What habits or practies have you adopted from cultures besides your own?

American, here. Got a bidet, and I am never going back. The fact that this isn't standard in American households is disgusting.

Bidet life is best life
Oh so true! Before I visited Japan for the first time I thought having shit left on my ass is just a normal thing. But later I also visited Morocco and they have a bucket of water on the toilet so you can wash yourself. It seems it's only in Europe/America where people don't wash themselves after pooping.
- There are bidets in many countries in Europe too. In Spain, most houses have them, and I'm pretty sure it's the same thing in France and Italy.
- They have been disappearing in France, sadly, because people couldn't afford the space…
  I'm adding integrated bidets to all our toilets in our oncoming renovation though.
I got one just around the time that toilet paper was getting yanked off shelves at lightning speed, and it has ruined me for public toilets.

Peasant toilets. Hideous.

Love my bidet. I feel so clean and it’s so nice.
Yes. Bidets should be opt-out at this point.
I got a bidet but then I read you have to turn it off at the connection to the water (at the bottom/back of toilet) every time or eventually the gasket can wear out and it will explode and the water will just go and go and go. If that happened at night or when noone is home you'd have major water damage!! I thought you could just use it with the trigger. Do people really actually fully stop the water every time? I uninstalled mine because I don't think I can reliably remember to do that.
- Been using a bidet for several years, and that has literally never happened. I think you might have gotten bad info.
- The T-adapter? That's not mechanically complex and should literally last forever if made out of the correct materials and isn't touched all the time. It should be no more fault prone than the connection to the toilet.
  
  A misaligned thread or a washer not fitting quite right might be an issue from a bad install. That's an easy fix though and you should see a leak before things go catastrophic.
  
  If your really looking for piece of mind I'm sure there are t adapters that can close themselves down in certain failure states.

I set all my digital clocks to 24hr mode, something I picked up after living in Europe. Would never go back.

Likewise. I just found it much easier when trying to schedule my day. Not having to account for the switch from 12-1 makes the math simpler.
One of us! Now shift to metric!
- I actually use some metric when measuring around the house for projects, especially for anything shorter than an inch. I can't be bothered to figure out 1/16 of an inch...it's easier in mm.

Before I quit drinking I believe I was following Russian culture with my vodka intake.

Drinking cheapest vodka possible chasing it with cheapest bear possible, then fight, sing, fight again, vomit all over the place, and fall asleep face down in a bowl of salad?
- Russian bear fight YOU
no such thing as half a bottle of vodka

I cross my sevens like a German.

I adopted this years ago so I could tell the difference between a 1 and a 7 😁
This is a German thing? I know tons of people here in Canada who do it.
- It's done all over Europe. They also have a fancy 1 that's nice because it doesn't look like a lower case l. I'm not positive that the 1 is used outside France though but it's the standard in France. https://ielanguages.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/davidsno.jpg
- I thought it was a Spanish speaking country thing only until this comment
When you indicate the number 3 with your hand, which fingers do you hold up?

Thumb, index, middle fingers?

Middle, ring, pinky (small finger) fingers?

Index, middle, ring fingers?

I heard Germans do it one of these ways, English does it another, and Americans does it yet another way. Don't know if it's true, but I think I saw that in some movie. Maybe Inglourious Basterds by Quentin Tarantino?
- I swap between 1) index, middle, and ring and 2) thumb, index, and middle because I was raised with 1) but learned to do 2) while learning American Sign Language, as 1) in ASL means the letter W.
- I still do that the right way. Pointer, middle and ring.
I am European and I don't cross them, or any other character (except 't' and 'f')
- You've adopted that from North American culture then.
- I cross the lowercase z (I write it without a loop).

I'm British and I say y'all fairly often. It just rolls off the tongue.

I’m a redneck American who says y’all, and calls people cunts a lot. We have so much to share
- Thank you for that gift, cunt
Happy to have more of the y'all in English English, but personally I'd like an uptake in youse.
- As someone who has lived both in Pennsylvania and Kentucky, y'all just sounds and feels better than youse.
I'm trying to recreate this and my brain just won't let it happen.
- It's like "yawl".
- Try it with Tom Hardy's cockney accent. 🙃
Now yer talkin'!
It probably has some root in a region of England anyway.

Stretching. I think this originally came from southeast Asia, its so far back that its hard to discover. But I stretch every single morning. As a Native American I need that to limber up so I can dance, which I enjoy doing.

