I’ve often written about how traveling broadens your horizons. How much it has shaped me in recent years and changed my view of the world. It is completely different whether you just read about something or whether you really experience, feel and see the country and the local culture with your own eyes.
The conversations with people from all over the world are always so enriching. You learn how one-sided your own perspective often is. That there is so much more than the culture you grew up with in Germany. But my point today in this text is not about the privileges with which you are allowed to grow up as a white European in Germany. You should always be aware of these. It’s not about different initial situations with which you encounter the world, but about customs and customs. And about the fact that you should leave your own “This is how we do it, so it’s the ultimate” bubble.
The Maldives is one of those places where people from all over the world come together. This became particularly clear to me one evening in one of the themed restaurants at our resort. We were the only Europeans. Guests from Taiwan, Australia, the USA and Saudi Arabia sat at the neighboring tables. We happened to know the specific nationalities exactly at that moment because we had a long conversation with the restaurant manager that evening. This in turn came from Bali like several other team members. The chef came from Japan and of course there were a few locals from the Maldives there too. People from all over the world, all mixed together. Many different nations, many different habits.
A very simple example that reflects the different customs is breakfast. My very personal passion. And here I really love being inspired by the influences of different countries and cultures.
How would you describe a typical German breakfast? Rolls, sausage and cheese, yoghurt with fruit and egg dishes immediately come to mind. Oh yes, fried eggs and scrambled eggs for breakfast are typically German. Not to forget the boiled egg.
In many countries it looks very different. The Chinese, for example, have a warm breakfast – meat dishes and hearty soups are often served early in the morning. In many Asian countries, rice is common for breakfast, and hot spices are not spared either. And at the beginning of all our distant travels, I caught myself finding it “kind of weird” when Indonesians ate nasi goreng for breakfast. It quickly became clear that this was not strange, but rather unusual. Unusual because we grew up differently. A fun fact on the side: I am now happy about Nasi Goreng at the breakfast buffet.
And there are countless other examples of this. For example, our beauty ideal of tanned skin (small note: please never forget sun protection!). There are many nations in which “distinguished paleness” is considered a desirable beauty ideal. This goes so far that even whitening creams are used to lighten the skin. Our counterpart to this are self-tanning products.
By the way, it never hurts to find out about the common forms of greeting before a trip. Because shaking hands is certainly not an international expression of politeness. By the way, during the Corona period, I didn’t miss having to constantly shake hands with strangers. In some countries, shaking hands is even considered impolite. Likewise tips. In many Asian countries, good service is so much a given that tipping is even seen as an insult.
I think it’s so important to look beyond our own (in this case German) box, to get involved in something new (for us), to deal with the respective culture and to adopt other customs. Isn’t that exactly the charm of traveling? Diversity is a wonderful thing, and your own path is always just one of many. Just because we were raised with German customs does not mean that they are “the only correct ones”. The world offers incredible diversity – and travel always reminds us that our own way of life is just one of many.
Nevertheless, these “other countries, different customs” moments are often strange at first. Sometimes you not only look carefully over the edge of the plate, but also fall straight down in a high arc. We experienced so many funny situations on our trip around the world and often laughed to tears.
Do you remember the “Ten exciting, amusing and curious facts” series? Back then, we really got to know the meaning of “typically German” and had a few aha moments. “Typically German” may often make sense to us and feels right, but from an international perspective it is rather unusual in many cases.
Where do I reach my “other countries, other customs” limits? When it comes to the oppression of women. Because even after so many years of travel, many encounters and openness to other cultures, I am still 100 percent convinced that our point of view – namely that all people are equal and no one should be disadvantaged because of their gender – is the only correct one.
It makes me sad to see a man in swimming shorts and a casual shirt walking to breakfast in the Maldives with three completely veiled women in 30°C temperatures. When the woman is not allowed to speak to another man herself, but the man answers when she is spoken to. Did you know that until 2019 (!), women from Saudi Arabia were not even allowed to leave the country without the permission of their male guardian? Oppressive.
Now I would like to hand the floor over to you: Which funny, interesting, curious and enriching “Other countries, other customs” experiences do you remember? I look forward to your travel stories!
