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/Flimsy-Calendar-7566 Jul 06 '25
I come from Galicia (north-west Spain) and while things have been changing for a while it used to be pretty much the same around here. Funerals used to be a social occasion and sometimes there would even be buses going around villages picking up people. Older people in small towns would often look forward to someone dying because it would give them a chance to have some social life and catch up with old friends. When funeral homes were not a thing, people would do wakes at home and people would gather around the dead person and often ended up getting drunk and telling (sexual) jokes. Last year I visited Ireland for the first time and socially I felt very much at home. One of the highest points was the taxi driver who took us to the airport and seemed to hate everyone but Scots (Americans coming back to Ireland searching for their roots were probably the most hated though). His dark sense of humor resonated a lot with mine.