Random anecdote I recall hearing sometime:
There was this Thai guy who was working in Finland for a time for some reason, and was depressed about not being able to find real thai food anywhere save for cooking at home for himself. Until finally he found a thai restaurant run by a couple who didn’t pull their punches for finnish clientele, and was delighted to finally have some delicious fucking food.
He was so happy about it that he told about his find to a finnish co-worker, who was mildly insulted by the Thai guy implying that finns can’t handle capsaicin, and if he was given some Real Thai Spicy food, the finn might legit die. So the Thai guy offered to take him to the restaurant, and see who’s right about this.
So they go and the guy orders them both the exact same dish, reassuring the owners – both in finnish and in thai – that he’s not fucking around, make the two exactly the same. His so-white-that-he’s-mildly-translucent companion can handle it, and if he dies he dies, their people’s honour is at stake here.
So their food came and both of them got to experience each others’ cultures: The finnish guy got to taste what is considered “spicy” by Thai standards, and the Thai guy got to watch how a finnish man is willing to literally rather die than admit defeat.
amhrancas 