I’m an American living in England – I’m shocked by the differences, the most telling is how kids get to school
An American living in England was shocked by a number of cultural differences between the two countries.
What was most disturbing to her was the sight of the children going to school. It went far beyond their experiences in the US.
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Iniki (@inikimouse), who has 62,000 followers, seemed taken aback by the contrast.
“When I moved to the UK three years ago I was shocked by a lot of things and one of them was that children have to walk to school.”
It was a very strange concept for her. But commentators reminded her that not every schoolchild in the UK had to walk to their classroom.
Typical of many was this attitude: “Not everyone in the UK walks.” When I was in secondary school, I got a bus.”
Iniki described her background in her post: “I lived in a very rich, wealthy town in Connecticut, super safe [but] Even I wasn’t allowed to walk to school at 16 and school was less than a mile away.
“My mother picked us up from school and dropped us off every day. There were also the big yellow school buses.
“[But it was] It is very common for children to drive their Audi, Lexus or BMW [to school].”
Eating was her next eye-opening experience.
“Everyone warned me it was bad. It wasn’t necessarily bad, it’s just very different from American food.
She learned there was a reason for this.
“There are a lot of ingredients that are banned here that are popular in the US.
“So in America, foods are fortified with these ingredients so they taste better. A lot of the foods here are just natural.
Another cultural difference she took some time to get used to is the friendly British policeman.
“The cops here seem so approachable,” she said.
She was also confused by the frequency of buses in England.
“I was completely shocked that there are buses everywhere. I’m not used to seeing buses in the US unless you’re in a city like New York or Boston.”
“It’s common to see a bus rolling through a neighborhood or into a town or village here.”
Her post had 40,000 likes and many comments.
“At 11 I was driving through London with a friend. We got on any bus and looked where we got off,” one person recalled.
A second recalled his school days: “At ten I went for a walk without a parent accompanying me.”
Some have even been recognized for their walking efforts: “We get praise for walking in elementary school and even got school badges.”
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