It is amazing to me the things that we take for granted in the US that just simply aren’t the same, or aren’t at all in other parts of the world. Take a simple concept like paper towels for example; A roll of lightweight, perforated paper used to soak up spills or wipe down surfaces. In the US they are commonplace, and functional (if not a bit wasteful, but that’s for another post.) We purchased some for the kitchen here. The roll is much smaller and the paper much thinner – all of which is fine – but I’ll be darned if I can EVER get it to tear at a perforated spot. Never. Ever. Nope. And while we are on the subject of paper towels… the ones in the public restrooms here are tissue thin. Where one will work in the US (maybe 2 if you’re hands are particularly grimy) here you need one or two dozen. They are like Kleenex, and disintegrate as you try to dry your hands, leaving you with dingleball-esque white dots all over your hands. Really. Just use the blow dryer thingies instead, which are weeeaaaak. That said the public restrooms here are absolutely spotless! Truth be told I could do an entire post on bathrooms here in general. The design and function (with the exception of tissue for hand towels) is spot on and impressive as heck.
Another huge difference? Technology. Anybody who travels, knows how easy it is to communicate in the rest of the world. You stop at the store located IN THE AIRPORT and pick up a SIM card for your unlocked phone. You are assigned a number and can immediately begin communicating before you leave the airport. Easy Peezy. Unlike in the US, where you better hope that whoever is picking you up knows the flight info, because you will not be reaching out by phone until after you get to your nearest Verizon, AT&T or Sprint store, or your local Walmart, Best Buy, etc. to purchase a piece of crap temporary phone for use while you are in the US. Your number will change every time you are back in the states, and you will have to follow this procedure each and every time as well. If you arrive late in the evening on a Saturday, or anytime on Sunday in some parts of the country, you will not have a functional communication device for a day or so. It’s silly really. The technology is obviously available and has been for a while! It’s not just that, but also the quality of the technology. I was amazed at how clear and crisp cell phone communications are here. No cutting out, no ‘bad’ connections. Really clear and easy.
Energy saving measures are in a whole different class as well. Every hotel room or apartment, regardless of age, is fitted with a digital lock. The locks use key cards or keypads. The key cards must be put into a slot to turn on the power in your hotel room or apartment. You remove the key card when you leave, thus turning off the power. You put it back in when you return, and your power comes back on. The keypads require the number to be entered to be home, and entered to leave. Being home means the power is on. I have seen this before at exactly 1 hotel in the US. I have never seen it in anybody’s home. It’s is literally everywhere here. There are key components that do not get turned off, such as laundry and kitchen appliances, and an additional designated outlet in the kitchen in case you have a crockpot or rice cooker going. The escalators and moving sidewalks in the malls, hotels, and other public buildings automatically stop when not in use. They start up again when somebody approaches. I’ve seen these multiple places around Europe and Asia. Never have seen them in the US, though I feel certain somebody must have put them in someplace by now.
Light switches are up for off and down for on. That takes a while to get used to! Something so simple, yet so ingrained. Taxicabs are all silver Toyota Camrys – unless you get a ‘family’ cab – those are silver Toyota vans of a name I do not recognize. Washing machines are also considered to be the dryer. I have yet to see an actual separate clothes dryer. The washers “dry” the clothes by spinning the heck out of them… for whatever period of time you designate. (I have found 25 minutes to be optimal.) Still one must hang stuff up overnight to get it completely and truly dry. Refrigerators are half sized or less, which really is common outside the US. For some reason the standard fridge in the US is huge in comparison to just about everywhere else.
(photo copied off of DuBizzle)
The day to day differences here are many, but nothing is overwhelming or scary. Most of it makes great sense, and at least the technology part appears to be well thought out. The cultural differences I will save for another post. Spoiler alert – they too, are not overwhelming or scary.