Things Asians find weird / gross about Westerners

mfceiling

anncoates wrote: »

So essentially we should promote mindless forelock tugging to the wealthy and qualified, limit women's rights, live with our parents until we're 50 and clean our arses more to achieve our true potential as a civilization?

Where do I sign up?

shuyin1

Wearing shoes ALL over the house and on furniture/beds.

whisky_galore

The way westerners sometimes put their feet up on tables and chairs and traipse all over the house with shoes on instead of leaving them at the door!

Drinking milk, to them milk is just for babies.

defrule

Wearing shoes in the house.

Calibos

Drinking milk as adults gives them the scutters whereas it doesn't for westerners. Most animals never mind humans are lactose intolerant when they reach adulthood. Westerners gained a mutated gene 10's of thousands of years ago that gave them lifetime lactose tolerance.

whisky_galore

In Thailand, dissing the royal family in ANY way, know a lad that came close to a thumping when he dropped a coin and to stop it rolling away he stood on it (coin has pic of the king!)
FFS 'The King and I' is banned there.

Licking the backs of stamps Thais take a dim view of, licking things is for animals.

Calibos

defrule wrote: »

Wearing shoes in the house.

Many cultural quirks had a sound basis in health back in the day. The No Pork thing In the Middle East. Pork is very safe nowadays though. When you walked home through fields of animal **** and streets of human sewage, it was a good idea to take the shoes off when entering the house. No need nowadays but the idea is culturally embedded.

JaseBelleVie

My name is URL wrote: »

The Japanese would give most Irish people a run for their money when it comes to drinking!

Absolutely!

I've been to Tokyo twice in my life. A friend of mine from uni is from Japan and a group of us went over with him. The amount of pissed lads in suits staggering around the place at 11pm was unbelievable. They can put away some amount of drink. They also smoke like chimneys.

And yet, thanks to their diet, live until they're about 100 and are healthy as hell.

Now, I realise not every Japanese person is a booze-hound and a chain-smoker, but it is a very noticeable part of the Tokyo nightlife that so many businessmen and professional people would be blotto on weeknights.

Tokyo is a great spot for a night out, by the way. And Japanese food is awesome. I don't do the whole sushi thing, but other food that is available in Japan is just awesome.

padd b1975

padd b1975 wrote: »

Find yourself a job where your co - workers aren't racist.

Ah would ya give over

cson

Jaysus I completely forgot about the shoes at the door thing over there. That's a fairly mental custom (though I remember having it explained to me that it's so you don't drag ****e into the house from your shoes I think).

So yeah that's a custom that I find weird/gross about them.

cson

cson wrote: »

Jaysus I completely forgot about the shoes at the door thing over there. That's a fairly mental custom (though I remember having it explained to me that it's so you don't drag ****e into the house from your shoes I think).

So yeah that's a custom that I find weird/gross about them.

How is it gross?

The Diabolical Monocle

Intertwined finances.
I foresee some 'social issues' if that became the norm in Ireland.

the evasion_kid

whisky_galore wrote: »

In Thailand, dissing the royal family in ANY way, know a lad that came close to a thumping when he dropped a coin and to stop it rolling away he stood on it (coin has pic of the king!)
FFS 'The King and I' is banned there.

Licking the backs of stamps Thais take a dim view of, licking things is for animals.

I actually did this hammered drunk one night,the Thai people I was drinking with started looking around real quick to see if anyone else noticed they were cool with it but warned me against it over there.

Grayson

Supercell wrote: »

Its a cliche but westerners all look the same to Asians (who haven't traveled about here much, or my wife who has!)
Westerners all think they look the same (who haven't traveled there in general, my wife has Philippine and Japanese friends, people here are always saying ni hao to them thinking they are clever).

It's called cross racial blindness. In Ireland we think all black/asian/indian/et look the same/similar. It's because we grew up in a very homogeneous society and studies have shown that people who grow up like that have great difficulty telling other races apart.

Likewise asian/black/etc will have difficulty telling us apart.

Frynge

Grayson wrote: »

It's called cross racial blindness. In Ireland we think all black/asian/indian/et look the same/similar. It's because we grew up in a very homogeneous society and studies have shown that people who grow up like that have great difficulty telling other races apart.

Likewise asian/black/etc will have difficulty telling us apart.

Omg there is ethan hawke.

not yet

Love you long time for 10 dollar..

Cake Man

I remember I was putting together a crisp sandwich in work one day and got some puzzled looks off some Asian/Indian colleagues!

