Yep. My mum alway like " Have you eaten yet?" "Eat NOW!"or complain why i haven't eating a particular food on the table yet. I'm like "i'm getting there!!!"
My grandmother asks me that literally everytime she sees me. I would enter the room and she'd ask me if i've eaten only to leave and re enter the room to her repeating herself.
Might come from the fact that boots and shit shouldn't be worn inside, so we also do it with shoes... I know that I would get yelled at as a kid if I didn't take my shoes off for sure.
I live in America and I'd only been told I could leave my shoes on (they actually said I should) in one home and that was because they were renovating and the floor was really dirty! Every other home I've been in, including mine, you take off your shoes. I'd like to meet these people I keep hearing about who wear their shoes around the house
are you fooking kidding. I don't have to go further than watching this video. The 2 girls are so gaunt and pale looking!! skinny is NOT healthy. just messed up
In Canada we take off our shoes at the door. In the winter we sometimes wear slippers, but the rest of the year we wear socks or bare feet indoors. I don't understand how the floor would stay clean if you wear shoes inside.
that is for most Americans as well. Most Americans will take off their shoes or boots at the front door. Only a few places I have ever been do they allow you to walk around in your shoes. Not in my house. So the shoes in the house thing is only 20% if not less true.
I'm American and taking off your shoes inside is common, but optional. Personally, I always take off my shoes inside, unless there is a specific reason not to.
American and we also take off our shoes, however it's not a 100 percent of the time like on weekends when we are running in and out of the house. I think we would be 100 percent with it if we had the little ante room thing that Asian homes all seem to have. Our house doesn't have a mud room so it isn't convenient to take shoes off until we are already inside so even though we take them off there in the entry, it's still not great, dirt still gets in.
+Kurt Lundblad Here in France it depends. In the countryside, *everyone* (or at least very close to) wears shoes inside. In cities, though, it depends. I would say most of the people keep their shoes inside, but as I have been living mostly in the countryside and small cities, I may be wrong. In my family, we took our shoes off in our house, but I do remember most of the time when we invited people over, we had to ask them to take theirs off, as it was not natural to think about it.
+Kurt Lundblad Nope, very common in the States for African American parents to insist shoes come off when coming in the house---"you're not gonna dirty up my floor". Also, plenty of my white and latino American friends don't wear shoes inside. I now am in Switzerland and so far, most of my acquaintances wear their shoes inside and tell me not to take my shoes off when I visit (which I have ignored to my dismay as their floors have been a mess).
I think this has more to do with common sense and hygiene than anything else. Would you want your kiddies or grand kiddies crawling around the floor that someone just tracked dog shzt all over? The days of the earth floors, animals dumping on the floors, packing sidearms at the dinner table are limited.
In Finland we also take shoes off when we come to in to our house or somebody's house because we want to keep the dirt outside. And keeping them on unless you are told to is considered as a rude thing to do.
The floor can be cleaned both if you use shoes inside and if you don't. Plus, it's rude to take your shoes off if you are the guest without asking. It's not your house, it's the house of another person, and only they should decide. If you are the guest, ask if you want to take your shoes off. Taking the shoes off without asking is disrespectful in the areas where that practice is not common. In South Europe no one takes their shoes off, and it is defintely considered ultra-disrespectful to take the shoes off in the house of another person without asking.
I think it depends, I'm part Danish and grew up in Denmark and I know a whole bunch of Danes who wear shoes inside - including my grandfather, but the majority don't wear shoes inside, that's true. And I definitely never understood why anyone would wear shoes inside, I personally also dislike it though 😓
White americans. Other Americans take off their shoes. Sometimes blacks don't. I had to tell them to take them off. No one walks on my white carpet with their shoes on.
Many places where carpets on the main floor are not common, people tend to leave their shoes on. Lots of homes in Australia are wood and tiled floors, so everybody walks around in their shoes in the house. What are you going to track in? Some dust and soil? That's what a broom or a vacuum is for.
dizzydreamaway and then you have to do that each day. a shoe-less house will last a week. Second. What gets on the bottom of your shoes? try people's spit, bacteria, dog poo / urine, dead insects, gum, and all sorts of nasty thing. Third, why don't you want to take off your shoes inside? Have a shoe cabinet by the door, and keep your shoes there. When you leave the house, you put them on there, and when you come home, take them off there. How hard is it? Is it harder than having to mop your tile floors each day?
Me: Yeah big sis isn't really feeling well so she can't eat much, so don't cook too much Dad: OK, so I'll cook 5 packets of noodles for you and your sister Me: why
Here in mainland China they definitely talk loudly...but then they get on their mobile phone and they literally start yelling!!! It's insanely hilarious :D
Some typical cantonese elderly (as I am half canto) can randomly run to backyard picking up their shoe and beat up their enemy's photo yelling "打你個死人頭!" (Beat your dead skull) when they're pissed off. I don't know where this habit comes from but I still do this weird stuff as my grandpa taught me. Lol
+Ferdianto Suwandi haha heard that it's a kind of superstition that when you beat a picture of someone, something bad would happen to the person in that picture or that he would feel the hitting. That's why there's also a superstition that you're not suppose to tear your own photos or throw it away recklessly for the same reason
+Si Ying Tan true also... however in some way it helps to tone down your emotion on that particular individual. and yes, again it's just as bad as putting curse on somebody. are you a S'porean by chance?
about slurping thing, for japanese yes, but other asian maybe no. i'm asian but my parents teach me don't make a noise while you're eating. but about sharing food yes.
Regarding the shoe habit, my Mom who is Mexican always has this habit of walking around inside the house with sandals or shoes. I never really paid too much attention to that. But after visiting her home in Mexico, I realize that it was probably a habit engrained into her because her home wasn't really a modern home, and rather open-air. So dust can easily get inside, as well as insects-Specifically scorpions. So to that kind of culture, wearing shoes indoors is a safety precaution to them.
The talking loudly, omg i felt so embarrass before when westerners would look as my parents talk to their friends or relatives on the streets or subway>< and lmao removing the shoe thing againxD i remember writing about that idk about the small talk like my parents do try to avoid people they don't like talking to on the streets but when they do see each other they'll always talk for at least 15 mins asking them where they're working now,and their life [and they barely know each other] whereas i think westerners just say hiiiii [in a way that you haven't seen them in ages] but act like they're in a hurry and walk away. also, you missed the "there's no "hi" greeting" cause for chinese people, there's really no word for "hello" except ni hao which is mando, not canto..canto probably just say "how are you" but no one uses that to start convos..its always "WAAAAAA long time no see!"or they always say their names and i never knew asian people ate mashed potatoesxD we like our potatoes stir fry lol
Good evening, well here in Italy it's evening. First things first: great video and channel! Even in my small town of 40k I had the chance to get acquainted with many Asian people, mostly Chinese, and the greatest difference I noticed with us is your politeness! Thank you! You can be proud of your culture, good manners and kindnesses! I never met a rude Chinese so far! And it's not an overstatement! In this time of difficult interaction among cultures I fell like saying: thanks for been among us! Sincerely. Carlo.
For the talking volume, I have one theory from linguistic perspective. Because there are four tunes in Chinese language and same pronunciation could mean totally different things with different tunes (four tunes more refer to Mandarin, but different tune could lead to different meaning is true in Chinese languages in general). As a result, more volume is required in order to get this one more piece of information received. I learned this from my own experience when one day, I "whispered" to my ex in a car in the back seat in English in a volume that I would whisper in Chinese, but later he asked me if I meant to whisper cuz he thought people in the front seats could hear what I said. Then I realised that because even you say an English word in raising or dropping or whatever tune, the word is still the same word, may express different emotion but still the same word. Hence you can communicate in English in less volume. If it's still difficult to understand, think about cats or any animals who can see in darkness. They usually don't see colours and hence they require less light to see things. Whereas we human do see colours, which is an extra piece of information that requires more light reflection to be reflected.
In regards to food: one good thing to keep in mind for all you people out there that I have heard is that when you are grabbing your own food from the shared dishes, use the back end of your chopsticks. Remember: the other end went in your mouth! If your chopsticks touch food other than what you are grabbing, that could be a bit of your mouth germs right there getting on someone else's food. I don't think you are expected to do this, but it is certainly seen as courteous to do this with your chopsticks when eating. I am not from, nor have I been to anywhere in Asia, so I cannot tell you much more about this. This is just what I learned from another video of someone in Japan.
+Phantomhive Yes this is a cultural thing most commonly observed in Japan. But usually if it's an informal situation or eating with your own family this eating habit might not be necessary. In other Asian cultures, such as Chinese, we do not use the back end of the chopsticks to grab food from the shared dishes (rice and other foods can be sticky and have gravy on it, we don't want to be touching it whenever we flip our chopsticks around!). In some households and Chinese restaurants, a communal cutlery is provided for the shared dishes (usually it's a spoon for you to scoop the gravy or sauce, since chopsticks can't get any of those).
