Weird British culture?

[Josquius]

I have to go to another school tomorrow to talk about cultural differences between Britain and Japan.
I have certainly observed a lot of weird things about Japan so thats the angle of what foreigners find odd in Japan covered.
But...
What is unusual in Britain?
As a Brit British things are the generic norm to me, other countries are deviations from this middle ground. Its hard to analyse your own country from a foreigners eyes, some things are obvious and stand out but other little things might not- for instance that we have switches on our sockets whilst most foreigners for some weird reason do not.
So, I put it to ye foreigne folke offe languishe.
What aspects of British culture do foreigners find particularly weird?

[Syt]

Food. Comparing foreign food cultures is something that can always fill huge amounts of time. Yes, I know speaking of British food "culture" is a stretch, but hey.

Compare the full English breakfast to the typical Japanese breakfast, for example.

[Ideologue]

"White people drive like this, Asian people drive like this."

Your ridiculous internal nationalisms are probably the strangest to a foreigner.

You drive on the left in defiance of all normalcy, but Japanese won't understand that as being strange, since they are one of the few countries of import to have joined you in your contrariness.

[Viking]

Having been a real japanese highschooler myself I'd focus on the student teacher relationship and the differences. Rote learning versus critical thinking. Students cleaning classrooms. Saturday schooling. Stuff like that.

Then, once you have set the students against their teachers introduce the concept of "puns". Try something about using chopsticks on the edge of a bridge.

[Viking]

"White people drive like this, Asian people drive like this."

Your ridiculous internal nationalisms are probably the strangest to a foreigner.

You drive on the left in defiance of all normalcy, but Japanese won't understand that as being strange, since they are one of the few countries of import to have joined you in your contrariness.

Thats only because most normal countries were converted to driving on the right by Napoleon or Hitler or Henry Ford.

[Razgovory]

The British have some weird obsession with class.   There seems to be a strong distrust of the middle class in favor of the lower classes.  Like when Yi and Shelf gave descriptions of the middle class they were worlds apart.  There seems to be this odd "authentic" vs "fake" dichotomy going on.  A distrust of everything from genemod foods to your how you spend your holidays.  You seem to want to have the "authentic" experience rather then the touristy spots.  That strikes me as odd.  If I went to say Egypt I'd want to see pyramids not "experience" what life is like for a bunch of dirt poor jackasses.   You guys also have a passive aggressive attitude toward the US, and I swear you guys seem pleased when we fuck up.

[Sophie Scholl]

Are the Japanese retarded in how they term seasons of shows and call some series like you Britards?

[Martinus]

"White people drive like this, Asian people drive like this."

Your ridiculous internal nationalisms are probably the strangest to a foreigner.

You drive on the left in defiance of all normalcy, but Japanese won't understand that as being strange, since they are one of the few countries of import to have joined you in your contrariness.

I was going to suggest drinking tea (as all the civilized world drinks coffee) but that's probably another thing the Japanese won't get.

OMG Britain is the Europe's Japan. 

[Martinus]

The British have some weird obsession with class.   There seems to be a strong distrust of the middle class in favor of the lower classes.  Like when Yi and Shelf gave descriptions of the middle class they were worlds apart.  There seems to be this odd "authentic" vs "fake" dichotomy going on.  A distrust of everything from genemod foods to your how you spend your holidays.  You seem to want to have the "authentic" experience rather then the touristy spots.  That strikes me as odd.  If I went to say Egypt I'd want to see pyramids not "experience" what life is like for a bunch of dirt poor jackasses.   You guys also have a passive aggressive attitude toward the US, and I swear you guys seem pleased when we fuck up.

I think this is more about Sheilbh being weird than Brits being weird. 

I for one have seen hordes of Brits in every popular tourist spot I've been to.

And, as I said many times before, neither Sheilbh nor Yi is middle class. Sheilbh is a soundly upper class born bohemian who looks down on the middle class as crass and has a romanticized view of the lower class. Yi is a lower class/lower middle class guy who looks up to middle class as something he aspires to. Their differences are class-based, not nationality-based.

[Martinus]

I think one of the cultural traits of modern Brits that sorta stands out is a self-depreciating ironic attitude to Britain's "greatness" (which they manage to combine with a certain smugness about it). People from most other countries in the world oscillate somewhere between enthusiastic pride and "they fucked us at Trianon" kind of mentalities. Brits go off the chart.

[Martinus]

Oh, you could also say you own up to your nation's past crimes and don't worship war criminals as heroes. I bet Japs would find it weird. 

[Josquius]

Having been a real japanese highschooler myself I'd focus on the student teacher relationship and the differences. Rote learning versus critical thinking. Students cleaning classrooms. Saturday schooling. Stuff like that.

Then, once you have set the students against their teachers introduce the concept of "puns". Try something about using chopsticks on the edge of a bridge.

hmm...if these were university students that could work but except for the cleaning thing (on which I believe the Japanese are aware they are freaks) Britain really isn't the best 'omg look at how weird foreigners are!' comparison for Japan what with all our uniforms and Mr/Miss X.
I suppose the house system is there...but then most kids have read Harry Potter. Or at least seen the films.

Oh, you could also say you own up to your nation's past crimes and don't worship war criminals as heroes. I bet Japs would find it weird. 

That certainly is one place where we're the opposite of Japan, not only do we own up to historic crimes but we even make up new ones and refuse to recognise that we might possibly have done good things in history too.
But I don't think its one for tomorrow :p

Incidentally I'm going to be presenting with a Puerto Rican who I only learned was such last week having previously thought he was Mexican.


Maybe I can mention British individualism? Our grand tradition of eccentrics and desperately wanting to stand out. Of students seeing teachers as the enemy and their school as the prison.
But again...this is broad philisophical generalities rather than "In Xanadu they wear socks on their hands and gloves on their feet!"

[Viking]

Try Confucious bad John Locke good.

[Eddie Teach]

Of students seeing teachers as the enemy and their school as the prison.

Sounds like something Mono can relate to.

[The Larch]

Mention the British inordinate fondness for carpeted floors all over the house. Including bathrooms.

What about teenage rebeliousness? Binge drinking? Chavs? Teenage pregnancies?