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Bulk shopping, endless drive-thrus, and red solo cups are all part of the all-American lifestyle. But hey, in other parts of the world, none of those exist. Because a thing that’s totally normal somewhere is, in fact, very abnormal elsewhere. Just like birds flying indoors in New Zealand, or the Australian love for one of the world’s most controversial delicacies known as Vegemite.

So, when one Reddit user posted the question “What was your biggest culture shock?” on r/AskReddit, it seriously resonated with people who flooded the thread with 3499 comments. We picked the most interesting examples of the cultural cold showers that will surely make us think twice about the things we take for granted.

And after you’re done reading this one, be sure to check out our previous post on rumors-turned-facts that non-Americans didn’t believe actually existed in the US.

#1

Moving back to the USA I had reverse culture shock. How large our portions are, how fat we are, how high our standard of living is with such an incredibly low quality of life, the massive income inequality, the amount of homeless, the magnitude of our selfishness, how little we discuss art and science, and how we discuss things in a very competitive way so that there needs to be a winner or a loser in every discussion instead of finding common ground.

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MikeyG
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Every time I see 'culture shock' or anything similar as a topic on this site it really makes me feel sorry for Americans when I see the posts. It really makes me wonder why the USA is the most patriotic nation on earth. You guys seem to get such a bad deal compared to the rest of the world.

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#2

30 People Reveal The Biggest Culture Shock They’ve Ever Encountered I moved from Europe to USA. How Americans idolize their politicians. These are public servants, YOU PAY THEM! your taxes pay them, THEY WORK FOR YOU!

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Hans
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The paradox is that they are idolized, that people decide on one person, that billions are spent in rallies, yet the trust in the state is extremely low. Where that leads becomes apparent in this pandemic situation.

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#3

I'm American and I had never left the country. When I traveled to Japan, I was seeing kids so often travel by themselves and leave their bags in places like at seats when they went to go order food, etc., without a worry of anyone stealing it. It was very surprising but also gave me a sense of safety I have never felt in the US.

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Marky Mark
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Clearly everybody has a handgun in Japan and that is why they feel so safe (yes - this is a sarcastic comment)

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Bored Panda reached out to Reddit user u/yehboyjj, whose response to “What was your biggest culture shock?” amassed 2.8k points and turned to be the top answer. The Dutch guy told us that the biggest culture shock for him after arriving to Canada was how huge everything was.

“In Canada, everything is bigger. The roads, the cars, the houses, the cities, malls, and the travel distances.” Back in the Netherlands, driving from the eastern to the western end of the country takes about two to three hours. Meanwhile, in Canada, the smallest distances take ages to get to. “What seemed like an infinitely small distance on the map took two and a half hours to drive,” u/yehboyjj said.

The redditor also said he initially was super surprised with the distribution of people around the city. “It seemed like the crowding that goes on in Dutch cities only exists in downtown Toronto.” Another culture shock for u/yehboyjj was how Canadians love spending more time together compared with families back in the Netherlands. “Plus sports is a huge deal for them.” u/yehboyjj added.

u/yehboyjj concluded that two weeks of vacation weren’t enough to get adapted to the Canadian lifestyle and he guessed it would take much longer to get fully used to their people.

#4

American here and I lived in the Netherlands for a bit. The first time I went to the doctor and he had actually read my entire chart beforehand.
Oh, and then the total for my visit was a few euro. That was a pretty big shock too.

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David K
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

American health insurance system is so bad. No surprise you were shocked.

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#5

When a large Maori man asked to touch noses with me in greeting. The dude looked pissed until I manned up and was the first to touch noses. Then he had one of the best smiles I've ever seen on a mountain of a man. It lit up the entire cultural center.

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Lauren Caswell
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A hongi. Common greeting amongst maori people and other new Zealanders too. I'm glad you accepted it and reciprocated the hongi:)

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#6

Had a business trip to rural Alabama as a fresh college grad. I’m Canadian and had never left Canada at that point.

The blatant, overt racism I found there was absolutely shocking. This was like 20 years ago, no idea if things have changed since... I remember thinking that if I wasn’t white I would be in legit danger most of the time I was there. We took our client out to dinner and he asked the host to make sure we weren’t gonna be served by a black person, like it was a casual request no different from asking to sit by a window.

