Culture Shock Stories

[ScottyMcGee]

I'm always interested in hearing stories about people going to another country/region and suddenly finding themselves in an awkward spot where cultures clash.

I've only been to Canada and Mexico, and a long time ago too, so I don't really have any stories about international culture shocks. But sometimes across states there are like "mini" culture shocks I've experienced. I think that's more in the spotlight now after Trump won the presidency and people are talking about how cities are out of touch with the rural communities and vice versa, etc, etc, and so forth.

A close friend of mine from Massachusetts came to visit me in New Jersey. We listened to the radio and he was baffled by how many evangelical radio stations there were. According to him there was next to none in Massachusetts. After I visited Boston and Gloucester and Cape Cod several times, I looked at my own towns and realized there's. . .not much. . .to do. There isn't a huge personality. You have the Jersey Shore, yes, but that's big in the summer. The rest is just strip mall after strip mall. People go out to get what they need to get and then go back home.

Do you have any international culture shock stories or something more regional, etc?

[I am nobody]

Haha, and there aren't even that many evangelical stations in the NJ/PA/DE area relative to a bit further south. I was in SC around Christmas once, and the TV and radio were almost nothing but preachers.

[CaptHayfever]

The day I found out that other countries call Sprite/7up/Sierra Mist/et cet "lemonade" & didn't even know that those have lime in them also, nor what the American version of lemonade is.
Most discrepancies in English dialects worldwide I've just picked up as I encountered them with no problem, but this specific one bugs me as much as calling all soft drinks "cola".

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[DarkZero]

one time i told my boyfriend who lives in california about hot cider and he was appalled

[Apollo the Just]

One time I was in France and I complimented a friend's sunglasses (bc it's pretty normal in America to see someone and go like "oh hey I like your shoes" or w/e right?). Apparently that is not a thing you commonly do in France, because she assumed the only reason I would say something is if I loved them so much I simply couldn't contain myself, so she went and bought me a pair. All because I saw her one morning and went "sup, I like your sunglasses."

....I felt kinda bad but also it was a sweet pair of sunglasses, so.