Non-Americans Share Their Biggest US Culture Shocks

Have you ever traveled abroad and experienced something that shocked, delighted, or confused you? Well, Redditor u/AppleberryJames asked, “Europeans who’ve visited the US, what made you go ‘WTF’?” Here are some of the responses.

1. “Free refills. I was confused when a waiter asked if I was drinking Pepsi, but I replied with a hesitant “yeah,” while looking at my still half-full glass of soda. Then he took away my glass, leaving me even more confused, before returning seconds later with a clean, totally full glass of Pepsi.”

—u/thegforce522

2. “Complete strangers asking me how I’m doing.”

—u/FakeRealist

3. “The obsession with putting ranch or Ketchup on everything.”

—u/manzanarezeli

Related: “If You’ve Visited 11/50 States Of The US, Then You’re A Seasoned Traveler”

4. “Raccoons stealing our bread overnight on a camping trip. The box was closed and we put weights on it, yet these clever little trash pandas found a way in and out.”

—u/TheBassMeister

5. “There’s so much water in your toilet bowls…you could go for a swim in there.”

—u/wrappedi

6. “When I discovered Fruit Loops with marshmallows. I genuinely did not think it was possible to make Fruit Loops more unhealthy, but you guys did it. I love your work.”

—u/Mandy1974·

7. “The size and distance between everything. It still shocks me that driving from New York City to Cleveland takes twice as long as it takes to drive across my whole home country.”

—u/EmbCMurphy

“Driving from Beaumont to El Paso Texas is almost as far as driving from Paris to Budapest.”

—u/Passing4human

8. “The number of American flags flying. I was going to count the number of flags I saw during my two weeks in Florida, but I gave up on the ride from Miami Airport to South Beach.”

—u/deleted

9. “Just the general weird attitude about alcohol. I was carded to get into a bar in the US when I was 29 years old…meanwhile I’d been drinking in pubs in England for 13 years without having to show ID.”

“A few of us Brits went for a drink at lunchtime, and our American friends were basically ready to refer us to Alcoholics Anonymous.”

—u/Jagermeister_UK

10. “Walmart. I went to buy a SIM card and some groceries, but I also discovered that I could also buy pet fish, car parts and shoes…all in one building?!?!”

—u/maxProcrastination

Related: “Americans Share Everyday Norms That Baffle The Rest Of The World”

11. “Learning that the extremely stereotypical accents you hear on comedy shows (Jewish mother, southerner with a very serious drawl, etc…) are actually real.”

—u/Breninnog

12. “The fact that in Europe, we have never thought of the concept of a drive-thru restaurant like Sonic. That blew my mind.”

—u/Unicorn-Ninja·

13. “Free water at every restaurant. I am from Italy, and back home water costs about €1.50 wherever you go out to eat.”

—u/zerd_opk·

14. “The portion sizes. A meal in a restaurant back home will usually leave me fairly full, but I felt as if I had to be rolled out of everywhere I ate in the US.”

—u/Rustymag

15. “Almost all food in the US tastes sweet, including bread.”

—u/back-in-black

Related: Travelers Who Visited The US Are Sharing The Weird Things They Didn’t Expect To Experience And Could Not Have Prepared For

16. “Grocery stores that stay open 24 hours per day, so you have no excuse if you forgot to buy milk. In the Netherlands, it’s common for markets to close at 6pm and in many European countries, they don’t even open on Sundays.”

—u/casettedeck

17. “I went to pay with a credit card in a restaurant and the waiter just took it and walked off.”

—u/YouserName007

18. “The Big Gulp cups that contain like, a whole liter of soda. And donuts for breakfast. I gain weight every time I go to America.”

—u/keepthebear

19. Roadside billboards scattered along the interstates in the South advertising things like Jesus, strippers, booze, and guns.”

—u/StandardResort·

20. “TV commercial for prescription drugs. It’s a a ridiculous concept that a patient should tell his doctor what medicine he should be prescribed… all based off of an advertisement by that medicine.”

—u/Circleseven

21. “I always thought the gap under bathroom stall doors was a myth, but I hardly had privacy for the five days I was in the US. How do you go to the bathroom when someone can basically look you in the eye?!”

—u/watercolorinc

“That space in public toilets doors that allows anyone to see you in your most vulnerable moment. That’s the dumbest design I’ve ever seen.”

—u/veganfrog

22. “Jello salad. It was hands down the weirdest thing I have ever eaten.”

—u/EcumenicalPhysicist

23. “The fact that tipping is obligatory whether or not you get good service.”

—u/lauretta12345·

24. “The tennis ball-sized scoop of ice cream on top of the stack of pancakes I ordered that actually turned out to be butter.”

—u/JMWicks13

25. “Processed cheese. There are so many delicious cheeses that are actual cheese. Why eat the gross fake stuff?”

—u/Magic_Fred

26. “Free and plentiful ice! Now that I’m back in Europe I miss complementary ice in hotels and ice in my water glass at restaurants.”

—u/astronogirl

27. “The yellow school buses. I couldn’t believe they were actually a thing when I first went to the US.”

—u/raketooy

28. “The darn prices not actually reflecting what I have to pay. When I go to a restaurant and order a meal that says $20 I want to pay $20… not $20 plus tax plus service.”

—u/jaaval

29. “I was doing a home exchange in New Jersey from the UK and on the second day, a neighbor came to the door with an actual cherry pie to welcome us and invite us to dinner. It was really touching and sweet (and the pie was wonderful) but it was a huge confirmation of a stereotype.”

—u/mannyv88

Have you had a “WTF” moment when visiting the US? Tell us what surprised or confused you most in the comments.

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