Asian Habits Westerners May Not Understand 

most asians love to ask "did u eat? did u eat yet?" to people they care about haha

in Canada we take off our shoes too, at least where i'm from, i find it weird how Americans leave them on like, you're dirtying up the carpet man!!

I'm turkish and we do everything you named here too. I think people often forget that turkey is asia too

Nonchalantly commenting on other's weight. "Did you lose weight?" "You've gotten fat!" CAN I AT LEAST GET A 'HELLO' FIRST?

I never pass the mashed potatoes. NEVER. It is all for me, get your own.

In Scandinavia we don't ever use shoes inside. We just use socks. 😊

In Canada we take off our shoes at the door. In the winter we sometimes wear slippers, but the rest of the year we wear socks or bare feet indoors. I don't understand how the floor would stay clean if you wear shoes inside.

when ever i met some asian people they always greeted me with: have you eaten already? xd

The shoe thing is only in USA i think. I thought it was strange when i heard they had shoes on as well. No one wears shoes indoors in sweden.

you forgot making more food than usual, like 4 servings for 1 person.

In Finland we also take shoes off when we come to in to our house or somebody's house because we want to keep the dirt outside. And keeping them on unless you are told to is considered as a rude thing to do.

Here in mainland China they definitely talk loudly...but then they get on their mobile phone and they literally start yelling!!! It's insanely hilarious :D

Some typical cantonese elderly (as I am half canto) can randomly run to backyard picking up their shoe and beat up their enemy's photo yelling "打你個死人頭!" (Beat your dead skull) when they're pissed off. I don't know where this habit comes from but I still do this weird stuff as my grandpa taught me. Lol

I can tell there is much more related between Europeans and Asians than Asians and Americans.

Who does not take of their shoes indoors?!?! How weird is that???? Why would you leave them on ???

Whenever people go into our house with shoes on, I FREAK OUT INTERNALLY.

The talking loudly, omg i felt so embarrass before when westerners would look as my parents talk to their friends or relatives on the streets or subway>< and lmao removing the shoe thing againxD i remember writing about that idk about the small talk like my parents do try to avoid people they don't like talking to on the streets but when they do see each other they'll always talk for at least 15 mins asking them where they're working now,and their life [and they barely know each other] whereas i think westerners just say hiiiii [in a way that you haven't seen them in ages] but act like they're in a hurry and walk away. also, you missed the "there's no "hi" greeting" cause for chinese people, there's really no word for "hello" except ni hao which is mando, not canto..canto probably just say "how are you" but no one uses that to start convos..its always "WAAAAAA long time no see!"or they always say their names and i never knew asian people ate mashed potatoesxD we like our potatoes stir fry lol

It's popular to take of your shoes in most of Europe.

about slurping thing, for japanese yes, but other asian maybe no. i'm asian but my parents teach me don't make a noise while you're eating. but about sharing food yes.

Good evening, well here in Italy it's evening. First things first: great video and channel! Even in my small town of 40k I had the chance to get acquainted with many Asian people, mostly Chinese, and the greatest difference I noticed with us is your politeness! Thank you! You can be proud of your culture, good manners and kindnesses! I never met a rude Chinese so far! And it's not an overstatement! In this time of difficult interaction among cultures I fell like saying: thanks for been among us! Sincerely. Carlo.

I'm Mexican and my family takes off their shoes when they come in the house 😊

i think this is a little missleading. when you say westerners you most of all mean americans, 'couse i'm swedish and we do a lot of the things you point out. especially take of our shoes. but slippers isn't that common here, we almoust always walk around in our socks at home.

Hugging , asians dont normally hug, I hate hugging people.

Lol I'm from a purely English household but we hand clothes to dry. The removing shoe thing too; I've been to friend's houses and when removing my shoes they got confused but we always take ours off in the entrance so it's natural to me. Everyone else thinks I'm weird af XDD

In regards to food: one good thing to keep in mind for all you people out there that I have heard is that when you are grabbing your own food from the shared dishes, use the back end of your chopsticks. Remember: the other end went in your mouth! If your chopsticks touch food other than what you are grabbing, that could be a bit of your mouth germs right there getting on someone else's food. I don't think you are expected to do this, but it is certainly seen as courteous to do this with your chopsticks when eating. I am not from, nor have I been to anywhere in Asia, so I cannot tell you much more about this. This is just what I learned from another video of someone in Japan.

