An American woman has been living in the UK for the last three years but there are certain habits and things she still does that continue to get her the ‘side-eye’ from British people
An American woman living in the UK has shared a number of habits she’s guilty of that don’t go down particularly well with Brits. Despite sharing the same language with our allies across the pond, there’s a wealth of differences between how Brits and Americans live their day-to-day.
These contrasts can range from the way certain words are spelled, to the names of products, to opposing views on tipping and customer service, and much more. One woman, named Brianna, has been living in the UK for three years now and has noticed several culture shocks in her time on British soil.
Like many people, Brianna takes to social media where she shares her thoughts and experiences with the masses online.
In a recent video posted on TikTok, she discussed the habits she did upon first arriving in the UK that caused Brits to give her the “side eye”.
Speaking directly to the camera, Brianna began: “Things I first did here in the UK when I moved here that Brits looked at me with the side eye.
“This first one is so embarrassing but ordering water at a pub. You know how many people who went off on me for ordering water at a pub?
“And then I accidentally did it again a month ago. I’ve lived here for three years now.”
Another surprising habit Brianna was chastised for was always carrying an umbrella with her “everywhere she went”.
She continued: “Now, I just leave it in the car but I do leave the house with it but I get the funniest looks when I walk around carrying an umbrella – whether I’m using it or not.”
The prevalence of contactless card payments has also stumped Brianna on multiple occasions.
She said: “This one, I’ve struggled with all three years but I don’t tap my card at first. I always want to insert it and everyone looks at me like, ‘no, no, no, it’s just tap and go’.”
Brianna claimed she keeps “forgetting” this though and always defaults to wanting to insert her card to pay for items.
Another habit she said she was given the “side eye” for was cutting her food “with the side of her fork” rather than using a knife but she’s since stopped this and adopted use of both a knife and fork to cut her food.
Brianna also used to “ask for tea without milk” but has since learned “how delicious” a brew is when milk is added to it.
Finally, she added: “At the beginning, I did ask for fries and not chips but I learned that one fairly quickly but I do remember a handful of times at the beginning – even knowing there’s a difference in chips and crisps – but I still would just accidentally do it.”
In the comments section, fellow TikTok users were keen to share their thoughts. One person joked: “Congratulations on learning how to use a knife and fork. Brits our work is done!”
Another said: “Carrying an umbrella, really? Lots of people carry umbrellas that’s normal.”
A third commented: “If you’re around other people who get annoyed if you order water. Change friends. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