One thing I find about the Asians is their obsession with money and material things. The vast majority of Asians I work with or see around Sydney absolutely must be seen with designer clothing, bags, shoes etc. It would baffle them how anyone could wear something from Penny's, drive a cheap car or have anything less than the latest iPhone/Samsung etc.

anncoates

Actually quite like the shoes off custom myself.

small town girl

My (limited) experience from a couple of Asian friends (mostly from the South of India) has been that they think Irish people are very distant and disloyal to their families.

By comparison to their culture they think we are not reverent enough to our elders and we do not provide enough direct care to our ageing parents or grandparents.

suicide_circus

A big desire for high end material goods and also to be seen to have high end material goods. We have chinese neighbours - gucci handbags, iphone 6s, karen millen coats but they live 6 adults and 1 kid in a two bed apartment. Weird priorities.

Capt'n Midnight

Baggy Trousers wrote: »

Many Asians think western food is exceptionally boring and bland.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdo79znnHl8

inforfun

Cake Man wrote: »

I remember I was putting together a crisp sandwich in work one day and got some puzzled looks off some Asian/Indian colleagues!

First time i saw that had me with a big question mark on my face.
And i am not exactly Asian.

jimmycrackcorm

GalwayGuitar wrote:

Go to Thailand and buy a wife.

buy a Lady boy and get 10% extra for free

PLL

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

I have marvelled at the squatting as well before. Loads of societies are very comfortable sitting for hours like that, not just Asians. But it just seems amazing to me. I would be screaming in agony if I had to sit on my hunkers for more than a minute. They must end up with great core strength/flexibility in old age. And not with crappy knees like me. Maybe that should be my 2015 resolution - to try a little hunkering.

Agreed. I would love to be able to have that strength, I couldn't do it for very long either due to bad knees and I'm only 24, which is ridiculous to be honest.


Interesting Thread

Batgurl

Our noses...you could have one the size of a button mushroom and you would still be called 'big nose' in China

ewinslet

FURET wrote: »

I work with a myriad of people from India, Pakistan, Nepal, the Middle East, and SE Asia. Over more than two years, here are the things that fascinate them for better or worse about Westerners (and when they say "westerners", they just as often say "whites", meaning people generally indigenous to Europe and people of European ancestry...because they tend to see the west as monolithic):

1. Western individualism and the quest for self-sufficiency. This is a huge differentiator. Most Asians are not individualists - the community and family should come before the wishes of the individual always. Charity and handouts and intertwined finances; permission to marry someone; what career you pursue; any significant decision you ever make requires familial approval first. I have had Indians say to me that because westerners are individualists, it must follow that we don't feel emotions such as love as strongly as they do.
   
2. Informalism of English and equality - westerners often put themselves on a first name basis with in-laws, the wealthy, and the highly qualified. Equality in general baffles many Asians.
   
3. Female emancipation - OK, this doesn't apply very much to E and SE Asian countries...but for subcontinental and middle eastern folks, this is a big no-no.
   
4. Sexual liberalism...unthinkable for many Asians.
   
5. Hygiene...seriously, the number of Asians who assume that westerners walk around all day with our butts caked in shight is huge. Their main question: Why don't you people use bidets or toilet hoses??? Disgusting!!"
   
6. Sitting positions...most Asians can squat and sit in positions for hours that westerners find excruciating, as seen here.
   
7. Alcohol and social occasions: Most Asians play games and or sing when adults get together while sipping tea or fruit drinks. No or very limited alcohol.

I wish to contest point number 5 about hygiene. Don't most Indians use their hand as toilet paper?

ewinslet

Sheep Lover wrote: »

Them Asian lads have squinty eyes due to the amount of lemon they consume in their diet.

No, it's due to the constipation from eating too much rice.

Tarzana2

FURET wrote: »

1. Hygiene...seriously, the number of Asians who assume that westerners walk around all day with our butts caked in shight is huge. Their main question: Why don't you people use bidets or toilet hoses??? Disgusting!!"

Using bidets and toilet hoses seems less hygienic to me. Splashing the germs around the place. The water would be a hindrance, not a help. Dry wiping is more contained and keeps things more solid.

ireland.man

ewinslet wrote: »

I wish to contest point number 5 about hygiene. Don't most Indians use their hand as toilet paper?

Do you wipe your hands with dry paper every day and consider it germ-free? Imagine if you got some fecal matter on your hands, would you rather water or dry paper?

It's probably equally effective to use either water or paper in reality, and ideally you'd use both at the same time.

ireland.man

Tarzana2 wrote: »

Using bidets and toilet hoses seems less hygienic to me. Splashing the germs around the place. The water would be a hindrance, not a help. Drying wiping is more contained and keeps things more solid.

Wipes physical material into the hair and skin more than washing it away.