If you are from the United States, there are probably lots of aspects of everyday life and culture that feel so commonplace you’d never second-guess them. But for someone from elsewhere, these American customs might seem totally bizarre. Here are some of the American norms that people from other places around the world find strange.
1.
“The fact that there are so many things you can do in America before you can legally drink. It’s like they’ve got it backwards. For me, in Australia, drinking was probably the first ‘adult’ thing people do.”
2.
“Coffee in the States is often a ‘to-go’ thing, while in the rest of the world it’s a sit and relax thing.”
3.
“American flags are EVERYWHERE. In India, it’s pretty much illegal to use the Indian flag on anything except actual flags and pins. Meanwhile, I’ve seen the American flag on underwear.”
4.
“The fact that curse words are bleeped out on television. This is even funnier in TV shows like The Walking Dead, where they show zombies tearing people apart and eating them, but in the next scene, the one curse word is censored.”
5.
“Paying for health care.”
6.
“Tipping. On my first visit to Paris, I tipped everyone, and while I got excellent service, my friend who lived there had to explain that tips were included in the bill before it got to us, so I was tipping on top of already tipping. I didn’t care after a while. We’re so conditioned for this in the US.”
7.
“I learned that the US week starts on Sunday two years ago, and everytime I remember it I just stare into the void, silently freaking out. It has zero effect on my life, but for some reason, it deeply disturbs me. I can’t even describe how unhinged this seems to me. Why do you call the weekend the weekend when it’s not the end of the week?! Or don’t you count Sunday as a weekend?! And if you do, then why not have the week start with Monday, as it should?! Now I am going think about this all day again.”
8.
“A lot of people dress down instead of dressing up. It’s always T-shirts and jeans or sweatpants in America.”
9.
“How long it takes to get from place to place in the US. This is so baffling to people from other countries. We lived in Oregon, and my husband’s Italian business associate called him from NYC one day and said he was going to be in the west. He wondered if he could ‘drop by’ and visit with my husband. My husband asked, ‘Sure, where are you?’ The man said he was in Detroit.”
11.
“How difficult it is to get around if you don’t have a car. Not everywhere, but there are some places that are just impossible because there are no footpaths, bike lanes, or decent public transportation.”
12.
“Am I right in thinking that in the US, shops don’t show the *actual* price of the items? You find out when you get to the till and taxes are added? If so, WHHYYYYYYYY???? That sounds so stressful and just totally unnecessary?”
13.
“That your public schools are funded by the county. This means that resources for schools are highly dependent on the wealth of the people who live in each county. Weird.”
—cheesyjellyfish554
14.
“Costco. It’s amazing, and I wish we had it where I live. The mere concept of a place where you can buy rice in bulk but also a tire for your car is hilarious. And the cakes were really good.”
15.
“American here. Something I didn’t realize was weird until I traveled out of the country is that some of our coins don’t have the denomination/value on them. For instance, our 10-cent piece just says ‘one dime.’ How tf are tourists supposed to know how much a dime is worth??”
16.
“The imperial system instead of the metric system. Can we all agree to transfer over to the metric system like the rest of the world?!”
—Livinthatlife
17.
“Saying The Pledge of Allegiance in schools. Its like some sleeper agent mode. And people are so proud of themselves that they remember all the words.”
18.
“People have lunch on their desks. And usually it’s just a snack. Where I come from, lunch is the most complete meal of the day.”
19.
“Restaurants expect you not to finish the food and take it home. My mother finds taking home leftovers from a restaurant to be embarrassing and will not do it. But American restaurants have portion sizes that seem to expect this.”
20.
“How friendly Americans are. I lived in California for three years. I made more friends there in that time than I did living in my home country for over three decades.”
21.
“The ability to make so many substitutions when ordering at restaurants. I’ll never forget when I ordered the breakfast platter in England and the waitress just walked away. I said, ‘She didn’t ask how I want my eggs or what kind of toast I want. She didn’t ask if I wanted bacon or sausage!’ My local companion rolled her eyes and said Americans are so entitled! I was in utter suspense until the plate came. Elsewhere, you get what you get and you like it!”
Do you have something to add? If you’re from the US, what is something you always considered “normal” until you realized other people find it unusual? Tell us in the comments or in this anonymous form.
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