There are numerous culture shocks I’ve experienced - isn’t that why we travel!

Venice in the 70's - I told my tour guide that I needed a toilet. I was taken to a hole in the ground in the city. This was totally shocking. No box to sit on, just a hole to squat over.

Brussels - After living in Brussels for 4 months I knew I was having culture shock when I got angry at the doorknobs for not being round. They weren't knobs at all but levers that you push down. I was upset at the water faucets. Their hot was on the right and the cold was on the left, opposite of ours. I was frustrated with the salt and pepper shakers. Their salt was a one-hole and their pepper was multiple holes. Who wants just a little salt and a lot of pepper? When I went to ride the escalator, their up was where our down is, on the left instead of the right. When I went through a revolving door, I normally jump in going clockwise but their's revolved counterclockwise.

Clothes - When I went to work I dressed up and wore skirts and suits - and found that everyone else in the office wore jeans and shorts. When I arrived at a party, I wore jeans and everyone else wore dresses.

My Flemish friend was a professional singer. When I went to hear her sing an hour-long concert in church she wore bermuda's! I couldn't believe it!

The Ring around the City - My first time driving to my residence hotel from work I was told to use the ring. This underground tunnel keeps going down and then coming up, etc, etc... At various points in the tunnel there are exits. The problem, however, was that the sign on the exit in the tunnel did not match the name of the street above. I kept going up and down, around and around. Do you think that I could find the right exit? I left work at 5 PM and finally made it home by 9 PM. At one point I stopped with a map and asked the man to point out where I was. He said, "You've driven off the map, lady".

The Train -

• I was riding the train and heard the conductor make an announcement which I didn't understand. The people across the aisle from me were motioning and trying to talk to me. I looked around. Everyone had gotten off of the car I was on. What's going on? Finally the conductor came and told me to change cars. The train car I was on was left behind at the station! I ran to the front car with all of the little boy scouts who were boarding but really wanted to jump in with the engineer for fear the next car I got on would be left behind, too. I would have been sitting in a train car by myself going nowhere!
• This actually happened to my friends a few years later. They thought the people talking to them were going to steal their sack lunches so they entrenched themselves in the train car. Now they were the only ones left on the train car sitting in the middle of the tracks. The rest of the train had decoupled and left their car behind. When you are not at a station, there is no platform to get off so they were high above the tracks and had to jump down and find their way to the station on foot!

Personal Space -

• When walking down the sidewalk, the convention in the US is to have those coming toward you on your left and you walk on the right. It is noticeable that other nationalities don't follow this "rule". The side we drive on is the side we walk on. So that’s the reason why….
• When speaking to someone in the US there is a certain distance that you maintain to feel comfortable. My Scottish friend violated my space and got too close when he talked which forced me to move backwards, which caused him to close the space. And then a wee little dance ensues. You know how it goes....Get out of my space and out of my face, OKaaaay.... LOL
• Germany - The sidewalks are narrow and people bump into you when they walk. In the US we twist to avoid bumping. Stop bumping into me - Okaaaay.......:)

Restaurants -

• Brussels - I walked around the corner to a quaint little family owned restaurant in Brussels. When I was seated I noticed people coming in with their dogs who were also seated at the table with them. I wondered if Fido had been sitting in my upholstered chair before me. Would I be served a bone in my soup?
• Paris - My brother took me to an Algerian restaurant for couscous. We were seated at the table but then a party of 3 was seated at our same table. When our food was served the 3rd member of their party did not use silverware but ate directly off of the plate. It was their cat! What! I'm eating next to “le chat” in a restaurant. Those Parisians love their kitties!

Bangkok -

• The traffic is horrendous. I'm on a very crowded street going one way and a motorcycle is driving the wrong way through traffic. Yikes
• I got in a tuk tuk needing to meet my boss so told the driver where I needed to go. He didn't want to take me to my destination but was determined to take me to his cousin's shop. I kept saying, no, I can’t go. What! I'm paying you to take me here and you want to take me there....The nerve wracking adventure of culture shock.