In Poland we also take off our shoes at house. How can someone wear dirty shoes in his apartment? It's not hygienic. :/

Regarding the shoe habit, my Mom who is Mexican always has this habit of walking around inside the house with sandals or shoes. I never really paid too much attention to that. But after visiting her home in Mexico, I realize that it was probably a habit engrained into her because her home wasn't really a modern home, and rather open-air. So dust can easily get inside, as well as insects-Specifically scorpions. So to that kind of culture, wearing shoes indoors is a safety precaution to them.

For the talking volume, I have one theory from linguistic perspective. Because there are four tunes in Chinese language and same pronunciation could mean totally different things with different tunes (four tunes more refer to Mandarin, but different tune could lead to different meaning is true in Chinese languages in general). As a result, more volume is required in order to get this one more piece of information received. I learned this from my own experience when one day, I "whispered" to my ex in a car in the back seat in English in a volume that I would whisper in Chinese, but later he asked me if I meant to whisper cuz he thought people in the front seats could hear what I said. Then I realised that because even you say an English word in raising or dropping or whatever tune, the word is still the same word, may express different emotion but still the same word. Hence you can communicate in English in less volume. If it's still difficult to understand, think about cats or any animals who can see in darkness. They usually don't see colours and hence they require less light to see things. Whereas we human do see colours, which is an extra piece of information that requires more light reflection to be reflected.

Beds are very important to Chinese. I have seen my American friends all sit on someone's bed with their shoes on. Please don't sit on a Chinese person's bed without asking first, and please remove your shoes.

dont stick your chopsticks into the food because it looks like josssticks for dead people

Most of this seems more american than western, small talk isn't really a thing in the nordic states or Germany either.

the small talk habit is actually the opposite here in the philippines, especially adults and seniors they can initiate small talk with someone they don't know about similar stuff although the introverted* habit still exists especially the younger people.

I love these types of videos, bc I learn so much and it's so interesting :D As a Romanian growing up in America (and born here) I always take off my shoes, and I personally look at it as a sign of respect as the home you are entering too. So from Eastern Europe, I grew up taking my shoes off in my home or others. So have other Romanians, so Europe does it too I guess? (:

The Western label is starting to seem really broad, I've seen a few comments from different European and American countries saying they don't wear shoes indoors. I can't speak for Australia, but I've noticed a lot of people in New Zealand don't wear shoes inside either. Maybe it's more of a US thing to wear shoes inside? Hit us up if most people in your country don't wear shoes inside!

My family has always shared the food we eat. We make enough for a bunch of people and then we take which foods we want. We also do this in restaurants as well. Often times, when we can't decide on what each individual wants, we "order a meal for each person" then ask for extra plates so we can each have a portion of each dish. One of my favorite restaurants is P.F. Chang's Asian Bistro and almost all the meals they serve are meant to be shared. You can tell they are meant to be shared because the dishes come in large portions with big serving spoons and separate, clean dinner plates are brought out for each party member.

I'm sure the shoe thing is hygiene related. Here in New Zealand it is considered rude to walk into someone's house with your shoes on if you don't know the normal rules in the household (unless they tell you that you can wear them inside). It pretty much varies from house to house. Some people are strict about it and some people don't care. And the communal food thing too. In my family we have always had all our food in the middle of the table every night. It's far more convenient and everyone can eat as much as they want to rather than have someone else serve it up for you :)

My parent always get on my case when I don't wear shoes in the house. I don't think it's proper, and it's awkward for me. That and I really don't like shoes...

You take your shoes off in Norway aswell cx

Only just found this channel and love it!!!

I love taking friends and family out to restaurants and ordering half the menu so we can share everything!!

