Good Day Cuddlerinos!
I am fascinated with learning about other cultures.
Please share with me something from your culture? Or maybe even a fun fact or tradition about another culture you've learned? 😁
As of 2011 (the last time I was there) most of France closes at 6:00 pm. About the only thing open after 6:00 pm is restaurants and a few gas stations. Even pharmacies close early so many pharmacies have condom vending machines mounted outside on the wall near the entrance for the convenience of people who don’t plan ahead 😂
Also, France does not have a legal drinking age. They leave it entirely up to parents to determine when their kids are old enough to drink. While alcohol is readily accessible and socially acceptable, public intoxication is not socially acceptable and they have relatively few problems with drunk drivers because their laws are very strict about that.
Fun fact, Saudi Arabia also does not have a legal drinking age but that is an entirely different story 😂
@JohnR1972 Everything closing at 6? Sounds like some southern towns in America lol But that is awesome they have work/life balance in mind.
And no legal drinking age? Yet very strict laws. Seems to work for them. That's very cool. Thank you for sharing my friend
Timing of Nigerian parties are suggestive. The culture is very relaxed about timings of events. There is an unspoken understanding to ignore the time in most invitation cards.
Ageism works in almost opposite way to Western cultures. Older people are usually revered and their wisdom considered invaluable.
Within some tribal groups, brides have to remain sober and look sad during her wedding to show her sadness of losing her own family.
@4cuddles Wow, very interesting. So Nigerians just show up when they want to an event? Or is it like an unwritten thing to show up X past the start time?
I believe the older should be revered, to an extent. As much as I go to my father and my grandmother when she was around, they also come from different generations and thinking that us as a whole have evolved from. But I still show them the highest respect
@4cuddles I love the events as flexible because my birthday is coming up and my grown kids are bugging me about when I want to celebrate it and I told them I am too busy right now!
@4cuddles - I was scheduled to go to Nigeria this past July for a couple of weeks to volunteer my time and expertise with an NGO. Unfortunately they could not get the arrangements worked out in time. Hopefully I will be going sometime next Summer. From everything I have heard and read about it, it sounds like a beautiful country with a great culture.
I like this thread.
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When I was in Diyarbakir, Turkey, a friend and I took a bus to the hillside town of Mardin, which was just a few clicks away from the Syrian border. It was extremely dry and dusty, but it was there I had the best lamb gyro ever. And there were guys running around balancing on their heads large trays full of bread. Unfortuantely, I didn't have any lira to buy bread for the bus trip back after having spent it all buying some clothes and a floor rug. (I'll have to edit/add photos later) Not far from there is the town of Batman.
Incidentally, I was in Germany shortly after the Jack Nicholson Batman movie came out. The marquee at the theater read Das Flittermaus Man.
Back in the late 80’s I flew to England and took my motorcycle with me and toured for 3 weeks and covered 3K miles. I took a ferry over to Luxembourg, Germany , Switzerland, Holland and had a great trip. Seeing all the different cultures was amazing. Everyone was so friendly. So many would say. Mickey Mouse when they seen my Florida tag. While in Germany the younger guys would always ask about my Honda Goldwing bike, the 1st question was how much horsepower and how fast will it go. Honda never sold them there and many had never seen one. I now wish I had kept a diary with notes about the trip.
Wow! I just love the experiences you guys have had! I am a bit jealous, I won't lie lol
The only thing I guess I can add is my in laws had extended family visit from England. Very nice and sweet couple. They were telling me about a game the kids would play there called Conquer. There were these large nuts that fell from trees there and the kids would pick them up and tie string around it. They would bash them together and whoever 's Conquer would stay in tact won.
As an Indian that is also British, I can confirm all my people really love tea 😅
@CaringPaws Lmao I mean tea is good! It's one of those universal things...like rice lol
@Jova114 you are talking about the autumn game of conkers (sp). They are horse chestnuts, which are common here in the UK. (Not the same as the eating chestnuts.) I played it every year from the ages of about 6 to 10, it was very popular. Predominantly played by boys in those days, but some girls did too. Always played outside, never inside, usually at school during playtime. We even talked about 'conker season'.
When the nuts have fallen from the trees you collect them and remove them from their soft husk, then leave them on a windowsill to dry. (Popping them in the oven, which gives much better results, is cheating!) Hammer a nail through the middle to make a hole, then thread through a piece of string and tie a knot in the end. The string is about the length of your forearm. You normally make a few since they mostly don't last long.
To play, one person suspends their conker in mid air by holding the free end of the string. The other person holds their conker in their weaker (commonly left) hand and the free end of the string with their strong hand. The string is pulled tight, and the string flicked, letting go of the conker at the critical moment so that it strikes the other person's suspended conker as hard as possible. Half the time you miss, either due to want of talent or the target conker swaying in the wind. Then you swap roles and the other person takes a turn. The winner is the person whose conker remains whole and doesn't explode into a thousand fragments, or at least break in two. The credit belongs to the conker, not the player.
Conkers obtain titles based on the the number of victories they have obtained. A 'sixer' for example, has won six contests. Conkers which have won a lot of victories are highly prized and have value in playground transactions.
I found a random video on Youtube:
@CuddleDuncan Yes!!! Ok I first thought it was conkers when he told me but I assumed I was mishearing him because of the amazing accent
That's awesome though! I wanna play just to experience it
@Jova114 great question. I tend to add 3-4 hours to invitation times when attending Nigerian events in England. I'm usually still early & waiting!
However at a wedding reception recently I was over 4hours past invited time, was pleasantly surprised it had already started. So things MIGHT be changing. The flexibility isn't always ideal especially in diaspora.
Sounds like you had a good a relationship with your grandma & have with ur dad.
@BoomerSpooner lovely!! When is your birthday? Do u like cakes and if so what's your favourite one?
JohnR1972 wow sounds interesting! Are you able to share which NGO? state or city it might be next Summer? Nigeria certainly can be, it has rich and diverse cultures that can be beautiful when group conflicts can be managed.
I love conkers but trust me you don't want one falling on your head!
Funfact my preparation to visiting England was learning to drink tea as a child. As much as I love the stuff it's good to know there are alternative beverages.
@4cuddles - I would rather not mention the NGO but they are based in Lagos with a satellite office in the U.S. where they do most of their fundraising. I met the founder of the organization and her husband. I have never met anyone before with more passion or a more beautiful spirit than the two of them. They asked me to assist with a need they had in their U.S. office and after spending time with them on that small project I volunteered to donate my time and expertise at their headquarters in Lagos.