What was the first culture shock you remember having?

[MeiganMcSeinna6]

high school for me , thought it would be all sweet an innocent , Wrong

Having a child with autism

Moving from England to Northern Ireland aged 18 only having the faintest knowledge of the complicity of the Troubles

Working class background, fairly prosperous but no vegetables outside of carrots, potato, turnip etc. Never ate out unless at a pub. Dinner, or rather, tea time was for silence and eating. Always an atmosphere.

Aged 17 given an avocado as a starter at a middle-class boyfriend's house. I'd met him at 6th form, coming from a very WC comp. I asked politely what it was.... his mum was really nice but concerned, bless her. And the swearing and joshing around the table blew my mind, I'd have been told to "let your meat stop your mouth" or backhanded if I'd sworn. And just the general interest in the children and their opinions.. I found it amazing. The older brother was openly stoned and his parents were just laughing indulgently and telling me about how well he did at his posh uni. There was no atmosphere or potential "kick off" if the dad was displeased.

I experienced this later at other houses, the parents just in thrall to their sons or daughters, so happy to spend time with them.

I had a very dour upbringing

@FangsForTheMemory

The universal binge-drinking is a relatively new phenomenon I think. If you go back 30 years or so, it didn't happen on this scale.

Have you seen the Beer Street and Gin Lane prints by Hogarth from 1750?

Binge drinking is not a new phenomenon in the UK!

www.diffordsguide.com/encyclopedia/1057/bws/hogarths-beer-street-and-gin-lane-prints

I moved to Berlin in about 1998 and there was so much smoking. There were hardly any restaurants or cafes with no smoking areas and there were cigarette vending machines on the street so nobody at all was checking that the people buying were over 18.

When I discovered the family of my best friend who lived in the next street:

1. did not put milk in their tea and
2. did put ice cream in their lemonade.

Not only was I (culture) shocked, I did not approve.

I was also seven.

Ice cream in lemonade?

Ice cream in lemonade?

Yes. Totally depraved, I agree.

I am so doing that this weekend. Kids will love it!

@doscervesas

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

Re making lentil soup - the girls who sneered at lentils and barley were from affluent homes in the home counties. One was a doctor's daughter. It's many years ago and I still remember them for their smugness about everything.
They thought lentils and barley were stodge and did you no good.
They've probably changed their tune now.

I've always thought an unthinking prejudice about food is a sign of a small, closed mind. I don't mean people with sensory difficulties with certain textures or tastes. I'm talking about people who write off certain kinds of food as 'for the poor' without actually trying it. Numpties.

I had the great good luck to be the daughter of an excellent 'plain' Scottish cook who makes wonderful soup, often involving lentils and barley.

IIRC, Beer Street and Gin Lane were prompted by concerns that intoxication with newfangled gin was far worse than the mild drunkenness from the very low alcohol beer people drank before tea was available, as it was safer than water, which was likely to be contaminated.

First arrival as a 10 yo in the U.S. As we were driving home at 1 a.m. there was no traffic but the night was lit up like the day. The streetlights were everywhere and so so bright. Crossing the GW bridge across the Hudson river, the bridge cables hung with white lights looked like necklaces on either side. I felt like I was being paraded in to a new life. It was otherworldly and still remains fresh to me.

I had a very dour upbringing
I did also. When I first walked into the home of my university friend (who later became my DH) it was likely the first American family home I had encountered, although I lived in the US since my childhood. I hung back near the doorway because it was so LOUD, everyone was talking, conversing, being welcoming. It was a revelation that families can enjoy each other. It made me want to belong to their family.

Moving as an adult from New Jersey to Washington D.C., I never expected culture shock but experienced it anyway. The cashiers chatted with customers instead of just ringing them up silently. My feet would tap with my NJ impatience and I swore every transaction was delayed by this needless chitchat. Then I got used to it and welcomed it. When I next visited NJ I was struck by just how rude and brusque everyone was. They hadn't changed; I had.

@MimosaFields

My second one was moving to London age 18 from a sunny Mediterranean town. Those shared Victorian houses with carpets in the bathroom... They were shocking when coming from a country where we overuse bleach for cleaning

@MimosaFields Are you Algerian???? I literally could have said this "Those [any accommodation] with carpets in the bathroom... They were shocking when coming from a country where we overuse bleach for cleaning". We loooove bleach back home, commonly called Eau de Javel with a nice clean smell rather than the chemical kind used here. We call it the smell of cleanliness. I wish it was sold here :(

Came down from Scotland and on my first time working south of the border I was stunned how ideas of 'social class' were riven through England

Went to OZ in 1970's and was shocked how sexist it was - 'no Sheilas in the bar' etc. and how awful the attitude was to the indigenous people.

Travelled widely ever since but nothing has really shocked anymore - documentaries and travel programmes make you more aware but I guess the poverty and corruption in India was hard to take. I agree with PP about Cambodia - but I guess I'd expected that.

Moving from a northern city to the southern countryside aged 11

Moving to London from a small very white part of the world.

Stepping into a bus in Leiden (The Netherlands) and the driver was wearing blackface and a jester like outfit. I recounted this surreal experience to work colleagues who informed me it was a part of the Sinterklaas festivities and the driver was dressed up a Black Piet.

@MoiMoiMe , no I'm Spanish but we also have that expression "smelling of clean". 🙂. For historical reasons we obviously have a lot of Arab traditions built into our culture

Manila Philippines staying with friends family I had made whilst living in Hong Kong for a year. On way to airport they wanted to show us "smokey mountain " I thought it was a volcano how wrong I was the smell hit me first.

Moving down south from the north east and realising phrases like 'I got wrong' (told off) and 'canny' (quite) meant no sense to absolutely anyone around me 😂

Oh and landing in Lombok airport, security guards walking around waving guns around and fallling down a massive hole in the ground which wasn't fenced off

Going to university and realising how working class I was. I always thought I lived a fairly average life but my friends were genuinely shocked at the childhood I had.

To a PP , ice cream in lemonade is lush.
Vanilla ice cream in cream soda lemobade is the food (or is it drink) of the gods.
One of my happy childhood memories

Going to university and having to decide what to have for tea each night and cook it myself instead of having whatever my mum cooked.

It did me good though because I'm now an adventurous, experimental and confident cook.

@catfunk

Moving down south from the north east and realising phrases like 'I got wrong' (told off) and 'canny' (quite) meant no sense to absolutely anyone around me 😂

I grew up in Norfolk and getting wrong was widely used there. I well remember as children we would say: “I’m telling on you. You’ll get wrong.”