American living in the UK reveals one of the biggest culture shocks she’s had to get used to

Melissa Mendez ditched the Florida sunshine for London

An American living in the UK has revealed one of the biggest culture shocks she’s had to get used to after moving across the pond.

I think it’s safe to say there are plenty of differences between Americans and Brits, from the toilet situation to the prevalence of driving and the cost of living.

Now, another culture shock between the two nations has gone viral on TikTok.

Melissa Mendez, who is from Florida but has since moved to London, has experienced a ton of culture shocks since moving to the UK, some of which she’s struggled to get her head around.

The TikToker has launched a series known as ‘Culture shocks I’ve had in the UK as an American’, and in one particular video, Melissa spoke about the difference in emotions, and in particular, emotional responses in the UK compared to the US.

“Tell me why every time there is this huge event, like something out of the ordinary happens, people from other countries would have an extreme reaction,” the Florida native began.

“I don’t know, a plane crash and people would be appalled. Give that news to a British person and they’d be like, ‘Oh, that’s quite unfortunate’. Very demure, very mindful.”

The content creator continued: “Their expressions are always very passive. What I came to find out after living here is that that is their extreme reaction.

“You will very rarely get an extreme reaction from an extreme event.”

Melissa has experienced some culture shocks (TikTok/@melissasmanual)

Melissa concluded the viral TikTok video by explaining how there is one exception to this rule – football.

She said: “The only way you will get an extreme reaction from a British person is if their football team either wins or loses.”

Many have flocked to the comments section of the video, with many Brits explaining why they are less emotional when it comes to big events.

“We save up our real sock and emotional outrage for the important issues, like queue jumping or Freddo inflation,” one person commented.

For those unaware, a Freddo is a much-loved chocolate bar in the UK that has increased in price over the years.

Meanwhile, back in the comments section, another user weighed in: “We tend to approach devastating news stories with humour that others would probably deem inappropriate, too.”

While a third quipped: “We ain’t got time for emotions it gets in the way of making up jokes about the events lol.”