Showing posts with label Shock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shock. Show all posts

Saturday, July 25, 2026

What is the ancient site that can shock many people in the world?

 Kailasa Temple, India.

Carved from a single block of stone, the Kailasa temple is the best known of the complex.

As mysterious as it is grandiose, no one knows for certain who built it. However, although no written records exist, scholars believe it was King Rachtrakuta Krishna I, who reigned from 773 to 756 BC.

Known for its size, legend has it that it was built when the king was seriously ill and the queen asked the god Shiva to heal her husband.

In exchange for his health, he promised to build a temple in the name of Shiva and to fast until the work was completed.

However, the king quickly improved and the couple realized that it would take years before Kailasa was ready.

Fortunately, a clever engineer arrived who explained that, starting from the top of the mountain, he could complete it in a week. So the temple was built from top to bottom.

Of course, this is just a legend, but despite the romanticization, it is true that it was carved from top to bottom and that is precisely what is striking.

One of the most famous caves in the Ellora complex.

Friday, June 5, 2026

What's the biggest culture shock you've ever experienced?

 My biggest culture shock was moving from America to Japan. Let me give you a few examples of things that really shook me.

  • Trains are very quiet inside the train. Aside from occasional quiet conversations, people are either using their cell phones or something similar. It's a stark contrast to the New York subway, where people are always talking loudly, on their cell phones, or playing musical instruments, just like Americans. Now that I've been in Japan for a few months, I can even tell if someone has just arrived by how loud they speak on the train.
  • The children go to school alone. Every day I see a four-year-old child taking the train to school and crossing the street with their hand raised high so that the drivers can see them. If you let a four-year-old child wander around the streets of Los Angeles for even five minutes, people would call you crazy.
  • I pay my electricity, phone, and water bills at 7-Eleven. It feels really strange because in America I used to do all of that online.
  • I travel by bicycle and on foot. The transportation system here is very efficient, so I hardly ever drive. I own a small car, but in the six months since I came here, I've only had to fill up on gas twice.
  • Orderly lines everywhere: bus stops, train stations, convenience stores, concerts, etc. Japanese people are adept at forming orderly lines. In America, even if there are markers indicating where people should stand to form a line when waiting for a bus, people will stand all over the place. You might be the first one at the bus stop to secure a good seat, only to have people standing outside the designated area block your way.
  • Masks?! People wear masks when they're sick to prevent others from getting sick, or to protect themselves if someone else is sick. In America, when people get sick, they walk around coughing at everyone (not intentionally, of course).

The world has much to learn from Japan.

Tuesday, August 19, 2025

What is the biggest culture shock you have ever experienced?

 The biggest culture shock was moving from the US to Japan. Let me give you a few examples that have touched my heart.

  • Train It's very quiet on the train. Except for occasional quiet conversations, you’re using your cell phone or something. It’s a far cry from someone in the New York subway who speaks loudly, speaks on a cell phone, plays an instrument, and so on, like an American. Now, a few months after arriving in Japan, you can tell who has just arrived by the loudness of their voices on the train.
  • The children go to school alone. Every day I see a four-year-old taking a train to school, crossing the street with his hands held high so that those driving him can see him. If you let a four-year-old go on the streets of Los Angelis for even five minutes, people will say you’re crazy.
  • I pay for my electricity, phone, and water at 7-Eleven. It feels very strange that in the US they did everything online.
  • Bicycle and walking. The transportation system is so efficient here that I rarely drive. I have a small car, but I've only been here twice to get gas in six months.
  • All in an orderly line. Bus stops, train stations, convenience stores, concerts, etc. Japanese people are good at forming orderly lines. In the US, people stand here and there even if there are landmarks where people should stand and line up while waiting for a bus. Even though you were the first to get a good seat on the bus at a bus stop, someone standing somewhere other than the landmark still blocks you.
  • Mask!? When people are sick, they wear masks on their faces to prevent others from getting sick, and to protect themselves when others get sick. In the US, when you get sick, you walk around coughing at everyone (though of course not by design)

There is much the world can learn from Japan.

Edit Dear friends of India, thank you for your comments and insight. I didn't expect to receive so many comments from India in my response.