those "what??" moments (food, slang, etc.)

[silvermoonfairy3]

One of my favorite things about having a relationship with someone from another country, and from traveling to other countries, is the differences and things that make you go "wait, what?"

I thought this might be a fun thread for cultural misunderstandings, or things that you or your SO took for granted as a common thing, something you weren't expecting, etc.

Some of mine:

I mentioned string cheese, and after a few minutes of confusion where my SO talked about how it was so gross and not healthy at all, we realized he was thinking of Cheez Wiz. (Canned aerosol cheese product.)

My SO talking about how his mom used to make a dinner when they were kids from a surimi mix. In my head, this was like brownie mix, so a surimi powder where you add water and milk or something. (Yum! Doesn't powdered surimi sound appetizing? No.)

Also, things I wasn't expecting:
Lightbulbs that don't screw in, and shopping carts in the grocery store that don't have that middle bar on the bottom, so they can move sideways like crabs. (Took me kind of a long time to be able to go around corners.)


Talking with my flatmates in the UK, who thought peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were so gross:
Me: I just learned recently that you guys call jelly what I'd call Jell-O, the gelatin stuff. Did you think I meant peanut butter and gelatin sandwiches?
Flatmate 1: No.
Flatmate 2: No.
Flatmate 3: ...I did.

[emsimes]

This is a fun thread!
I think a lot of my SO's sayings are really cute.
For example, instead of saying "pants", he says "trousers". He also calls a backpack a "rucksack". I was really confused on that one for awhile! Another interesting one for me is "pram". I had NO idea what he was talking about, until I realized he meant a baby carriage ^^
I think a lot of his different terms stem from the fact that he was taught more British English in school rather than American English. I was really surprised when he kept saying the word "Zed" rather than the letter "Z". There are so many little differences! I think it's pretty cool, though

As for my SO, I think he's confused by a lot of our slang American terms. He also doesn't understand why "university" in the US also means "college".
Another funny story: I was once making a joke about something, and I said to him, "Tricks are for kids!" I was referring to the slogan for Trix cereal, but he had no idea what I was talking about, as they don't have Trix in Germany ^^

[80anthea]

We have so many and we constantly mock one another.....Biscuits aren't biscuits they're chuffing scones!

[silvermoonfairy3]

We have so many and we constantly mock one another.....Biscuits aren't biscuits they're chuffing scones!

They're biscuits not scones, weirdo!
Kidding. Kidding. :P

But, how do you pronounce scones? My SO and I get in mock-fights about pronunciation of things constantly. He says "scone" rhymes with "gone." And I say "scone" rhymes with "own" and then ask him if he gets ice cream cons. :P

[silvermoonfairy3]

This is a fun thread!
I think a lot of my SO's sayings are really cute.

Haha, yeah, my flatmates in the UK used to chuckle when the Americans talked about "pants" meaning trousers, because pants to them was underwear. Whoops.

I was really surprised when he kept saying the word "Zed" rather than the letter "Z".

My SO does that, too. And then I teased him by pointing out that "zed" is the only letter he uses an "ed" sound for and singing the alphabet song by replacing all letters with "ee" endings (like c, d, z) with "ed" endings. "Ay, bed, ced, ded, ed, eff, ged, ach, eye, jay, kay, el, em, en, oh, ped, que, ar, ess, ted, you, ved, double you, ex, y, and zed."

There are so many little differences! I think it's pretty cool, though

Me too.. it's so fun and interesting to see the differences.

Another funny story: I was once making a joke about something, and I said to him, "Tricks are for kids!" I was referring to the slogan for Trix cereal, but he had no idea what I was talking about, as they don't have Trix in Germany

lol.. nice! I made an Oregon Trail reference once and he didn't get that one at all because he didn't play Oregon Trail. And he frequently makes references to songs or movies that he thinks have made it over here, and haven't or at least that I haven't heard.

He also uses the phrase "swings and roundabouts" a lot, which I'd never heard.

Where I'm from, we used the word "wicked" as an intensifier. (Like, "it's wicked cold out.")
I noticed recently that he's started doing it. :P
I wonder if I'm picking up on NZ ones that I haven't noticed are slipping in to my vocab.