Sleeping on a thin futon laid out on the floor (Japan / Korea). And riding a bike or e-bike everywhere (Netherlands), even though US cities and infrastructure are hostile to humans

oh man. im so the opposite. I got a higher bedframe so getting up and down is even easier.
- a raised bed helps to keep pests off. whats the benefit of a ground bed?
- Also better for bending over, standing beside, hanging off of and various other things... man I'd hate to just have a mat on the floor. How tragic.

I would LOVE the house slipper bit. I've suggested it so many times. Wife and kids just won't go for it. Wife says it's rude to ask a guest to take off their shoes. I disagree but she just can't see my point or view. If you want to enter my house, show respect and take off your shoes to keep my house clean.

What's rude is bringing disgusting bacteria (E Coli, etc) and potentially-toxic chemicals into somebody else's house by not taking your shoes off. There's just an objectively-right and wrong answer to this one.
I just don't get it lol. Whenever I enter someone's house for the first time I ask "would you like me to take my shoes off?".

It's not that hard, and especially obvious if they have light colored carpet
I have multiple guests slippers at the door with internal shoe cleaner also to hand, but that's mostly for show as we clean them anyway. Regular guests eventually get to choose there slippers and we'll get what ever they want.
- I'm sorry, what do you mean by "internal shoe cleaner"? My wife and I have "inside shoes" (not really slippers) with a small shoe rack / bench next to the door, but we're trying also to get slippers for the guests because so many of them usually ask if they should remove their shoes when they see us doing it. I'm having issues choosing the right slippers because I don't want that using a slipper that many other people have used becomes a hygiene issue. I know that in most cases it's not, but I don't want guest to "feel" like it may be. How do you deal with that?
My wife is from a shoes off in the home culture so our home is like that. Before I met her I could go either way on it.

One time when she was away I put my shoes on our bed and sent her a picture of it just to tease her. Hehe

I heard Koreans use metal chopsticks and bought pack home. Took some time to learn how to use those but so much easier when I can put those in dishwasher.

I hate metal chopsticks. Maybe I'm a bad Korean. I just find that they don't grip as well.
- Gotta agree with you there. Although Korean spoons are the best!
- Yeah, the Japanese ones are the easiest to use, but if you want to show off then using Korean ones is the ultra hard version. You get used to it though quite fast.

I've learned from the Japanese phrase 'itadakimasu,' which is said before eating as a way to thank the person that prepared the food. I think in the west, a lot of us grew up learning to say things like grace before a meal, but that is too religious for me and gives God credit for peoples' hard work instead. I love the idea of ritualistically thanking the people who actually made the food. It was one of the things I appreciated while studying there that has stuck with me.

In my culture its common courtesy to thank a person after the meal, either the one who made it, brought it, or paid for it. But only if they're present. It ain't a ritual. Same-ish thing.
いただきます literally translates to "I humbly receive".

From the USA: wearing a white t-shirt under my shirt or t-shirt. Helps preventing sweat stains under armpits. Really hot in the summer though

Try and get 100% cotton. It's the polyester that makes it hot.
- In the SW USA in summer it can get 117F (47C) and let me tell you, my dude, 100% cotton is still hot as hell.
  
  I don't know this for sure, but to me it seems like the whole suit and tie and jacket thing was a northern European tradition and eventually an eastern USA tradition where it's cold. That shit don't work in the desert, and those who continue to claim "professionalism" and maintain such stupid customs are fools, in my opinion.
  
  I'm not middle eastern but those dudes have the correct answer to the desert. I really wish the thawb would catch on in the Sonoran Desert of the southwest USA.

I wear a mask unless I need my mouth for something.

Same here. I'm immune compromised and masks are a blessing.

I used to get sick once a month and now I've not been sick since before covid.
I love wearing a mask it makes me feel like a ninja
With a mask on, I'm 50% better looking!

I'm a big white guy but I wear sarongs all the time, having grown up on Java and wore them as a kid. Soooo comfortable and versatile.

Sounds perfect for a desert climate. Another custom/fashion I wish would catch on in the hot desert of the USA.