+Phantomhive I don't know about anywhere else, but in South Korea if you're eating a sit-down meal, unless a serving spoon as been provided it's pretty much fair game I've been told. Even soups (as a side-dish), you get one small bowl delivered to the table and you all dig in with your spoons. I've never seen someone flip their chopsticks around, and I've been to a range of different dinners (friends, families, work, wedding, etc) I think it depends on the people you're with though, because some (especially mid-age women?) just grab a fresh spoon or chopsticks for serving or cutting things up. I heard it can actually be really good for you to get a tiny bit of other peoples' germs, because as long as nobody has a disease or whatever, it's kind of like a vaccination. You get a tiny dose of germs that your body fights off and you get stronger because of it.
WHAT YOU DESCRIBED IS A PEASANT'S WAY NOW DAYS. IN THE MEANING OF CIVILIZATION YOU REALLY SHOULD USE A SHEARED ' PICK UP ONLY' CHOPSTICKS WHICH CALLED ' GONG KUAI' AND IS THE NORMAL PRACTICE NOW DAYS NO MATTER IN A FAMILY TABLE OR A RESTAURANT GATHERING.
the small talk habit is actually the opposite here in the philippines, especially adults and seniors they can initiate small talk with someone they don't know about similar stuff although the introverted* habit still exists especially the younger people.
Lol I'm from a purely English household but we hand clothes to dry. The removing shoe thing too; I've been to friend's houses and when removing my shoes they got confused but we always take ours off in the entrance so it's natural to me. Everyone else thinks I'm weird af XDD
Next time you should ask whether you can take your shoes off at another person's house. It is not your house, it's theirs and you can make them feel uncomfortale if you don't ask.
Beds are very important to Chinese. I have seen my American friends all sit on someone's bed with their shoes on. Please don't sit on a Chinese person's bed without asking first, and please remove your shoes.
i think this is a little missleading. when you say westerners you most of all mean americans, 'couse i'm swedish and we do a lot of the things you point out. especially take of our shoes. but slippers isn't that common here, we almoust always walk around in our socks at home.
+patrik stjärna While it is misleading to an extent, do you think they're going to put "Americans" or "Westerners (except Swedish people)" in their title? No, I don't think so.
+Gise Cas lol, I have a mexican boyfriend and his family allowe shoes inside the house. Since he starts dating me and we now live together, everytime his family come into my house I would ask them to take off their shoes. His parent are slowly adapting the no shoes allow inside the house now :))
+Tram Nguyen lol I just feel as if it varies by family. I never thought people walked around the house with shoes on till I went to my white friend told me to keep my shoes on lol
I'm sure the shoe thing is hygiene related. Here in New Zealand it is considered rude to walk into someone's house with your shoes on if you don't know the normal rules in the household (unless they tell you that you can wear them inside). It pretty much varies from house to house. Some people are strict about it and some people don't care. And the communal food thing too. In my family we have always had all our food in the middle of the table every night. It's far more convenient and everyone can eat as much as they want to rather than have someone else serve it up for you :)
Goddamnit Lara same. Only dirty and rude people wear shoes inside. Like geez. The only semi acceptable shoes inside is like jandals but only for your house .
In South Europe no one takes their shoes off, and it is defintely considered ultra-disrespectful to take the shoes off in the house of another person without asking.
@@jameswalker6864 it's the other way around in Romania, if you don't take your shoes off you'll end up with your feet chopped off jk, if they have carpets everywhere you must take your shoes off unless told to keep them. Even if their floor is tiles or laminated only, you still have to take them off unless told to keep them on, especially when it was a rainy day outside
My family has always shared the food we eat. We make enough for a bunch of people and then we take which foods we want. We also do this in restaurants as well. Often times, when we can't decide on what each individual wants, we "order a meal for each person" then ask for extra plates so we can each have a portion of each dish. One of my favorite restaurants is P.F. Chang's Asian Bistro and almost all the meals they serve are meant to be shared. You can tell they are meant to be shared because the dishes come in large portions with big serving spoons and separate, clean dinner plates are brought out for each party member.
I love these types of videos, bc I learn so much and it's so interesting :D As a Romanian growing up in America (and born here) I always take off my shoes, and I personally look at it as a sign of respect as the home you are entering too. So from Eastern Europe, I grew up taking my shoes off in my home or others. So have other Romanians, so Europe does it too I guess? (:
The Western label is starting to seem really broad, I've seen a few comments from different European and American countries saying they don't wear shoes indoors. I can't speak for Australia, but I've noticed a lot of people in New Zealand don't wear shoes inside either. Maybe it's more of a US thing to wear shoes inside? Hit us up if most people in your country don't wear shoes inside!
+Kalin Soden Most Americans don't where shoes around on carpet. If the floors are hardwood or something it isn't a big deal to most people if shoes are worn.
+Kalin Soden Here in the US, it's hit and miss. In my house (and many homes of my family), you are not permitted to wear shoes in the house. However, I have had friends who wore shoes in their house. I agree with Ryan0556 about the hardwood/carpet thing. It is more acceptable for you to wear shoes on hardwood but really just depends on the household rules. TDLR: Depends on the household.
+Kalin Soden For me it depends on two factors: 1.) How well do I know the the owners of the home 2.) How long will I be staying there I'm from the USA btw
In Poland we have the same thing with shoes indoors. If I may, I noticed it because of my friends from different Asian countries - they putting bowls/plates off from the table, closer to their mouth, in Europe in most countries it's against savoir vivre - plates and bowls must stay on the table and the eaters shouldn't bend closer to the food too.
when i was a kid i got exposed to asian eating habits of lifting up plates and bowls and it just stuck 😝 i live in america and i think it grosses ppl out sometimes. but really its much better if you dont want to make a mess!
+和ァ独 China and Japan :D but wait, I'm 100% sure that I heard somewhere - not in person but from Korean person (via RUclips or Discovery Channel?), that in Korea if you lift up your bowl you should not put it down until you finish. Isin't this truth? 0_0
+Edward Kwong Ah, yeah. My Chinese and Japanese friends did exactly like this when we had food in small bowls. This uncivilized thing about eating directly from plate/bowl - in Europe we think about it the same as you said. Exeption can be bowl of soup but this is okay among family and friends aaaand some lower class restaurants when you can lift it up and drink directly from it, especially before finishing :D Also interesting thing is that in Medieval Europe people used to eat with hands (ofc beside soups, forks were rare, spoons were wooden and mostly everyone had their own knives) but leaving the smallest fingers up, away from rest of dirty and greasy hands because it was used for spieces which were in shared bowls and well, no-one want someone else greas on your food ^^
systemica Nope, definitely not. At least Korean people have told me that^^ But usually in Korea you eat your dish with chop sticks and a spoon so there's no hand for lifting your bowl. Also the spoon helps you not to make a mess and not to spill things.
I'm Canadian and I take off my shoes when I enter the house, especially in the winter. I find that habit has more to do with climate than anything else. Shoes come off in the winter so snow doesn't get tracked into the house, but in warmer places its less of an issue so they tent to care less.
the shoe thing is (at least in Europe) based on what type of flooring you have. In northern countries you remove the shoes because people have carpet (or other "hard to clean) floors that keep warm during winter, while in southern countries where it's warm/hot most of the time they have stone floors that are easy to clean and not as comfortable for bare feet, so there you will leave your shoes on.
My parent always get on my case when I don't wear shoes in the house. I don't think it's proper, and it's awkward for me. That and I really don't like shoes...
+Off the Great Wall Only time I wear footwear besides my ankle braces, is when I head outside to go some place. Heck, I'm barefoot even in the summer outside. Woozi is not the only one that hates to wear shoes in the house.
I only put my shoes on when going out. It's funny tho, because my dogs go all crazy when they see me putting my shoes on, It's like yaay let's go for a walk! The funny part ends when I have to go out for work or with friends and left them all hyped out staring me at the window 😓
In the south the chicken thing is very common. In fact they actually let us see the whole process of how chicken are killed and de-feathered through live demonstration. In high school no less. The yanks up north most likely won't understand that one. However it's best to keep an open mind. I can still smell the feathers. I can also still see the chicken getting gutted. Great times. Sad I might not be able to see that in a long time. Reminds me of home and family.
As an Aussie - If you live in the more rural areas (such as working on a farm or living in a rented farm house), you basically NEED 2+ sets of footwear and you leave your outside shoes (typically muddy boots) on the non-carpeted area of the porch/veranda near the front/back door so you don't track in crap from outside onto the carpet. The rest of your footwear is for 'round town or indoors-only wearing (and if you need to wear the boots to get to the car, you carry the town/indoor shoes with your and change footwear in-car).
Asia is a big continent. Which Asian countries are you talking about in this video? India, Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, part of Turkey, part of Russia, Ozbakestan, Malysia, Indonesia, ... are all located in Asia. Each have different cultures, e.g. About Iran: they take out the shoes insides homes, they are open and talkative and say "how are you doing", mostly don't squat on the WC's outside the country but some do when they just left Iran, they talk loudly but not in an angry tone, they don't hang food.
