Questions about other countries than US

[radiantquest]

I truly hope that I do not offend anyone, but I have questions and know that there are people from all over the world here.

First, in the US we drive on the right side of the road. I have noticed when shopping that we walk through malls and stores that way too. Do others walk the same way they drive?

There was post earlier where there was a symbol before a money amount that looked like a C with an equal sign in the middle. Where is that from? What does it mean? My keyboard has no such symbol which makes me wonder what the posters keyboard looked like and I would love to see a pic of said keyboard.

I am also curious as to what the climate is in say, China. Does it snow there? I would think that it does since it is in the nothern hemishpere, but I have never seen pictures or heard about Nor''easters there or anywhere but the US for that matter.

 

[janinegirly]

Date: 1/21/2010 1:24:23 PM
Author:radiantquest
I truly hope that I do not offend anyone, but I have questions and know that there are people from all over the world here.

First, in the US we drive on the right side of the road. I have noticed when shopping that we walk through malls and stores that way too. Do others walk the same way they drive?

There was post earlier where there was a symbol before a money amount that looked like a C with an equal sign in the middle. Where is that from? What does it mean? My keyboard has no such symbol which makes me wonder what the posters keyboard looked like and I would love to see a pic of said keyboard.

I am also curious as to what the climate is in say, China. Does it snow there? I would think that it does since it is in the nothern hemishpere, but I have never seen pictures or heard about Nor''easters there or anywhere but the US for that matter.

kind of random questions-but interesting nonetheless.

I''m not sure if people walk as they drive but my inclination is to say yes? However as I recall people still stood on right on escalators in England even though they drive on the left.

The symbol you describe is Euro''s.

It most certainly does snow in China, I believe this year they''ve been hit pretty hard.

Not sure if you are looking for more specifics.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 1/21/2010 1:29:20 PM
Author: janinegirly

Date: 1/21/2010 1:24:23 PM
Author:radiantquest
I truly hope that I do not offend anyone, but I have questions and know that there are people from all over the world here.

First, in the US we drive on the right side of the road. I have noticed when shopping that we walk through malls and stores that way too. Do others walk the same way they drive?

There was post earlier where there was a symbol before a money amount that looked like a C with an equal sign in the middle. Where is that from? What does it mean? My keyboard has no such symbol which makes me wonder what the posters keyboard looked like and I would love to see a pic of said keyboard.

I am also curious as to what the climate is in say, China. Does it snow there? I would think that it does since it is in the nothern hemishpere, but I have never seen pictures or heard about Nor''easters there or anywhere but the US for that matter.

kind of random questions-but interesting nonetheless.

I''m not sure if people walk as they drive but my inclination is to say yes? However as I recall people still stood on right on escalators in England even though they drive on the left.

The symbol you describe is Euro''s.

It most certainly does snow in China, I believe this year they''ve been hit pretty hard.

Not sure if you are looking for more specifics.

In Oz, they drive on the left and walk on the left from what I can see.

 

[zipzapgirl]

Radiant, it sounds like you are really curious about other places in the world and that is really neat! There are so many neat things about different parts of the world, from the climate to the food, to the effects of being south of the equator.

There are some great resources out there to learn on your own, and other resources out there to help you experience different cultures. I''d start by reading National Geographic and the Economist (esp. the second half of the magazine). Or just pick a country every month and try to read all about its history and culture. Start with Wikipedia to get a feel for what interests you and then explore those topics deeper. There are lots of cultural groups out there that sponsor cultural days, especially at universities, where you can meet people, try new foods, learn about new places and cultures.

If you are interested in science, there''s a great book called A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson that goes through the history of how we learned about the world, from how and when we knew the earth wasn''t flat, to a simple explanation of string theory (the physics theory that everything is intricately connected). Even if you''re not interested in science, a great book to get your feet wet.

There''s so much out there to see and learn--good luck on your journey of discovery!

 

[radiantquest]

Thanks. I know they are random. I am full of random thoughts

Zip- I read that book. It was my first Bill Bryson book and now I am reading his others. That is a good idea to pick a different culture each month and find out all I can about it.

 

[taovandel]

I know that if someone is walking going against the crowd people always say, "Learn to drive or get on the correct side of the road." It seems that when walking you do still follow the rules of the road.