When a friend of my dad (he's American) came over, he didn't took off his shoes before entering so I legit screamed *BUKAK KASUT DULU* (Take off your shoes first!!) and he legit jumped and I translated and he immediately took off his shoes and continued to look at me with this wierd look during dinner

In Poland we have the same thing with shoes indoors. If I may, I noticed it because of my friends from different Asian countries - they putting bowls/plates off from the table, closer to their mouth, in Europe in most countries it's against savoir vivre - plates and bowls must stay on the table and the eaters shouldn't bend closer to the food too.

Haha! The noodle slurp made me laugh, as half-Japanese I do that, but whenever I eat noodles in front of my friends they all stare at me like "you're being rude and nasty" xD

As an Aussie - If you live in the more rural areas (such as working on a farm or living in a rented farm house), you basically NEED 2+ sets of footwear and you leave your outside shoes (typically muddy boots) on the non-carpeted area of the porch/veranda near the front/back door so you don't track in crap from outside onto the carpet. The rest of your footwear is for 'round town or indoors-only wearing (and if you need to wear the boots to get to the car, you carry the town/indoor shoes with your and change footwear in-car).

I only put my shoes on when going out. It's funny tho, because my dogs go all crazy when they see me putting my shoes on, It's like yaay let's go for a walk! The funny part ends when I have to go out for work or with friends and left them all hyped out staring me at the window 😓

Yea everyone takes their shoes off in sweden too, although we usually don't have any slippers u can wear lmao

Hi, Love the vlog. I'm a server in a restaurant in a big city. Lots of tourists from all over the world. I realize people just bring their behaviors with them and for the most part its charming and fun to meet people, BUT many asian tourists don't wait for the server to come to them. Out of turn they all wave frantically or when your hands are full of food or dirty dishes....'We NEED TO ORDER!' Knowing this doesn't make it any easier to wait on them. The joke in the back is ...'don't make eye contact with table # whatever.' in order to finish your prioritized task (which is what being a waiter is largely about). I like that they know what they want upon sitting down, but hey! stay seated, wait your turn and the world won't end if you wait five minutes for me to deliver someone elses food. Whew! Thanks for letting me vent.

I enjoyed your video very much :) When I was in grad school, I hung out with a Korean woman a lot and we became pretty close. She was horribly homesick for Korea :( I am mostly from Eastern European stock and Ukrainian was spoken in my house growing up btw. Both of us were not "small talkers" and that helped. We shared food a lot and both of us were all about the food. I made mostly Americanized Mediterranean food back then and she made amazing Korean food. I went on to do Korean martian arts (which I adored) and still love Korean food, except now I have added Korean skin stuff to my loves. Also, my friend found Westerners really curious, too, haha, and we asked each other a lot of questions about each other's countries.

I love your vids! Asians rules!!!!

Good thing Scandinavia have some of the good asian manners.

I really like the way these two girls explain things. Very neural and considerate. Cannot think of anyone better.

sooo true! 100% agreement. Thanks for sharing.

You two are soo cute! I just want to put that out there first. :) I once dated a Chinese man for three years and I had been raised to be a "quiet" eater so when we would go and eat ramen and pho I was shocked by all the slurping! However, it didn't take long before I found the pure joy in slurping my noodles! :') In the west we live a pretty restricted culture based on "proper etiquette" which slowly evolved over the past few hundred years in favor of "self-control." It actually sucks the joy out of EVERYTHING: holding in and managing bodily functions makes sense today in a world in pursuit of perfection, but it isn't natural and, let's be honest: it can actually affect our moods negatively. Sure, we can preach about manners and perpetuate the belief that the only way to eat is to be as invisible as possible but that can be pretty alienating and too unsocial (for social creatures, at least). We are humans... we make noises! It is NORMAL. When I was exposed to other cultures I realized that meal time doesn't have to be sitting quietly within a carefully constructed framework that dictates how I sit, talk, address others, hold utensils, etc - it can be raw, real, and FUN. Westerners often don't want to understand things outside of their social norms because we are taught that we are wrong if we behave any other way. That's just really sad to me since there should never be just ONE way - and even if there was just one way, it should not be built upon order and repression! Keep up the good work ladies! Keep the dialog alive.

