You Know You're Not in the U.S. When..., Part 2

As life continues here, fewer things come as surprises, but there’s still plenty to remind me that I’m not in the U.S. So, here goes installment 2. You know you’re not in the U.S when…

…it’s easier to find a karaoke bar than a gas station

…it’s perfectly acceptable to pick your nose unashamedly anywhere and everywhere…in class, driving your motorbike, walking in the park.

…paper isn’t 8.5 by 11 inches. (Which, I guess, why would it be when the vast majority of the world  [though not including Britain, I learned today!] measures in centimeters, but I was still rather shocked when a piece of paper from here wouldn’t fit into the “normal”-sized sheet protector I’d brought with from the states.)

…it’s considered polite to hand things using two hands, not one – especially if you’re in a position lesser authority

…“please do not squat on the toilet” signs are necessary in bathroom stalls with traditional western toilets

…luck is a very important consideration in the taking of pictures (3 in a picture is unlucky), setting of dates (there are unlucky years to be born, unlucky years to get married, and lucky dates for almost every event), and many other aspects of life. And rather than setting New Year’s Resolutions, people go to temples to wish for luck and success.

…all holidays have to have corresponding songs; when sharing about Thanksgiving traditions, our students couldn’t believe that there was no such thing as a Thanksgiving song

…milk is bought off of a shelf, rather than from the refrigerator section

…aerobics and tae kwon do classes meet in public squares, and life around them goes on as normal. (You know, this really doesn’t strike me as that funny anymore. Am I acculturating??)

…motorbike or bicycle parades of identically dressed employees flouting a company’s banner weave nonchalantly in and out of traffic as a real, live advertisement mechanism. Who needs billboards? I once saw a line of 5+ petite Vietnamese females dressed in matching blue Santa Clause suits and wearing fake white beards riding along the street in front of our university. On the one hand, I have no idea what they were advertising, but on the other hand, it sure got my attention.

…manikins never wear zipped pants because the pants that perfectly fit the customers are too small to circumference the manikin’s waist

…it’s more common to see men peeing in public than to see two people kissing in public

…pajamas are perfectly acceptable street wear/outdoor attire