Never 100% really thought about it though until now.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I''m in the US. . .When in the grocery store, I push my cart on the right side (since it''s kind of driving a car). In the mall, I walk all over the place. I try and walk on the right side, but if I''m in a store and am distracted by a cute outfit on the left side, I''ll kind of cut across.

This may sound a it out there, but I think grocery store carts should have blinkers on them! lol

 

[sba771]

Well based on my observations here in Germany, again, just what I personally have observed, they drive on the right, park on the sidewalk (extremely scary when you are trying to walk) and do not adhere to what I would call ''NY style'' sidewalk rules. Its a free for all and people stop short, walk taking up the whole width and bikers bike on it even though they are supposed to use the street and strolling slowly is big here. It is hard to get around people or walk quickly. The worst is when they stop and take up the whole escalator and make you miss the train. (Obviously this can happen anywhere, it just didn''t seem to happen as much in NY as people seemed to be in the grove and get it)

 

[Lanie]

Date: 1/21/2010 3:05:34 PM
Author: MC
I'm in the US. . .When in the grocery store, I push my cart on the right side (since it's kind of driving a car). In the mall, I walk all over the place. I try and walk on the right side, but if I'm in a store and am distracted by a cute outfit on the left side, I'll kind of cut across.

This may sound a it out there, but I think grocery store carts should have blinkers on them! lol

I have ALWAYS thought this! And there should be some sort of signal that a car is going straight when you are at a stopsign. Sometimes it's hard to tell if they just don't have their turn signal on, or they are just going straight.

Interesting questions....I'm so fascinated by other cultures as well! Did you know that in Spanish (and possibly other romance languages), there is a complete verb tense that we don't have in English? It talks about things that might happen, but there's no concrete evidence of it. Things like "I hope he calls me". or "when she gets home, she will take out the trash". He might not necessarily call you, and she might not ever get home. In English we just use the present tense for it, but in Spanish, it's called the subjunctive. It's really actually interesting if any of you are grammar nerds.

 

[radiantquest]

Date: 1/21/2010 3:05:34 PM
Author: MC
I''m in the US. . .When in the grocery store, I push my cart on the right side (since it''s kind of driving a car). In the mall, I walk all over the place. I try and walk on the right side, but if I''m in a store and am distracted by a cute outfit on the left side, I''ll kind of cut across.

This may sound a it out there, but I think grocery store carts should have blinkers on them! lol

Good call on the blinkers. There should still be "rules of the road" when walking. When I shop I am quick about it. I walk with a sense of purpose. It really bugs me when a. people are not walking on the right side of the road b.stop in the middle of an aisle without pulling "onto the shoulder"

Of course you make detours when shopping. Clearly one can''t expect you to go the whole way around until that item is on your right. And I am not referring to stores without aisles. In the grocery store you are supposed to walk to the right if there are other drivers and if you need something on the other side you take a step to the left and grab the item, then return to your lane and proceed. Its simple!

 

[taovandel]

And you should always stop when at the end of the aisle and look before moving ahead.

 

[Porridge]

Date: 1/21/2010 1:24:23 PM
Author:radiantquest
I truly hope that I do not offend anyone, but I have questions and know that there are people from all over the world here.


First, in the US we drive on the right side of the road. I have noticed when shopping that we walk through malls and stores that way too. Do others walk the same way they drive?


There was post earlier where there was a symbol before a money amount that looked like a C with an equal sign in the middle. Where is that from? What does it mean? My keyboard has no such symbol which makes me wonder what the posters keyboard looked like and I would love to see a pic of said keyboard.


I am also curious as to what the climate is in say, China. Does it snow there? I would think that it does since it is in the nothern hemishpere, but I have never seen pictures or heard about Nor'easters there or anywhere but the US for that matter.

Hey RQ!
I have lived in two countries, Ireland (home) and the Netherlands, so I'll answer for both.

In Ireland, we drive on the left side of the road. That means that the steering wheel in the car is on the right. The transmission stick is still in the middle. We do tend to walk on the left I guess...never really paid too much attention to that. I heard that we drive on the left because years ago, when we were on horseback, men would pass with swords drawn, and most are righthanded. Don't know if that's true though. Many countries drive on the left side of the road. It's a pain trying to switch!
In the Netherlands, and in most of the rest of Europe, they drive on the right, same as the US.

