Culture shock when moving from a 1st world nation to another 1st world nation? (schools, income)

[dunno what to put here]

Originally Posted by cali3448893

I think you misunderstood me i was saying all countries have the same amount of ignorance. I remember a lady in Germany was saying how americans are ignorant because they dont know much about their political system. Now why in the world would i care so much about germanys political system?

Maybe she is referring to Americans being ignorant of their own political system?

[cali3448893]

Originally Posted by dunno what to put here

Maybe she is referring to Americans being ignorant of their own political system?

WRONG

[ram2]

Originally Posted by Ameriscot

I experienced culture shock moving from the US to UK. I wasn't really expecting so many differences, like language (especially in Scotland), and the humour. Some of the language differences can be very embarrassing when you don't realize what they are. My first job was an office temp and I felt like an idiot when someone said something about A4 and I hadn't a clue what they were talking about. It's the normal paper size.

Did you learn what a "carrier" is?

[ram2]

Originally Posted by arctic_gardener

Europe doesn't have an automobile culture.

Ever hear of the German Autobahn?

[red4ce]

I got culture shock even just moving from Southern California to Northern California, not to mention whenever I go on trips to other regions of the USA. When you move to a place you know to be very different from your home you mentally prepare for it. When you move to a place you expect to be very similar, you get taken aback by even the small differences.

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by OZpharmer

Are most Americans not aware of the types of paper sizes? (e.g. A4, B4, etc.)

We're very well aware of differing paper sizes - we just don't call them by the same terms.

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by kevxu

Culture shock? Not for me when I made the move. Adjustments to be made, sure; but anything like "shock," no. However, I can imagine that if a person is inclined to be inflexible, and assumes that the ways of dealing with the business of living as he knows them are a universal should-this-way, that any transition would be traumatic.

I can remember when my mother removed herself from the NE to Florida in the Seventies, several of our longtime neighbors had done the same. My gawd for the first couple of years they behaved as if they had moved to the other side of the world.

I moved from the US to Germany in the 1990s. I am a very open minded person who loves to travel and relishes the differences between cultures. I was very, very excited about the move.

However, about a month into the move, I suddenly went into a sort of depression - a claustrophobic sense of depression if that makes any sense. After a few days, I realized what was happening - every single sign, paper, book, magazine etc all around me was in German. Rather than subconsciously noting what these things said (like I'd been doing since age 5 in the US), any written anything was a challenge. Not an impossibility, but a mental challenge, and subconsciously it was wearing on me. Same with everything that people said to me or conversations I heard all around me, on the streets, on the bus, in the stores...it was like suddenly I had reached my saturation point and a mild sense of panic set it.

I remember exactly where I was when it hit - in a lovely little town square watching some sort of medieval play at a local festival. Suddenly, I felt incredibly small and very, very far away from home - almost marooned on some huge, foreign island -totally insignificant and at the mercy of my environment.

It was a weird moment...and immediately I thought to myself, "Get your head together." But it took a bit of doing. After a few days, my emotions settled down and I thoroughly enjoyed the next three years in that beautiful country.

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

We're very well aware of differing paper sizes - we just don't call them by the same terms.

What do you call them then? I thought the 'A' sizes were standard around the world.

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

What do you call them then? I thought the 'A' sizes were standard around the world.

Not in the US.

http://www.dpandi.com/paper/

[boiseguy]

there is culture shock for americans just moving from say california to New Jersey.. let alone USA to UK or whatever