'I'm an American living in UK and I learned hard lesson about myself when I moved here'

Moving to a new country is exciting but challenging at the same time as you have to familiarise yourself with a new culture and traditions. Expats often have several culture shocks, like the weather, food and social customs.

Even if the language spoken in two countries is the same, many other aspects can be very different. Russell moved from Chicago to the UK and has shared what he has learned about Britain, like British slang, on TikTok. He recently posted a video on the social media platform revealing one thing he didn’t realise about himself until he moved to the UK.

The expat said: “So, [a] hard lesson I learned as an American living in the UK is I really didn’t have manners. I thought I did.”

• King Charles 'allows Prince Andrew to keep special honour despite invisible request'
• 'I've known William for years - this is how he'll cope if he takes on role of King early'

He then recalled a time when he went out for dinner with his girlfriend and when the waitress asked if she could get them anything to drink he said they would have some water.

Russell’s girlfriend gave him a look but he didn’t think much of it. The waitress returned to take the couple’s order and the American told her that he would have a Napoli pizza.

After they had finished eating, the waitress came to take their plates and as she was walking away Russell told her that they would take the bill.

He added: “It was at this time that I caught my girlfriend staring at me as if I killed somebody and she said ‘that was incredibly rude.’

“I said ‘What do you mean? We’re ready for the bill’ and she said ‘it’s not that, you never said please or thank you’ and it was in that moment I realised that wait staff culture is completely messed up in the US.”

Russell explained that you could be the “kindest, most respectful person” but in America it’s “almost never commonplace to throw in please or thank you where it should be.”

The American expat claimed it’s like people from the US have been “trained” as if they’re “ordering from robots.”

He described the situation as “crazy” sharing that in any other scenario he would have said please and thank you.

Russell continued: “I do it at the grocery store. I do it at the bakery. But for some reason that instincts with wait staff just wasn’t there for me.

“Thankfully I’ve learned the error of my ways, I always say it now. So moral of the story here: if you’re an American thinking of coming to the UK don’t forget to pack your please and thank yous.”