Posts from Tales from a parallel world. Auto-translated

1.43: Fell through the textures.

a cruel woman, forces crabs into the sand!!!

I was browsing the internet and found a good illustration of an Indian-style bathing ritual. Here's approximately what it looks like.

Are they Muslims?

there are certainly enough Muslims in India, but these specific ones are Hindus.
It's very easy to tell them apart: Muslim women cover their hair, while Hindu women have a dot on their forehead and usually don't cover their hair.

Then why do they swim in dresses? Are they afraid of getting sunburned?

for comparison.
here's what a Muslim woman's "swimsuit" looks like


Added 3 minutes later

Then why do they swim in dresses? Are they afraid of getting sunburned?

because that's the local custom.

Yeah, I get it. Although, I guess Russian customs probably seem just as wild to them. For example, the Venetians perceived the Russian bathhouse in the same way.

Although, I suppose Russian customs probably seem wild to them as well.

Russian customs seem wild even to me (a Russian).

Even to me, a Russian, Russian customs seem wild...

You haven't seen Orcish customs yet...

Cambodia, Siem Reap.

A couple of days ago, a massage parlor opened right across from our modest dwelling. Well, you know, massage parlors seem to be pretty much the same in every country. It opened with a bang, with songs, dances, and a mini-firework display.
Today, for the first time in six months of living in Cambodia, I witnessed a brawl with shouting and, hmm... well, a classic female brawl with hair-pulling and screaming at the top of their lungs.
Too bad I don't know Khmer and can't fully appreciate the depth of the drama unfolding.

But in general, the cultural shock I experienced was primarily due to the shouting. People here are very calm, they never raise their voices, and they react to shouting either with surprise or (as was the case here) with amused attention, as if it were a free circus show.

Cambodia, Siem Reap.

Multilingualism

The owner of our hotel is Swiss and, by birth, knows two languages: German and French. Perhaps he also knows Italian, but I haven't encountered any Italians at the hotel, so I don't know what language he speaks with them.
He speaks English with us and Khmer with the locals (of course, he's lived here for over 20 years).

I also know two languages by birth: Russian and Ukrainian. And recently, I've been able to speak a little English. In theory. But in practice, today I caught myself saying words from whichever language comes to mind first. It turns out to be a wild mix of Russian and Ukrainian words, sometimes with a dash of English, which someone who knows only one of these languages would hardly be able to understand.

I've always envied people who have a talent for languages.
Why is it always so difficult for me? :(

It happens :smile26:

Knowing English well means being a normal person. Not knowing English means being a retard, unworthy of existence. It's simple, and there's nothing elitist about it.

English is spoken at a good level by an average person. They don't speak English perfectly, but it's simple and not elite.

Dag, you're one to talk, you don't speak German and you don't understand it either. Sesam, I also have a hard time with languages, or at least I'm just lazy. Either way, I only know English besides Russian, and even then, Skyrim has done more for my English than all the years of school and Instagram. And now I advise everyone who has a hard time with languages to, after acquiring some vocabulary, consume simple content in the desired language, starting with comics, games, and movies with subtitles. You can gradually increase the difficulty. But in general, you should be doing quite well now, since besides English, you don't really have much of a choice when communicating with the local population; you'll learn out of necessity.