QOTW: Something inexplicable!

[pittpurple]

What's something from your current home that is totally inexplicable to you?

I'm deep in the chaos of getting my first child ready for school. All schools here have a colour and a sort-of uniform and the number of things I need and the assumptions they make about what is obvious is mind-boggling. Apparently she needs indoor and outdoor shoes for PE and for the rest of the day (4 pairs of shoes!) and they don't even list that on the uniform requirements because 'everyone knows that you need plimsolls for indoors.' Not only did I definitely not know that, I have (well, had) no idea what plimsolls were. I still have no idea why this is necessary but we will be heading out 'plimsoll' shopping this weekend!

[rupertpenny]

Oh, lots of things. Off the top of my head:

Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, takes their lunch break from 1 to 2. Everything is slammed and you have to spend half your break just waiting in line to order. No one is at offices to answer phones. Nothing gets done between 1 and 2. I try to never go at 1 because of this, and luckily in my office we stagger breaks and it isn't a big deal. I had a friend who was reprimanded in her official review for taking lunch from 2 to 3 though, even though there were no written guidelines.

Everyone lines up to get on the plane like an hour before boarding time. There are assigned seats! And because all flights are international you can always check your bags and overhead space doesn't fill up.

It is hot as shit here yet no apartment buildings have central air. Even new fancy ones! So even if you're paying $5k a month in rent you will still sweat your ass off in the elevator, hallway, as well as your kitchen and bathrooms.

[rupertpenny]

And regarding the shoes at school thing, we were told to send slippers to school so I sent some fuzzy bunny ones we already had. At the end of the year party they gave them back to take home and none of the other kids had slippers. They just had extra shoes for indoors which I guess were mostly slip ons, but definitely not slippers.

She goes to a French school though so I can't blame that one on Hong Kong.

[mrsukyankee]

pittpurple, I know the answer! You need to have indoor sneakers that don't have a dark bottom which would mark up the floors of the gym (which are usually wood). Plimsols have light coloured soles and aren't as heavy too. Outdoor sneakers are used in normal conditions, which means they'll get all muddy and gross, so you only want to use them outside.

[mrsukyankee]

I don't understand why they don't have sash windows here so we could all get window AC units. Why the heck do they have the side opening windows, half of which barely open up anyway? Why don't they have window coverings for bugs? (Yes, I've been gone from the US so long I forget what they are called) There are so many flies in my house right now! So annoying!

[pittpurple]

mrsukyankee, I am so with you. I would love screened windows. And a screened door. We have those stupid windows that only open a tiny bit on the top and I can barely reach. Super annoying.

[loira]

Jul 31, 2017 12:18:10 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

I don't understand why they don't have sash windows here so we could all get window AC units. Why the heck do they have the side opening windows, half of which barely open up anyway? Why don't they have window coverings for bugs? (Yes, I've been gone from the US so long I forget what they are called) There are so many flies in my house right now! So annoying!

YES! This used to drive me insane in the summer. I wanted to open my windows, but bugs would get in because there are no screens.

How about the fact that the last building we lived in had just gone through a complete renovation, including all these upgrades (like solar panels on the roof etc) to make it energy efficient. Every. Single. Window. had brand new... SINGLE PANE WINDOWS put in!!! WTAF? The heaters were right under the windows, so anybody with half a brain knew where that heat was going. This building was not listed, in case you thought there might have been a plausible reason for this foolishness. But I guess it's not Britain unless you're sat shivering somewhere damp and drafty...

[loira]

Oh yes, as for Canada, I can't understand why anyone likes Tim Hortons coffee. I think it tastes terrible, but everyone here seems to like it and it's become this weird part of Canadian identity, and I just want to say not MY identity!

I clearly have a lot of rage built up today... lol

[dorothyinAus]

Jul 31, 2017 16:31:12 GMT -5 loira said:

Oh yes, as for Canada, I can't understand why anyone likes Tim Hortons coffee. I think it tastes terrible, but everyone here seems to like it and it's become this weird part of Canadian identity, and I just want to say not MY identity!

I clearly have a lot of rage built up today... lol

I'm not a coffee drinker so I can't say what the appeal with Timmie's coffee is, but I really like their doughnuts. We always get doughnuts or TimBits when we're in Canada. We know exactly where all the Timmie's are at the standard cruise-ship ports on the East Coast.

[dorothyinAus]

I do not understand the love of hot tea here, particularly in the summer when it's up around 40! And I don't understand the piddly glasses for water at restaurants. And I really don't understand why drinks either don't come with ice at all or only have 2 or 3 tiny cubes. I need WAY more ice than that.

And I don't understand why napkins are rationed like they're a scarce resource. At most cafés you get ONE napkin under the coffee/tea cup so it has a good chance of being wet and unusable. When I ask for extra napkinS I get all kinds of stares and the servers act like I've asked fir a free meal. At the café this weekend, the server told me I couldn't get an extra napkin because I was only having tea and chips and didn't need one. There was ONE cocktail napkin under the bowl of chips for three people at the table. Insane, I tell you!

[loira]

Jul 31, 2017 17:32:06 GMT -5 dorothyinAus said:

Jul 31, 2017 16:31:12 GMT -5 loira said:

Oh yes, as for Canada, I can't understand why anyone likes Tim Hortons coffee. I think it tastes terrible, but everyone here seems to like it and it's become this weird part of Canadian identity, and I just want to say not MY identity!

I clearly have a lot of rage built up today... lol

I'm not a coffee drinker so I can't say what the appeal with Timmie's coffee is, but I really like their doughnuts. We always get doughnuts or TimBits when we're in Canada. We know exactly where all the Timmie's are at the standard cruise-ship ports on the East Coast.

Oh I'm with you on the donuts, the donuts are so good. Especially the timbits. It's just the coffee I can't stand, and everyone acts like it's this amazing stuff and recommends all foreigners go and have some, and I'm always like "no! Don't do it! This is not a good example of the great beverages Canada has to offer!" I mean, it is cheap, so I guess there's that?

[expatjen]

I do not understand the need to honk for every.single.thing. here. UGH, it's insane and sooooo annoying. If I'm driving and there's a dude honking away behind me, I always take that much longer to move in traffic, just to annoy the crap out of him. haha