English living in Iceland. Some of the many things that have surprised me in my 7 odd years here:
Intermissions at the cinema. The film stops in the middle for everyone to go to the toilet and restock on popcorn and sweets. I thought it was broken the first time it happened. The only time I had seen this in the UK was at a vintage cinema where they actually had to change the reel. It always stops at a really bad point as well!
Everybody is extremely tardy. I have heard that Scandinavians are generally very punctual. Well, Icelanders aren't Scandinavians! My immigrant friends and I joke that anything before 30 minutes late is 'Icelandic on time'.
Banks and post offices are closed all weekend. I find this very inconvenient and was shocked the first time I tried to use these services on a Saturday (not a Sunday).
You can only buy alcohol in the state-licensed offies, and they are not open on Sundays. Supposedly this is actually good for public health, so I grudgingly accept it, but it is inconvenient (I'm no alcoholic but I'd like to buy a six-pack along with my normal shop occasionally). Leads to some good laughs in the supermarket watching young tourists buying a load of 'léttöl', which is (very) low alcohol beer. Haha good luck getting pissed with that, mate!
When there is a child's birthday party, or a confirmation or some other such event a variety of refreshments will be provided, which is normal. What I find shocking is that people take one plate and fill it with ALL the food available, i.e. savory food and cake and cream together on the same plate and probably touching. I feel bad adding to the washing up by using two plates but I am not eating a cheesy bake with bits of cream on it or a cake with a bit of cheese sauce on it.
No shoes inside. It is very bad manners to walk into someone's house with your shoes on. I am used to it now and feel weird walking round inside wearing shoes, as weird as I would feel walking down the street in socks, but it took a little getting used to.
Almost everyone keeps their house at a truly tropical temperature. Energy is very cheap here due to an abundance of geothermal power but to my mind that is no reason to keep it so hot you can comfortably sit around in your underwear in January. My PIL's house is absolutely sweltering.
The tone deaf approach to race. Not universal by any means but my god the things that companies think would possibly be OK. For example a cocktail made with cream and stout that separates into dark and white layers called Apartheid! I mean Christ! How did it not occur to anyone that this might not be the best idea.
If it gets hot and sunny (a fairly rare occurrence and by hot I mean over 15°C) people just sort of wander out of work and this is considered fine. Obviously not all jobs as there is work that cannot be left but in my office and my DP's office people just sort of evaporate. If you stay at work without an urgent reason someone who has to be there will ask you in a scandalised tone why you are not out enjoying the weather. I am very much on board with this.
Cheese and jam together. Sounds so wrong but it's actually quite nice.
Salty liquorice. So vile. Until the day you realise that you've come to quite like it (you can't avoid it because it is hidden in everything).
No watershed or anything like it and people think that if you swear in English then it doesn't count. So expect to hear 'fuck' and 'shit' on the radio at 8.30 am and 'cunt' in a public family event downtown. I don't care about swearing so much but it does make me raise my eyebrows still.
The snorting. People do that thing where you snort up your own snot and there is seemingly no taboo over this. Politicians do it in the middle of TV interviews.
Congratulating people on their family members' birthdays. I found this so weird at first. In the UK we just congratulate the person whose birthday it is. Here, if a man has a birthday you say to his wife, "Congratulations on your husband!" and "Congratulations on your son!" to his father, etc, etc.