When a friend of my dad (he's American) came over, he didn't took off his shoes before entering so I legit screamed *BUKAK KASUT DULU* (Take off your shoes first!!) and he legit jumped and I translated and he immediately took off his shoes and continued to look at me with this wierd look during dinner
From what I've heard, talking to strangers randomly is mostly just a U.S. thing. When I took a trip to Spain, we were told that if we strike up a random conversation on the street we will get VERY weird looks and the other person will try to figure out if they have met us before. It is also weird to smile at strangers but in the U.S. it is considered polite to give a small smile or nod if you accidentally make eye contact with people.
U.K. - My Grandmother used to tell a story about when she lived on a farm, and there were always poultry hanging from the ceiling. I believe it is partly to drain the last blood from the carcass, but also to 'mature' the meat, which 'improves' the flavour. She used to say pheasant were never used until the feathers fell out naturally.
i relate with the last part because when i first moved to america i found it so strange that random people just suddenly make small talk with me. normally back home everyone ignores everyone unless they're really good friends or family or something.
I think you defined western=USA because as a german I could not Identify with some of the "western" themes. The smalltalk and openness of "western countries" is nonexistent in Germany, and I have yet to meet someone who wears shoes at home. Otherwise very interesting.
Eine Sache ist aber wahr. Hier in Österreich werden die ersten Meter im Haus oder in der Wohnung mit Schuhen betreten. Die Schuhe werden erst dann ausgezogen. Allerdings sind wir es, weil meine Mutter die japanische Sitte durchgeboxt hat, gewohnt, die Schuhe auszuziehen bevor wir den ersten Schritt nach drinnen machen. Das ist eigentlich auch viel besser so, weil dann im Haus oder in der Wohnung 0% verdreckt wird. Mein deutscher Cousin findet das aber strange, er will immer die ersten drei Schritte nach drinnen mit Schuhen gehen. :(
You forgot Asian like to include the chicken head and fish head on the dish when we order a whole chicken or whole steam fish dish. Westerners don't serve fish or chicken heads on dishes. Sometimes they include the pig's head and duck head too if you order the whole pig or duck.
My late grandma would eat the fish head clean, only the white skull is left behind. I think maybe because their generation had gone through famine so they appreciate every edible part of the animal lol.
I'm from Canada, and in my house we take off our shoes. We don't have slippers, you're expected to walk in your socks, but what I found weird was that not everyone does this. When I went to a friends house where they didn't have somewhere for your shoes I'd usually just stand awkwardly in the doorway.
A lot of oz guys have asn girlfriends now as they have had enough of the bad habits the local girls have. Average now is plus size (14 I am told is average) , loud and lack personal higene and fitness. Uneducated, lazy and looking for their next free meal. Always some sucker taking the bait I guess, perpetuating this vicious circle. Parents are to blame of course - divorced and lacking care or common sense, these kids never had a chance. These tidy girls are proof in the pudding that their parents got it right and rest of the world should take note.
+Julian Crawford Talking a lot of rubbish. Australia and New Zealand have a large Chinese population since the 1980s. Your comments are offensive and untrue. Australasian women are good looking.
Hi, Love the vlog. I'm a server in a restaurant in a big city. Lots of tourists from all over the world. I realize people just bring their behaviors with them and for the most part its charming and fun to meet people, BUT many asian tourists don't wait for the server to come to them. Out of turn they all wave frantically or when your hands are full of food or dirty dishes....'We NEED TO ORDER!' Knowing this doesn't make it any easier to wait on them. The joke in the back is ...'don't make eye contact with table # whatever.' in order to finish your prioritized task (which is what being a waiter is largely about). I like that they know what they want upon sitting down, but hey! stay seated, wait your turn and the world won't end if you wait five minutes for me to deliver someone elses food. Whew! Thanks for letting me vent.
In Chinese culture when families gather at the dining table with food being served, the eldest at the table usually takes the food first while the youngest takes the food last.
When comparing asians to westerners, you seem to be walking about western culture as one. When really westerners are many different countries on different continents. I'm danish and we take off our shoes when we enter a house too, just not at school and stuff like that. Usually only homes. We're also not at all talkative in public, by that I mean pretty much no one talks to strangers. There's non of that ''hey nice weather' today'' at the busstop. It's not uncommon to share food although I don't think it's as big as it is in asia. Just to let you know that westerners include many different cultures ;)
I would like to say that in Asia people keep a tradition of racism and don't welcome foreigners, they will try to do whatever can be to keep foreigners isolated, they want to keep that thing and they aren't allowing the globalization but love is breaking all those barriers...and they will have to accept that more foreigners will go there and do their lives
These girls are American and European "You know, like, when you meet someone, like, on the streets or something like that, like, it's a generalization, like, uhm, like...." What the HELL are these 2 doing speaking about Culture?
1. I love your videos! 2. Muslims remove their shoes before entering the home or a mosque. I'm Jewish and we lived very happily next to a Muslim family from Pakistan for 20 years. 3. When we have Chinese or Japanese food in the US, we tend to mix it up and then eat our Asian goulash. But from watching many youtube videos, I know that's not how it's done. Take one bite of a vegetable, then rice, then something else, then rice, and so on. Then fill up with rice at the end. I've never seen them mixing it all together the way we do here. 4. We used to have big huge meals similar to Thanksgiving more often. Especially on Sundays after church. But most people don't do hard labor that requires all those calories so there's no need for a gigantic meal. Just thought I'd clarify.
Please share your thoughts on some culinary subjects like eating insects and their larvae, either steamed or deep fried. You can break the ice on the subject by fried Scorpions as appetizers and widen the field to other forms like warms served on a bed of lettuce. I am not being critical, when I was a toddler, my mother would not let me put a dead roach into my mouth. So I believe as an adult, the thought of a fried scorpion or boiled cockroach for breakfast would have me, vomiting quickly. How to overcome the disgust, and eat insects?
slurping is also a more hygienic way to cool your food as it pulls excess air across the food towards you as opposed to blowing on the food which pushes germs away from you and towards the other diners and food on the table
I got confused every time someone asks "what's up" or "How are you doing" things like that. Are you genuinely concerned and want the answer or are you just saying hi? Is it too much to actually answer oh great I did this and that?
im marrieed with a thai girl - and we live in norway... she is so lazy that I had to start to PUT THE SHOES ON when i come home ... and asians only make friends from their own country - they say that all our food is crap -- but they dont even want to try it before they denie it...... -- also they sleep 18 hours a day and eat more than normal people and stiill they are always talking about the next meal..... wich have to bee something that contains rice. ...... Im not impressed !!!!
+Clam Nelsson (shoes on because the floor is dirry - and I have 4 jobs.. I have no time for cleaning --- since i also have to make the dinner.....) ... LAZY and LOUD ... Thats what thy are
Ah thai wew how can u marry to thai?!? wew....yes norwegians eat much smaller than asians....yes they sleep alot hahhahahhahhaha 18 hours a day jmhaha that leaves 6 hours of chance to see her.....
Knowing one person does not make knowing the average behavior in that culture even knowing quite a few does not mean knowing what that culture actually believes is proper behavior.
+ForShizzleize They slurp because soups are served boiling hot and you're not supposed to let it cool down first. So you're right it's not about being polite nor impolite
I just came back from a 3-month stay in China. And yes I saw all of those habits more or less. I watched this video before I left as well as many many others, and I have to say the thing that most put me off balance most was the loud 'angry' talking. I would often ask my girlfriend, OMG what are they arguing about? It was every tough for me to 'do as they Romans do' by slurping my food or bringing the bowl to my mouth. I was strictly disciplined as a kid by my Catholic father about table manners. It never really put me off seeing others do it, but I had to force myself against every fiber of my upbringing to do it myself. I was never particularly comfortable 'squatting,' but it was less of a problem doing it than I expected. I can say at least it was good incentive to do my business quickly and get out from there. I'm an oddball American, who has never been much for small talk, so I never really noticed much about it, but I think it's probably true and a definite plus. My girlfriend (now wife) told me before I came that China was not like Japan (when I asked about the no-shoes thing), but it is just as was said in this video. In every house, there was a row of shoes and slippers at the door- but never did anyone go barefoot in the house at any time. In fact my wife reprimanded me several times for walking around the house barefoot, saying I would get sick from it.
I agree with a few of the comments that say 'westerners' as mainly the States. It's interesting as some traits are similar with Latin American culture: like the food sharing. Lunch at my house is like that every day. Plus the loudness. Now on the small talk we couldn't be more opposite: we like to hug, and love small talk. Even on business meetings is normal for a small talk. It would even considered rude to start a meeting with someone you've seen before not to aks about their family.
Taking off your shoes is a common thing in the northern Midwest (MINNESOTA REPRESENT!), where during the winter, you take your shoes off because of the snow. It perplexes me when I go to California, and no one does the same...
Having shared dishes of food in the middle of the table is called "Family Style". Many cultures around the world do it. I have seen it in the US at Amish restaurants.
