Culture Vulture !

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 21:33:43 GMT

“Are women allowed to take sunbath in summer in Pakistan”

Eugene , A Russian friend.

That question surprised me. I explained him that first of all ,we don’t have that kind of summer like in Europe. Our summer is severe. Yes we do have winter and then we love to sit under the sun. But taking off your clothes and revealing is not thought as morally and religiously good in Muslim world.

“Parents prefer girls over boys in Indian subcontinent, because you guys don’t have proper pension system so boys are expected to take care of their parents in old age” – Chris , Flatmate from England

Its not just pension system ,my friend. It has an age old history of social injustice ,gender bias and discrimination. I don’t believe that difference between men and women can diminish in this region, even in future. May be Yes, in larger cities ,but then we say 80% of population is in villages, where this gender bias very high.

“ I can’t believe that most Muslims never kiss anyone from opposite gender” – Sandra, A friend from Colombia

Blah ,blah,blah ,blah and blah blah blah blah blah….

“Look at pictures of my kids and my wife, doesn’t she look beautiful in bikini?”– Tiro. Flat mate from Botswana (near South Africa)

That was a bit shocking for me because I am from a place where a husband can punch a guy who praises his wife. And you are talking about bikini….. okkk , a different culture.

“Life is messed up , so many assignments , work ,bad weather etc – anyway, tell me why are you always alright ?” - Peter – A Polish guy

Later, I got to know from a friend, that ,when asked, most Eastern Europeans start from negative points and then tell us better things. This behaviour is common and is a norm there. So they often get surprised when we always tell stuff like , “We are very well” and “we are alright, Thank God”.etc Probably, sadness is in their culture, songs that are super hit are sad ones, movies with sad endings are considered the best ones.

“3:13Pm means , 3:13Pm . There should not be even 1 min difference, that’s what we Germans believe”. Roberto – A German neighbour

I told him I’ll be there in 2 minutes. It was 3 :11 on his clock. When I reached there , I was 5 minutes late according to his standards. Germans are pretty punctual and very effective planners. When you have to ask a German for a coffee, you need to tell 2-3 days in advance. You can’t just barge in and say hello , can we go for a coffee. NO

“It is rude ,when one offers some snack and other doesn’t accept “ , Dietel , A Portuguese guy of African origin.

I offered him sweets and he shamelessly grabbed all of the box. I was expecting him to take some and return the remaining ones, but he didn’t.

ZInger Spree: Travel

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