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El Dee
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wow! I'm just beginning to understand how deep the hate runs in the US..

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The term “culture shock" refers to the impact of moving from a familiar culture to an unfamiliar one, and is a common experience among exchange students, expats, and travelers.

Sometimes it comes with separation anxiety when parting with your country and the surroundings you know so very well creates a sense of loss. Many people who start living abroad experience heightened feelings of nostalgia and longing, similar to that when you break up with a loved one.

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Many things can stir up culture shock, from food, dress, and weather to language, behavior, and cultural values. If you’re tired and under stress, even little differences can become truly nerve-wracking. But these inconveniences should not be confused with culture shock, which usually takes time to develop.

#7

The sheer amount of nonchalant waste that Americans do took me off guard. They just... leave the faucet running or throw away food if it doesn't look perfect.

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giovanna
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

With this regard: I was shocked, having made friends with an American group of people here in Italy, by the nonchalance with which they used plastic cups and plates.

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#8

Coming from Europe, the public transportation in USA is absolutely rubbish.

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#9

Holidaying in Tokyo and watching 5 year old kids walk themselves home from school and catching public transport...all by themselves.

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WilvanderHeijden
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In the US someone would have called the police and the parents would be charged with child neglect. CPS would be quick to take the children away from their parents.

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There are four main stages of culture shock that are known as honeymoon, frustration, adjustment, and acceptance. The honeymoon refers to an initial reaction which can be overwhelmingly positive. The journey may feel like the best decision of your life, but it usually doesn’t last long.

The second stage is frustration, which comes from not understanding the culture you've put yourself in. This is when homesickness and longing for home emerge, and sometimes these feelings can cause great anxiety, depression, and mood swings. So they should be taken seriously.

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#10

When I was 20 I moved to Newcastle, Australia to study (Spoiler alert I didn't study. At all). But before I went there I was told that in Australia they spoke English (Spoiler alert they didn't. At all). Every single word is abbreviated, everything is different, everything has its own vernacular. Example:

Me, "Hey Shane, I'm going to McDonald's, you want me to get you a breakfast burrito?"

Shane, "Oi Maccas Fair Dinkum mate! Had to ruck up early for the physio and me ute was out of petrol so stopped at the servo and asked the Sheila if they had brekky but noooouaahho just lollies so ive been getting aggro"

Me:...

Dude, none of the sounds that just fell out of your head were words. Do you want a breakfast burrito or not?

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Foxxy (The Original)
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Makes perfect sense to me lol. Translation: hey friend, want to go to McDonalds. Had to grab my s**t early to see the physiotherapist and my utility vehicle was out of petrol so stopped at the service station (petrol station) or gas station etc. And asked the lady if they had any breakfast, but noooo just lollies aka candy or sweets. So I’ve been getting angry.

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#11

That nudity was such a big issue in the US coming from Europe. I undressed to get into my swim trunks, all a matter of a few seconds, in the changing room and everyone looked at me like I had just murdered a kitten.

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giovanna
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Reverse: in public swimming pools in Iceland it is COMPULSORY to shower naked (in the changing room, but in open showers) before getting in the pool. It is very rational if you think about hygiene. I had no prob doing so, but I'm sure I would have been looked as if I had murdered a kitten if I hadn't.

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#12

30 People Reveal The Biggest Culture Shock They’ve Ever Encountered Barefoot people EVERYWHERE in New Zealand. In Starbucks, in the mall, on public transit, walking down the street. No shoes, no socks, no [damns] to give.

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The third stage is known as adjustment, and it’s a gradual step towards getting finally used to your new surroundings. This is when you start getting more comfortable with your new culture and everything feels a tiny bit easier.

The acceptance stage is the last one, but it takes months, and sometimes years, to come to. After initial cultural challenges, you get some peace of mind and can truly enjoy your new life abroad.

#13

So I’m norwegian, but I went to New Zealand for a year. The culture shock for me was how open kiwis talk, and how there’s no such thing as stranger danger. And as a typical norwegian introvert, it took a while to get used to. I’d meet a stranger and they’d be breaking the touching barrier right away and start talking about their cousin’s rash and all their weekend plans. Even bigger shock returning to silent Norway.

