Stupid Laws of Africa: Funny, Dumb and Strange African Laws

Africa Has Some Bizarre Laws And Here Are 12 Of Them

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Long lunches with French co-workers reminded me that the rest of us tend to be in way too much of a hurry when we sit down to eat or drink, making it too functional about getting those liquids and solids plonked into your stomach acids as soon as possible. As part of my continued attempt to truly integrate and understand a local culture, my attempts to make friends in the Netherlands required so much lateral thinking, that I had a philosophical break-down of sorts on what the concept of friendship truly means.

Their circle of friends tends to be so tight, that it's incredibly hard to break into it, especially if you don't work or study with Dutch people. People I'd meet in parties that we were both attending downright refused to hang out with me any time later. A narrow-minded traveler would conclude that they are assholes and leave it at that and sadly, most foreigners who live in Amsterdam tend to have very few local friends , but I couldn't do this as I needed to improve my Dutch and was there specifically to find out what makes Dutch people tick. I eventually succeeded in getting into someone's inner circle, but the price was that now it was too late to go back and this new understanding of friendship had infiltrated my brain permanently.

Now, I simply cannot seriously call someone a friend unless we genuinely know one another , or are part of some tight community. Because of this, one of the first things I did in my transition to being stricter on who I call a friend, was to go into Facebook and nuke people that I had added by meeting once in passing, or classmates from school I didn't really know, or even an old friend who I had lost touch with for too long. The number of Facebook friends I have oscillates between 60 and 90 now, and I do regular spring cleaning to keep the number low.

Of course, I have a public setting on my Facebook page that people are welcome to follow, because I select updates and certain information to be either public or private, but why would I want to share some personal events in my life with someone I don't know? It's even more frustrating because people have a stereotype of travelers having nothing but superficial friends that they cast on me, the hypocrisy of which boils my blood when coming from someone with four digits of people in their network that they can't possibly know. I put no limits whatsoever on this concept within reason.

In Ireland, we have a tradition to talk to everyone with the same level of informality, regardless of wealth or status level. This includes police officers in the street yes, we'd invite them to the pub for a drink; I can't imagine sunglasses-wearing American police putting up with such friendliness towards them! Everyone can be put on the same level and talked to informally. A wonderful skill that I picked up while living in India was the ability to haggle like the Indians do.

As I always tell people, being able to travel the world isn't about earning lots of money, but learning how to spend what you have wisely. Basically, rather than give a price yourself, you just refuse the prices they suggest to you and keep listing various random problems with what they are offering until they start reducing the price. You should never show that you are particularly interested in the item. Even your body language has to incorporate this, and you generally look over your shoulder at the item, ready to walk away. It is simply how haggling works in India.

I do this all the time in other places and it's incredibly effective! Unless the price is printed on something, then it is always negotiable. I especially like buying items at flea markets because my Indian haggling skills come in quite handy! But I do it with accommodation whenever I can. When I mixed Indian haggling techniques with Brazilian charm, I managed to get the best place I've ever lived in in my life — a huge penthouse apartment in Rio with a degree panoramic view that included the Christ statue and sugar loaf mountain, very close to Copacabana beach etc.

The thing is, I think smoking is a disgusting habit, and whenever I'm in these countries I feel like I'm back in the '50s, and am reluctant to go to smoky bars or nightclubs, since they don't realize how much they are polluting their own and my lungs. But there's little I can do about it because people are smoking everywhere. Even though someone is addicted to their cigarettes, for some strange reason they don't ever seem to have a lighter most of the time! I mean, if I were a smoker, I would have my own lighter — it just makes sense to me. But a consequence of this is that it's very common to approach strangers and ask if they have a light, and was one of the most frequent interactions I had with people.

By having a lighter, I had the chance to ask them a different question while I was lighting up their cigarette and get some language practice or ask about interesting events I could check out nearby. It's become a force of habit, and I carry a lighter in my pocket about half of the year because of this!

One such idea is what they do in Rio de Janeiro — if you are eating a pizza there, you cover it with ketchup. So you'll take a sachet of ketchup since they rarely come in bottles there per slice and drown your pizza with it. The thing is, I spent almost four months in Rio, most of the time trying to blend in as a Carioca, so I picked up this and many other habits.

