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We live in a world where a lot of things we learn through books, movies, and the internet. But one of the most common and exciting ways to learn more about other cultures is by traveling. For a lot of people, this became an interesting and eye-opening experience, so a lot of them like to share what they have seen and heard, and compare this experience with how things are run “at home.” Bored Panda already covered some of the stories of people who decided to share their cultural shocks, one of these stories you can find here.

When people talk about their travels, very often a place they refer to as culturally shocking is the United States. One of the recent is examples is TikTok user Jazz Thornton who started sharing what things she finds weird and different in the US. The woman who is from New Zealand relocated from her country to the United States and has already become viral on TikTok with her funny and entertaining videos. 

More Info: TikTok

#1

School At 7.30 Am

School At 7.30 Am

You'll start school at 7:30 in the morning. Are teenagers functioning at 7:30 in the morning, because where I'm from, we start school at 9 AM every day. That means that you have to get up at like, 6 AM something. I wasn't getting out of bed until like 7:30 AM. Who decided that teenagers work best at 7:30 AM?

notjazzthornton , Lead Beyond Report

#2

'i Really Wish I Had An Accent'

'i Really Wish I Had An Accent'

So the other day I was on a conversation with an American, and she looked me in the eyes and goes, 'man, I really wish I had an accent. I just speak normally.' Which I was like, 'ma'am, you do realize that the USA is not a main character, right?' You do have an accent to absolutely everyone who is not American.

notjazzthornton , Miguel Discart Report

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Chef Latte
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I love the U.S BECAUSE one of the reasons that i love it here is that most U.S citizens have an accent. Californians have their own accent, Southern accents, New York and New Jersey accents. I love hearing them all

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#3

It's Really Expensive To Have A Baby In The USA

It's Really Expensive To Have A Baby In The USA

It cost about $50,000 to birth the baby. These children are putting you in debt. In New Zealand hospitals are completely free. So you could be in there for like four months afterwards and you wouldn't have to pay a thing. We do pay taxes to obviously cover that.

notjazzthornton , Sami Keinänen Report

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Amy Stone-Chandler
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm so glad I'm Canadian. I'd rather pay .13cents on top of the price tag amount then pay for medical direct. I've had 2 kids. They have had surgeries, I have had several surgeries(disabled) and long term stay admitted to hospital(almost dying twice) all my ultrasounds, MRIs, PET scans, xrays, blood work, infertility treatments, eye exams, ER visits, every single specialist doctor plus every GP visit(including house visits) midwife appointments, at home follow up after delivery..free parental or breastfeeding support etc.. all of it, I wouldn't be able to pay that out of pocket. No matter how much taxes I have paid or will pay in life, it wouldn't come anywhere near the bills that a America charges. Oh and kids have free dental to 25 too. Some cosmetic stuff is covered depending on the cause/effects too

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Jazz is a well-known mental health activist film director and book author. The 26-year-old woman’s work is related to spreading awareness and educating people about sensitive mental health problems that many individuals suffer from. For this reason, her and her friend started an organization called Voices of Hope. Jazz tries and enjoys encouraging people to believe in themselves, to have a hope that things will get better. She likes to remind this to people through her videos.

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#4

The Price That Is Displayed Is Not The Final Price

The Price That Is Displayed Is Not The Final Price

Like today I went and bought a dress and the price tag that I saw on it when I actually went to go check out, it was like $10 more, because they add tax on after. And then when you're in restaurants and stuff, it's the taxes added and the tipping is added so like nothing is the normal price. Like if that happened to me in New Zealand and I went to pay for something and it was like more than what the price tag was, I'd be like, 'I'm sorry, what?'

notjazzthornton , sylvar Report

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Sonja
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why there is not an option to write at least something like "10 $ + x$ tax = xy price"

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#5

Tipping

Tipping

Tipping is literally not a thing where I'm from, like, again, America with the unnecessary math. How do I calculate this? What am I supposed to give someone? In New Zealand, the minimum wage is $20. That's for an adult. In America, it's $7.25. Now, keeping in mind that our currency is a lot weaker than America, it equals out to be $14.10 in minimum wage, which is double the minimum wage here. But also do people make more money from tips?

notjazzthornton , Kai Hendry Report

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

Tipping needs to be eliminated. I go to a small coffee shop in Toronto where the woman picks up the tip jar and shakes it while you are paying. To show me hey look at the tip jar. It lasts only a second but it is very off putting. Tipping is getting out of hand. I am already paying for a service. I live on a budget and getting haircuts and takeout coffee should not feel like pressure to tip. Pay a living wage

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#6

American Portion Sizes

American Portion Sizes

So I'm on week two here and I discovered very early on that a lot of your portion sizes, like, the large is a very large. I'm not used to it where I'm from. So, I was like, was this so big? So tonight, right? I was like okay, I'm going to get a small. This is what I got tonight. Please, is someone pranking me? This is the size of my palm. This is my noodle box.

notjazzthornton , Konrad Summers Report

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Claire Stanfield
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's wild and depends on the restaurant. If you want big portions you can eat for days, BBQ and those Greek family restaurants serve absurd amounts of food for the price you'll spend. Chain restaurants vary widely.

