An American has revealed the three culture shocks he experienced when he moved to the UK.
Content creator Kalani Ghost Hunter, real name Kalani Smith, from Tennessee, listed portion sizes as one of the surprises he received after moving to the UK.
The change was so dramatic that when he first ordered a large drink in the UK, he mistook it for a small.
It’s perhaps unsurprising that the content creator found the change astonishing since the US is famously known for its hefty food and drink servings compared to other nations.
Taking to TikTok, Kalani said, ‘My mind was like ‘This is a small’. If you’re not familiar with drink sizes in the US, you can get a small state-sized cup for like a dollar 50. It’s absolutely mind-blowing.
Taken aback by UK standards, he added, ‘When you travel out of the US, you realise that it’s not the norm.’
Next, Kalani, who boasts over three million followers on TikTok, said when he first came to Britain, he did not realise how much of a difference tipping culture is.
‘When you get your check at the end of dinner, and they don’t ask for a tip, and they don’t even give you an option to tip, it’s really weird.
Content creator Kalani Ghost Hunter (pictured), real name Kalani Smith, from Tennessee, has revealed the three culture shocks he experienced when he moved from America to the UK, including the lack of tipping culture
‘For example, when you go out in the USA and you get dinner, let’s say it’s $60, it’s customary to leave an extra 20 per cent on top of that for your service staff.’
The content creator continued, ‘But in the UK, it’s not the norm to leave anything extra on top.’
The internet personality said that he sometimes still tips waiters and waitresses, but he no longer ‘feels the same pressure’ that he does to splash out the cash when across the pond.
The third adjustment Kalani had to learn to adapt to was the British humour, which he described as ‘very dry, very dark and very passive aggressive’.
However, once the social media star started to understand the British sarcasm, he admitted that it became ‘really funny’.
‘They have so many different ways to insult you and so many different ways to say things that it’s almost like translating another language at times.’
Kalani said that when he first ordered a large drink in Britain, he thought he had been given a small
The clip racked up almost 800,000 views and over one thousand comments – and some Britons ranted about having to tip staff when holidaying in the States
Kalani described British comedy as ‘elite’ and said he was first exposed to it when reading comments on his posts.
‘I have grown to call a lot of people ‘melts’ and really enjoy it,’ he added. A melt translates to someone acting in a pathetic or wimp-like manner.
The clip racked up almost 800,000 views after two days and over one thousand comments, with Britons ranting about having to tip staff when holidaying in the States.
One wrote, ‘The reason you’re not expected to tip in the UK is because service staff actually get paid a wage and tips are extra, not like in the US where servers only survive on tips.’
Another penned, ‘Been to America and hated the fact that I had to tip for someone that literally just sat me down and took my order.’
A third said, ‘Our banter is the best, the more you like someone the worse the insults.’ A fourth commented, ‘I wouldn’t be able to tip in the US. Couldn’t afford it.’
