Culture shock: Lost belongings

A tree along a path that I walk every day has become a makeshift lost-and-found.

These are belongings that people have dropped, picked up by others, and placed hanging in the tree for easy visibility.

Similarly, when I go to parks I often see toys that children have left, but they remain until the owner comes back to retrieve them.

This fluffy capybara plushie has been sitting on this concrete pilar for the past few days, waiting to be reunited with its owner.

Once, my phone slipped out of my pocket while sitting on the train. A man picked it up, exited the train, and tracked me down through a swarm of people to hand it back to me.

It’s a stark contrast to the “finders keepers” attitude of the western world.

I munched on some chestnuts while thinking about this. 🌰

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