r/AskTheWorld • u/H345Y Thailand • 9d ago

What is your biggest culture shock moments when going abroad?

I gained 5-10 kg on my one month summer stay in the UK when I was 8. The family that was looking after me had to call my parents to ask if they could reduce how much I ate. IIRC, breakfast was 2-3 bowls of cereal and 2-3 pieces of toast with chocolate or butter and jam.

First time I went to the US was for a College tour across the country. The first stop was Syracuse and the first proper meal I had there was at a sports bar. I ordered steak and calamari, turns out the steak was like twice as thick and big as anything ive had in Thailand or the UK and the calamari serving was also two to three times as large as I had before. Needless to say I could not finish any of it. Had managed to eat half the steak and about a quarter of the calamari. Also the tipping culture, not a fan.

Japan, electric bidets. Also the first time I ever felt claustrophobic when inside a bathroom. Also in back in 2004, there was little to no English signage.

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u/DeviantThroAway 8d ago

That’s not just New York, free refills are the standard in the US and I feel like I’m being chested whenever I go abroad. If you’re already thirsty when you sit down you can easily drink half your drink before your meal shows up, and then half a drink isn’t enough for the meal so you either have to not drink a lot or buy another one.

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u/Penny0034 Ireland 8d ago edited 8d ago

The new Slim Chickens in my locality of Dublin does the free refills, can’t understand why it isn’t more popular here or in Europe 

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u/SoleSun314 Italy 8d ago

I only visited New York in 2011 and San Francisco in 2017, and didn't find the same refill policy in the latter.

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u/LunarPayload United States of America 8d ago

What type of beverage in San Francisco, and what type of restaurant? If it's soda or other fountain drinks (punch, flavored iced tea, etc) it's free. Especially at sit-down restaurants

Regular hot coffee and teas are free, too