Now, no matter where I am, I apply this whenever I'm eating pizza and ketchup is handy. It gets me endless raised eyebrows…. It's also hot as hell in the summer, so you don't want to be walking around outside the shade. As such, I got used to the idea of finding nice shade under a tree, or even going home if it's convenient, and having a siesta. Even though this is way less typical in other countries, I have a power nap now every single day, no matter where I am. This biphasic sleeping pattern comes with many advantages such as needing to sleep less overall, and getting over jet lag quickly.

The 23 strangest habits you’ll pick up after living in 23 different countries

The Germans may have an odd reputation, but my experience has been that they are not rude at all. In Germany, and some other Northern European countries and with the deaf community in the states , it's more normal to be straight with people, and give them the direct truth without sugar coating it. Being direct is a way to show that you respect that person. This wonderful concept is one that I have picked up and emulated myself, and it has helped me integrate into these cultures much better.

In some other countries though, especially Canada , the opposite is true, and you are required to sandwich any unfortunate truths between compliments, or buffer it with pleasantries. To me now, this beating around the bush is all a total waste of time. A Canadian commenter on my Facebook , Sofie, said this to really emphasize the differences: I was taking pictures of the food at a Starbucks in Germany and for some weird reason, that's not allowed. A worker there came up to me: In Canada, that would go something more like this: I am so sorry but we prefer it if customers don't take pictures.

Thank you very much for your cooperation, we appreciate it. Have a nice day. Once again I'm left offending people and then feeling frustrated myself that nobody is straight with me for constructive purposes and that I feel like I'm stuck in a dialogue with Barney the pink and happy dinosaur. Whenever I stub my toe, or feel angry and curse, or give out a happy exclamation, the thing is that it's not usually in English unless I'm surrounded by English speakers. Generally these things come out of me in another language without me thinking twice about it, including if I'm alone.

10 smoking laws you must know

I've got a pretty good way of not mixing up languages , but it isn't perfect! As such, some will ooze into other ones, and this includes invasions into my English. Many languages also have a subjunctive form used to express hope that something will happen, whereas in English we just use an imperative.

Some individual words are really missing from English, and I use their weak translations even when I shouldn't. Weren't you already in that place? This obviously doesn't answer the question well at all! Indeed yes or indeed no?? Then there are the set expressions. In some countries, the way you express certain ideas are very different to other ones. It's unconscious at this stage. After almost six entire months in Taiwan, China and Hong Kong, I couldn't help but count in a very Chinese way on my fingers.

This tradition is so prominent everywhere that I can't even think any more what countries don't do it! So many European and Asian and South American countries leave their shoes at the entrance — while in the house yours or someone else's you go around in your socks or bare feet. As such, when in America and visiting a friend, if I take off my shoes at their door I always get the weirdest look from them.

Most Bizarre Laws in Africa

I generally wouldn't initiate it, but if as much as one other person begins clapping, then I join along and give the plane a huge round of applause as soon as we touch down! People get cynical about flying a lot, but I still think that it's a pretty amazing thing and an advance in technology we take for granted too much. I love how Louis CK discusses it in this video.

So yeah, a big round of applause to the wonders of science getting me somewhere in a few hours that would have been a journey of several months just a few centuries ago! As you can imagine, there are some contradictions above being stricter on what a friend is, but still being friendly with everyone?

Being straight with people, but then lying and pretending to care about the craftsmanship of that crappy logo and brainless motto you've put on your business card? I have such a mess of social rules that disagree with themselves bouncing around in my head, that every single time I start talking to a new person I end up slipping up on one of them, and giving them one too many pecks on the cheek, being too close or too far away when talking, being too straight with them and offending them, or not being straight enough with them and having them not take me seriously.

It's certainly exhausting that I essentially have to change everything about how I interact with people so regularly because I bounce around so much. It's gotten to the extent that I find it impossible to say what comes naturally to me any more. Many things on this list come naturally to me now, but I try to suppress them if they aren't natural to the country I am currently in.