In the south the chicken thing is very common. In fact they actually let us see the whole process of how chicken are killed and de-feathered through live demonstration. In high school no less. The yanks up north most likely won't understand that one. However it's best to keep an open mind. I can still smell the feathers. I can also still see the chicken getting gutted. Great times. Sad I might not be able to see that in a long time. Reminds me of home and family.

I learned that my habbits come from my Italian ancestors. They also talk loud and are very welcoming of strangers.

hey =) I'm french and went this past summer in China! I also have japanese and korean friends and just think that asian people are the coolest and warmest (not sure if it's the good word ahah) ! =) keep going! your videos are great!

Small-talk with a German ends normally in an invasion of that country. We really don't like small talk that much. :-)

I'm from Romania (Europe) and we also take off our shoes.

I just moved to the Frogtown area of St. Paul Minnesota. One of the things I started doing was taking my shoes off at the entrance to my apartment. Thanks for the idea of guest slippers ladies. I might pick up a pair on my way home.

U.K. - My Grandmother used to tell a story about when she lived on a farm, and there were always poultry hanging from the ceiling. I believe it is partly to drain the last blood from the carcass, but also to 'mature' the meat, which 'improves' the flavour. She used to say pheasant were never used until the feathers fell out naturally.

I think you defined western=USA because as a german I could not Identify with some of the "western" themes. The smalltalk and openness of "western countries" is nonexistent in Germany, and I have yet to meet someone who wears shoes at home. Otherwise very interesting.

From what I've heard, talking to strangers randomly is mostly just a U.S. thing. When I took a trip to Spain, we were told that if we strike up a random conversation on the street we will get VERY weird looks and the other person will try to figure out if they have met us before. It is also weird to smile at strangers but in the U.S. it is considered polite to give a small smile or nod if you accidentally make eye contact with people.

I'm Canadian and I take off my shoes when I enter the house, especially in the winter. I find that habit has more to do with climate than anything else. Shoes come off in the winter so snow doesn't get tracked into the house, but in warmer places its less of an issue so they tent to care less.

I haven't had a washing machine for the past 3 years (I got one for x-mas last year :) ) so I hung my clothes up outside... and everything else! I take my shoes off at the door ALWAYS, when I go over to my families house for Thanksgiving or any other holiday we always share. Even when we go out for dinner we share and/or taste..

And then u see Americans in movies go to bed with their shoes on!!!

As a Chinese, I was taught not to speak with any strangers on the street unless the person I know or familiar then I would greet that person unlike westerners, whom are opened to greet any strangers on the street.

Great video!

There's a great slurping noodles scene that highlights the differences in Tampopo, the marvelous Juzo Itami film. And slurping noodles is also about the flavour - it makes it so much better!

There are some European countries that don't do small talk either, so it isn't just China. It's more of an American thing to do small talk.

Asian ... with australian accent... Unicorn found

i relate with the last part because when i first moved to america i found it so strange that random people just suddenly make small talk with me. normally back home everyone ignores everyone unless they're really good friends or family or something.

Very interesting! Thanks for educating us!

You forgot Asian like to include the chicken head and fish head on the dish when we order a whole chicken or whole steam fish dish. Westerners don't serve fish or chicken heads on dishes. Sometimes they include the pig's head and duck head too if you order the whole pig or duck.

When comparing asians to westerners, you seem to be walking about western culture as one. When really westerners are many different countries on different continents. I'm danish and we take off our shoes when we enter a house too, just not at school and stuff like that. Usually only homes. We're also not at all talkative in public, by that I mean pretty much no one talks to strangers. There's non of that ''hey nice weather' today'' at the busstop. It's not uncommon to share food although I don't think it's as big as it is in asia. Just to let you know that westerners include many different cultures ;)

You guys are great.

I would love seeing an asian vs. slav squat battle tbh

I always take off my shoes. So does pretty much everyone I know. It's gross not to.

