What's the biggest culture shock you've experienced?

[Sacredhandbag]

Good or bad?

For me it was definitely the bike culture in Amsterdam - and I loved it.

But also, the over enthusiasm of shop workers in America, the silence in the streets in Japan, and the way Australians are so outdoorsy but can't handle the rain 😅

Married to a Spaniard- travelling on local transport from Torremolinos to the families village in the country side, everyone on the bus turned and stared at me the whole journey! All the buses then were covered in sunflower seed shells on the floor - everyone seemed to be eating them then spitting the shells on the floor - the buses were covered in them! Holes in the ground for loos - all different now of course because tourism brought their standard of living up, but now they hate us because we still holiday there - short memories obviously.

moved to the IoW - very unfriendly locals. So moved to London for years - hard fast living but ok - then moved to Dorset - again horrible locals - heads up their ar… finally settled in East Midlands much more friendly!

on a cruise out of NY full of Americans- getting looked at because we used a knife and fork to eat our dinner - they seem to use the knife to cut the meat then put aside and only use a fork to eat their meals - everyone to their own!

I lived in Norway for many years and it was the same there, plus candles always lit in cafes and restaurants during the day as well as at night… it made winter so much more bright and enjoyable

Wow, imagine UK media covering UK and European issues. Fancy that...

Not to mention the local news for local people.

Visiting the UK, English cities in particular, and finding overflowing bins and splodges of chewing gum - I first thought the splattered gum some weird mosaic work! The homelessness in the UK, while a good many folks talk a lot about poverty and filth in other places. And the quaint reverence to the royals and upper class, while commenting adversely about the social systems of other countries!

Trying to cross the road n Hanoi.
Moped which don’t stop for zebra crossings!

I'm English and completely dry. Every single time I go out in the evening with others, I find myself quizzed and end up explaining that I'm only teetotal because alcohol seriously disagrees with my medication. No one ever asks what medication (thank God) - they are just happy that I'm not passing judgement on them, express their sincere pity and move on. Pity? I'm bloody delighted to have an excuse to avoid hangovers! But you're right - it is totally ingrained, particularly into rural British culture.

"Oh and the shop workers having incredibly high pitched voices,"

That is very much an affectation. When they are speaking amongst themselves they will speak much more normally.

The biggest surprise I found was finding a similar toilet in a Tesco Distribution Centre here in the UK.

We also once went on holiday to Sochi, in the southern part of Russia, and they also had similar toilets there.

@Rachand23
Good to see you are getting on with folks in the East Midlands - otherwise one may wonder whether you are the problem 🤣

Seeing a woman in a dressing gown and slippers with a head full of curlers queuing to buy fish and chips in the early evening just after moving to Manchester in the mid 70s. Nobody ever did that in the naice little Lancashire village where I grew up. I know you see people shopping in their pyjamas nowadays, but it was so unusual back then it has stayed with me.

Moving from rainy Manchester to Corinth in 1977, strolling through the town looking at shops when it suddenly started to rain, but instead of completely ignoring it several people actually screamed, and everyone except me made a mad dash for cover. I stood there gaping like a halfwit as everyone else either shoved their way through doors into buildings or crowded together underneath the awnings outside shops. It was the strangest thing, as if they were all made from dispersible aspirin, or the rain was radioactive. Then the rain cloud moved on and everyone came back out again, chattering away as if they'd just survived some kind of natural disaster.

Indeed 🙄

@Another2Cats

The biggest surprise I found was finding a similar toilet in a Tesco Distribution Centre here in the UK.

Was this because they had a lot of workers from a particular culture where they are common who had asked for these ?

We scousers get on with most people even with the likes of you! 😂😂😂🥰

Changing room at a swimming pool in Denmark.
Everyone stripped naked
I remained British

My ex grew up on a rough London council estate, I remember going there the first time and feeling so out of place. It was the first time I had ever been anywhere like it. I couldn't get my head around the fact that some of the doors and windows had steel security bars on them. It was the sort of thing I used to see whilst watching The Bill. I hated leaving my car because I thought someone might nick it or vandalise it.

Every time we went back I still felt out of place. It was all alien to this privately educated, middle class girl, who lived in a big non estate house in the Home Counties.

Agree, I have always hated it, especially at the dinner table, so off-putting
I’m sure there are some circumstances where it is unavoidable though so I try ( very hard) not to be judgemental

My Spanish friend lives in Sheffield...

…with her washer and tumble drier upstairs in a large cupboard on the landing!

Ah yes, as an au pair in Sweden in 1978 I took the children swimming and they insisted I had to take my cozzie off before going into the sauna. I opened the door fully expecting to find all the adults wearing swimming costumes and only the children naked so it was a relief to see several completely naked men and women sprawling across the benches.

Having traveled in Asia and many other countries with so many different people and culturally norms
the absolute culture shock was in the usa
in a grocery store with someone who was a freind of a usa mate , I was completely blindsided by an American man 30 ish
tell an old man probs in his 80’s of colour to move aside
N … boy
I have never been so shocked.
needless to say I vocally objected etc
and left the group, it was in rural
close to Alabama
there are so many people there with horrible
prejudice and racism I totally get why Trump got in something needs to change heartbreaking

Interesting, never knew these existed

I’m married to an Albanian and live in the UK. Before I met my husband I didn’t hear anything positive about Albania (like in the news) and before visiting the country I prepared for it to be very poor condition with anti-foreigner vibes 😅 sorry Albania, I was totally wrong, so that was my culture shock.

I’m from an European country and was very surprised that it’s weeks here in the uk when the funeral happens after the person dies. Why is that? If the highly bureaucratic countries can sort the funeral within 3 days how come it takes so long here?

Living in Vietnam in the late 1990’s and seeing untreated polio. Absolutely dreadful, limbs curl in on themselves and wither. I had never seen anything like it - cruel and painful torture, day in and day out. Sufferers were put out on the streets to beg as they had no other way of earning money. Dreadful. I guess those without family just died of neglect.

Get your kids, and yourselves, vaccinated against everything the NHS offers. Please.

Being able to drink alcohol in petrol stations in South Italy.