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22 “Culture Shocks” This Brit Experienced After Moving To The USA
Interview With Author
Meet Brenden Guy, a British man living in Pennsylvania who’s been gaining popularity on social media for his fun and light-hearted culture shock videos. On his TikTok channel @brendenandellie, where he’s followed by 121.9k followers and counting, Brenden shares videos of himself in various American scenarios that surprised him the most.
From free refills to tipping, and being asked how he’d like to get his eggs done while ordering at a restaurant, these are some of the things that felt very different compared with how things go back home in England. So let’s see Brenden’s funny culture shocks right below, and if there are any British expats living in America reading this post right now, be sure to share your own experience in the comment section below!
After you’re done, I highly recommend checking out our previous post with more entertaining cultural shocks from another viral TikTok creator Kacie Burns, who has created a similar series about things she found unusual when moving to live in Italy from the US.
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#1
Zaza 3 years ago
Oh gods, please don't! If I walk into a store and immediately some staff member comes up to me being all pushy, in my face, wanting to make a sale, I would be out of there in about 2 seconds and would never ever return. I'm not a degenerate, I can read signs avout a sale, I know what I need better than you do, leave me the f**k alone unless I ask you something Nasty, nasty habit. I'm so glad that's a US only thing and normal people in the rest of the world don't do this
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#2
Sara Rodrigues 3 years ago (edited)
This is one of the things that I hated about the US and Canada. I once stayed at a hotel that didn't want to tell me how much the total for the room was after tax, even though I explained to them that my debit card has a safety limit and therefore I needed to know how much it cost in total, to make sure that it's below the limit. Surprise surprise, the card was rejected because there was 26% more tax and they thought that I as a foreigner should know how much the tax was and calculate it in my head...
Bored Panda reached out to Brenden Guy, a British TikToker living in the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA with his wife and daughter. Brenden’s fun and light-hearted videos of culture shocks he found after moving here from England have been going viral and he has now amassed a solid audience of 122k followers on his channel, @brendenandellie.
“I got into TikTok at the start of the pandemic initially to learn more about how the platform works and how it might relate to my career as a marketing and public relations consultant,” he recounted. “The more I made content, the more I realized how much fun it was and it soon became what my wife refers to as my pandemic passion project.”
Brenden believes that “It's a wonderful creative outlet and I'm having fun creating all sorts of content, from life as a dad and husband to these culture shock videos.”
#3
Roxy Eastland 3 years ago
Honestly, Americans need to know how little Brits care about this. Any reference to throwing tea into water, even those who understand the joke, really, really don't care.
When asked about the biggest culture shock as a Brit living in the US, Brenden said it’s probably the entire restaurant dining-out experience. “You would not think it, but there are actually a lot of differences here including rather large portions, free refills, tipping requirements, leaving cash payment on the table and simply leaving. It goes on!”
“Thankfully, I've dined out enough over the last 13 years to get used to them, but not a day goes by that I don't think about how different the experience is,” he said and added that “Overall, the American dining-out experience is superior.”
#6
Katchen 3 years ago
After seeing The Gruffalo movie, my kid thought I was saying the wrong words when I read him the book. The movie’s narrator has a British accent and I’m American. My kid was young enough that he thought I was just saying different words, since he didn’t yet know what an accent is.
Brenden said the reception to these culture shock videos has been amazing. “I've been particularly touched to read the comments thanking me for making a positive video highlighting the differences between America and other countries instead of pointing out all the flaws and poking fun. This has always been my intention from the start because I truly love it here and wanted to focus on the fun and lighthearted differences rather than the more controversial and antagonistic ones.”
#9
Dilly Millandry 3 years ago
You can get large jugs of tap water free in most places - just ask.
#11
Roxy Eastland 3 years ago
In our village we have a competition to make the best effigy of a 'guy'
When asked about things he really likes in the US, the TikToker said he loves Thanksgiving. “Naturally, it's a holiday unique to this country and it's a lovely opportunity to get together with friends and family and eat delicious food,” Brenden said.
Apart from that, he likes that Americans have much more space, from bigger cars to wider streets and more spacious homes. “Back home, it can feel a little cramped at times; everything feels so much smaller in comparison,” he added.
#13
F. H. 3 years ago (edited)
In Germany, a big menu is a sure sign that they are going to serve you frozen pre-made food if you take anything other than fast food classics. That doesn't count for restaurants with Indian or Chinese food, though. If they have such a big menu they are probably just swapping the sauce for each dish.
Having said that, there are a lot of British things Brenden misses, “most of all my family. But from my daily life, I miss Cadbury's chocolate the most. It's completely different to the Cadbury's that you can buy in the US which, I believe, is actually made by Hershey's.” Plus, few things compare to British pubs! “I miss having a pint at a British pub, which has a completely different vibe and ambience to American bars,” Brenden told us.
#19
Lauren Caswell 3 years ago
Lol reverse this and substitute cricket for Americans , so I hear ^-^
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What do you think ?
BlackPearltheSeaWing/NightWing 3 years ago
His facial expressions throughout the whole thing are like a cherry on top of the funny circumstances.
Nevits Yibble 3 years ago
This is why most Americans really love Brits. They're cool and they're funny (and thank you for Monty Python by the way!)
BlackPearltheSeaWing/NightWing 3 years ago
His facial expressions throughout the whole thing are like a cherry on top of the funny circumstances.
Nevits Yibble 3 years ago
This is why most Americans really love Brits. They're cool and they're funny (and thank you for Monty Python by the way!)
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