American woman reveals the things that confuse her most about life in the UK – from standing on the right on an escalator to a lack of plug sockets in the bathroom
- Miriam Giraffe, from Vancouver, Washington, moved to London last year
- In a series of TikTok videos she revealed the things that have shocked her the most about British life, questioning why British people use two bathroom taps
- She went on that she didn’t know you had to hail the bus because it stops at every stop in the US, and that she was shocked that museums are free in the UK
An American woman living in the UK has revealed the things that have baffled her most about British life – including not having plugs in bathrooms, exit buttons in public buildings and having to turn on radiators to use them.
Miriam Giraffe, from Vancouver, Washington, moved to London last year for work after previously studying abroad in the UK.
Now, in a series of TikTok videos she revealed the things that have shocked her the most about British life, questioning why British people use two taps and sharing her amazement at how easy it is to transfer money between banks compared to the US.
An American woman living in the UK has revealed the things that have baffled her most about British life – including not having plugs in bathrooms, exit buttons in public buildings and having to turn on radiators to use them (right)
I did think I’d locked myself INTO the building on my first day \ud83d\ude05 #theatrekid #fyp #pourtoi #lifeabroad #movingabroad #uk #london
In her first video, titled ‘Things that threw me when I moved to the UK,’ she reveals how she first moved here she was baffled by the greeting ‘you alright’ meaning ‘hello’ or ‘how are you’ because it made her think she ‘didn’t look alright’.
She went on that she didn’t know you had to hail the bus because it stops at every stop in the US, and that she was shocked that museums are free in the UK.
The video quickly racked up more than 20,000 likes with her followers asking for more observations.
Miriam explained that she was baffled when a friend told her she could just transfer money through an app rather than a wire transfer to pay her back for tickets.
She also explained how she was confused that Brits don’t use top sheets – a piece of linen that lies on the bed between the duvet and the person sleeping.
These are common in the US where they duvet covers are uncommon, meaning linen is washed less regularly as they have to wash the whole duvet.
Miriam Giraffe, from Vancouver, Washington, moved to London last year for work after previously studying abroad in the UK. She said that she was baffled by how easy it is to transfer money
Miriam also shared how she didn’t know museums are free in the UK (left) and that she’s surprised that Brits don’t wear wellies in the rain
The self-confessed West End nerd added that she was shocked that you have to pay for programmes at the theatre.
In a third video, Miriam revealed that when she first moved to London she thought her room was ‘always cold’ despite turning the heating on, before adding she was then told that she needed to turn her radiator on.
She went on to explain that she was equally baffled by the lack of power outlets in bathrooms – something that is commonplace in the US.
‘I bought my electric toothbrush but there’s no place to plug it in in the bathroom – am I missing something?’ she questioned before discovering that she had to charge it away from power outlets.
Miriam also said that she was surprised that people need to hail the bus in the UK (left) and that always standing on the right is unusual
I will argue a top sheet is a necessity all day, every day #theatrekid #fyp #pourtoi #lifeabroad #movingabroad #london #uk
The Washington native also explained that she was confused by how Brits don’t wear wellies in rainy weather after being told that she shouldn’t wear bright pink rain boots while out and about.
In a final video, she also explained how she got ‘stuck’ inside her own building because she believed she was locked in, when she actually just didn’t know she had to press the ‘exit’ button by the door.
And like many people who visit the UK, she also explained how she was confused by British queuing – adding that she ‘feels like the American vibe is just to shove and get there first ‘.
Finally she said that she was baffled by Brits having two taps as it ‘isn’t super common in the US’.
In another video, she revealed things she loves about the UK but can’t get in the US include, Prawn Cocktail Crisps, Pimms in a Tin, Percy Pigs, and the NHS.
Source: Read Full Article
