I'm an American living in the UK and these are the cultural differences that took a lot of adjusting to - I wish I knew before I moved
Proper news from Britain - News from Britain you won’t find anywhere else. Not the tosh the big media force-feed you every day!
An American living in London has shared his thoughts about some of the biggest cultural differences between the UK and the USA.
TikToker 'kjordyyy' took to social media to explain some of the British quirks that he's found the most 'confusing'.
Whether it's the British obsession with tea or the UK's issue with eye contact, these are the differences Americans might want to be aware of before making the move across the pond...
Kjordy starts by explaining: 'As an American living in London, British social interactions are so difficult to understand.
'I was on the Tube the other day and I couldn't help but notice that everyone was aggressively avoiding eye contact with each other. Eye contact is strictly off limits.'
The TikToker says that he's found that people prefer to focus on the floor, their phones or even an ad for baked beans instead of meeting their fellow passengers' eyes.
Another social habit that's left Kjordy confused is the British penchant for apologising.
He explains that Brits tend to apologise when they need to 'squeeze by somebody in the supermarket', if they 'accidentally bump into somebody' or even 'if someone bumps them'.
However, the TikToker says that all of these 'awkward interactions go out the window' on Thursday at '5pm on the dot.'
He reveals: 'The funny thing is once the weekend comes they completely transform into party animals. For Brits, this is one of the most important events of the week.'
While after-work Thursday drinks are very common in the UK, Kjordy explains that Americans are much more likely to 'only schedule drinking activities on the weekend'.
He explains that Americans generally have 'company sports games as an after-work activity' instead with companies competing in different sports.
The American reveals: 'Most people get comically competitive and it's the best way to relieve stress after work. I told my British friend about this and he was puzzled because he couldn't get over the fact that there wasn't any beverage involved.'
And even the pints are different in the UK. The TikToker claims that 'pints are practically the size of small swimming pools [in the UK] compared to what we have back in the States.'
However, despite his initial reservations, KJordy reveals that he has 'started' to understand the 'therapy of a Thursday pint.'
In another video shared to his TikTok account, KJordy warns Americans that they need to be prepared for how seriously British people take tea.
He says: 'Everybody knows they're obsessed with tea but it goes much deeper than that.
'You can't just make a British person a cup of tea and call it a day. Some people like it with milk.
'Some people like it without milk. Some people have to have a tea a certain colour.'
He then admits that he once made a British friend a cup of tea in a microwave and the friend almost 'had a heart attack'.
And when a British person says tea, they might not mean a cuppa. Kjordy adds: 'A lot of people call dinner, tea. That confused me but moving on.'
The TikToker also reveals that he once made a critical error when it came to using a UK socket.
He says: 'For most of the sockets, you can switch them on and off. I plug my phone in at night and I wake up and my phone's completely dead because I forgot to switch the socket on.'
It might confuse British people but they also need to be extremely careful when they arrange a meeting time with an American friend, according to the TikToker.
KJordy reveals that 'half 4' means something different in the USA, explaining: 'If a British person comes to you and tells you to meet at half 4pm, that does not mean 3:30pm, even though half four means 3:30pm. No they mean 4:30pm. Genuinely don't understand why.'
And the last shock Americans will have in the UK?
The TikToker explains that Brits 'dip their fries in curry sauce'.
But while he wasn't convinced by this culinary innovation at first, he does admit that 'the taste shockingly is really good.'
.jpg)
