Hi everyone, welcome back to my channel
It's Van
And in the last video
I was talking about
My reverse culture shock
when moving back to Vietnam
And in today's video
I'm gonna talk about the things
that confused me when I first
went to America to study abroad
don't get me wrong
I love America and
and I love the people there
but I was just very excited
to visit a new country
without preparing any cultural backgrounds
so It was a big hit for me
in terms of culture shock
So today, I want to share with you
the things that I didn't really understand
when I first went to America
So without further ado
Let's get started
Everything is HUGE in America
the drink
the food
and even those watermelons
whenever I go to American restaurants
I could barely finish my food
because the portion is so big
and I always had to ask for
like to-go-boxes
Fun Fact: asking for to-go-boxes
is considered rude or embarrassing
in many Europeans countries
and Asian countries
I was kind of get used to the big portion in the US
So when I moved back to Vietnam
I remember having two bowls of Pho at the same time
and then the waiter was just like go looking at me like
why this tiny human being can
have two bowls of Pho at the same time
There's known such term as "Pho xe lua"
meaning extra large Pho
because in Vietnam we just have regular bowls
and yeah
definitely it's not enough for me
when I first moved back
because I feel like my stomach is just expanded
when I was in the US
In college, I was quite shock
seeing my friends wearing
sweatpants, pajamas or
tight leggings to go to school
In Vietnam, if you go to school
you either wear uniforms
well, you don't need to wear uniforms
when you go to university
but people would wear like t-shirt and jeans
you wear leggings, especially like
tight leggings
we usually have very long shirt
to cover our butt
but American people, they are
very comfortable wearing baggy clothes
I feel like it's very cool
because it shows their freedom
and like how confident they are
American people love ice so much
Oh my gosh, I remember going to an American restaurant
and order a cup of water
gosh, they fill the cup with ice
and just a little bit, tiny bit of water
or beverages in there. Why?
Why do you guys obsess with ice so much?
Please leave it down the comments
If you are American
Sale tax
It's like a guessing game in America
I remember going to a Dollar Tree Store
for nothing, because
A kitkat bar is not 1$
It's actually 1.06$
Vietnam and in many European countries
We already include the Value Added Tax
a.k.a VAT in the price
so shopping can be a relaxing activity
not a math class
so in Vietnam
the date order is
date, month and then year
but in America
It's so confusing because
they write month first
and then date, and then year
I'm not sure why
they are not writing it in Asian order
One of the most confusing things
in America
is that they still use a imperial measurement
while the rest of the world
including Vietnam uses metric system
or maybe except Liberia
and Myanmar
but it's still very confusing
when I ask for direction
- Excuse me, do you know how far is it
from here to the nearest supermarket ?
- Oh, it's down that way
and it's 50 feets away from here
50 feets ?
one, two,...
three, four
five
This is what I love the most in America
is that I can drink
as much as I want
I was quite shock when
most of the American restaurants
offer free refills
and I just love it so much
the service is great
and the free refill
I have nothing to against it
I know American people value
personal space
but why would you have the gap between bathroom stalls?
I understand it's for safety reason
but it's creepy at the same times
like how could I feel comfortable
sitting there and enjoying my time?
while someone else can see
half of my leg through the gap
or even the tiny crack at the door
It's just doesn't make sense to me
One thing that I love the most about American people
is that they smile at the strangers
smiling at the strangers
can sound creepy to some European countries
because why would you smile at strangers
but we have it in Vietnam
you know Vietnamese people
would smile at you
so I feel like smile is a great way
to communicate
while we don't have the same languages
"Hello, how are you?" thing
confuse me a lot
because I didn't know why
people ask me "How are you?"
and then just pass by me
and just ignore my answer
but later on, I learn that
that's the way American people greet
you know like instead of saying
"Hello", it's too short
they have like "Hello, How are you?"
or like "Hello What's up!"
Yeah, and they just don't expect the answer
In Vietnam, if we ask "How are you?"
We will talk about
our personal stories like
family, friendship, relationship
How we feel today? And
Yeah, like just everything
I know it's so confusing, right?
because sometimes they don't want to
get involved into your personal life
but at the same time,
American people love small talk
like the cashier in the supermarket
the waiters who work at the restaurant
or even the hair dresser
they can relate anything to your story
and they can talk all day about
matching shirt and the hobbies and
my favorite food
and stuff like that, so
It's pretty interesting
In America, if a woman
is expecting her first child
chances are she gonna throw a baby shower party
when her friend and her family will come
and give her gift and wishes
for the growing family, right?
Outside of America and Canada
baby showers aren't really a thing
It's actually considered bad luck
if we celebrate a child
before he or she is born
because according to Vietnamese culture
we don't count the chickens before they hatch
we learn not to speak too soon
about an important event in our life
because we're afraid that
the things wouldn't happen like we expected
Why would American people call it "soccer"
instead of football?
You know like it's "foot" and "ball"
so you kick the ball, it's football, right?
So are you in a team football or soccer?
Comment down below, okay?
I feel like American people obsess with perfect teeth
I see teenager wearing braces
and then when they finish the braces
they have like perfect teeth
and they are super white
Is that like American thing?
Because in Vietnam
we don't care about teeth that much
I mean we do, but
we don't want them to be perfect
In the past, black teeth are very trendy
people with fangs are considered attractive
so Vietnamese people don't obsess with
perfect teeth at all
I feel like is a very common thing in America
like somebody can open
their gifts in front of the giver
No problem!
But in Asia, it's considered rude
because it shows that
are are greedy or you are impatient
you couldn't wait
for the gift to be their
It comes to the saving face culture as well
like for example, the giver didn't It comes to the saving face culture as well
like for example, the giver didn't
give you the one that you want
or the value of the present is not
as much as the value
of other presents
So, you would embarrass them in public
So the best is to open the gift
when they're gone or
Maybe just later in the party
Okay guys, so those are the things
that I found pretty strange
when I first went to America
and personally, I think it's very cool
to learn those things
because I could understand people
from different backgrounds
and I can see things in different culture lenses
So yeah, if this video is helpful and you like it
Don't forget to jump a LIKE
and don't forget to subscribe me
so I have more motivation
to do more videos like this
See you guys in the next one
Byeeee!