I am Canadian, grew up in Alberta. The first time I ever saw someone NOT instinctively take off their shoes when entering a home I got dizzy. In Jr high, an American student and I went to visit our friend's home - it was two minutes of awkwardness as we both tried to fathom what he was doing with shoes on in the house.
Great video regarding some Asian habits [: I'm from Germany but a quarter Filipino. It seems Filipino culture is more westernised as Asians only because of their history. Then again there are plenty Chinese Filipinos also. I never learned to use chopsticks until I was older and began to have Japanese ramen in my neighbourhood ramen shop, where authentic Japanese own and prepare the food. Only then did I force myself to learn how to use them since I didn't want look uncultured. Regarding the slurping sound I would say that Japanese here tend to eat with western etiquette, since I don't remember hearing those sounds while eating at ramen shops. I would like to add that in Germany it is custom to take off our shoes and have slippers for inside the house. Lastly, Germans do not have small talk either. You don't typically talk to strangers or ask them "how they are doing,?" unless you're speaking to friends and family. This is true also for the Dutch, Austrians, Swiss, and Swedish; etc. So there are definite commonalities between Asian and Europeans too (:
I haven't had a washing machine for the past 3 years (I got one for x-mas last year :) ) so I hung my clothes up outside... and everything else! I take my shoes off at the door ALWAYS, when I go over to my families house for Thanksgiving or any other holiday we always share. Even when we go out for dinner we share and/or taste..
From where I'm from in the U.S., people take their shoes off when going to people's houses. Exception: big parties and quick visits. At big parties you can take your shoes off, but you don't usually have to. I think the idea here is that you wear nice shoes to parties and you generally don't get nice shoes very dirty since you hardly wear them. If the weather is bad, people will take their shoes off. For quick visits it's often a waste of time to take your shoes off if you are just popping in to say hi or lend/borrow something. It might take longer to remove and retie the shoes then the actual visit.
When I went into China from Macau and from Hong Kong around 1993, in China there was a restroom with a stall, but no toilet. The only option was to squat. In Italy, the toilets in restaurants had no seats, so you had to squat. In Korea, the floors were heated. This has never been done in the U.S.-Wearing your socks inside was seen as a good way to tear up socks.
There's a difference between eating at home and eating out. Most Western family meals eaten at home have all the shared dishes on the table, where everyone takes their share. Thanksgiving is no different; it's just big because it's usually eaten with the extended family. It's only in restaurants that Westerners expect a plate of food all their own. That's why the "Asian" method of serving food in restaurants is called "family style".
In Greece we have a type of restaurant that we call a 'taverna', in which you order a bunch of plates with food that is for sharing, and they also do this type of thing in Spain where they have 'tapas'.
What i love in Asia is that for Asians it is important not to disturb others, not to be aggressive. It is amazing how people keep calm in huge crowds in huge Asian cities like Tokyo, Singapore, Bangkok, Beijing. There is very little shouting, pratically no angry faces.
+Honny301 Definitely. Small talk cultures are very diverse in the western world, I'd say that there is actually less small talk in Germany than in China.
I'm an American and I can't stand small talk. In fact I like being ignored when I'm out in public. Sometimes I'll put earbuds in and nothing says I'm busy like listening to something important on my phone.
There's a great slurping noodles scene that highlights the differences in Tampopo, the marvelous Juzo Itami film. And slurping noodles is also about the flavour - it makes it so much better!
when i was in china , i asked my chinese friend why they 're fighting about ( we were in a restaurant were two or myb four men was talking so loud ) and she said that it's so normal because when they talk loud that means a kind of greeting and very respecting to one each other and more likely they are very happy !
I like the traditional East Asian custom that in restaurants one person is responsible for ordering the food, paying the bill and deciding when everyone leaves. It saves a lot of time wasting especially arguments about deciding who pays what towards the bill.
most asians love to ask "did u eat? did u eat yet?" to people they care about haha
Yep. My mum alway like " Have you eaten yet?" "Eat NOW!"or complain why i haven't eating a particular food on the table yet. I'm like "i'm getting there!!!"
+ibleedtae and also "what did you have?" haha
+ibleedtae That's totally our version of "how's it going"? to close friends :P
haha true
My grandmother asks me that literally everytime she sees me. I would enter the room and she'd ask me if i've eaten only to leave and re enter the room to her repeating herself.
in Canada we take off our shoes too, at least where i'm from, i find it weird how Americans leave them on like, you're dirtying up the carpet man!!
Nice picture!!
Might come from the fact that boots and shit shouldn't be worn inside, so we also do it with shoes...
I know that I would get yelled at as a kid if I didn't take my shoes off for sure.
I'm black American. everyone I know takes their shoes off when coming in the house. it's natural to me. I think it's all individual
I live in America and I'd only been told I could leave my shoes on (they actually said I should) in one home and that was because they were renovating and the floor was really dirty! Every other home I've been in, including mine, you take off your shoes. I'd like to meet these people I keep hearing about who wear their shoes around the house
BTS!!! 👍💟💜🙌
I'm turkish and we do everything you named here too. I think people often forget that turkey is asia too
turkey is not asian, but europe
Turkey makes me hungry
kiki abidin Half of Turkey is in Europe, the other half is in Asia. Do visit Instanbul sometimes.
I know you do my friend is Turkish and she does this
@@adal5159 you mean 95% of turkey is in asia
Nonchalantly commenting on other's weight. "Did you lose weight?" "You've gotten fat!" CAN I AT LEAST GET A 'HELLO' FIRST?
Asians are weird about weight. They are so unhealthy and gaunt. half the food they eat is rice to fill themselves up with stuff that has no nutrition
Mr MC Not really. Pretty much no one I know is unhealthy. It has much more to do with personality and the way each person thinks.
are you fooking kidding. I don't have to go further than watching this video. The 2 girls are so gaunt and pale looking!! skinny is NOT healthy. just messed up
Mr MC I didn’t say it was at all. I just said that most people I know aren’t unhealthy and weird about weight.
Mr MC some people are naturally skinny okay ? And plus , we Asians prefer to have pale skin over tan skin
In Canada we take off our shoes at the door. In the winter we sometimes wear slippers, but the rest of the year we wear socks or bare feet indoors. I don't understand how the floor would stay clean if you wear shoes inside.
+Nathan Carley Exactly :)
that is for most Americans as well. Most Americans will take off their shoes or boots at the front door. Only a few places I have ever been do they allow you to walk around in your shoes. Not in my house. So the shoes in the house thing is only 20% if not less true.
I'm American and taking off your shoes inside is common, but optional. Personally, I always take off my shoes inside, unless there is a specific reason not to.
I'm chinese-canadian so I wear slippers all year lol.
American and we also take off our shoes, however it's not a 100 percent of the time like on weekends when we are running in and out of the house. I think we would be 100 percent with it if we had the little ante room thing that Asian homes all seem to have. Our house doesn't have a mud room so it isn't convenient to take shoes off until we are already inside so even though we take them off there in the entry, it's still not great, dirt still gets in.
I never pass the mashed potatoes. NEVER. It is all for me, get your own.
oh my god you're here too
Julia Nguyen : P
Hiiii
Srsly, if I ever find a video without your comment under it...ok I dont know what would I do because your potatoes are everywhere.
+Viet Lee lolol
The shoe thing is only in USA i think. I thought it was strange when i heard they had shoes on as well. No one wears shoes indoors in sweden.
+Kurt Lundblad Here in France it depends. In the countryside, *everyone* (or at least very close to) wears shoes inside. In cities, though, it depends. I would say most of the people keep their shoes inside, but as I have been living mostly in the countryside and small cities, I may be wrong. In my family, we took our shoes off in our house, but I do remember most of the time when we invited people over, we had to ask them to take theirs off, as it was not natural to think about it.
+Kurt Lundblad I don't either and I am American! Going to a friend's house and seeing it makes me feel weird!
+Kurt Lundblad Nope, very common in the States for African American parents to insist shoes come off when coming in the house---"you're not gonna dirty up my floor". Also, plenty of my white and latino American friends don't wear shoes inside. I now am in Switzerland and so far, most of my acquaintances wear their shoes inside and tell me not to take my shoes off when I visit (which I have ignored to my dismay as their floors have been a mess).
I think this has more to do with common sense and hygiene than anything else. Would you want your kiddies or grand kiddies crawling around the floor that someone just tracked dog shzt all over? The days of the earth floors, animals dumping on the floors, packing sidearms at the dinner table are limited.
EW!
In Finland we also take shoes off when we come to in to our house or somebody's house because we want to keep the dirt outside. And keeping them on unless you are told to is considered as a rude thing to do.
Same in New Zealand 🇳🇿
The floor can be cleaned both if you use shoes inside and if you don't. Plus, it's rude to take your shoes off if you are the guest without asking. It's not your house, it's the house of another person, and only they should decide. If you are the guest, ask if you want to take your shoes off. Taking the shoes off without asking is disrespectful in the areas where that practice is not common. In South Europe no one takes their shoes off, and it is defintely considered ultra-disrespectful to take the shoes off in the house of another person without asking.
In Scandinavia we don't ever use shoes inside. We just use socks. 😊
Very true!
