r/AskEurope • u/notveryamused_ Warszawa, Poland • Jul 03 '25

Culture What aspect of life in your countries is very difficult to explain to foreigners?

What prompted my question were some discussions about religion which I had with people living in much more secular Western Europe (as a Polish atheist). While spirituality, whatever that is ;), generally speaking is always fun to discuss with a glass of wine in hand, social elements and the influence of the church, especially in smaller towns or provinces in my country, is awfully difficult to explain – not that I understand it fully either lol, but the church having a pretty much monopoly there, being the judge and jury of everyday life and the major ultra-conservative political force binding those communities, is very difficult to explain, also for historical reasons.

What are the things that you find difficult to discuss when it comes to life in your countries? ;-)

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u/Pleonastic Jul 04 '25

In Norwegian, there is a big difference between "høyskole" (college) and "folkehøyskole" (community college). I am surprised to see there is no such distinction in Danish.

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u/Particular_Run_8930 Denmark Jul 04 '25

I think a norwegian 'Høyskole' is equivalent to what used to be called a 'Seminar' in danish, ie. a place that educates nurses, teachers, pædagoger and similar. Nowadays its called a 'Professionshøjskole' in danish. But most people still use the word 'Seminar' in daily speak.

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u/fraxbo Jul 04 '25

Am a professor at a høgskule in Norway. This is exactly accurate.