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Tatjana Peskir
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am from south Europe, was once on a youth organisation trip to Norway. I was in a car and already knew some of the people from their visits to our country, but I didn’t know the driver. So I asked him about 10 questions and he was more and more panicked , after one of them he looked at one of his friends in panic, and everyone in the car except for me burst out in laughter. They explained to him my culture and to me that this level of interest was basically ‘tomorrow I will ask you to marry me’ level in Norway :-))).

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#14

I lived in Tokyo my whole life before this. First day going to college in the States, I went to the gas station to buy something. I had a lot of $100 bills with me because I didn't have a card yet. The cashier literally told me, 'You shouldn't carry that many bills around. If I saw you with that on the street, I would rob you.' I was like, 'OK, thanks for letting me know?' This was six years ago. In Japan, people normally carry/use cash for a lot of things.

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#15

I'm a black South African, in my culture a woman doesn't leave the house for about a month after she has a baby. This is to avoid things like infections, bad spirits and so forth for both mother and baby. Also for the first month she doesn't do housework and must focus on the baby so usually family members come to live with them to help out. I was shocked when my English friend's aunt was cleaning the house and going out to shop for groceries a week after she had the baby and she took the baby with her. Not to mention she allowed a stranger to touch the baby which is a big no no in my culture.

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Wendillon
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

White South African here, my mother took my brother out shopping with her the day after she got home from the hospital (he was about 3 days old)....OP's way sounds better.

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#16

In California, we have squirrels everywhere. Running around, climbing trees, getting run over.

We went to Puerto Rico for our honeymoon, where literal IGUANAS serve the same role. I've always been into reptiles and that was really cool.

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Romenriel
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Something similar can happen even in one country. In my hometown, there are pigeons in public spaces. In town where my uni is, just 200 km away, crows and rooks everywhere and no pigeons to be seen. That low key blew my mind. (But not gonna lie, iguanas sound even cooler :D).

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#17

At 21 I encountered people who took the bible as a history book. Including the creation in six days.

Blew my mind.

I was raised a catholic and we always were told that the bible contained moral stories, passed over through time.

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Romenriel
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Similar experience here. I am protestant, but from Europe (not that there are no fundamentalists in here, but they are not very common.) I would also wish that more people realized that not all Christians are like these stereotypical american churches. They aren't even a majority if you take Christians from all over the world into account!

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#18

I’ve been to Iran twice and they have this very elaborate and convoluted culture of hospitality. They say in Iran hospitality is an extreme sport.

So when you’re at someone’s house, you have to eat whatever they give you, and they will not stop offering, so you will be force fed until you’re sick. I found the only way to avoid this is to hold a full plate of food and pretend to be eating it.

If you compliment them on something, like a pretty painting on the wall, they will take the thing off the wall and give it to you to take home. Now this is where it gets convoluted, because they don’t really want you to take it. Yet if you refuse they will still act insulted. It’s all part of the show.

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#19

Recently moved to the US (9 months ago), and I am still not used to everyone asking me how I am doing. I am from Norway, and if the cashier asked how you are, you'd get embarrassed and wouldn't know how to answer.

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Hanneke Legerstee
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Even weirder, they're not actually asking, it's just a greeting, after 12 years in the UK I still have to hold back on answering the question. No one really cares how you're doing!

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#20

India, when visiting a family on a business trip the head of the household interrogated me at length on why my parents hadn’t found a mate for my then-28-year-old self.

I’m gay. It was very awkward.

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#21

30 People Reveal The Biggest Culture Shock They’ve Ever Encountered What is with American toilet stalls having the doors end like two feet away from the ground? Every time I took a [crap] I was half expecting to see someone poke their head under because of how much space there is

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Ilana Sebastian
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And what about the gaps running alongside the doors? You can wave to people passing by whilst doing your business. Weird!

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#22

30 People Reveal The Biggest Culture Shock They’ve Ever Encountered Dutch here. When we went to Canada, everything was HUGE. Big cars on big roads, big streets and restaurants and malls. I remember driving for what seemed like hours through suburbs, and I just kept thinking, 'surely after the next turn we’re out of the city', but the city just seemed to be endless.

