An Australian now living in London has shared some of the culture shocks she has faced since moving abroad.
Jenny Tian, who is from Sydney, has lived in the capital for a couple of months and has already shared her views on the differences between the two islands.
These included his surprise when his Tube experience did not meet his expectations, the narrowness of London’s roads, and his problem with British toasters.
Jenny said she had been especially excited about traveling on the tube during her time in Britain, before her friend told her the reality of how dirty the tube is.
“He said, ‘Enjoy your snot turning black,’ and I was like, excuse me? He said there’s so much soot in the tunnel that you end up inhaling it and then your snot turns black,” she said on her TikTok account. @nomnomjenny.
Sydney’s Jenny Tian has shared her biggest culture shocks after moving to London
‘That? I’m going to have a chimney sweep’s nose! Is this normal for everyone in London? That’s a little strange, isn’t it?
Some Londoners in the comments refused to believe this was true, adding that they had lived in the “Big Smoke” for decades and hadn’t noticed it.
Others said it had happened to them, explaining that it was a build-up of dust on the brakes and caused by friction between the train and the tracks, as London has the oldest tube network in the world.
Jenny was also baffled by how dirty the subway seats were, after wearing a pair of light wash denim jeans one night.
When he returned home, he realized that he had sat on a dusty seat, as his pants were covered in black marks.
She said: ‘Now I see everyone on the tube, they’re wearing dark trousers, they’re smart, they’re Londoners and they know it!
“I heard London was dirty, but I didn’t expect to find real dirt on the seats.”
Last year the city suffered a bedbug crisis, with commuters refusing to sit in seats and filming the nasty pests crawling around Victoria line carriages.
The comedian also attacked British toasters, asking: “What’s wrong with bread in the UK?”
Jenny was also baffled by how dirty the subway seats were, after wearing a pair of light wash denim jeans one night.
The 29-year-old was baffled because some slices of bread sold in supermarkets were too big to fit in the toaster, leaving some of them mushy when cooked.
‘What psychopath designed this? “Hey, UK, can we come together on the fact that this is an abomination?” he said.
However, some Brits were quick to respond and said I should try putting the bread on its side or buy a bigger toaster.
They wrote: ‘Turn the slices of bread over. Then they fit’;
“Normally it is because the toaster is manufactured in another country where the size of the bread is smaller. Get a toaster made in the UK and you’ll fit in’;
‘This is a toaster problem, not a bread problem’;
“I used to work with someone who went shopping for a toaster and took a cardboard template of a slice of bread to test the toasters.”
The 29-year-old was baffled because some slices of bread sold in supermarkets were too big to fit in the toaster, leaving some of it mushy when cooking.
Some Brits responded quickly and said I should try putting the bread on its side or buy a bigger toaster.
Jenny said she also finds the concept of seeing wild animals, such as foxes and squirrels, on the street strange, and described London as a “Disney movie.”
He said he couldn’t believe how many different supermarket brands there are and believes that means there is a “healthy level of competition” between stores, leading to more affordable prices.
Westfield shopping centers also exist in Australia, but Jenny says it’s usually a place where kids skip school and “make out in the car park.”
But he described the UK locations as “glamorous and respectable”.
Another thing he noticed was the “extremely narrow roads” in London, and he was surprised that there was only one lane in each direction.
She said: ‘London drivers, how can you have healthy blood pressure?’
This generated a lot of comments from Londoners trying to explain the road infrastructure and disagreeing with her about supermarkets being “affordable”.
This generated a lot of comments from Londoners trying to explain the road infrastructure and disagreeing with her about supermarkets being “affordable”.
One wrote: “As a Londoner… Westfield isn’t fancy… It just looks that way.”
Another wrote: ‘I live on the outskirts of London and absolutely refuse to drive there! Trains and subways to the end.
A third said: “The really narrow streets are due to the city itself, London is about 2,000 years old and was traversed on horseback.”
“Therefore, it would have been impossible to change the roads to have less traffic.”
A fourth commented: “Groceries are not affordable.”