When I went to the Southern hemisphere for the first time (Argentina), I was already an old person.

For the first time, I saw a drain draining in opposite direction. It was really weird, an immediate reaction like "Hey, there is something wrong with this toilet." It took me ten seconds to realize that I was seeing the first evidence in my life of the different direction that the Southern Hemisphere is moving into (still east, but hanging upside down going east).

Looking at the equator, the Sun rises from the right when down under. But in the Northern hemisphere, looking to the equator the Sun rises from the left.

The further north and the further south, the closer we are to the center of the spin that Earth is involved in. The angle increases with our moving more toward the poles.

Never seen that Southern hemisphere draining before (or since), and of course spent my entire life in the Northern hemisphere. It was a wonderful experience, including seeing the moon from a different angle, fantastic.

Not sure I accept your story. I like my story better and I lived it myself. I see how the effect can be overcome when there is the specific setup you describe. Yet in general the red thread in the story will be from that tiny hole in that week-still water bucket to the larger planet with very clear effects.

Naturally, the way the entire setting is put together has an effect. Yet I lived in various countries, all with different kinds of plumbing. When I saw that drain go in the wrong direction in Argentina, I knew I had never seen that before.