It was about 2 years ago when my family visited my sister in Germany.
Roaming the streets of Austria, I could instantly tell them apart from the streets of Singapore. The sight of big dogs along with their owners were a common sight. Not only on streets, but almost anywhere-- restaurants, trains, stores. In some cases, there were unleashed. Yet amazingly, these seemingly frightening animals never made any sound and simply followed and obeyed their masters. Stray animals were also barely seen around.
When my family visited my brother-in-law's place, I met Suma, a hunting dog. His family members told us he was walked at least 3 times a day and they made sure his health was checked monthly. Furthermore, owners had to be trained for at least 3 months before they were licensed to own a pet.
Curious, I asked why Germans were so animal-loving. Their answer was simply because of their responsibility to own them. Sadly, this isn't the case for most Singaporeans. Judging from my observations, I would suppose that most Singaporeans do not respect animals as much as Germans do. Many Singaporeans own pets because their cuteness and petite-size appeal to them. And as there is no sentiment towards the responsibility of keeping animals, many owners grow tired of taking care of their pets after some time.
From this experience, I realized that even the treatment of animals does differentiate a country's culture!
Oh anyway, I happened to come across this funny video from Friends which illustrates about other intercultural differences. Thought I could share this. :D Enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLg_opZIv3M