That symbol € is indeed the Euro. It is the currency of Europe. It arrived in 2002 (I remember, I was working in a shop at the time, part time after school, and the changeover was a pain!!) The Euro makes trading (and traveling!) a lot easier. Before that, all European countries had different currencies. Ireland's currency was the punt. The Netherlands had the guilder. The Euro is currently worth about $1.40. That's great for me if I travel to or shop from the US - everything is so cheap! Of course, not great for European exports.

The climate in China...well I've never been!! But China is bigger than the US, so you can imagine the climate varies just as much as it does between say Florida and Vermont! The US is in the northern hemisphere, same as China, but it also snows plenty in the Southern hemispheres. It depends how close to the poles you are. There is great skiing in New Zealand, for example. The closer to the equator, the hotter (generally). I can tell you in Ireland, it rains an awful lot! We have a north Atlantic climate. The temperature is around 15-25 degrees Celcius in the summer, and around 5 to -8 degrees Celcius in the winter. We don't get much snow here, but lots of frost. In the Netherlands, it snows quite a bit. It is usually warmer in summer, and colder in winter than Ireland.

Actually, in the Netherlands, every 10 years or so it gets so cold that all the canals freeze over. When that happens, there is a big ice-skating race on the canals between the cities! It's really cool.

Ok that turned into quite the essay...sorry, hope you're still awake! It's nice to hear your interest

 

[4ever]

In NZ we drive on the left side and most people will keep left when walking too. The esculators are designed so you take the left one and not the right (so if your going up the left will be going up and the right will be coming back down again) which I think was oposite to how they were when I was in the US.

 

[Maisie]

If I am out walking around the shops and I want to stop I say 'lets pull over there a minute'

 

[swimmer]

Porridge is dead on about the weather in China! China is a bit smaller in land mass than the US. Chinese students always ask me what the weather is like in the USA! Of course I try not to laugh, because we cover so many temperate zones there can never be one answer to that question; China is the exact same way. They have a huge desert, mountains in the West, E coastal weather that is much like Miami or even hotter, and windswept northern plains that are much like Minnesota. For size comparison, it is technically four time-zones across, but Beijing (the capitol of govt) decrees that all of the country be on Beijing time. Can you imagine if LA had to be on NYC time? Of course, China has 1,338,612,968 people and the US has 307,212,123. Just for comparison, India has 1,166,079,217, which doesn't seem like a big difference from China, except that the small difference there is the entire US population. Ireland has 4,203,200 and Australia has 21,262,.

Anyway, nothing wrong with asking questions! It is when a person stops asking questions that they get scary.

 

[Porridge]

Oooh population is a good one. For reference, Ireland has a population of about 4.5 million and a landmass of around 70 thousand km squared (about 28 thousand miles squared). That''s smaller than Maine! The Netherlands on the other hand has a population of about 16.5 million...and a landmass of 41 thousand km squared! (16 thousand square miles!) It''s a lot of people in a little space.

It takes me about 3-4 hours to drive from east to west of Ireland, and about 10-12 to drive north to south.

Our official language is Gaelic but most people rarely speak it. In the Netherlands they speak Dutch. It''s a reaaaaally hard language to learn (IMO!).

 

[elrohwen]

In England they drive on the left and, from what I''ve seen, they walk on the left too. I didn''t drive while I was there, but I did a lot of walking and definitely almost ran into people when I would forget which side of the sidewalk to walk on

The C symbol is for the Euro - it kind of looks like an E. When I used a keyboard in Germany, it had that symbol and a few of the punctuation marks were in different places. The only other difference I noticed was that the Y and Z keys were switched (which threw me off, and was also confusing because how is it a QWERTY keyboard if it''s QWERTZ? haha). So European keyboards aren''t that crazy or anything.

