I was watching a video the other day that mentioned the cassava plant, and how it’s a staple food in many parts of the world. I may have had it once or twice, but for some people it’s something they eat every day. This got me thinking - how many things do I assume that everyone else in the world must come in contact with and take for granted, because they’re so ubiquitous in my life? It’s very easy to take a self-centred view, and particularly when you assume that we live in a totally globalised world. But the experience of life for someone elsewhere may be completely different.
One silly example, in the UK nearly every house would have an electric kettle for brewing hot drinks. But a lot of countries don’t.
What items, food, clothing, buildings do you have that other people may never come across in their lives?
I live in Atlantic Canada so the obvious answer is anything snow-related.
Maple syrup. We always have at least one can in the house.
Growing up in Norway, I didn’t believe it when my dad told me when I was 5 or so that there were people in this world who’d never experienced snow.
There are people who spend their whole lives never seeing the ocean or sea too. Mind-blowing when you consider the world’s mostly made up of water.
Can? Your maple syrup comes in cans?
Yep in Ontario too. You just punch a hole into it to drizzle out of. Perfectly normal. I sent my friend in South Africa some and she said she never tasted anything like it.
It’s even better if you punch two holes, diametrically opposed. A big one for pouring and a small one for venting. Perfect drizzles everytime without the sudden “gulps”.
Yup although to be fair it’s a Quebec brand that my parents bring whenever they visit. ;) the little fancy glass bottles are too damn expensive.
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