Underneath The Roads
