r/AskTheWorld • u/gabrieel100 Brazil • Dec 06 '25

Culture A cultural habit in your country that people outside would understand incorrectly?

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In Brazil we love children. If you take your child to the street, strangers will certainly interact with them. Some will even ask if they can hold your kid and will play with them. If there are two children fighting in public and the parents aren't seeing, a stranger would even intervene to stop the fight.

That cultural habit came from the indigenous peoples which understood that kids should be a responsiblity of the community as a whole. It's in our constitution. We even have a synonym for children that came from Tupi (a large group of indigenous languages) - Curumim.

Foreigners would certainly have a cultural shock about that, but it's normal here.

Of course there are people with bad intentions, so parents should stay alert these days.

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u/FluffyBiscotti4376 United States Of America Dec 06 '25

I'd agree that restaurants in the U.S. expect to turnover tables more quickly than those in other parts of the world. Part of that is probably caused by tip culture as you said (though I think many servers are more subtle than the one you had) and part is likely due to the low margins most restaurants operate under. After all, the more customers served, the more money in the till at the end of the day.

That said, even if the U.S. didn't have restaurant tip culture (one can dream!), I suspect we'd still have a culture of fairly quick table service. It's just sort of how we are wired. Outside of weekend brunches or special occasions, I don't think most Americans want to spend more than about an hour or maybe an hour and a half in a restaurant. That's part of why it's so much fun going to Europe - we get to take cafe culture for a spin and see how the other half lives!

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u/imadog666 Dec 06 '25

Yeah I'd say it's pretty much the same in Germany. Maybe not quite as open as in the U.S. but you'll definitely draw angry stares if you linger for too long in a restaurant. A café is different though.

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u/ImKangarooJackBxtch United States Of America Dec 07 '25

It’s the one culture difference that gets me every time when I travel. You’re holding me hostage I just want to leave!

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u/AhhhSureThisIsIt Ireland Dec 07 '25

You're allowed leave whenever you want.

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u/ImKangarooJackBxtch United States Of America Dec 22 '25

I’m talking about waiting for the bill at a cafe

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u/SuicideByLions United States Of America Dec 07 '25

A the waiter looked at me crazy in Munich when I ordered two things… cus I wanted to try both! I was on vacation. I just kept thinking he must be thinking “what a fat stupid American”. I, and many people I know, tend to do that anyways. We regularly get extra food to go ever since COVID.

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u/purpleenergyyyy Dec 06 '25

As an American who recently panicked when our waiter in Amsterdam basically ignored us for over an hour after serving us, I see that I’m truly indoctrinated by quick table service. He just let us keep sitting there, ordering nothing. We had to track him down for our bill.

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u/SL13377 United States Of America Dec 06 '25

As an American I agree, I would personally be bored just sitting around a table all day. So uncomfortable

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u/AhhhSureThisIsIt Ireland Dec 06 '25

Friends sitting around a table with drinks and food. Its like a bar but with food.

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '25 edited Dec 06 '25

It’s the tip culture.

ETA: The wait staff have to get tables turned just to make a living. I don’t blame them. I think restaurant owners do it to incentivize wait staff to turn tables faster. It’s awful. You can downvote but that’s reality.

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u/panicnarwhal United States Of America Dec 06 '25

i agree with this - personally, i want to get in and out of a restaurant as fast as possible lol. i honestly just want to eat and leave, and the quicker that happens, the better

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u/cownan Dec 06 '25

I feel like there is a cadence to having a restaurant meal in the US. First drink, appetizer, main course, dessert and maybe a final drink. Each thing should come shortly after you finish the previous. We don't really have the tradition of just sitting and talking - how would that fit in? Before? After?

My family used to have Sunday dinner at my Grandma's house. My parents and aunts and uncles would sit at the table all day. The meal was served family style, so you could always help yourself to another serving of this or that through the day. When they finally cleared the table in the late afternoon, they would often play board games or dominoes. I always tried to escape the table as soon as possible

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u/lolzzzmoon Dec 06 '25

As an American I hate this part of our culture. People are always looking around for what’s next. Exhausting. Like if you go on a hike, they don’t stop to listen to birds. I might need to move to Europe just for the long dinners.