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#7

Dogs In Stores

Dogs In Stores

So you're telling me that here in America, you can bring your dogs into stores with you? Like, guys yesterday I was at H&M, right? And it was like four dogs in the store. I am so here for it. This is not a thing that we see in New Zealand and I need it. As long as I can pet all of the dogs.

notjazzthornton , Bennilover Report

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Requiem
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

NOPE, you need to have a Certified service dog and YES you can be questioned on wether your Chihuahua is an actual service dog. A pet store is the exception to the No regular dogs rule

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The woman also uploads goofy and lighthearted content on her TikTok platform. One of these is related to her relocation to the United States. In her TikToks, the woman doesn't hide her surprise at how different some of the things in the US are. It might seem that some of these things are already well known. Not knowing how to tip waiters in a restaurant and having to pay for having a baby at the hospital are only a couple of these examples. The woman also shared some of the lesser known facts about when American kids start their school day and that people are allowed to bring their dogs to stores.

Which one of these things do you find weird? Or maybe you know something that wasn’t shared on this list? Don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments down below! 

#8

Scam Calls

Scam Calls

I got an American number not too long ago and on the day that I did I had like four scam calls in one day. And now they just- every day, multiple times a day, is just scam calls. I think in New Zealand I got like one scam call every two months.

notjazzthornton , Sascha Kohlmann Report

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#9

Burger And Sandwich

Burger And Sandwich

Can someone please explain to me why they call this a burger, but they call this a sandwich. If it's beef it's a burger. If it's chicken, it's a sandwich, but they're both in a bun.

notjazzthornton Report

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sofacushionfort
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ground beef is called hamburger. In the 30’s it was called a hamburger sandwich, but then it was shortened.

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#10

Biscuits And Gravy

Biscuits And Gravy

All I'm imagining right now is that kind of thing. That beautiful biscuit cover in meat sauce. It just looks nasty.

notjazzthornton , Michael Kmak Report

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NoneYa41
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There is no 'wrong' terminology when it varies by country.

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Nikki Sevven
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Agree. The terms we use largely depend on which language family we derive our language from. "Biscuit" is from the French, while "cookie" is from the Dutch. Neither term is "wrong."

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Cyd Charisse
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Of course it sounds nasty if you're thinking European biscuit. In America, a biscuit is a savory thing that you put butter on. It tends to taste a bit salty. It's really more like a bread roll without yeast. The gravy is a rich sausage gravy made with milk. It sure isn't the prettiest of dishes, but I assure you, it's very satisfying and delicious. Great hangover food!

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John L
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

OMG, you have obviously never tried it! The few times I would go out to eat breakfast, it would be my favorite choice. Of course, it ends up being a weeks worth of carbs, but so totally worth it. :D

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gerry.garh
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I the hotel where I work, the mornings that the breakfast includes biscuits and gravy are packed.

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Ginny Harris
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People that have never had it talking about how gross gravy looks always bemuses me. Guys, it's literally a bechamel , "the mother sauce".

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BoredHuman
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We call them cookies in Canada. Biscuits are British for cookies. Biscuits and gravy are dinner biscuits which we would call dinner rolls here. Not really that odd

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Wednesday
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

but sooooo delicious. Biscuits and gravy is not the most appetizing looking dish, but damn it tastes good.

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Pamela Blue
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I agree with you. It DOES look nasty and sounds nasty to me. But I guess many Americans in the south were raised on it, so they think it's great. No different from other countries and some of their culinary choices. Americans would gag at some of them.

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M.T. Noah
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Biscuits & gravy is delicious. Chocolate chip biscuits are also delicious. Different nomenclature for different dialects of English. :)

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Bill Wyrebek
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Judging things by the way they look has left many an intelligent, personable young woman or male without a date for the prom. Biscuits & gravy are DEElicious!

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Marilyn Ransberry
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In England cookie are called biscuits. In the USA and Canada biscuits are like scones

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Judith Wilson
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm old, have lived all over the country and then some, and have never seen anything like the photo on the right. Never.

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Celtic Pirate Queen
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I make an amazing biscuits & gravy. Don't knock it 'til you've tried it!

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Cyd Charisse
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

SOS is actually a different dish. At least, in the military, where the term originated. SOS (ie, sh** on a shingle) is creamed chipped beef on toast. Ask anyone in the US armed forces.

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Margaret Weaver
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What... on.... earth did they do to those buns?? It looks like something a dog threw up :(

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Cyd Charisse
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not quite. Scones still have a trace of sweet and are much more crumbly. These are not sweet at all, not even a little bit. And biscuits are usually much more moist than scones

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Annette Jones
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

agreed It is gross. 26 years in the US and still don't care for many "very american" dishes, biscuits and gravy is def one of them...

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Todo Nada
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Gravy looks like regugitated food you had for breakfast. It is disgusting.

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

A little bit of Stephen Fry terminology here - a**e biscuits and a**e gravy - makes me not want to even try biscuits and gravy for fear of what it might contain!

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#11

Spray Cheese

Spray Cheese

This does not exist where I'm from. I've been told to eat it only with Ritz crackers so you have put your thumb on it.

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