What was your biggest culture shock going to Europe?

Anup Singjh

There have been many instances since I moved to Belgium last year which have yet kept me in the culture shock process.

1. Being naked is normal: I still remember the day when I went to the gym locker room. There were around 10 people changing clothes. I was shocked to see two naked guys talking to each other confidently in the middle of the room. A similar instance happened the very next day as well. A few days later, I went to the university sports complex and there it happened again: footballers were naked in the changing room and I was the only one there with clothes on. A few of my Belgian friends told me that it's normal to be naked in the change room if you are into sports.

2. Ketchup: My roommates find it weird to see me using ketchup with instant ramen noodles or pizza. Belgians prefer to use ketchup only for eating fries and nuggets as far as I know.

3. Salt is no sugar: I noticed that the regular salt used in Belgium(or in Europe) looks similar to the coarse sugar(large crystals) which is sold in India. The typical salt consumed in India looks like tiny particles(finer than sugar). One day, I was having lunch with my office colleagues and one of them asked me to pass the salt. I immediately replied, with confidence, that it's sugar, not salt. Everyone seemed to laugh at me and I realized what just happened right now. Later, I also wondered why the hell would there be a sugar bottle instead of salt. This is what salt looks like:

4. Relationships: Europeans are liberal-minded towards relationships. There was an Australian guy with whom I shared an apartment after I arrived in Belgium. He was regularly visited by a kid and his mother. After a few days, I came to know that she was his ex-girlfriend with whom he never got married and they are still great friends raising a kid together.

5. Not dependent anymore: I know a few Belgian guys who stay at their parents' house and paid their room rent.

6. People strictly follow rules and regulations: They are ashamed if they don't do so. Here, almost everyone follows the traffic rules even at late night when there isn't a single car on the road. In Europe, priority is always given to pedestrians, as opposed to in India, where the vehicles(who do not want to stop) are allowed to pass before we even think of crossing the road. Also, there is almost no honking of the car horns.