FOREIGNERS SHOCKED BY AMERICA

Reddit asked, “Non-Americans of Reddit, what’s something that absolutely shocked you when you first visited the US?” Some of the responses:
– “The distance between places was the biggest thing to get my head around.
– “We were driving towards the grand canyon in the middle of nowhere with no building around and suddenly there was a fireworks shop next door to a preschool.”
– “The listed price in stores not being what you pay.”
– “That everybody is asking how I am doing, straight after the ‘hi.'”
– “I took someone from overseas to a baseball game. The things that impressed her: 1) The enormous ketchup tub with a pump at the snack counter. 2) You could order something from the vendor, pass your twenty dollar bill down the row, and your food and change would be passed back.”
– “The portion size in restaurants.”
– “So many cereal options.”
– “How early people eat dinner.”
– “One British boyfriend of mine was flabbergasted at the size of my parent’s bathroom sink.”
– “I’m originally from South Korea, and in high school all my Korean friends were shocked that we were allowed to wear what we wanted to school.”
– “The gaps around the stall doors in public restrooms took some getting used to!”
– “The accents. In Canada, there are a few regional accents, but on the US, there were SO MANY.”
– “How much violence was on standard television.”
– “Nobody walks. I took a 20 minute walk to the supermarket and my American girlfriend thought I was crazy.”
– “That you can book a ticket on a plane or bus, and it doesn’t guarantee you a seat!”
– “When I first moved here, toilet paper shocked me a lot.”
* Yeah, electric toilet paper does take some getting used to.
* When Europe discovers ice cubes, THEN you have a right to complain about the U.S.
* PHONE TOPIC: Did you ever have a foreign friend shocked by something here in America?