I was what I think we would now call a "weeb" in my junior/senior year of high school, and had studied Japanese culture before making a short trip over there in the summer. One of the things I learned was that blowing your nose in public is seen as bad manners, and it really stuck with me. When you think about it, it is pretty gross to loudly blow snot into a tissue (bonus points for carrying a handkerchief!) in front of others, like (as an American) we'll just do this at the dinner table without batting an eye.

To this day, I try not to blow my nose in public places or in front of folks if I can avoid it, because it has grossed me out ever since learning how Japanese culture perceives it.

Wtf? That is super gross. I'm Canadian and I don't know anyone who would do it at the dinner table. I've seen my boss do it at his desk but he turns to face the corner next to his desk first.

Ime most people go to the washroom to do it, or at least make sure they're not near anyone else.
I'm American and I don't think anyone in my social circle would blow their nose at the dinner table. Yours might just be gross.
- What do you think you're supposed to do after rating spicy buffalo wings that make your nose run?
  
  Sure there's some settings where you don't do it (or do it quietly). Many restaurants are also loud enough that you won't even hear it unless you're listening to it.
- Or, you’re an American who lives in a country/continent where there are a wide variety of people outside of your little bubble who have different backgrounds and different cultural norms that you’ve very likely never considered.
  
  See, I can be demeaning too!
It seems to me to be worse manners to just leave your snot as leaking out or making you sniffle. Better to get it over with rather than make people listen to that for minutes to hours.

I adopt representing 3 with thumb, index, and middle finger (German?), Instead of the usual index, middle, ring. This is easier for teaching my little girl as her hands muscle aren't fully developed yet and have a hard time controlling her ring finger.

Isn't that the thing from Inglorious Bastards?
- Yes, from that bar scene.
I've started doing it all the time now as well, as it's valid ASL and we have two hard of hearing children, one of which communicates primarily with sign.
Most of Europe (outside of the UK) does this.
- And also professional wrestlers
I use my index finger and my pinky with my middle finger curling around my ring finger. As a white foreigner, I show them horizontally on the east coast of the US like an E and vertically on the west coast like a W to try to fit in better. ;)

I am not Jewish, but I have adopted the practice of placing stones/pebbles on my parents' gravestone each time I visit.

Is that cleaned up or are there a pile there after a while?
- It stays. It looks like a purposeful embellishment. For my own family's purpose, it acts as a physical record of me visiting often (because extended family is judgemental and believes that I am not visiting at all).

A few jump to mind.

I say No Worries quite a lot.

I use chopsticks as much as a fork at home.

I take my shoes off inside.

I'll order a Pint.

What culture says "no worries"? I've heard it so much I thought it universal by now.
- I picked it up from Aussie slang
- I'm Australian and always assumed it was Australian. It seems Australian but maybe we picked it up elsewhere.. likely Britain if anywhere.
Chopsticks I do use whenever they are easier (noodles, salad) and also for eating potato chips. I leave my shoes on though, we have dogs, it's a lost cause. Roomba runs about 3 hours a day.

I never show the bottom of my shoe and think less of those who do. Learned this while traveling in Asia.

edit - Example of this is kicking my feet up on a stool at the local pub.

Never heard of this. What’s the reason behind Asian culture not showing the bottom of your shoes?
- You are showing someone the bottom of your shoe as a means of saying they are "beneath" you. This is also true for middle eastern countries I believe.
Reminds me of some folks in school who were horrified that others were sitting on tables/desks. The idea that you'd put your butt where someone would eat seen as highly disrespectful.
- theres some old Russian proverb that civilization began with the tablecloth.

I've lived in Japan for a long time. I make a lot of Japanese noises now.

All according to keikaku I guess
All I can think is you saying YAMETE KURASAI Onichan!!!! at random places

I was raised in an extremely conservative Southern Baptist Christian tradition, but I often recite the Hail Mary and/or the first line of the Shema (in admittedly very poor Hebrew) when I pray. There's something about knowing that the same prayer has been prayed by millions and millions of humans through history that makes me feel more connected.

I don't get the hail mary. The our father would be baptist acceptable and should have been recited for longer given its in the bible specificallly.

I drink Yerba Mate, and I'm from Australia

You do it in the South American style? With all the equipment?
- I will be once it arrives :)

My wife and I celebrate White Day, or at least a version of it. She buys/makes a gift for me on Valentines, and I buy/make one for her a month later.

Doesn't really change much, but it's a fun little twist.

Interesting. I've always heard of a month after Valentine's as "steak and a blowjob" day.