Iris D I use shoes inside sometimes, but that might be for practical reason ( know that I will be going out again shortly)
Matwok Well, if that is the case then i would do it!
I think it depends, I'm part Danish and grew up in Denmark and I know a whole bunch of Danes who wear shoes inside - including my grandfather, but the majority don't wear shoes inside, that's true. And I definitely never understood why anyone would wear shoes inside, I personally also dislike it though 😓
That is simply not true. Inside businesses, apartment buildings, and government facilities you wear shoes all day.
Who does not take of their shoes indoors?!?! How weird is that???? Why would you leave them on ???
White americans. Other Americans take off their shoes. Sometimes blacks don't. I had to tell them to take them off. No one walks on my white carpet with their shoes on.
Many places where carpets on the main floor are not common, people tend to leave their shoes on. Lots of homes in Australia are wood and tiled floors, so everybody walks around in their shoes in the house. What are you going to track in? Some dust and soil? That's what a broom or a vacuum is for.
dizzydreamaway and then you have to do that each day. a shoe-less house will last a week. Second. What gets on the bottom of your shoes? try people's spit, bacteria, dog poo / urine, dead insects, gum, and all sorts of nasty thing. Third, why don't you want to take off your shoes inside? Have a shoe cabinet by the door, and keep your shoes there. When you leave the house, you put them on there, and when you come home, take them off there. How hard is it? Is it harder than having to mop your tile floors each day?
Why would you want to have soil or whatever on your floor ? Indoors is not a place for people to wear their "outdoor shoes"
Dunno what you're walking in there, mate! XD Nobody's eating off the floor. You walk on the floor. There are better things to think about than that
when ever i met some asian people they always greeted me with: have you eaten already? xd
+Jeansen Wen I swear!!!!! That is sooooooo daaaaamn common.
+Jeansen Wen Asian and can confirm. I do this myself XD
yeah cause we care lol
you forgot making more food than usual, like 4 servings for 1 person.
Dude that's everyone...... Like me when I'm babysitting my brother and there's a fridge-full of left overs.
my mom does that and when she cooks chicken curry, I had to eat that for 2 days just 'cause the portion she cooked was too big. It's tasty but....
sugaaa
Me: Yeah big sis isn't really feeling well so she can't eat much, so don't cook too much
Dad: OK, so I'll cook 5 packets of noodles for you and your sister
Me: why
Basically my mom
I can tell there is much more related between Europeans and Asians than Asians and Americans.
very true
Yeah
Colonization
Here in mainland China they definitely talk loudly...but then they get on their mobile phone and they literally start yelling!!! It's insanely hilarious :D
Ikr! Its just sooo embarrassingggg xD Whenever my parents are talking on the phone, I can legit hear them 1 floor above and its so annoying 😂
Same in India😂
dont stick your chopsticks into the food because it looks like josssticks for dead people
yes
Yes
exactly!
thanks for the info!
Then chopsticks just shouldn't be used; forks are a far better and efficient way to eat anyway 😆
Some typical cantonese elderly (as I am half canto) can randomly run to backyard picking up their shoe and beat up their enemy's photo yelling "打你個死人頭!" (Beat your dead skull) when they're pissed off. I don't know where this habit comes from but I still do this weird stuff as my grandpa taught me. Lol
+Ferdianto Suwandi lol never heard of this one before!
+Ferdianto Suwandi haha heard that it's a kind of superstition that when you beat a picture of someone, something bad would happen to the person in that picture or that he would feel the hitting. That's why there's also a superstition that you're not suppose to tear your own photos or throw it away recklessly for the same reason
+Emerik Viriya wow... I've cursed so many souls... Lol
Something like cursing a voodoo doll. Not really good karma if you do this too often.
+Si Ying Tan true also... however in some way it helps to tone down your emotion on that particular individual. and yes, again it's just as bad as putting curse on somebody. are you a S'porean by chance?
Whenever people go into our house with shoes on, I FREAK OUT INTERNALLY.
kimchi Same! I will never let anyone get in my house with shoes on! Ever!
In Poland we also take off our shoes at house. How can someone wear dirty shoes in his apartment? It's not hygienic. :/
Because they clean the floor. The floor needs to be periodically cleaned both if you use shoes at home and i you don't. Nothing non.hygienic about it.
about slurping thing, for japanese yes, but other asian maybe no. i'm asian but my parents teach me don't make a noise while you're eating. but about sharing food yes.
True. In China, making noise while eating is considered not polite and a lack of table manners.
Hugging , asians dont normally hug, I hate hugging people.
Not me I run right up to you even if your a stranger and give you a big old bear hug.
Jerid Glasspoole
ewwww...:)
yeah, we don't normally hug someone we just meet.. like, why would u hug a stranger or someone you just meet?
+Maximus Mitt yeah r8
HDsharp me too....if possible don't hug me...it is uncomfortable except family member....
It's popular to take of your shoes in most of Europe.
Not really, in france many people dont take off their shoes
kin hee they also said MOST not all
In most of North Europe, not in most of South Europe. In Spain, Portugal and Italy no one does so. No guests are expected to take their shoes off.
@@jameswalker6864 This comment is 3 years old.
Regarding the shoe habit, my Mom who is Mexican always has this habit of walking around inside the house with sandals or shoes. I never really paid too much attention to that.
But after visiting her home in Mexico, I realize that it was probably a habit engrained into her because her home wasn't really a modern home, and rather open-air. So dust can easily get inside, as well as insects-Specifically scorpions.
So to that kind of culture, wearing shoes indoors is a safety precaution to them.
The talking loudly, omg i felt so embarrass before when westerners would look as my parents talk to their friends or relatives on the streets or subway><
and lmao removing the shoe thing againxD i remember writing about that
idk about the small talk
like my parents do try to avoid people they don't like talking to on the streets but when they do see each other
they'll always talk for at least 15 mins asking them where they're working now,and their life [and they barely know each other]
whereas i think westerners just say hiiiii [in a way that you haven't seen them in ages] but act like they're in a hurry and walk away.
also, you missed the "there's no "hi" greeting" cause for chinese people, there's really no word for "hello" except ni hao which is mando, not canto..canto probably just say "how are you"
but no one uses that to start convos..its always "WAAAAAA long time no see!"or they always say their names
and i never knew asian people ate mashed potatoesxD we like our potatoes stir fry lol
+igot7-lu My parents too! And leaving people's houses always takes at LEAST a half hour or so before we actually make it out the door.
Rebecca Matthews omg yes that! its like they say bye 1000 times and still wouldn't leave..they talk as they walk to the door >.>
+igot7-lu luhannnnn❤️❤️
My mum talks so loudly on the phone and it really embarrasses me. especially when it's infront of my friends.
OMG SAME
Good evening, well here in Italy it's evening. First things first: great video and channel!
Even in my small town of 40k I had the chance to get acquainted with many Asian people, mostly Chinese, and the greatest difference I noticed with us is your politeness! Thank you! You can be proud of your culture, good manners and kindnesses! I never met a rude Chinese so far! And it's not an overstatement! In this time of difficult interaction among cultures I fell like saying: thanks for been among us! Sincerely. Carlo.
For the talking volume, I have one theory from linguistic perspective. Because there are four tunes in Chinese language and same pronunciation could mean totally different things with different tunes (four tunes more refer to Mandarin, but different tune could lead to different meaning is true in Chinese languages in general). As a result, more volume is required in order to get this one more piece of information received. I learned this from my own experience when one day, I "whispered" to my ex in a car in the back seat in English in a volume that I would whisper in Chinese, but later he asked me if I meant to whisper cuz he thought people in the front seats could hear what I said. Then I realised that because even you say an English word in raising or dropping or whatever tune, the word is still the same word, may express different emotion but still the same word. Hence you can communicate in English in less volume. If it's still difficult to understand, think about cats or any animals who can see in darkness. They usually don't see colours and hence they require less light to see things. Whereas we human do see colours, which is an extra piece of information that requires more light reflection to be reflected.
In regards to food: one good thing to keep in mind for all you people out there that I have heard is that when you are grabbing your own food from the shared dishes, use the back end of your chopsticks. Remember: the other end went in your mouth! If your chopsticks touch food other than what you are grabbing, that could be a bit of your mouth germs right there getting on someone else's food.
I don't think you are expected to do this, but it is certainly seen as courteous to do this with your chopsticks when eating. I am not from, nor have I been to anywhere in Asia, so I cannot tell you much more about this. This is just what I learned from another video of someone in Japan.
That's actually really smart, we never do that at home x)
+Phantomhive Yes this is a cultural thing most commonly observed in Japan. But usually if it's an informal situation or eating with your own family this eating habit might not be necessary.
In other Asian cultures, such as Chinese, we do not use the back end of the chopsticks to grab food from the shared dishes (rice and other foods can be sticky and have gravy on it, we don't want to be touching it whenever we flip our chopsticks around!).
