6 US Culture Shocks (Through the Eyes of a European)
Our recent trip to the US was Arek’s first time visiting the US, so I thought it would be interesting to compile a list of what he, as a European, was most shocked by! As a Canadian, and with Canada and the US being similar on many levels (although very different on many other levels!), I had never experienced much culture shock, having started visiting the US around the age of 10. However, having now lived in the UK for 6 years and having not visited the US by the same number of years, I actually shared some of the same shocks as Arek when we visited!
Of course, this is a very generalised list and only based on the few areas of the US that we visited (California and Hawaii), so this is certainly not a blanket list of culture shocks for the entire country. But in any case, let’s get started!
1. 6-Lane (or More) Motorways
We both drove during this trip and for me, not having visited the US in 6 years, even I was shocked at the number of lanes a typical motorway (or freeway, or highway, as they can be known) has. There were many times when we missed exits or took wrong turns! We also found it quite comical that sometimes, we would enter a motorway from the right (usually turning in from a different motorway) only to have to hurry up and make our way to the left (because the GPS said so)!
It was possibly even more shocking that Oahu has motorways with the same number of lanes as we found in Southern California!
2. Tons and Tons of Billboards
It was surprising to see so many billboards scattered about, especially along motorways (though to be fair, when driving in the US, it’s usually on a motorway!). And an especially surprising part was seeing so many advertisements for lawyers! I guess people sue each other a lot in the US?!
In the UK, we of course see billboards and other ads here and there, but not nearly to the extent that we saw them in the US.
3. Compliments from Complete Strangers
We were at a mall in Southern California with my sister when someone complimented her on her outfit. Arek was very surprised by this because it’s not something he has ever really encountered in Europe. In Poland, where Arek is from, if a random stranger gave him a compliment out of nowhere, he would be suspicious and think what was wrong with that person and/or questioning their intentions. People tend not to give other people compliments, at least from Arek’s experience in Poland.
Be sure to check out our YouTube video featuring Southern California!
4. Friendliness (or Over-Friendliness) of Servers and the Tipping Culture
This culture shock is quite similar to Canada but I’ve decided to include it anyway. Because tipping is such an important part of a server’s income, we noticed that servers can be extremely friendly, sometimes to the point where it feels a bit over-the-top, like we can see through their facade. As well, servers would often come to our table several times to ask how everything is and if we need anything else, almost as a way to usher us out the door so they can get the next customers seated and therefore generate more tips.
Here in the UK, at least pre-pandemic, we could easily sit at a casual restaurant for hours without any servers coming up to try to shoo us out the door. Tipping is encouraged in the UK, and people do generally tip, but tips are not a crutch that servers rely on to make up a portion of their income.
5. The One-Stop Shop That is Walmart
There are probably many more one-stop shops in the US, but the only one we visited was Walmart. Not only can you buy your usual groceries, medicines (over the counter or at the chemist), clothing, items for your home, in addition to getting your photos printed, but you can also gather up everything you might need for your garden, all of the sports equipment that you can imagine, and of course, guns.
They might not stock every single item that you can wish for, but you certainly don’t need to go to another shop to, for example, buy a new basketball or a new fishing rod, or a new patio set for your garden.
Something else that was quite shocking while we roamed around Walmart was that within each category of item, there are a gazillion choices available! Choose from 10 kinds of milk, 20 different kinds of yoghurts, and 50 kinds of chocolate!
In the UK, the grocery shop Asda was owned by Walmart for many years and now, Walmart retains an ‘equity investment’ in Asda, but there is really no comparison between Asda and Walmart. Asda is nowhere near the level of one-stop shop that Walmart is.
6. Fighter Jets & Helicopters Overhead All Day Long on Oahu
Perhaps not everyone knows this, but there are military bases on Oahu. This means that, especially in Honolulu, there are fighter jets and helicopters flying overhead all, day, long. If you are into those types of aircraft, it is definitely cool to see, but we were definitely shocked by the sheer number of aircraft passing by overhead. At one point, there are about six fighter jets that flew past consecutively! So if you are planning to have a beach day on a Honolulu beach, don’t expect a quiet time (overhead)!
We also have a YouTube video featuring Oahu!
What do you think of our list of US culture shocks? What did you agree with the most? And what would you add? Let us know in the comments!
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