Traveling outside of one's homeland is always an exciting adventure. Discovering new places and people is good for the soul. And it's always interesting to experience culture shock, particularly between America and Europe.
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One Redditor, Inmydreams91 posed the question of the : "What is normal in Europe but abnormal in America?"
It all goes back to the Puritans.
Broadcast tv having more nudity than hbo. mtwstr
PG-13 isn't the same worldwide.
Greater tolerance of bad language and nudity in media in general. For example, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, according to IMDb, passed with an "11 and up" rating in Sweden, and in the Netherlands, films like Erin Brokovich, and Steve Jobs (rated R for language, mostly) got an "All ages" rating.
Hannibal has an 18 certificate in the UK (and the equivalent of an 18+ rating in most countries) while it skates by with a TV-14 and is primetime fare in the US.
Big Mouth is rated "12 and up" in the Netherlands despite explicit sexual references, while South Park and Family Guy bear a mere "6 and up" rating.
It's not one guy cussing or two people having consensual sex that triggers a higher movie or TV rating in most European countries - it's someone getting beaten, whipped, eaten, or stabbed to death. Watchmen got an 18 certificate in the UK (the highest rating - rarely given to superhero films) because of the bandsaw scene, while The King's Speech got a mere 12A due to the bad words being "in a speech therapy context." In the US, both of these films were R but for completely different reasons.
Earmuffs, young ones.
I'm Christian and I don't like profanity, but it's unrealistic to think kids won't hear it or that everything has to be "sanitized". There are well-written songs, films, and TV series that happen to have swear words, and it's foolish to deny that. It's not like the Bible is exactly all "G-rated" either - especially if you're Catholic or Orthodox (that Book of Maccabees is brutal). 01000001_sauce
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Metric Mania
The Metric system. mal088 (Always a head scratcher!)
What about the pirate party?
Having more then 2 political parties to vote for. TheStressGamer
YES PLEASE!!!
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CHEERS!
Drinking outside such as on the beach, in a park etc. While probably not considered abnormal in America, it definitely seemed to be less common than in the UK. CycloneChilli
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Show me the money
Chips-n-cheez The price on the shelf being the price you pay.
Edit. Nothing to do with haggling. European prices include tax on them. It isn't added when you get to the till/cash register.
Tips on Tipping
tropomagnifico A few years back I went on an all expenses paid cruise with open bars and food, etc. After boarding, I see signs all over the decks and bar areas saying gratuity was not included in the all expenses deal. I ran out of cash after like 45 minutes of tipping and then the servers just ignored me because I could no longer tip them and they assumed I was being rude. The poor staff were probably paid horribly and surviving on tips, which is just plain awful. Employers should pay a living wage and not expect customers to pick up the difference.
Holiday time
Over 30 days of paid vacation every year. memeromemes
Yes, Mom. There's a chaperone.
deg3n3rate Letting your teenage kid's bf/gf sleep over at your house without freaking out.
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The bigger the better
Small cars. In the US something like the Ford Focus or VW Golf is considered a small car, and cars like the Ford Fiesta and Mazda 2 are considered really small.
A Honda Civic Accord is about what America would consider normal size.
In Europe, totally different, the Golf and Focus are the average with anything larger than that considered large. Sven2774
Who knows where those eggs have been!
Unwashed eggs. didzisk
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) graded eggs would be illegal if sold in the UK, or indeed anywhere in the European Union (EU). Its all to do with the fact that commercial American eggs are federally required to be washed and sanitized before they reach the consumer. EU egg marketing laws, on the other hand, state that Class A eggs those found on supermarkets shelves, must not be washed, or cleaned in any way.
Gaming the system
Calling the early 90s Sega console a "Mega Drive" instead of a "Genesis". CuthbertTheDestroyer
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Don't make me wash that mouth out with soap!
Swearing.
Now, yes, we swear in the US, of course we do...but I didn't realize how much I reign it in in public until I came back from a long Euro stint, ate at an American restaurant for the first timein a month, and kept getting daggers from the eyes of a mom at the next table over with kids of 8 or 9 or so. In Europe, no one gives a shit about swearing (I mean, yeah it's in English, but everyone knows all the swears, and they swear in the local language, too) but in the US if you're in public and you hear even a slightly raised voice swearing, it usually means some shit's going down. FlavinBagel
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Wouldn't that be nice?!
Going to the hospital without worrying about being plunged into debt. SinkTube
Cold Shoulder
noTSAluv Normal in Europe...sit at a cafe/restaurant for hours without having the waiter come by every freaking 15 min or so to ask you if there is anything else you need. No, we are here just chatting it up cause we got no other place to be, If we needed your services we would have called you.
No ice in drinks. autisticbigballs01
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Pucker up!
Cheek kissing. Soldier4Christ82
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Well when one is traveling abroad, as they say, "When in Rome!"
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.