In some households and Chinese restaurants, a communal cutlery is provided for the shared dishes (usually it's a spoon for you to scoop the gravy or sauce, since chopsticks can't get any of those).
misterteacake Ah, thank you for providing more detailed information on this! It's very helpful to me and to other people. ^-^
+Phantomhive I don't know about anywhere else, but in South Korea if you're eating a sit-down meal, unless a serving spoon as been provided it's pretty much fair game I've been told. Even soups (as a side-dish), you get one small bowl delivered to the table and you all dig in with your spoons. I've never seen someone flip their chopsticks around, and I've been to a range of different dinners (friends, families, work, wedding, etc)
I think it depends on the people you're with though, because some (especially mid-age women?) just grab a fresh spoon or chopsticks for serving or cutting things up.
I heard it can actually be really good for you to get a tiny bit of other peoples' germs, because as long as nobody has a disease or whatever, it's kind of like a vaccination. You get a tiny dose of germs that your body fights off and you get stronger because of it.
WHAT YOU DESCRIBED IS A PEASANT'S WAY NOW DAYS. IN THE MEANING OF CIVILIZATION YOU REALLY SHOULD USE A SHEARED ' PICK UP ONLY' CHOPSTICKS WHICH CALLED ' GONG KUAI' AND IS THE NORMAL PRACTICE NOW DAYS NO MATTER IN A FAMILY TABLE OR A RESTAURANT GATHERING.
Most of this seems more american than western, small talk isn't really a thing in the nordic states or Germany either.
Lyk D'Nine same in France.
Thats tru. Try eating with greeks or italians
the small talk habit is actually the opposite here in the philippines, especially adults and seniors they can initiate small talk with someone they don't know about similar stuff although the introverted* habit still exists especially the younger people.
Lol I'm from a purely English household but we hand clothes to dry. The removing shoe thing too; I've been to friend's houses and when removing my shoes they got confused but we always take ours off in the entrance so it's natural to me. Everyone else thinks I'm weird af XDD
*hang
+Caitlinxoxo How else can your clothes dry?
Caitlin Dixon yeah the same here. We nearly always hang our clothes out to dry and take our shoes off.
Come and settle in Asia then😛
Next time you should ask whether you can take your shoes off at another person's house. It is not your house, it's theirs and you can make them feel uncomfortale if you don't ask.
Beds are very important to Chinese. I have seen my American friends all sit on someone's bed with their shoes on. Please don't sit on a Chinese person's bed without asking first, and please remove your shoes.
But then how is the white guy supposed to exert his entitlement and show how comfortable he is displaying total lack of etiquette?
Who the heck will have their shoes on their bed
If this happen in my household i will chop off that person leg. Well either me or my parents
shoes in bed i would rather drink someones feet sweat than have their shoes on my bed 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
i think this is a little missleading. when you say westerners you most of all mean americans, 'couse i'm swedish and we do a lot of the things you point out. especially take of our shoes. but slippers isn't that common here, we almoust always walk around in our socks at home.
asså de nämnde att vissa europeiska länder så tar man faktiskt av sina skor när man går in i nåns hus
+patrik stjärna While it is misleading to an extent, do you think they're going to put "Americans" or "Westerners (except Swedish people)" in their title? No, I don't think so.
She mentioned that people in most of south america and europe take off their shoes, too :p
While "Westerners" might be misleading, they do put "May Not Understand" in the title, so personally I think it's all good.
I'm Mexican and my family takes off their shoes when they come in the house 😊
My fam does too! Btw I'm Mexican as well :D
+Sophia Lobos us too. all the germs on the bottom of shoes stay outside
People keep their shoes on in the house?
+Gise Cas lol, I have a mexican boyfriend and his family allowe shoes inside the house. Since he starts dating me and we now live together, everytime his family come into my house I would ask them to take off their shoes. His parent are slowly adapting the no shoes allow inside the house now :))
+Tram Nguyen lol I just feel as if it varies by family. I never thought people walked around the house with shoes on till I went to my white friend told me to keep my shoes on lol
I'm sure the shoe thing is hygiene related.
Here in New Zealand it is considered rude to walk into someone's house with your shoes on if you don't know the normal rules in the household (unless they tell you that you can wear them inside). It pretty much varies from house to house. Some people are strict about it and some people don't care.
And the communal food thing too. In my family we have always had all our food in the middle of the table every night. It's far more convenient and everyone can eat as much as they want to rather than have someone else serve it up for you :)
Goddamnit Lara same. Only dirty and rude people wear shoes inside. Like geez. The only semi acceptable shoes inside is like jandals but only for your house .
In South Europe no one takes their shoes off, and it is defintely considered ultra-disrespectful to take the shoes off in the house of another person without asking.
@@jameswalker6864 it's the other way around in Romania, if you don't take your shoes off you'll end up with your feet chopped off
jk, if they have carpets everywhere you must take your shoes off unless told to keep them. Even if their floor is tiles or laminated only, you still have to take them off unless told to keep them on, especially when it was a rainy day outside
My family has always shared the food we eat. We make enough for a bunch of people and then we take which foods we want. We also do this in restaurants as well. Often times, when we can't decide on what each individual wants, we "order a meal for each person" then ask for extra plates so we can each have a portion of each dish. One of my favorite restaurants is P.F. Chang's Asian Bistro and almost all the meals they serve are meant to be shared. You can tell they are meant to be shared because the dishes come in large portions with big serving spoons and separate, clean dinner plates are brought out for each party member.
I love these types of videos, bc I learn so much and it's so interesting :D As a Romanian growing up in America (and born here) I always take off my shoes, and I personally look at it as a sign of respect as the home you are entering too. So from Eastern Europe, I grew up taking my shoes off in my home or others. So have other Romanians, so Europe does it too I guess? (:
The Western label is starting to seem really broad, I've seen a few comments from different European and American countries saying they don't wear shoes indoors. I can't speak for Australia, but I've noticed a lot of people in New Zealand don't wear shoes inside either. Maybe it's more of a US thing to wear shoes inside?
Hit us up if most people in your country don't wear shoes inside!
+Kalin Soden Most Americans don't where shoes around on carpet. If the floors are hardwood or something it isn't a big deal to most people if shoes are worn.
+Kalin Soden Here in the US, it's hit and miss. In my house (and many homes of my family), you are not permitted to wear shoes in the house. However, I have had friends who wore shoes in their house. I agree with Ryan0556 about the hardwood/carpet thing. It is more acceptable for you to wear shoes on hardwood but really just depends on the household rules. TDLR: Depends on the household.
i thunk up in the northern u.s. and canada when i was there they didnt wear shoes inside either ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
+Kalin Soden In Romania we take our shoes off when entering a house
+Kalin Soden For me it depends on two factors:
1.) How well do I know the the owners of the home
2.) How long will I be staying there
I'm from the USA btw
Small-talk with a German ends normally in an invasion of that country. We really don't like small talk that much. :-)
hahahaha. oh Germans.
In Finland no small talk.
In Poland we have the same thing with shoes indoors.
If I may, I noticed it because of my friends from different Asian countries - they putting bowls/plates off from the table, closer to their mouth, in Europe in most countries it's against savoir vivre - plates and bowls must stay on the table and the eaters shouldn't bend closer to the food too.
when i was a kid i got exposed to asian eating habits of lifting up plates and bowls and it just stuck 😝 i live in america and i think it grosses ppl out sometimes. but really its much better if you dont want to make a mess!
+systemica In Japan it's normal to lift your bowl, in Korea it's considered rude. From which Asian countries are your friends from?
+和ァ独 China and Japan :D but wait, I'm 100% sure that I heard somewhere - not in person but from Korean person (via RUclips or Discovery Channel?), that in Korea if you lift up your bowl you should not put it down until you finish. Isin't this truth? 0_0
+Edward Kwong Ah, yeah. My Chinese and Japanese friends did exactly like this when we had food in small bowls. This uncivilized thing about eating directly from plate/bowl - in Europe we think about it the same as you said. Exeption can be bowl of soup but this is okay among family and friends aaaand some lower class restaurants when you can lift it up and drink directly from it, especially before finishing :D
Also interesting thing is that in Medieval Europe people used to eat with hands (ofc beside soups, forks were rare, spoons were wooden and mostly everyone had their own knives) but leaving the smallest fingers up, away from rest of dirty and greasy hands because it was used for spieces which were in shared bowls and well, no-one want someone else greas on your food ^^
systemica
Nope, definitely not. At least Korean people have told me that^^
But usually in Korea you eat your dish with chop sticks and a spoon so there's no hand for lifting your bowl. Also the spoon helps you not to make a mess and not to spill things.
I'm Canadian and I take off my shoes when I enter the house, especially in the winter. I find that habit has more to do with climate than anything else. Shoes come off in the winter so snow doesn't get tracked into the house, but in warmer places its less of an issue so they tent to care less.
the shoe thing is (at least in Europe) based on what type of flooring you have.
In northern countries you remove the shoes because people have carpet (or other "hard to clean) floors that keep warm during winter, while in southern countries where it's warm/hot most of the time they have stone floors that are easy to clean and not as comfortable for bare feet, so there you will leave your shoes on.