1. I love your videos! 2. Muslims remove their shoes before entering the home or a mosque. I'm Jewish and we lived very happily next to a Muslim family from Pakistan for 20 years. 3. When we have Chinese or Japanese food in the US, we tend to mix it up and then eat our Asian goulash. But from watching many youtube videos, I know that's not how it's done. Take one bite of a vegetable, then rice, then something else, then rice, and so on. Then fill up with rice at the end. I've never seen them mixing it all together the way we do here. 4. We used to have big huge meals similar to Thanksgiving more often. Especially on Sundays after church. But most people don't do hard labor that requires all those calories so there's no need for a gigantic meal. Just thought I'd clarify.

You had me at "Australia."

I am a Newar from Nepal and although I am not Chinese our cultures do share some common traits and you girls represented them so well. Just the 2nd video I watched and I am subscribed not just because of how accurate you were in your representation but also to look at your beauty some more ^_^ You both are beautiful.

Well in Viking culture it's considered polite to burp while eating food...yah, my gf isn't buying it either.

These girls are American and European "You know, like, when you meet someone, like, on the streets or something like that, like, it's a generalization, like, uhm, like...." What the HELL are these 2 doing speaking about Culture?

the shoe thing is (at least in Europe) based on what type of flooring you have. In northern countries you remove the shoes because people have carpet (or other "hard to clean) floors that keep warm during winter, while in southern countries where it's warm/hot most of the time they have stone floors that are easy to clean and not as comfortable for bare feet, so there you will leave your shoes on.

idk in all spanish (spain) houses but every time i go to my friends house and in my house we take off our shoes hehe

i love it when asians speak with another accent

I got confused every time someone asks "what's up" or "How are you doing" things like that. Are you genuinely concerned and want the answer or are you just saying hi? Is it too much to actually answer oh great I did this and that?

So much similarities to my culture haha. Love your videos.

I just found you guys and I think you're interesting to listen to, so down on earth and funny

I think you got it wrong, mainland people don't talk loudly. Canto grandma does.

Asian habits? None of my Russian, Turkish or Indian friends do any of this! You do know where the continent of Asia is and which countries it encompasses? Here, let me educate you: Afghanistan, Aksai Chin, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bonin Islands, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Christmas Island, Cocos Islands (Keeling Islands), Cyprus, East Timor, Gaza, Georgia, Heard and Mcdonald Islands, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jammu and Kashmir, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Volcano Islands (Kazan-rettō), West Bank, and Yemen.

When i went back to China last year, I traveled to ChengDu in SiChuan and alot of the tourist destinations e.g. Jiuzhaigou 九寨沟 around there had toilets which are like upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Lower_NTK_Estate_old_squat_toilet.jpg where you have to squat. In the main city i.e. in the hotels, and back in Shanghai didn't really have to deal with that :P

In Greece we have a type of restaurant that we call a 'taverna', in which you order a bunch of plates with food that is for sharing, and they also do this type of thing in Spain where they have 'tapas'.

Its not more polite the louder you slurp. They just slurp because thats how they eat. Its neither polite nor impolite

im marrieed with a thai girl - and we live in norway... she is so lazy that I had to start to PUT THE SHOES ON when i come home ... and asians only make friends from their own country - they say that all our food is crap -- but they dont even want to try it before they denie it...... -- also they sleep 18 hours a day and eat more than normal people and stiill they are always talking about the next meal..... wich have to bee something that contains rice. ...... Im not impressed !!!!

Right on. Talking loudly. Everyone I finish talking to my aunts, I have a hoarse voice, sore throat & a headache. :-)

Having shared dishes of food in the middle of the table is called "Family Style". Many cultures around the world do it. I have seen it in the US at Amish restaurants.

Taking off your shoes is a common thing in the northern Midwest (MINNESOTA REPRESENT!), where during the winter, you take your shoes off because of the snow. It perplexes me when I go to California, and no one does the same...

I just seen you both and love you both. Subbed up too.

Great film. Great information. Thanks for sharing.

As a mainland Chinese, I totally agree with every habit they mentioned in this video!! Good job!!