I know not everyone on this sub is from the US but what are things you have been surprised to learn are not a “standard” in other parts of the world (compared to where you grew up)?
I’ll add a few of mine
- Ice is not standard outside the US
- We went to Ireland and I had recently broken a part of my ankle, finding any ice was a wild endeavor
- US food portions are actually substantial
- this one is super easy mode but still, it shocked me seeing how and what we eat against other countries
- Major cities/countries can have power grid issues (looking at you South Africa)
- I had no idea that the grid was that unstable in SA until this most recent season of Other Way
Toilet seat covers are not the norm. Gross.
Many women don’t sit on them anyway. It is disgusting to sit on the same toilet seat that unknown people have sat on - even in my work, where it is clean, these people are just my colleagues, we are not that close. I usually cover it with paper and be careful, but it’s slow and uses up a lot of paper (and yes, in my country, paper can be flushed down the toilet - at least in most places).
In other places you learn to do it from a semi-standing position (not pleasant). Obviously it’s not about a long stay or anything big - just make sure you don’t have to.
In Japan, a lot of places we visited just had holes in the ground. When we went to touristy places, they’d often have a single stall that had a sign that said “Western Toilet” (or something like that). That stall would have a commode in it. The hole situation was difficult for me because I clearly never developed the thigh strength to hover over them, lol. I wondered, but never asked, ho handicapped or frail people were able to use the hole. I didn’t see any stalls designated for handicapped individuals.