My parent always get on my case when I don't wear shoes in the house. I don't think it's proper, and it's awkward for me. That and I really don't like shoes...
+WOOZI theMaRSHMALLOW you don't like shoes?! that's a new one..
+WOOZI theMaRSHMALLOW Lololol Woozi is actually my fav too XD He's like a cute little cuddly bear lol
+Off the Great Wall Only time I wear footwear besides my ankle braces, is when I head outside to go some place. Heck, I'm barefoot even in the summer outside.
Woozi is not the only one that hates to wear shoes in the house.
I only put my shoes on when going out. It's funny tho, because my dogs go all crazy when they see me putting my shoes on, It's like yaay let's go for a walk! The funny part ends when I have to go out for work or with friends and left them all hyped out staring me at the window 😓
+Sophia Lobos my dog does the same except once he sees me grab my purse then he knows he's not coming along... Lol
In the south the chicken thing is very common. In fact they actually let us see the whole process of how chicken are killed and de-feathered through live demonstration. In high school no less. The yanks up north most likely won't understand that one. However it's best to keep an open mind. I can still smell the feathers. I can also still see the chicken getting gutted. Great times. Sad I might not be able to see that in a long time. Reminds me of home and family.
My dad's earliest memory was of a chicken running around with its head off when he was 5.
As an Aussie - If you live in the more rural areas (such as working on a farm or living in a rented farm house), you basically NEED 2+ sets of footwear and you leave your outside shoes (typically muddy boots) on the non-carpeted area of the porch/veranda near the front/back door so you don't track in crap from outside onto the carpet. The rest of your footwear is for 'round town or indoors-only wearing (and if you need to wear the boots to get to the car, you carry the town/indoor shoes with your and change footwear in-car).
Asia is a big continent. Which Asian countries are you talking about in this video? India, Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, part of Turkey, part of Russia, Ozbakestan, Malysia, Indonesia, ... are all located in Asia. Each have different cultures,
e.g. About Iran: they take out the shoes insides homes, they are open and talkative and say "how are you doing", mostly don't squat on the WC's outside the country but some do when they just left Iran, they talk loudly but not in an angry tone, they don't hang food.
When a friend of my dad (he's American) came over, he didn't took off his shoes before entering so I legit screamed *BUKAK KASUT DULU* (Take off your shoes first!!) and he legit jumped and I translated and he immediately took off his shoes and continued to look at me with this wierd look during dinner
Malaysian ke? 😂
From what I've heard, talking to strangers randomly is mostly just a U.S. thing. When I took a trip to Spain, we were told that if we strike up a random conversation on the street we will get VERY weird looks and the other person will try to figure out if they have met us before. It is also weird to smile at strangers but in the U.S. it is considered polite to give a small smile or nod if you accidentally make eye contact with people.
You take your shoes off in Norway aswell cx
Switzerland too ;)
Wales too
I guess only americans don't :D
+Arashii_NaruDesu Yes we do
Sweden too. Even in school.
U.K. - My Grandmother used to tell a story about when she lived on a farm, and there were always poultry hanging from the ceiling. I believe it is partly to drain the last blood from the carcass, but also to 'mature' the meat, which 'improves' the flavour. She used to say pheasant were never used until the feathers fell out naturally.
i relate with the last part because when i first moved to america i found it so strange that random people just suddenly make small talk with me. normally back home everyone ignores everyone unless they're really good friends or family or something.
Good thing Scandinavia have some of the good asian manners.
I think you defined western=USA because as a german I could not Identify with some of the "western" themes. The smalltalk and openness of "western countries" is nonexistent in Germany, and I have yet to meet someone who wears shoes at home. Otherwise very interesting.
I hate when american people equal west with US....chinese do same thing they equal east with china haha....american and chinese are friend i guess...
Eine Sache ist aber wahr. Hier in Österreich werden die ersten Meter im Haus oder in der Wohnung mit Schuhen betreten. Die Schuhe werden erst dann ausgezogen. Allerdings sind wir es, weil meine Mutter die japanische Sitte durchgeboxt hat, gewohnt, die Schuhe auszuziehen bevor wir den ersten Schritt nach drinnen machen. Das ist eigentlich auch viel besser so, weil dann im Haus oder in der Wohnung 0% verdreckt wird. Mein deutscher Cousin findet das aber strange, er will immer die ersten drei Schritte nach drinnen mit Schuhen gehen. :(
You forgot Asian like to include the chicken head and fish head on the dish when we order a whole chicken or whole steam fish dish. Westerners don't serve fish or chicken heads on dishes. Sometimes they include the pig's head and duck head too if you order the whole pig or duck.
My late grandma would eat the fish head clean, only the white skull is left behind. I think maybe because their generation had gone through famine so they appreciate every edible part of the animal lol.
china was like country of eat= =
could eat anything that edible without side effect.
I really like the way these two girls explain things. Very neural and considerate. Cannot think of anyone better.
I learned that my habbits come from my Italian ancestors. They also talk loud and are very welcoming of strangers.
I always take off my shoes. So does pretty much everyone I know. It's gross not to.
It's cool, I like people barefoot in my house ;)
+primaltare Being barefoot is great. I hate wearing shoes lol
+Lulu C You're the kind of person I like~ Please visit me sometime xD
But if all your friends are lesbians? They have smelly feet.
+kenonifty ^Even better, no? Why would lesbians in particular have smelly feet tho?
Yea everyone takes their shoes off in sweden too, although we usually don't have any slippers u can wear lmao
True
Sandra A Well, I have tons of extra slippers for guests.
what is lmao?
There are some European countries that don't do small talk either, so it isn't just China. It's more of an American thing to do small talk.
Taking off your shoes before entering the house is very common in Slavic countries and I think in Germany and Austria as well.
I'm from Canada, and in my house we take off our shoes. We don't have slippers, you're expected to walk in your socks, but what I found weird was that not everyone does this. When I went to a friends house where they didn't have somewhere for your shoes I'd usually just stand awkwardly in the doorway.
Asian ... with australian accent... Unicorn found
Come to Sydney, lots more unicorns here!
Not uncommon at all.
A lot of oz guys have asn girlfriends now as they have had enough of the bad habits the local girls have. Average now is plus size (14 I am told is average) , loud and lack personal higene and fitness. Uneducated, lazy and looking for their next free meal. Always some sucker taking the bait I guess, perpetuating this vicious circle. Parents are to blame of course - divorced and lacking care or common sense, these kids never had a chance.
These tidy girls are proof in the pudding that their parents got it right and rest of the world should take note.
+Julian Crawford Talking a lot of rubbish. Australia and New Zealand have a large Chinese population since the 1980s. Your comments are offensive and untrue. Australasian women are good looking.
kiwigal1965 I dont think he once said they werent good looking just Uneducated... loud .. lack of hygene etc
I love your vids! Asians rules!!!!
I'm from Romania (Europe) and we also take off our shoes.
Hi, Love the vlog. I'm a server in a restaurant in a big city. Lots of tourists from all over the world. I realize people just bring their behaviors with them and for the most part its charming and fun to meet people, BUT many asian tourists don't wait for the server to come to them. Out of turn they all wave frantically or when your hands are full of food or dirty dishes....'We NEED TO ORDER!' Knowing this doesn't make it any easier to wait on them. The joke in the back is ...'don't make eye contact with table # whatever.' in order to finish your prioritized task (which is what being a waiter is largely about). I like that they know what they want upon sitting down, but hey! stay seated, wait your turn and the world won't end if you wait five minutes for me to deliver someone elses food. Whew! Thanks for letting me vent.
In Chinese culture when families gather at the dining table with food being served, the eldest at the table usually takes the food first while the youngest takes the food last.
And then u see Americans in movies go to bed with their shoes on!!!
When comparing asians to westerners, you seem to be walking about western culture as one. When really westerners are many different countries on different continents. I'm danish and we take off our shoes when we enter a house too, just not at school and stuff like that. Usually only homes. We're also not at all talkative in public, by that I mean pretty much no one talks to strangers. There's non of that ''hey nice weather' today'' at the busstop. It's not uncommon to share food although I don't think it's as big as it is in asia. Just to let you know that westerners include many different cultures ;)
Milie I agree. And same with Asian. Every different Asian country has their own culture and ways lol
Well in Viking culture it's considered polite to burp while eating food...yah, my gf isn't buying it either.
I would like to say that in Asia people keep a tradition of racism and don't welcome foreigners, they will try to do whatever can be to keep foreigners isolated, they want to keep that thing and they aren't allowing the globalization but love is breaking all those barriers...and they will have to accept that more foreigners will go there and do their lives
Asian cultures as well as some western cultures also share food at the table. It's also very common in the Middle East and Africa
These girls are American and European
"You know, like, when you meet someone, like, on the streets or something like that, like, it's a generalization, like, uhm, like...."
What the HELL are these 2 doing speaking about Culture?
HAHAHA
1. I love your videos!
2. Muslims remove their shoes before entering the home or a mosque. I'm Jewish and we lived very happily next to a Muslim family from Pakistan for 20 years.