 

[noelwr]

I live in Holland, but Porridge already told you all about it, so I'll tell you about South Africa.

there they drive on the left, and they call traffic lights "robots". because of crime, you have to drive with your doors locked and your windows up. you shouldn't have valuables on the passenger seats because if they see this they might smash your window in while you are stuck in traffic on the highway or waiting at a robot. also at night it is acceptable to drive through a red light (if you make sure there is no other traffic) for safety reasons. you don't want to get into a physical fight with anyone because of the high percentage of AIDS. ok, I'm not advertising this country well. it is such a beautiful place and everyone should visit if they get the chance, you just have to be careful.
in South Africa the Rand is their currency. they dry meat and it is called biltong (very yummy)
amongst the white South Africans, you have the Afrikaans (who stem originally from the Dutch) and speak their own Afrikaans language which is like old Dutch. then you have the English-speaking South Africans. do not assume all South Africans speak Afrikaans. they have 11 official languages in South Africa.
during our summers (June-Aug) they experience their winters which can be cold (no snow) and dry. their summers are during our winters. they associate Christmas with being a hot time of year. for this reason their school year ends in December and starts in January. I think that might be the same in Australia.
oh, and I love that on a clear night you can see the Milky Way.

in Singapore they also drive on the left, and they call driving under the influence of alcohol "Drink Driving"
alcohol is super expensive in Singapore.
also they speak Singlish which is a mixture of English and Malay (or Mandarin... someone please correct me). sometimes the accent is too thick for me to understand.
it is pretty hot and humid all year round in Singapore, though winter months are a little cooler, say 28C compared to 32C.
their currency is the Singaporean Dollar.

oh... and something you need to know about Holland. there are a lot of bikers here. they have their own biking lanes (sometimes on the sidewalk, sometimes on the road) and are an integral part of traffic. they have rights, and if you want to drive in Holland it is very important to learn the rules and who has right-of-way when as bikers try to get away with everything. actually, over all, Dutch drivers are rude so you have to watch out for all forms of traffic.

 

[CDNinNYC]

Marketing research shows the majority of people turn to the right when entering a store, which I assume is linked to how you drive/walk on the sidewalk. For those that live in countries where you drive on the left, do you head into the left side of a store first?

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 1/21/2010 3:32:45 PM
Author: sba771
Well based on my observations here in Germany, again, just what I personally have observed, they drive on the right, park on the sidewalk (extremely scary when you are trying to walk) and do not adhere to what I would call ''NY style'' sidewalk rules. Its a free for all and people stop short, walk taking up the whole width and bikers bike on it even though they are supposed to use the street and strolling slowly is big here. It is hard to get around people or walk quickly. The worst is when they stop and take up the whole escalator and make you miss the train. (Obviously this can happen anywhere, it just didn''t seem to happen as much in NY as people seemed to be in the grove and get it)

Uhh, they do this in NYC too. It''s called Midtown. Lol. I don''t get road rage, but I do get sidewalk rage, so I notice all of the things you mentioned

 

[princesss]

I guess I can take Singapore/Thailand/Spain.

As Noel said, Singlish is a mix of English, Malay, and Mandarin (with splashes of Cantonese and Hokkien thrown in). The gov't is trying to get people to speak standard English via the "Speak Good English" campain and during Speak Good English month, there is a hotline you can call to find out the word of the day, and it's run in the Straits Times (the local English speaking newspaper). People drive and walk on the left, and at zebra crossings (crosswalks) people split into neat lines (generally two going one way, two going the other - alternating).

The currency is the Singapore dollar, S$. It's hot all year round, but alternates between hot and rainy and hot and really rainy. It's incredibly clean, and your taxi ride from Changi Int'l Airport into the city is wonderful - the HDB flats (gov't subsidized housing, which the majority of Singaporeans live in) are painted all different colours, and they're very cheerful looking. It's got a lot of rules, but all of the laws and the very strict enforcement mean it's an incredibly safe city.

The best food in town is also the cheapest - hawker stalls are the way to go! They've got multiple cultures represented in most hawker stalls, so you can often find an Hainanese chicken rice stand close to a Malay prata stand, which means you can pick and choose your favourite food, and everybody at your table can get something different since your table is not related in any way to the stall you eat from. You pick your table, then go to the stall, order, pay, and tell them what table you're sitting at. Often an auntie or uncle (older woman or man) will come take your drink order. There are very nice restaurants, as well, that serve all kinds of cuisine, but I'll take a hawker stall over a restaurant any day of the week.