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Hans
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, I also remember driving through the center of the US and reading signs like "No service next 160 miles". In Europe, you would find that sign if there was no petrol station for 50 km...

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#23

My dad was a US diplomat so we moved to a new country every three years or so. I had never lived in the states (born in Portugal) and 4 countries later when my dad decided to retire, we moved to the US (Maryland). Being in America was the biggest shock. From the “safeness” I felt, to the way people were. Yellow school busses. Everyone sort of being the same. It was a shock, among many other things.

I felt American my whole life living abroad, being associated with the American embassy, hanging out at the marine club houses. And when I moved to the US, I did not feel very American at all

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axle f
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

that's....absolutely understandable. my ex was navy...we did four and a half years in Bermuda, as they were shutting the naval facilities there down. it was only four years...but man. coming back... i didn't feel much american at all anymore then, either. and there seems to be a thirty year hangover effect...

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#24

Turkish person who lived in Germany for 5 years. Germany gives immense importance to order and being precise. If you follow the rules, you'll live in harmony. When I came back to Turkey, that wasn't the case. Everything was chaotic and you needed luck and acquaintices to survive.

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#25

30 People Reveal The Biggest Culture Shock They’ve Ever Encountered The only thing that really shocked me in France was how casually people talked about taboo subjects. I mostly had a huge culture shock when I came back from France. Caused me to be pretty depressed for a year.

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Haunting Spirit
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's because America is making taboos out of everything. In Europe we are more relaxed about most subjects.

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#26

I went to south Korea for a year when I was in the U.S. Army, and they refused to let us tip after a meal at any restaurant.

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Nandi La Sophia
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's because it's considered extremely insulting- it's like offering someone a condescending handout when they are already being paid for their work. Someone saying "You are adequate but I feel pity for you, have five thousand won. It just doesn't translate.

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#27

30 People Reveal The Biggest Culture Shock They’ve Ever Encountered Not mine but in college I had a roommate from Australia who was studying abroad in America. We went out to dinner one night and I got mozzarella sticks. He could not believe we just deep fried cheese and then ate it

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Lauren Caswell
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I thought mozzarella sticks were like a cheesy breadstick! It's just straight up fried cheese?! Mind you I can't talk, here in nz we have deep fried Moro bars (like a denser mars bar), and deep fried ice cream! I had the former once: never again it was just too much fat and sugar I felt so crook

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#28

That Americans don’t have electric kettles. Or that I need to say electric kettle because if I didn’t people would say they have stovetop kettles.

In the Commonwealth countries a kettle is just a standard item for the house. I don’t drink coffee or tea and still own a kettle. You can get that for like $10 and they’ll still be decent.

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Wendillon
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I though the stovetop kettle thing was just a movie gimmick for the longest time...didn't think people actually still used them

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#29

I'm Canadian, and I was working in New Zealand. Birds indoors. This may seem minor, but it was so weird to see. When I got off the plane in Auckland, there were birds flying around inside the airport.

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#30

30 People Reveal The Biggest Culture Shock They’ve Ever Encountered I know it sounds ridiculous, but my biggest culture shock is 'hugs and kisses.' I grew up in a family that doesn't show love through such means.

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Lauren Caswell
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My sister and I grew up with one super huggy parent and one who found that more difficult. Funnily enough I've turned out to be a hugger, and my sister not so much! I know both parents love me, they just have different ways of showing it

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#31

Dropped my wallet in the subway in Japan... called the Lost and Found office several hours later and someone turned it in with all the money there. I was dumbfounded.

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SeidWolf
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Amazing what happens when a culture vales Respect and emphasizes We over Me

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#32

As someone who has lived in the Philippines for most of his life, I am considered quite chubby or overweight here. When I travelled to the USA a few years ago to study, I was shocked when people over there looked at me and said I was quite fit. Huge culture shock in terms of body image, and an even bigger culture shock at the portions of food in the USA.

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Mohammad Ammar
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The best part is how they exported their obesity to the rest of the world through their greasy fast food chains. Gotta admit though, I do love pizza and burgers.