3. When we have Chinese or Japanese food in the US, we tend to mix it up and then eat our Asian goulash. But from watching many youtube videos, I know that's not how it's done. Take one bite of a vegetable, then rice, then something else, then rice, and so on. Then fill up with rice at the end. I've never seen them mixing it all together the way we do here.
4. We used to have big huge meals similar to Thanksgiving more often. Especially on Sundays after church. But most people don't do hard labor that requires all those calories so there's no need for a gigantic meal. Just thought I'd clarify.
i love it when asians speak with another accent
Please share your thoughts on some culinary subjects like eating insects and their larvae, either steamed or deep fried. You can break the ice on the subject by fried Scorpions as appetizers and widen the field to other forms like warms served on a bed of lettuce.
I am not being critical, when I was a toddler, my mother would not let me put a dead roach into my mouth. So I believe as an adult, the thought of a fried scorpion or boiled cockroach for breakfast would have me, vomiting quickly. How to overcome the disgust, and eat insects?
slurping is also a more hygienic way to cool your food as it pulls excess air across the food towards you as opposed to blowing on the food which pushes germs away from you and towards the other diners and food on the table
I got confused every time someone asks "what's up" or "How are you doing" things like that. Are you genuinely concerned and want the answer or are you just saying hi? Is it too much to actually answer oh great I did this and that?
+Lindsaylbb It's just a way to say "hi". They're not really looking for a report on your day.
But sometimes there're close friends or a semi close friends who you haven't seen in a while, and they genuinely want to know.
Well, I mean, yeah, but like, if they just saw you yesterday, they're probably not very curious,
I think you got it wrong, mainland people don't talk loudly. Canto grandma does.
Specially on the bus, and they always rush into the bus without letting people off first.
im marrieed with a thai girl - and we live in norway... she is so lazy that I had to start to PUT THE SHOES ON when i come home ... and asians only make friends from their own country - they say that all our food is crap -- but they dont even want to try it before they denie it...... -- also they sleep 18 hours a day and eat more than normal people and stiill they are always talking about the next meal..... wich have to bee something that contains rice. ...... Im not impressed !!!!
+Clam Nelsson (shoes on because the floor is dirry - and I have 4 jobs.. I have no time for cleaning --- since i also have to make the dinner.....) ... LAZY and LOUD ... Thats what thy are
Ah thai wew how can u marry to thai?!? wew....yes norwegians eat much smaller than asians....yes they sleep alot hahhahahhahhaha 18 hours a day jmhaha that leaves 6 hours of chance to see her.....
Knowing one person does not make knowing the average behavior in that culture even knowing quite a few does not mean knowing what that culture actually believes is proper behavior.
We take our shoes off at the door in Finland, because winter sand and rocks sticks to your shoes, and keeping the floors clean is the reason.
Re-washing the dishes at the table in a large bowl (either with hot tea or hot water) before using them (applies to restaurant dining mostly).
Its not more polite the louder you slurp. They just slurp because thats how they eat. Its neither polite nor impolite
yes
source?
+ForShizzleize They slurp because soups are served boiling hot and you're not supposed to let it cool down first. So you're right it's not about being polite nor impolite
I would love seeing an asian vs. slav squat battle tbh
I just came back from a 3-month stay in China. And yes I saw all of those habits more or less. I watched this video before I left as well as many many others, and I have to say the thing that most put me off balance most was the loud 'angry' talking. I would often ask my girlfriend, OMG what are they arguing about? It was every tough for me to 'do as they Romans do' by slurping my food or bringing the bowl to my mouth. I was strictly disciplined as a kid by my Catholic father about table manners. It never really put me off seeing others do it, but I had to force myself against every fiber of my upbringing to do it myself. I was never particularly comfortable 'squatting,' but it was less of a problem doing it than I expected. I can say at least it was good incentive to do my business quickly and get out from there. I'm an oddball American, who has never been much for small talk, so I never really noticed much about it, but I think it's probably true and a definite plus. My girlfriend (now wife) told me before I came that China was not like Japan (when I asked about the no-shoes thing), but it is just as was said in this video. In every house, there was a row of shoes and slippers at the door- but never did anyone go barefoot in the house at any time. In fact my wife reprimanded me several times for walking around the house barefoot, saying I would get sick from it.
I agree with a few of the comments that say 'westerners' as mainly the States. It's interesting as some traits are similar with Latin American culture: like the food sharing. Lunch at my house is like that every day. Plus the loudness. Now on the small talk we couldn't be more opposite: we like to hug, and love small talk. Even on business meetings is normal for a small talk. It would even considered rude to start a meeting with someone you've seen before not to aks about their family.
Taking off your shoes is a common thing in the northern Midwest (MINNESOTA REPRESENT!), where during the winter, you take your shoes off because of the snow. It perplexes me when I go to California, and no one does the same...
Having shared dishes of food in the middle of the table is called "Family Style". Many cultures around the world do it. I have seen it in the US at Amish restaurants.
I am Canadian, grew up in Alberta. The first time I ever saw someone NOT instinctively take off their shoes when entering a home I got dizzy. In Jr high, an American student and I went to visit our friend's home - it was two minutes of awkwardness as we both tried to fathom what he was doing with shoes on in the house.
Great video regarding some Asian habits [: I'm from Germany but a quarter Filipino. It seems Filipino culture is more westernised as Asians only because of their history. Then again there are plenty Chinese Filipinos also. I never learned to use chopsticks until I was older and began to have Japanese ramen in my neighbourhood ramen shop, where authentic Japanese own and prepare the food. Only then did I force myself to learn how to use them since I didn't want look uncultured. Regarding the slurping sound I would say that Japanese here tend to eat with western etiquette, since I don't remember hearing those sounds while eating at ramen shops. I would like to add that in Germany it is custom to take off our shoes and have slippers for inside the house. Lastly, Germans do not have small talk either. You don't typically talk to strangers or ask them "how they are doing,?" unless you're speaking to friends and family. This is true also for the Dutch, Austrians, Swiss, and Swedish; etc. So there are definite commonalities between Asian and Europeans too (:
I am a South Asian ( indian) and almost everything is soo relatable...
I haven't had a washing machine for the past 3 years (I got one for x-mas last year :) ) so I hung my clothes up outside... and everything else! I take my shoes off at the door ALWAYS, when I go over to my families house for Thanksgiving or any other holiday we always share. Even when we go out for dinner we share and/or taste..
From where I'm from in the U.S., people take their shoes off when going to people's houses.
Exception: big parties and quick visits. At big parties you can take your shoes off, but you don't usually have to. I think the idea here is that you wear nice shoes to parties and you generally don't get nice shoes very dirty since you hardly wear them. If the weather is bad, people will take their shoes off.
For quick visits it's often a waste of time to take your shoes off if you are just popping in to say hi or lend/borrow something. It might take longer to remove and retie the shoes then the actual visit.
When I went into China from Macau and from Hong Kong around 1993, in China there was a restroom with a stall, but no toilet. The only option was to squat. In Italy, the toilets in restaurants had no seats, so you had to squat. In Korea, the floors were heated. This has never been done in the U.S.-Wearing your socks inside was seen as a good way to tear up socks.
There's a difference between eating at home and eating out. Most Western family meals eaten at home have all the shared dishes on the table, where everyone takes their share. Thanksgiving is no different; it's just big because it's usually eaten with the extended family. It's only in restaurants that Westerners expect a plate of food all their own. That's why the "Asian" method of serving food in restaurants is called "family style".
idk in all spanish (spain) houses but every time i go to my friends house and in my house we take off our shoes hehe
In Greece we have a type of restaurant that we call a 'taverna', in which you order a bunch of plates with food that is for sharing, and they also do this type of thing in Spain where they have 'tapas'.
What i love in Asia is that for Asians it is important not to disturb others, not to be aggressive. It is amazing how people keep calm in huge crowds in huge Asian cities like Tokyo, Singapore, Bangkok, Beijing. There is very little shouting, pratically no angry faces.
The "like-to-talk"-syndrom is mostly an American habbit.
I live in Germany and here it is just like in Asia. You nearly never talk to strangers.
+Honny301
Definitely. Small talk cultures are very diverse in the western world, I'd say that there is actually less small talk in Germany than in China.
I'm an American and I can't stand small talk. In fact I like being ignored when I'm out in public. Sometimes I'll put earbuds in and nothing says I'm busy like listening to something important on my phone.
There's a great slurping noodles scene that highlights the differences in Tampopo, the marvelous Juzo Itami film. And slurping noodles is also about the flavour - it makes it so much better!
when i was in china , i asked my chinese friend why they 're fighting about ( we were in a restaurant were two or myb four men was talking so loud ) and she said that it's so normal because when they talk loud that means a kind of greeting and very respecting to one each other and more likely they are very happy !
I like the traditional East Asian custom that in restaurants one person is responsible for ordering the food, paying the bill and deciding when everyone leaves. It saves a lot of time wasting especially arguments about deciding who pays what towards the bill.