As far as Thailand goes, walking on the sidewalk is much less organized. People tend to weave in and out, and there's much less organization to where you stand and walk than there is in the US. Their currency is the Baht, and the symbol is a B with a slash through it. They drive on the left. The quickest way to get anywhere is a motorcycle taxi, but it is also the most dangerous. It's quite hot, but fluctuates more than Singapore. There is a cool season, a rainy season, and a hot season. The cool season generally stays in the mid 20s (Celcius), and one year when I was there it dipped down to 21 (about 70), and everybody had jackets and scarves on! When it gets up to 40C or over (not sure how high that is - over 100, I think) they're supposed to cancel school because it's too hot. Every day at 8 am and 6 pm the national anthem plays on the TV and radio, and in loudspeakers through many of the cities. In Ayutthaya (the old capital - the new capital is Bangkok) everybody stops what they are doing - cars stop in the middle of the road, pedestrians stop, people stop biking - and stands still to pay respect to the King. The national anthem is also played before every movie, and you stand up to show your respect.



Spain is part of the EU, so they also use the Euro. I can't remember what side of the road people drive on because I used public transportation when I lived there so I never had to pay attention! I lived in northern Spain, and it was very rainy and was a lot like the Pacific Northwest. Madrid is in central Spain, and the weather there is much more extreme - very hot in summer, very cold in winter. Southern Spain has a very Mediterranean climate, and is generally warmer with less seasonal variation than central Spain. I lived in the Basque region, so while everybody spoke Spanish, there was a lot of Basque pride, and most signs were in both languages.

ETA: Noel, it's funny that you mentioned that traffic lights are called "robots" in South Africa. In Panama, speedbumps are called "dead policemen." Funny how terms like that develop...

 

[yssie]

This is a really interesting thread

When we flew from NZ to India we''d go via Singapore and stay a week or two. From a child''s perspective, one of the most unforgettable experiences was simply walking out of the air-conditioned airport: the air is so hot and heavy with moisture that you literally can''t breathe for a few seconds. Then you get used to it, and the entire place has this salty, fresh tang. It''s incredibly clean and well-cared-for, the best food is definitely off the streets, and enough people speak Tamil and English that I could practise my Tamil before visiting my mostly non-English speaking family

I would love to hear about the local customs of Tibet and Bhutan, if anyone has spent time there. They look like such beautiful places, I''ve always wanted to go!

 

[Pandora II]

UK here...

We walk on the left (hence why people ''stand'' on the right on escalators). In most supermarkets we also push the trolleys on the left - weirdly I have noticed in areas with large numbers of immigrants - ie most of London - this rule does not apply! Drives me CRAZY!

Most of Europe was also ''left'' side dominant until Napoleon converted them all onto the right. Napoleon Bonaparte was left handed, therefore his armies had to march on the right so he could keep his sword arm between him and the advancing enemy. From this time any part of the world that was colonised by the French would travel on the right, the rest would remain travelling on the left. Article here.

There was an interesting piece of research I once saw that showed that the ancient Romans drove on the left. There were cart tracks to and from a quarry and the grooves from the cart-wheels were much deeper on the left than on the right showing that the laden carts were driving FROM the quarry on the left and TO the quarry on the right.

€ is the sign for Euro. European keyboards have it, but the UK ones you have to use a combo of ALT and various other keys.

Climate in China is a varied as the USA. Winters in the North are VERY cold and there is plenty of snow!

 

[Porridge]

Date: 1/22/2010 7:45:56 PM
Author: Pandora II

Most of Europe was also ''left'' side dominant until Napoleon converted them all onto the right. Napoleon Bonaparte was left handed, therefore his armies had to march on the right so he could keep his sword arm between him and the advancing enemy. From this time any part of the world that was colonised by the French would travel on the right, the rest would remain travelling on the left. Article here.

Aaah, I always wondered this (but not enough to actually go look it up, apparently

). I knew why we drive on the left, but not why others drive on the right. Fascinating!
I wonder though, most British colonies are the ones who drive on the left. Why then do Americans drive on the right? I suppose maybe because the Netherlands and France got there before the British took over?

Also, why do the Americans drop the "u" in some words like neighbour, colour, favour etc? And why do Americans use "z" instead of "s" a lot more than we do...like specialize instead of specialise etc. I should really go find this out for myself, but it''s late!

(Off topic, it''s funny, I sometimes imagine how Napoleon would be thrilled about the EU. Similar goals, very different methods!!)

