What are the most culturally shocking things for immigrants in the US?
- Just a dim dome light in the bedroom and four lights in the bathroom. The exact opposite of what I was used to.
- Vehicles stop to let pedestrians cross. I was used to pedestrians waiting for vehicles to pass before starting to cross the street.
- Tip everyone. Barbers, hairdressers, waiters, Uber drivers, delivery people!
- Giant stores with limited selection. The stores are huge, but they don't seem to have nearly as much variety as the much smaller stores back home used to (unless it's packaged food; for that, they have tons of options ). My first thought upon entering the stores was, "They're wasting so much space."
- Hold the door. So many doors to hold, everywhere!
- Very little pedestrian traffic. At times the city felt like a ghost town. I could rarely see people walking in the streets.
- Self-service system. Fill up your car yourself. Bring your food yourself. Assemble your furniture yourself. Bring your food and drinks from the counter yourself (at fast food restaurants).
- Always wear shoes . Many people leave their shoes on inside houses and apartments.
- "What was the model of your first car?" , "How old were you when you got your driver's license?", and so on, like questions about the security of your password . (I never had a license, much less a car.)
- The students displayed almost the same kind of apathy toward the required (student) lab classes that I had seen back home. This was a huge shock, because I expected students in the rest of the world to be different.