Four

One of the reasons I took sociology was because of the fascination I had over different cultures and how they may blend or contrast from one another.

Culture shock is when one has a first taste of how another country or culture operates. More often than not, the outsider may struggle to fit in with these norms.

Ethnocentrism is observing and opinionating other cultures from the point of view of the outsider's own culture. A few years back, I was fortunate enough to travel to Paris, France, where I had one of the coolest vacations ever. We went and sat down at a restaurant where the head manager and waiter was just sitting there at another table, not serving us. We thought (and my mother still thinks) that the waiter was simply being inconsiderate, but we then realized we failed to understand the culture in the given scenario.

Different cultures have different meanings with their gestures. For example, the hand gesture of thumb and index finger together with the other three fingers sticking up may mean "A-OK", but in Italy... Let's just say it means something very, very different.

Norms are standards of behavior placed in societies, some implicit and some explicit.

Folkways are a type of norm that if not followed, it can still be deemed socially acceptable. For example, if I were to be at a nice restaurant with my family and chewed with my mouth open, people may notice and deem it as rude but it wouldn't be considered tragic in any fashion.

Mores are a more intense type of norm that if not followed, people around will definitely be concerned. For example, if I was in a crowded elevator and I let out a huge fart, while afterwards proclaiming pride in my achievement, people will stare at me with great frustration, as farting in an elevator is very frowned upon in society.

Taboos are very imperative norms that if not followed, you will be disrespected to a great degree. For example, if I, at my fancy shmancy dinner table at my fancy shmancy restaurant, were to say "hey guys hold on I have to take a huge shirt*", people probably wouldn't talk to me very much for the rest of the night.

*shirt was autocorrected from something else