I now use toilet paper.

I'm sorry. No one should have to give up their bidets
- Maybe they weren't using that before either? 😶

Same with the shoes here. I take them off at my doorstep and carry them inside to the shoe rack. My floors stay spotless now as it’s surprising how much dirt they track inside.

I know some Asian cultures don’t even bring them in, leaving all the household’s shoes on the porch. I wish we did that in NA. Seems like a smart idea.

I eat mostly with chopsticks.

...which I totally mis-read as chapsticks and was wondering where you get chapsticks long enough to eat with 🤦‍♀️😅

Drink tea. Adopted from Japanese Anime.

It's a little smaller scale, but... I've been a mid-westerner my whole life. I stopped calling soda "pop" around 10 years ago. It just doesn't sound right to me anymore.

At least you never called it coke ;)

Wow I just posted a comment that was for another thread by accident! My apologies.

I've adopted something called Kaizen and the 5S for manufacturing which is pretty much a philosophy of making things more convenient to reduce waste, time and energy doing something and making sure items are placed in the most efficient place possible.

I used to be pretty organized and it has been great following something like this.

I got a bidet recently, and it's been a life changer. I guess they are becoming more popular now in America, but nobody had one growing up.

which one did you get? which features are essential? what to avoid?
- I bought the Tushy. It's nothing crazy fancy, but works amazingly. It's one piece that you install between the water line and the tank of the toilet. Very quick install. For new users, I'd suggest keeping the water pressure low (the little knob you turn to activate it) that way you're not getting water up your butt when you're not expecting it. It's a weird sensation at first, but you quickly get used to it. Now I swear by having a bidet.

Look into the other person's eyes when I say cheers, chink glasses and take a drink.

Skal.

So many. I bow (learned from Japanese class). I wobble my head side to side, similar to South Asians, I have no idea why I started that, just feels normal now. I will often walk out of a room facing the room and close the door facing the room, learned from taekwondo. I'm sure there are so many more... I have this thing where I unconsciously mimic things.

You're a Peter Petrelli.

My partner and I have KFC for dinner every boxing day (in Japan, KFC is the standard Christmas dinner.)

Where do you stand in the corrugated vs un corrugated dilemma?

I say salud instead of cheers

I count with my thumb on my finger sections (what do you call them?) rather than my fingertips. So one hand comfortably counts to 12. (You can do a similar version, with a little more stretching, to count to 16... but I can't be bothered, and besides, I like 12.)

Did you learn this during a brief vacation in ancient babylonia?
- Ever since this rusty Delorean got abandoned outside my cul-de-sac, I've enjoyed regular visits to ancient Babylonia.
The power of the superior base 6 system was within our palms this entire time?!
- Two hands, base 12 the mostest superior

My family have never lived in the Upper Midwest, and yet somehow I've picked up an accent that sounds like I'm from somewhere between Minneapolis and Toronto.

I blame Garrison Keillor, and maybe Moxy Früvous.

frequent use of westside gunn noises "ddddrrrrrrrrrr" "doot doot doot doot" "AAHHH"

im from chile

I learned to love sparkling water in Germany, I even bought myself a soda maker to always have carbonated drinks at home.

I started sprinkling "fighting!" into my vocabulary thanks to South Korea. Or alternatively "gambare!" thanks to Japan.

living in north america

How could I adopt a practice from a culture that isn’t my own? What constitutes ownership of a culture other than its adoption, and what is culture other than a set of adopted practices?

Call your friend a cunt in America: people lose their shit.

Call your friend a cunt in the UK or Aussieland: Everyone laughs.

Culture is sometimes a very nuanced thing.
This seems unnecessarily pedantic given the harmlessness of cross-cultural pollination but I'll take the question in good faith.

Obviously all cultural practices are necessarily adopted from individuals, groups, and other cultures. What I mean is that some cultures have practices that differ from the ones that are commonplace in the ones you may have grown up in or currently live within. I'm asking about those practices, the ones that aren't necessarily homegrown or common in your own life.
- So the culture one grew up in one’s “own” culture. Reasonable definition.
  
  I grew up in Illinois. My mother made stollen each Christmas because she had encountered it in Germany as a traveling 20-something and she kept it.
  
  It’s not my culture as an American, but as a member of my family it is my culture. This kind of thing is why I ask.