Non-americans, What Was the Biggest Culture Shock You Experienced When You Came to the Us?

Fresh AskReddit Stories: Non-Americans of reddit, what was the biggest culture shock you experienced when you came to the US? --- LIKE AND I WILL UPLOAD MORE REDDIT STORIES!



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[CTCT]

Honestly I’m pleasantly surprised at the many positive (and neutral) comments

[thletter]

I think it is truly helpful for people to realize that well, we are all people.

Most of us arent so bad and we should appreciate each other a lot more!

[aftersexhighfives]

I love the fact that they didn't see anyone overly huge because the whole entire first world has gotten comfortably fat. If you were to put a bunch of different body on a billboard and said point to average most people would point to someone who's technically obese.

Although they probably didn't go to Texas....

[rociomiranda]

As an exchange student and as a traveler, all the people I met in the US were really nice and kind. And there is Texas and how huge the open spaces are. My host family were driving from Oklahoma to New Mexico. When we went through Texas I was nearly dizzy with the immensity of the landscape. I am from the central plateau of Costa Rica and here we are surrounded by mountains everywhere we look. Oh, and my host Dad was a Clint Eastwood type and carried a gun (I'd never seen a real gun before), in case we were set upon by robbers. I don't know if he was kidding with me, but I felt like I was in a Western. He also told me about skinwalkers and dogmen. I loved that trip.

[Ocrilat]

The thing with a lot of these, probably because all Americans are ultimately from other countries, we're always looking or inventing connections between ourselves and other people. That's why an Polish-American will say to an Polish visitor 'Hey, I'm Polish too'. Or look for connections with a stranger from where we went to school, what sort of job we've had, etc. It's why every St. Patrick's Day I wear green, go to the city's St. Paddy's Day parade, and drink green beer even though I'm as Irish as a cannoli.

[errrrrorrrrr]

I’m an American. Couple years back when I was in a Train Station in Washington D.C. there was this very elderly Middle Eastern Gentleman who came to me asking how to get to the World Trade Center. Only thing is he was describing THE WTC, if you know what I mean. He told me he wanted to visit his son who he wrote (yes through letter) back and fourth and his son told him he worked in the Tower in NYC. This poor guy either didn’t understand or didn’t ever know that the Twin Towers fell and I had to explain to him what happened on 9/11 so I remember seeing his facial expression kinda sink when I told him the Twin Towers were gone, but he did light up when I told him that his son was probably in the new Tower. I guess word, even after 20 years, never got to that guy.


Also for context- the dude had very broken English, so maybe I misunderstood him, but it’s crazy to think that if it was the case, there are people out there who don’t know 9/11 ever happened.

[LilaKooks]

My brother in law learned that he can have free refills for coffee at a restaurant. Also, he was appalled at the amount of drive-thrus for fast food, the bank, the pharmacies.😂

[william]

Im canadian and you guys are good neighbours, the politics are like a tv show but putting that aside, the people are great, always have a good time down there.
Edit the size of everything blew my mind

[SagePython-eils]

In the US, roundabouts are called traffic circles. But me and my family calls them roundabouts because my parents and one of my grandpas have all visited Europe just are used to calling traffic circles roundabouts.

[Redmage]

Regarding the post where Americans say “Question” before asking one - I know in my family, we do that so the person we’re asking’s mind can break out of whatever they’re currently doing to answer. Asking without the prompt usually requires repeating the question, as they only heard half your question before realizing they’re being asked something.

Note: There is a heavy level of Autism and ADHD in my family, so I can’t say if if this is any level of universally accurate :)

[ameliawilder]

American cup sizes don't fit in Canadian cup holders.

Their grocery stores are just massive and I remember standing in awe like an idiot at the cereal section because there was just a neverending selection of cereal. So much to choose from, so many brands I never heard of.

There are like 50x more fast foods around every second when you drive. Unlike Canada. Yes we have but the amount of them when driving around is nothing compared to our neighbours. The most we see every five minutes here is a Tim's, or a McDonald's.
And again, never heard of many of the fast food restaurants in the States.

I was visiting California to see family. And people are just so active there. Waking up at 7AM! With no problem and getting their day started. Here in Canada we literally hibernate in the winter because it's dark, cold, and it makes us feel tired. Not to mention our winters are pretty much six months long. Anyways, I found myself waking up early with no issues - even after the day I arrived with extreme jet lag (flied from Toronto to Vancouver, then Seattle, then a four hour layover in San Jose before taking the last flight to LA. Could have taken a direct flight but it was cheaper and I didn't mind taking my time). Watching people biking, skating, surfing, shopping - living life at such an early start to the day was so refreshing. I'd jog in the morning with my aunt who is athletic, and even go to the gym with her. California is just so different from Toronto amd Canada in general. I'd be pulling the covers over my head, refusing to leave my warm bed to go out to my job in freezing winter. We love our winters, but six months of it? It does get tiring and the long winters do make us depressed. I really want to go back to California soon.

Also - love In N Out... That was amazing!

[hunterkiller]

People can't stop selling their mixed tapes in Time Square and you have to tip everywhere.

[MrMusic]

Whoever said the cheese was bad just offended every Wisconsinite.

[real_lampcap]

McDonalds being an expensive place to eat is like crazy to me. I cant imagine that.

[ohcanada]

Agree about our bathroom stalls having such large gaps than those overseas. Absolutely no privacy in American public restrooms.

[graceriley]

15:36 why did this actually make me feel better about my country. no "oh America's is perfect" or "America sucks" an actually honest and well-worded opinion with genuine criticism felt so much better than all positive.

[wizardsuth]

The restaurant manager who apologized for the delayed main course was probably worried they wouldn't leave a tip.

[learntostrafe]

If you dont see any water fountains just go inside a restaurant and ask for a cup of tap water.

[quirkyturtle]

That story with the guy asking about guns in texas is the one that finally got me, of course Texans would have a gun on them.

[arturoescorcia]

The fact that waiters will bring you the bill without you asking for it. In the US is normal but in Mexico this is considered very rude and similar to kicking you out of the place.