Expats, tell me what aspect or social norm of your new country was strange to you?

[AjasLipstick]

I am a Brit in Oz and for me, the hardest thing to get used to was Sunday trading hours being like the UK in the 70s.

The weirdest thing was how much less formal people are...kids are dressed very informally and parties for children never have kids dressed up in party dresses but in shorts and t shirts. I like it now I'm used to it though.

I'm in NZ and soft packaging is recycled, might be the same in Canada

First time I saw milk bags was in Israel about 30 years ago, a big shock after milk bottles in the UK!

Which has led me to ponder, do any other countries have their milk in glass bottles?

The bags were fully recyclable I think they may have even been organic, cellulose maybe?

We have a milk pitcher.

I feel like an infidel

Can confirm that the bags are recyclable

4-way stops are the greatest American invention of all time imo, and very neatly express a lot about expectations of how Americans feel American life is to be lived - co-operative, rational, respectful of unspoken rules, and mutually trusting.

Weirdly, or perhaps not at all weirdly, I have not yet met any Brits who are not suspicious of 4-way stops, and get very stressed by them.
^

Spot on.

On the flip side, North Americans are utterly petrified of roundabouts and need actual signage on how to use them

Brit in NZ:
No shoes
Wearing PJs in supermarket/McDonalds/anywhere
Use of word “bugger” on TV
“Bringing a Plate” to parties - i.e bring your own food
People bringing their own sausages/beers etc to a BBQ they have been invited to - literally one bloke just brought two sausages a banana and six beers

Dh was shaking the first time he had to do a roundabout in Britain. 😂

Canadian in the UK here. The milk bags can be recycled.
It is the same milk system that costa uses when they make hot drinks.

Milk bags were tried in the UK a few years ago, possibly Sainsbury's. I think you were encouraged to freeze them too. Not sure what happened, maybe they're still available?

Yes, I used to buy the milk bags from Sainsbury’s. I don’t really shop there anymore as we moved and the nearest branch is a drive away. They might still be there.

I remember milk bags in Sainsbury’s a few years ago, I also remember bursting a few trying to get them into the special jug
They don’t sell them anymore, guess they didn’t catch on here

Being able to choose and talk to your lobster before you eat it.

Germany had milk bags for a while, and possibly still does, but I haven't consciously seen any for a while, only cartons. I've seen special jugs for them too. I think they were considered particularly eco-friendly, but obviously in the long term deemed not worth the faff (which is deeply surprising in a country like Germany that loves to proclaim its eco-friendliness*).

On milk, I find the concept of skimmed milk baffles people here - there's whole milk and 'low-fat', which is pretty much the same as semi-skimmed.

*That - sorry, Germans - is a very partial eco-friendliness (cf. all the big Audis and BMWs and no speed limits on the motorway...). I am proud that they're switching off their nuclear power stations, though.

Hallo all - we're moving this thread to Classics

Oh good move MNHQ! 👏

It is a fascinating thread!

Oh, US toilets. Huge gaps at between the floor and the bottom of the door (ds has escaped I don't know how many times) and huge gaps at the side usually. No bloody privacy at all.

Oh, US toilets. Huge gaps at between the floor and the bottom of the door (ds has escaped I don't know how many times) and huge gaps at the side usually. No bloody privacy at all.

The gaps are not huge. And no one tries to look. You would have to close one eye and stick the other eye up against the gap to see anything.

They are where I live!

In our nearest airport I actually recognised someone through one and shouted 'hi!' (I was surprised to see her.

She came out .

(I look .)

I think there is something wrong with me because I didn't even notice the gaps in US toilets (here 20 years) until people said it on MN

I'm very claustrophobic, so I like the gaps. In UK toilets I feel completely hemmed in and panicky.

Yes, I'm weird.

Has anyone mentioned American bedding yet? > not envy.

Even my bloody Great Granny made the switch to duvets at some point in the 80's.

I'm even more when places actually use a duvet but just put a fucking sheet under it then a blanket on the top. Bleurgh! So bloody unhygienic!

I've converted at least 11 people to duvets with a duvet cover you wash after each person stays.