They're The Same, But Different

I'm just back from a relaxing 5-week holiday in the US & Canada where I met many great people. They speak English, eat 'Western' food, are middle class - so I had a great time right?!

Well, did you know that:

• Their light switches are upside down!
• They can't understand simple English words like 'Hall' & 'Fortnight'?!
• You can't buy Iced Coffee made out of milk anywhere!?!
• The toilets flush weirdly!?!?
• And imagine this one: They eat sweet fruit salad with their MAIN (savoury) course ?!?!?!?!

Why am I mentioning this? Well after about 2-3 weeks of these heinous crimes (and they're just the beginning!) I was starting to feel out of place...like they were wrong...like no-one understood me. Then I just wanted to hide away (with the light off, if I could work out which way that was!) I was in Culture shock - even though I was with lovely family in a 'Western' country.

The moral of the story? Be prepared as you travel - don't take anything for granted, and know that at some stage you will enter culture shock. And as I demonstrated in the main photo of this blog, always be willing to kiss and make up. BTW, I DID have a great time (and didn't eat fruit salad with my main course - some things are just unimagineable!)