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#33

30 People Reveal The Biggest Culture Shock They’ve Ever Encountered How queueing works in China. I’m from the UK, where standing too close to someone or pushing in front of them is basically akin to criminal behaviour.

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Monty Is Fiennes
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah I see this culture shock in my own country. Australia is very big (6th largest in the world) country with a comparatively small population (24million), when people emmigrate from asian nations they are not aware of the absolute horror some Aus-borns have for standing too close together.....

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#34

I spent a month living in Thailand when I was 15. The first hour broke me.

The trip there had taken an absurdly long time and long story short I had been awake for about 38 hours by that point. I did not have an ounce of mental fortitude, which I also did not know I would need.

We (group of us) met up with the families we were staying with, introductions, all that jazz. Nice folks. We decided to go home, get a nap (it was 7am local) and meet up for dinner. I say decided but that was the plan all along.

I got into the car in the backseat- no seatbelts. Okay, cool, that's different but whatever.

We pulled out onto the very busy road- on the left side. A bit of a surprise but hey, that's neat.

The city (Bangkok) was wildly different from any place I had ever been. But that was expected, it's the other side of the world, right?

Nearly there, we stopped at a stop light. There was an elephant standing beside me, 10 feet from my window.

That was it. That elephant broke me. It was too much. There were no elephants outside car windows anywhere I had been before. I closed my eyes and curled up into a ball until we arrived.

Lovely country. Wonderful people.

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#35

Just how late the Spanish eat dinner. Totally respect it, but I was hungry at 6pm and was shocked no restaurant was open to serve at that time.

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giovanna
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Gosh I am Italian (northern Italy) and I would eat at 7pm (my family used to do so). Quite common time for the north of Italy, but for some reasons it's become associated with being old and it seems like its 'cooler' to eat later. And I hate it. Also constantly had to do some mediation with my southern Italian friends who are more set on Spanish times for dinner. But I don't understand it. How can you eat at 10 PM and then go to sleep with your belly still full.

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#36

So in Italy, being a server at a restaurant is a respectable carreer, and they are paid pretty well. It took me way longer than I would've liked to, to figure out why all the wait staff I came across was very grateful for my 15% tips...

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WilvanderHeijden
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In Europe a tip is just a token of appreciation for the quality of the service you got from the server. It's not a "Gofundmywages" like in the US, because employers are allowed to keep slaves.

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#37

Concerts in Japan: you have a number on your ticket and everyone queues according to that number. Yes, they manage to queue of hundreds of people in front of a venue according to the order in which they bought their ticket. It's fair, if you buy your ticket early you can get the chance for a better spot and you have a chance to buy limited merch that is usually sold out after minutes.

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Bill
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Don't try to start a mosh pit at a Japanese concert. I found out the hard way.

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#38

Once I got to about 15 and visited Italy I started getting asked out by guys who just wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.

You reject a guy in the UK and they'll normally take it well (unless they're a bit unhinged), but in Italy I said no to strangers, friends I'd known for years, people I'd met that night- all people who were otherwise normal- who'd be so persistent that I had to either leave, or use my cousin as a fake bf.

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DramaDoc
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The first time I went to Italy (American F), when I was 22, the *very* first phrase I was taught was how to so "Go f*ck off," because American women were seen as kind of loose and fast and combined with the Italian machismo, it meant that men could (and did) get extremely aggressive.

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#39

30 People Reveal The Biggest Culture Shock They’ve Ever Encountered Grocery stores in the US, the amount of food getting wasted has to be insane. And then the reverse culture shock moving back to Europe; [come on] people, talking and being nice to strangers doesn't cost anything.

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DforDory
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Being nice to strangers should be practiced more often, I agree, but just randomly talking to people I don't know...no thank you. I believe here in Europe we have a bigger need of personal space and life. Been working as a hostel manager for 3 years now and I love meeting new people, but maybe because I exhaust all my extrovert resources on that, I am way more retreated in my personal life and it works for me fine.