Customs that I grew up with and were a natural part of my world for two decades have had to be unlearned so that I can make new friends across the planet easier. Or what about if you invite a girl out for a date? Should you be more Latin and traditional and hold the chair for her, pay for the meal, and tell her she's pretty? Well then prepare yourself for a very offended girl if she happens to be from some countries where all that is patrionizing and a little sexist. Whenever I'm successful, I can proudly say that I have made a new connection because they feel more comfortable with me, seeing that I talk to them like their peers back home do.

This is much more true than the ridiculous idea that you can ever frustrate people as a language learner! The actual words coming out of your mouth or their efficient conjugation etc. I shall continue onward in my attempt to learn these fascinating things that separate us and all the many more things that we have in common across different cultures.

If I meet you in person some day, and act very strange it may be because I am in fact just very strange, but it may also be because my wires are crossed on which social norm I am supposed to be applying with your nationality — please don't take my personal quirky habits as an offense! Here is a viral video I made about the many things I've learned in 10 years travelling the world, you might enjoy it you can read the article here: Top 10 life lessons learned in travelling the world 10 years. Check it out, and share it this link http: In today's post, I want to share a few of the strangest habits that I have picked up!

Ask people if they want to have a shower way too often This strange custom is one that I picked up from spending an entire year in Brazil. Examine a business card or hand over money as if it were about to explode This time, a habit I picked up in Taiwan , which stood out for me immediately after I arrived there , was that you treat anything that you can hand over to another person as sacred.

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Point as if you're flirting with a fish In the Philippines , and strangely enough also in Colombia and other countries, they almost never point with their index finger thus immediately nullifying the very title of index finger. Feel guilty about using the toilet This is an odd one, but many countries in the world don't have the same kind of plumbing system as we do in Europe and North America.

Regularly run into oncoming traffic as if you have had enough of this cruel world As always, in my attempts to really get into a local culture, I tried to emulate the Egyptians as much as I could while living there this year. It's weird and I hope I shake this feeling soon before I get run over! Unnecessarily drop money all over the place One of the weirdest customs I've come across by far is in North America both the US and Canada , where many waiters and waitresses are paid by customers rather than their boss ridiculous, I know!

An expensive and unnecessary in most places outside of North America annoying twitch… 8. Slowly move many standing conversations in the direction I'm facing Another consequence of the above point of more warmth in Latin countries, is that I have greatly reduced this horrible concept we have in some Northern European and North American countries of a personal bubble.

Nuke friends As part of my continued attempt to truly integrate and understand a local culture, my attempts to make friends in the Netherlands required so much lateral thinking, that I had a philosophical break-down of sorts on what the concept of friendship truly means.

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Haggle all the time, and without ever even saying a price A wonderful skill that I picked up while living in India was the ability to haggle like the Indians do. It gets me endless raised eyebrows… Tell the truth so much it hurts The Germans may have an odd reputation, but my experience has been that they are not rude at all. Have the weirdest exclamations Whenever I stub my toe, or feel angry and curse, or give out a happy exclamation, the thing is that it's not usually in English unless I'm surrounded by English speakers.

Translate weird expressions that shouldn't be translated I've got a pretty good way of not mixing up languages , but it isn't perfect! There are some things that you simply say all the time in other languages, but don't in English. Confusing hand signals In some countries, the way you express certain ideas are very different to other ones.

1. Ask people if they want to have a shower way too often

In Portugal, it is against the law to pee in the ocean. Steve Harvey better shave his mustache if he is thinking of going to Eureka, Nevada, as it is illegal for men with mustaches to kiss women there. In Baltimore, it is illegal to take a lion to the movies! If you even survive to tell that tale. Good luck there, buddy. The punishment for masturbation in Indonesia is death by decapitation.

Find that significant other before you even think of going there! In Vermont, a woman must get written permission from her husband to wear false teeth! Coloured women, any comments?

In Arkansas, there still exists a law that was instated in the s that states that a husband is allowed to beat his wife, but only once a month. Plain stupid, if you ask me.

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