Asklemmy

Speaking more than one language. Being from Switzerland, we're required to study 2 languages (+ our native one) at school. So it's not infrequent to encounter swiss people who speak 4+ languages

We learned swimming in primary school in Germany, no opting out.

But having lived in several African countries and now in China, it's surprising how many people not only can't swim, but are deathly afraid of water.

Knowing how to swim. Basic life skill in a water-rich country, but many expats can't.

In Australia it's not just knowing how to swim but where to swim and when. A lot of tourists drown in the ocean here because they don't know how to read the waves / don't have an understanding of the local area.

Italy.

Cooking, every foreign person I know eats 20x more takeout and fast food than I do.

In the dry SW US the answer is drink water when it’s 100F or worse 115F+. Having a half liter of water from the hotel for the half day mountain hike, or pounding a half gallon of ice water and throwing up five minutes later. Your body doesn’t tell you when you should drink, it tells you when you are already behind on drinking.

Dealing with winter. I live in the rural upper Midwest, where winter can hit -20 with whiteout blizzards, week-long power outages, and car-burying snowdrifts. I've seen too many people move here from warmer places and think "I guess I'll buy a warmer coat and a snow shovel", rather than "I should have a backup generator, a backup heat source, a few barrels of spare fuel, a month's worth of stockpiled food, and at least two different pieces of heavy snow-moving machinery tested to be in good working order".

If the country is big enough (aka Canada) these differences can be between provinces. People from Ontario can't ride bulls, but every kid in Alberta can. Newfoundlanders can fish but Manitobans are afraid of water. In British Columbia you are taught how to roll marijuana cigarette in high school but in Nova Scotia scotch is the bag lunch drink of choice.

Here in Switzerland the question you ask is usually, "do you ski or do you snowboard"? It's just assumed that you can do at least one.

I guess here in Korea it's eating with chopsticks. In Sweden it was Swimming (especially for my Indian work mates). In Germany it was opening a beer bottle with anything you just happened to have in your hand at that time. In Poland I'm not sure, but probably making those elaborate sandwiches for parties.

I'm Danish. Opening beer with a lighter or other things that aren't technically a bottle opener.

Norway.

Cross country skiing. It's basically expected for every kid in school to be adaquate at cross country skiing. P. E. classes during winter could often consist of a ski trip, and a couple times per year the schools would arrange ski days with different acrivities on skis.

How to walk on ice is a big one. How to cross a street is another one here in Chicago (hint: look at the cars, not the lights).

I grew up in rural Canada, but have been living in major metropolitan areas for most of my adult life. It still surprises me when I learn there are other adults that don't know how to chop wood, start a fire, work basic tools, etc.

Rural Japan.

My kids (2 and 4) can use chopsticks already. Plenty of restaurants around here where you won't see a spoon, fork or knife. (However, it's certainly possible to ask the staff for western cutlery, and in the main cities they're more likely to be prepared for that question)

How to stay safe in the wilderness. We get too many people that aren't from around here that think you can do a hike late in the afternoon wearing sandals and only bringing a water bottle. People don't realize that the wilderness is a dangerous place if you aren't prepared. Weather can change rapidly and you need proper clothing and footwear to account for it. Make sure you have enough time for the hike and bring the essentials just in case something happens and you need to spend a night outdoors.

The swimming lesson thing was interesting. I also assumed everyone learned how to swim in school.

Going by yourself under at least 13 is nonexistent in the United States.

Driving. Moved here from Bangladesh to UK. I did a big mistake by not learning to drive in my country. Now its too expensive here to learn. Here driving is required if you want regular job well paying jobs. Don't be like me. Learn how to drive.

Pronouncing local place names. Lots of scattered areas here with place names that are spelled like other places names (for example we got a town called Egypt, a town called Binghamton, etc.) except that they're all pronounced differently. For example, we have a town called Leicester, named after the actual Leicester, and locals tend to raise an eyebrow when someone asks "how do you get to lester" (that would be the normal way to pronounce it)?

"Who's Lester? Is he the new guy in town?"

"What? No, the town."

"That's Leesester, not Lester."

"I'm sorry, wut?"

I of course just add to the confusion if I'm the one to break the news, as I have a Kiwi accent, which is atypical around here. So it becomes a "what do you know" kind of interaction.

In my immediate surroundings: small-scale farming. The old folks all know how to run a few goats and sheep, will have a few pigs and chickens, a vegetable garden, some fruit and olive trees, grapes, small fields. Once you figure it out you can feed yourself comfortably, but it's a steep learning curve if you didn't grow up with it. Quite a few foreigners who move in because they dream of self-sufficiency overload themselves with new stuff and become overwhelmed. I still can't compete with my neighbors at gardening after 20 years but I'm getting the hang of it.

I always think it’s weird when I run into people that can’t whistle or make a horn sound blowing a blade of grass. I’m not even talking like those ear-piercing 2-fingers-in-mouth whistles, just regular Andy Griffith style.

Definitely understand there are many whistling taboos(as there should be, Russia) and some bored rural-ness that factor in.

Swimming. My brother in law is from India and he never learned how to swim due to him growing up in a place with only one extremely dirty river and no other lakes or swimming pools near his family. Apparently no one in his family can swim. He kinda can swim now but it still looks funny. A bit like I must have looked from the outside when I learned to swim - as a six years old. I always found this very odd because the dude is smart, hard working and has a degree but it took years and him becoming a dad to realize that swimming is something pretty much everyone can.

Clapping. Spaniards can clap, other people can't. I took me years to figure out what they mean when they say that foreigners can't clap and learn to do it properly.

Seperating Litter, I guess. Many dont do it correctly anyways, but its worse in other countries.

Speaking English I guess. Not the best, but better than in former eastern countries. But yeah, fuck colonialism, so not really a great thing.

Riding the bike. Everyone should do it, and shocking to see many other countries struggle with that even more.

How to dress for -30C weather. How to get out if you fall through ice into water.

how to harvest produce, my town is surrounded from farmland, so we learned how to harvest everything from tomatoes to maize, from lemons to turnips

Canoeing. I'm not an outdoorsy guy at all but everytime I see US tourists in a canoe they just spin in circles. It feels like Canadians are just born knowing.

Skiing is pretty much a must where I live

Sooooo you moved to live in the Netherlands, I assume? Awesome country, do enjoy!

And yes, swimming is a ver basic and required skill there as well

Paying attention to the weather to know if rain or severe winds are coming. I know people have access to hourly forecasts but locals can just tell when the weather will be bad.

• southern USA