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#40

When my mother moved to America from South Africa, she asked the taxi driver taking her to where she way staying what information he had about the area. She tells me that she'll always remember how he pointed out an area and said it was the poorest in the city, super dangerous. It made her realize that America has a very different perception of poverty than SA. Here, the poor have 4 solid walls, HVAC, and probably phones. In SA, the poor have small sheet metal sheds, no water, no plumbing, no internet, and no electricity.

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#41

30 People Reveal The Biggest Culture Shock They’ve Ever Encountered America has drive-thru everything! Drive-thru coffee, drive-thru ATM, drive-thru liquor store!

ExampleOtherwise , Brooke Novak Report

#42

30 People Reveal The Biggest Culture Shock They’ve Ever Encountered My cousin visited me from Nigeria and couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact that we have entire stores here just for pets and pet products. In Nigeria most of the dogs are allowed to just run wild.

SheepherderUseful241 , Bennilover Report

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El Dee
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When I was young dogs used to roam free in my country too. But now they are rounded up and they must be chipped by the owner..

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#43

Having no trash cans in Japan. Because of the sarin gas attack, they pretty much don’t have any trash cans. I felt so awkward asking store owners to take my trash. And no, I didn’t thrust it upon them. I asked where a trashcan was and they offered to take it. That was weird.

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Happy Creations
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I felt embarrassed asking store owners to help me with trash, so I just carried the trash with me all over the cities and threw it later in the hotel room.

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#44

When I was six we moved to America for a year so every morning we head to do the pledge of alliance and because I was from Germany I had no idea what it was so I acted like I knew what I was doing

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#45

Watching children in Mexico happily eating crickets like they were popcorn.
Also, 4 or 5 year old kids out at 10pm to sell gum.

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BusLady
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When I visited Mexico some years ago, I saw a lot of children selling newspapers, cigarettes and other items.

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#46

I am Thai, my collgueas are from Argentina and Spain. I eat lunch at 12.30hrs and they are shocked.

And the fact that for them lunch is at 16.00 is too crazy for me.

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#47

I live in the Netherlands. Water is all around me. From the sea, to the canals, to waterways dividing the fields between different farms. The first time I visited Iowa and drove around there it took me a couple of days to realise there wasn't any water between the fields and acres. Sure, there's a river and what not, but essentially it's just endless actual ground. It made me feel uneasy for a couple of minutes.

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El Dee
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have lived by the sea my whole life too. I've always been able to see it from every single house I've lived in. If I'm ever anywhere inland it feels like being in a room with no windows..

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#48

30 People Reveal The Biggest Culture Shock They’ve Ever Encountered Witnessing PDA everywhere and frequently in France. I'm from a little conservative Asian country. Here couples rarely do it and when it happens it's just hand holding

HitherFriendly , Misko Report

#49

30 People Reveal The Biggest Culture Shock They’ve Ever Encountered The mid day siesta in Italy where everything is closed for 2 hours. The entire culture is so much different than America's, it was great

matsklein , Boon Low Report

#50

India was my biggest culture shock. Poverty and extreme riches next to each other.

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Steve Barnett
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've been to India. Saw the Taj Mahal, the country is full of history. However, I was literally fleeced from the moment I got there to the moment I left. At every opportunity there was someone to take advantage of me being a tourist. Worse things also happened, but I'm not going to expound on that.

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#51

I was messing with friends in Africa. Every time I told a joke, I'd get a response: 'kk.' I'm here thinking I'm not funny for literal months. Then one time, one of them says, 'Kk. You're so funny!' I ask them what 'kk' means, and they say it's 'laughing.'

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#52

I moved to Canada from South Africa for 2 years and its amazing how much cheaper stuff like vehicles and electronics is without the endless amount of taxes and inflation South Africa has. I can buy a good car for 10k in dollars in Canada, but if you convert that to South Africa you are getting a rusty old ford ranger with more than 400k km on it.

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Charné Coetzer
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is not true in the least bit. My car is about half the price of 10k Canadian dollars and its decent, runs well and is NOT rusted.

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#53

It's probably a stupid thing but being from Australia and visiting Europe I was shocked that to use public toilets you have to pay. I'd agree with it in principle that it helps with upkeep, cleaning etc however almost every one we used were filthy and definitely not looked after. Even worse I found were the ones with the old women sitting at the entrance who'd yell at you if you couldn't find enough coins to appease her.