[silvermoonfairy3]

Other pronunciation things:

I say "erbal" and he says "herbal" with the H. We both pulled up Herbal Essence commercials for our countries, and even the company changes it to suit their audience. Flip-floppers. :P

I say aloo-min-um, he says al-oo-min-eyum.

He said he needed to remember his "togs" once and I had *no* idea what togs meant. Apparently slang for clothes, he meant bathing suit.

[Moon]

We have so many and we constantly mock one another.....Biscuits aren't biscuits they're chuffing scones!

What the hell is a chuffing?? That can't be a real word

In Finland, they learn British English, but have a huge American media influence, which ends up in a weird mix of word choices. I've mostly cured my guy of his Britishisms, but occasionally I still get a "zed" or "trousers".

One "what the..." I've found is that Finland has this weird fish bread, called Kalakukko. They bake fish inside a loaf of bread, which I just find funny. I don't know why

[silvermoonfairy3]

One "what the..." I've found is that Finland has this weird fish bread, called Kalakukko. They bake fish inside a loaf of bread, which I just find funny. I don't know why

Fish bread? ... huh. lol.. have you tried it? Is it good? Like.. a whole fish? Or do they cut it up?

[Moon]

Fish bread? ... huh. lol.. have you tried it? Is it good? Like.. a whole fish? Or do they cut it up?

Nope, never tried it, but I think it's a bunch of little herring, put in there whole. It looks absolutely terrible!

[80anthea]

One that came up tonight is 'Johnny Appleseed', he throws these things into the conversation expecting me to know what the heck he's talking about.

Pronunciation is good one and he says Parrrrrrrsta whereas I say pasta and he refuses to pronounce T's in anything so it's budder and wadder. He's practically illiterate

It doesn't help that he has quite a strong (and incredibly sexy) deep southern drawl and I can have quite a strong Yorkshire accent and have a lot of Yorkshireisms so I say tea when I mean dinner, I don't say I'm going to the shop, I say I'm offt'shop.

[80anthea]

They're biscuits not scones, weirdo!
Kidding. Kidding. :P

But, how do you pronounce scones? My SO and I get in mock-fights about pronunciation of things constantly. He says "scone" rhymes with "gone." And I say "scone" rhymes with "own" and then ask him if he gets ice cream cons. :P

There are soooo many arguments over scones. I personally rhyme it with gone. However a bigger argument than how to pronounce it, is what you have on it and which order you put things on: you can be evicted from Cornwall for getting it wrong

[80anthea]

What the hell is a chuffing?? That can't be a real word

In Finland, they learn British English, but have a huge American media influence, which ends up in a weird mix of word choices. I've mostly cured my guy of his Britishisms, but occasionally I still get a "zed" or "trousers".

One "what the..." I've found is that Finland has this weird fish bread, called Kalakukko. They bake fish inside a loaf of bread, which I just find funny. I don't know why

Chuffing is short for 'chuffing nora' or 'chuffing 'eck'..... use it, your life will be richer as a result

[farandaway]

this is not just my SO but I don't get Americans so in love with their cheque books! So amazingly old fashioned and complicated...

[Moon]

this is not just my SO but I don't get Americans so in love with their cheque books! So amazingly old fashioned and complicated...

We're not, our banks just aren't as technologically advanced as yours.

[silvermoonfairy3]

Pronunciation is good one and he says Parrrrrrrsta whereas I say pasta and he refuses to pronounce T's in anything so it's budder and wadder. He's practically illiterate

LOL.. I know people in the US who say idea with an R on the end, so it's like idear. I definitely say pasta, but my t's for water and butter definitely sound more like D's.. my Stratford-born flatmate used to totally overpronounce his T's (in my opinion :P ) and he used to mock mine for "wadder" too.
Although, by contrast, by Sheffield-area flatmate used to basically drop her T's. "Woh-er."

I don't say I'm going to the shop, I say I'm offt'shop.

A lot of my words run together because I'm a fast-talking northerner. I'm not "going to the gym" I'm "gowin-a-th-gym" all one word. :P