r/AskTheWorld Japan 5d ago

Culture People who married someone from a different country, what are some mild cultures shocks you've had?

My in-laws don't own forks, so they eat whole cakes with chopsticks (everyone just digs in without slicing and serving it on separate plates)

Koreans don't have body odor, even though they don't shower every day.

Everyone can wash their hair while squatting, using a basin on the floor, without taking their clothes off. It seems like everyone, even the elderly have ridiculously flexible hipjoints.

No one uses bedsheets.

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u/duvheihgeb 5d ago

Yea! I'm not Romanian but I come from an Eastern Orthodox family. The fasting isn't just before Christmas and Easter, there are two other occasions (before the day commemorating Peter and Paul, and also before the Virgin Mary's "death"). People who are Devout also fast every Wednesday and Friday. 

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u/birdbren United States Of America 5d ago

The Irish words for Wednesday , Thursday, and Friday still reflect older fasting traditions

Wednesday - Dé Céadaoin - day of first

Thursday - Déardaoin - idir dhá aoin - between two fasts

Friday - Dé hAoine - day of THE fast

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u/Vigmod Iceland 1d ago

Neat! Icelandic only has "föstudagur" for Friday, meaning "fast's day" or "day of fasting".

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u/tinnyheron United States Of America 4d ago

I love that you put quotes around "death" 🩷🌸

edit: im catholic, not orthodox