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#54

I live in the US and visited my friend in South Africa (his family is Indian). They had a maid but it really weirded me out when his dad randomly remarked "I could use some dessert" and my friend's brother's girlfriend immediately stood up, walked to the kitchen, and made a full dessert right then and there.

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Wendillon
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Maybe she just really likes making dessert? ....please let her just really like making dessert?

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#55

When I went to Dominican Republic, my family and I saw a guy literally go behind a bush, put his pants down and take a dump. One of the locals told us that this was a common thing there.

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Nandi La Sophia
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've seen the same thing in San Francisco dozens of times over the years, so.. yeah-

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#56

I moved from the US to Moscow. The first two weeks were an absolute nightmare since Moscow is about 18x larger than my home city. My favorite culture shock experience is on my 2nd day getting lost in the train system for hours. The train system as amazing and efficient as it is, you can get lost for days if you don't know it.

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lara
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You should have just asked someone. Russians love to help. Whenever we got lost in Moscow, we would just tell people we were Americans and lost and they would fall all over themselves to help. They were so kind.

#57

I grew up in a Southeast Asian country, and moving to a Western country, I realized the stark difference on parenting. It's much more individualistic in Western countries, rather than community-based.

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lara
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes and no. In rural areas which pretty much used to be America, families were all part of the community. They looked out for each other, took care of each other and raised each others kids. Yes, you could be punished, spanked, by your neighbor and then when you got home your mom or dad would probably spank you again. However, WWII changed all that. People left the rural areas and all their support systems and moved to big cities where they were not "neighbors" just acquaintances. It is still like the rural areas here, but people have lost the benefit of real neighbors. Too bad. We live in a rural area and our neighbors all look out for each other.

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#58

People can marry whoever they like regardless of family, creed, religion. Like white people can just fall in love with another person and just marry them without any issue. I'm beyond amazed.

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#59

How big people from Europe are, especially Dutch and Danes, I remember growing up with the 'big bad Americans' belief

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Goth Nurse
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I roll my eyes every time an American says "yeah he is very tall, like 6 feet!". That is not exceptionally tall. It's about 180 cm. When you go to 190 cm, that is the beginning of Tall. My husband is very tall, he is 2 meters which is around 6'6. We're Finnish.

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#60

That Europeans dont use ice as much as Americans, and some beers are supposed to be consumed warm

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#61

I'm from the Philippines and I've lived for at least a year in the USA and I was so shocked people in the US would... just greet and help strangers out if they needed help? Here in the Philippines if someone you didn’t know greeted you and talked to you out of nowhere, we’d be weirded out.

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#62

Grandmother visiting the states for the first time from Guatemala, she nicely folded up her used toilet paper and put it in the trash can next to the toilet. Had to explain to her she can flush it, never asked why she would have done that.

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WilvanderHeijden
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Because in some countries the drains are so narrow that they easily clog up. So you're not supposed to flush the toiletpaper.

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#63

In China, lanes and traffic lights don't matter to taxi and bus drivers.

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Robert Thornburrow
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

None of the rules of the road seem to apply to taxi drivers in any country, though the scariest was hurtling down the hard shoulder (emergency lane) of a motorway past queuing traffic when someone decides to pull into that lane, and the speed at which we rejoined the traffic when we encountered a Police car!

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#64

I was in an airport in Europe and saw two guys walking around with huge automatic weapons and I seriously thought we were all gonna die...

Turned out they were military security.

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WilvanderHeijden
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People carrying guns in public in Europe always are in uniform. He could have seen right away that the men were no terrorists.

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#65

Friend in China nonchalantly put some brains on my plate to share. I don’t remember which animal. But this was not unusual for him. They eat organs often.

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JuJu
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Organs are eaten in a lot of countries, but often disguised in sausage-like stuff or cut and covered in sauce.

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#66

When I went to Germany and they all called their local German shepherd dogs shepherds. Just shepherds. As if the fact that they came from Germany meant diddly-squat to them!

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SupaCab
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Lived in Germany for many years and never heard them refer to them as just "Shepherd dogs", they're called Deutscher Schäferhund in German, which literally mean German Shepherd dog

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