 

[noelwr]

regarding driving on the right in the U.S., seems like they would haul farm products on horse-pulled wagons that allowed drivers to sit either on the left or right. they sat on the left, and thus preferred other wagons (on-coming) to pass on the left. but it also sounds like that in different part of the States, people were driving on different sides of the road. also, cars had the wheel on the right until the 1900s.

has anyone ever driven stick-shift on the other side? I''ve always rented an automatic in SA, Australia, etc, because it seems difficult enough trying to change gears with my left hand and keeping up with traffic in another country. so now the main problem I have is remembering the wipers and indicators are reversed.

Porridge - not only Napoleon, what about Hitler? all countries united under a common currency?

 

[Pandora II]

Couple of extras:

The UK also has ''Drink Driving'' for driviing under the influence of alcohol, and speed bumps are called ''Sleeping Policemen''.

When going into shops, we automatically turn to the left - I checked it out today and almost everyone went left on entering shops/museums/restaurants.

I''ve driven manual cars in both the UK and Italy. I didn''t find it that hard to switch but then I have problems telling my left from my right anyway!

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 1/24/2010 6:18:19 AM
Author: noelwr
has anyone ever driven stick-shift on the other side? I''ve always rented an automatic in SA, Australia, etc, because it seems difficult enough trying to change gears with my left hand and keeping up with traffic in another country. so now the main problem I have is remembering the wipers and indicators are reversed.

I have always wondered about this! I''ve rented stick shifts in Germany (and drive one at home in the US) but the one time I was in England I either had a driver (paid for by the company I was visiting) or took the train. Part of me wanted to try driving, but the other part was happy I didn''t have to!



Also very interesting about the driving on left vs right. When riding a horse in the US, you typically pass on the right, as if you were driving a car. However, in polo, you pass on the left because your mallet is carried in your right hand, as you would a sword, lance, etc. I never really put two and two together that if it made sense in polo it would also make sense in battle - hence riding on the left.

Also very interesting that Napolean changed all that on the Continent! I never would''ve figured that one out, but it makes a lot of sense.

 

[elrohwen]

Porridge, I think I've found the answer to the color/colour dilemma.

The British adopted the -our spelling from the French (during the Norman conquest) - it had been -or or -ur before that, from Latin. They also began using -re for words like centre because of French influence. In America, Noah Webster believed that creating a unified language for the new country would help bring it together, so he took it upon himself to change spellings and make them more simple and phonetic. He changed colour to color, centre to center, gaol to jail, and many other things (some stuck, some didn't).

As for -ise vs -ize, it seems that both are correct in British English and Oxford English actually prefers the -ize ending. However, Webster chose the -ize ending for American English and the British move to mostly -ise may have been a counter-reaction to the new popularity of American English spelling. It seems that, originally, -ize was associated with words of a Greek origin while -ise was associated with words of a Latin or French origin.

I love linguistics

 

[Porridge]

Date: 1/24/2010 4:15:28 PM
Author: elrohwen
Porridge, I think I''ve found the answer to the color/colour dilemma.


The British adopted the -our spelling from the French (during the Norman conquest) - it had been -or or -ur before that, from Latin. They also began using -re for words like centre because of French influence. In America, Noah Webster believed that creating a unified language for the new country would help bring it together, so he took it upon himself to change spellings and make them more simple and phonetic. He changed colour to color, centre to center, gaol to jail, and many other things (some stuck, some didn''t).


As for -ise vs -ize, it seems that both are correct in British English and Oxford English actually prefers the -ize ending. However, Webster chose the -ize ending for American English and the British move to mostly -ise may have been a counter-reaction to the new popularity of American English spelling. It seems that, originally, -ize was associated with words of a Greek origin while -ise was associated with words of a Latin or French origin.


I love linguistics

That''s so interesting Elrohwen! I did notice the centre/center thing before, but never made the connection. I wonder will English spelling unify at some point, or will they continue to simplify spellings with the rising popularity of text messaging etc.

Probably doesn''t matter all that much as we''ll more than likely all be speaking Chinese by then anyway

 

[Porridge]

Date: 1/24/2010 6:18:19 AM
Author: noelwr
Porridge - not only Napoleon, what about Hitler? all countries united under a common currency?

Good point noelwr! I am relieved we reached this point through current methods though

I don't think I'd like dictatorship much!

I drove manual shift both in Ireland and in Holland, and didn't find the switch too difficult. Roundabouts are definitely the hardest to navigate on the "wrong" side of the road!