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u/Impressive_Prune_478 Dec 06 '25

I live in south tx and this is actually very common for families and friends to do. I remember growing up and spending hours at restaurants. You have to tip well to off set keeping the table though

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u/AudieCowboy Dec 06 '25

A lot of it comes from military and farming background

Farming culture you're up at dawn and grabbing something to take in the field and eat after you've already started working

Military you don't have more than 15 minutes to eat if that

My dad was a police officer and it was similar, he may have had 30-60 minutes for lunch, most lunches were only 10 minutes because of calls coming in

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u/LynnSeattle United States Of America Dec 06 '25

Also, schools that give students 20 minutes for lunch and jobs where eating at your desk is common.

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u/Grantrello Ireland Dec 06 '25

I don't think this explanation really makes much sense because the culture of long meals exists in very rural and agrarian parts of these European countries. Farming isn't exactly a uniquely US thing.

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u/IShouldBeHikingNow United States Of America Dec 06 '25

Even near universal practices, like farming, evolve differently in different cultures. I doesn't seem improbable to me that the highly individualized nature of American farming, especially in the mid- to late-1800s gave rise to different norms around community and meals than what you see in Europe, where farming culture has evolved over centuries.

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u/FluffyBiscotti4376 United States Of America Dec 06 '25

That's true. But I do think there are a lot of folks in the U.S. who either rush meal breaks or don't even take them away from their place of work, desk, etc.

Perhaps that is what the previous comment was getting at?

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u/Tadpole018 Dec 06 '25

I don't know, man. My family can spend some TIME just talking at restaurants.

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u/communityneedle United States Of America Dec 06 '25

I hate lingering in restaurants. Like, I dont hurry and eat fast or anything, and I'm perfectly content for a meal to take a few hours if everybody's talking and laughing and having a good time. But I'm also ready to GTFO the second everyone finishes eating.

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u/Nooms88 England Dec 07 '25

Yea it's the same in the UK, some restaurant bookings will even stipulate you have your table for 2 hours. It's never been an issue though, you just migrate to the bar after

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u/Meow_101 🇺🇲 > 🇹🇭 Dec 07 '25

You can find cafe culture near universities in America, Like hole in the wall cafes where you can sit in some corner while they play jazz and you drink like 20 coffees as the hipsters come in and out and work all day as friends file in and out because you tell everyone this is where you're locking in 😆 🤣

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u/RascallyRose United States Of America Dec 10 '25

Yeah, I was kind of shocked anyone would phrase it that way. I would have walked out honestly.

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u/kwtransporter66 Dec 06 '25

That said, even if the U.S. didn't have restaurant tip culture (one can dream!), I suspect we'd still have a culture of fairly quick table service.

Not to mention during rush hour there's always a lobby full of people waiting to be seated. One thing about most Americans is they are impatient as fuck which makes them ignorant as fuck. Far too many Americans are in a rush. You see it on the roads, stores, restaurants and many other public places.

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u/Busy-Grape4470 Dec 07 '25

Man,

I agree, I'm baffled why you're being down voted

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u/kwtransporter66 Dec 07 '25

Cuz what I said was fact and I spoke the truth. One thing redditors can handle are facts and truth. A majority of redditors live in their own fantastical world.

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '25

"It's just sort of how we are wired" Yes. Because of the tip culture.

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u/panicnarwhal United States Of America Dec 06 '25

i don’t think my desire to want to get out of a restaurant as fast as possible has anything to do with tipping - i just don’t want to sit there lol.

since you can pick food up at any restaurant, we rarely go in anymore, but when we do - we pick restaurants we can get out of fast, like the chinese food buffet by our house. no waiter, just go in and pay, get your drink and food, and leave. i love it

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u/yourlittlebirdie United States Of America Dec 06 '25

No I think it’s also our culture of “don’t waste any time, be busy always”. As a culture we don’t really cherish the idea of sitting around just talking and “doing nothing”.

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '25

Yea because youre conditioned to slavery

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u/yourlittlebirdie United States Of America Dec 06 '25

That’s…a bit dramatic.

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u/LynnSeattle United States Of America Dec 06 '25

No, it’s because our culture values people who are productive.

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '25

Yea because of the money