My 6 culture shocks when moving to America

Games, drive thrus, choice overload, convenience, sodas, burgers, friendly people, rules...⁣ I had plenty of culture shocks moving to America, without even realizing them. ⁣

So one day I've decided to sit down and make a list of surprising and not so surprising differences I've experienced 10 years ago.⁣

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[VictoriaMorganawesometori]

"I'm not really a closed person." I hope it's OK that I offer another word. A word that might fit what you're trying to get across better is "private." "I'm not a very private person."

Really enjoyed your episode EIGHTEEN! Loved this episode.

[zhenli]

I come from China, where no one smiles at or talks to strangers for no reason. I find this American friendliness really refreshing and heart-warming.

[brettbuck]

The friendliness is not phony, or part of training - unless you are making a nuisance of yourself, almost everyone is extremely tolerant, and genuinely friendly. Its inherent to the culture of a class-free society. Anyone who "puts on airs" or thinks they are better than anyone else *very quickly* gets straightened out.

[NurseEmilie]

No, Americans aren't trained to be pleasant; we just are. At a drive-through you can expect (usually) for the people to be
friendly. I get tired of foreigners saying Americans' friendliness is too much. If you don't like friendly, go back to your country.

[darkjedi]

I think some of the “fast paced” lifestyle depends on what part of the country you’re in. Most places on the East coast, Chicago, L.A., and other larger cities, it’s as a direct result of losing time while stuck in traffic. I live in the Baltimore/D.C. area, and you literally lose years off your life just stuck in traffic. Commute times are amongst the worst in the country out here. But I was raised in Iowa though, and we definitely have more time for things there like cooking a nice meal, and spending more time with family, etc. That’s just a small example of how widely varied cultures are in this country, just because of the sheer size of it.

[donboehner]

This is my first time watching your channel. I enjoy learning and understanding the typical cultural differences there are between peoples of the world. You did a wonderful job expressing the things that stood out to you even after 10 years. The fact that we have a fast paced life here costs us many of the wonderful things you miss like good conversation with friends and family or just taking time to be with one another. Paper plates (only for outdoor eating or pool side for my house), drive throughs, frozen food, pizza or Chinese food deliveries, etc, and now (the ultimate time saver AMAZON) all are driven by our fast pace living. Everyone in the family working to afford this lifestyle forces us to sacrifice many of the good social interaction you mention away. I lived in Germany for a year and what amazed me was they are able to maintain the slower paced life in many ways. Unfortunately, American culture is continuing to speed up. It's not a good thing in my opinion.

[Pinkfong]

Being a bit older, I remember those birthday parties you described but I think it was because families lived in the same area and neighbors were considered family. Also, people didn’t move as much. So much has changed that I can sometimes relate more to foreigners. However, friendliness has always been the same. Enjoyed your video.

[joeluang]

6:23 - Part of the host's job is to maximize what the industry calls - turn-out. Turn-out as many patrons as possible, thus this requires placing the patrons at select tables depending on how many guests are within a party. If you allow a party of two to choose their own a table that can accommodate 4 guest but then you have a party of 4 waiting to be seated then that is not good business.

[tamarabeck]

I live in Texas and before that, California. I California there are a lot of Asians. I love all sorts of Asian foods but what grates on my nerves is the slurping of their liquid food in a bowl, like noodles or soups. I feel my blood pressure change to make me feel lightheaded. So SLURPING is a huge culture shock to me

[oxigenarian]

There are trade-offs in every culture. It is always good to see how other cultures see the world and learn from it. We should emulate the good things from other cultures!
Nice video...

[steveeliscu]

It seems to me, having been an American for 71 years, that the overly expressed "I love you" to friends in our culture is a fairly recent development. I don't recall it being a common thing back in the 60s, 70s, 80s. And I'm not sure why that change has happened.

[FasterthanLight]

Love is platonic too. Its just an expression showing your bond with another.

[deborahfree]

I agree with you on paper plates. A home prepared meal should never be on a paper plate. Those be be reserved for picnics.

[markedwards]

Thanks! I have lived my whole life in the US, and have never understood others' fascinations with professional sports. The players are replaceable. The owners are replaceable. The loyalty is to the NAME of the team, not the location, owners, or players. But talking passionately about their team is what they do INSTEAD of talking about anything important, or something that might get them ridiculed. Being a sports fan is PRETENDING that your team's performance is important so you don't have to share anything real.

[markhorn]

I think you should meet some farmers. Im old 59. Since about 1850 my family has eaten food grown on our farm. I have never spent 1000 on food in any year of my life. I haven't eaten fast food for 30 years. I do some modern things I also haven't been in a bank for over 20 years. Americans spend so much money on food and rent. I am lucky to not have to spend on these things. Thanks for the video.

[lifebeyondthesalary]

It feels very rude to most Americans to ignore those around us. It is considered good manners to be polite & acknowledge & even talk to others, strangers or not.

[richardthomas]

Beautiful . Inside and out. smiling this entire show .

[Senaleb]

Most american's don't use paper plates. Only when we have large gatherings we'll use them (like 10-20 people) many times for BBQs.

[angelarasmussen]

How beautiful that you are so close with your family❣️. I call my parents 1-3 times a week, but I hardly ever talk to my brothers 😥. We just aren't that close. I know this widely varies though and some families are extremely close here in America.

[keithdean]

When I was in college I did a work/study program that had students from abut 15 different countries including the USA. Americans were there for a semester while "internationals" were there for a year. When a new group of "internationals" would arrive the ones that had been here for a while would tell the new ones, "the first couple times you go grocery shopping take an American with you." Many an "International" was overwhelmed just trying to buy a box of cereal just because there were so many choices.