- accents - It really threw me off at first to not hear Scouse accents everywhere
- left/right - When I'm walking, I always look right for cars instead of left. I don't do that when I'm driving, which I think is because I didn't drive in England and therefore never developed new driving habits there.
- sales tax - I've become accustomed to it all being included in the price, so if something said 2.50, it was 2.50, not 2.50 plus tax.
- the weather - Not necessarily a culture thing, but I'm definitely not used to the heat and insects. The insects must have missed me, though, because they've taken every opportunity to bite me. I did learn that breastmilk helps take the sting out of red ant bites. Yes, I am that person. But hey, it's available and a panacaea. ;-)
- language - It's really hit me that my children don't actually know American English all that much. For example, they call it a "pavement" instead of a "sidewalk" and speak of biscuits in the British sense of the word. Of course, it makes a bit more sense for them to have culture shock, because they've never lived in the US.
16 October 2011
Culture Shock
As strange as it may sound, I've been going through culture shock. Yes, I'm from the US, but I've lived overseas for over 5 years and hadn't been in the US for over 2 years before returning last week. Here are some of the shocks I've had:
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Wow! I can't imagine! You'll have to share any funny stories that come up with the kids not knowing any American English.
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