Lifestyle

American Expatriate in Croatia Confused by Local Customs (VIDEO)

By 26 February 2019

An American expatriate in Croatia Kaleigh Hendershot has been living in Sesvete for the last two years. Over the last several months, Kaleigh has been posting videos on her This Croatian Life YouTube channel with her thoughts and opinions about living in Croatia. One of the most popular videos was the one in which she spoke about things about her husband which drive her crazy. In the latest video, she discusses five things in Croatia which are confusing to Americans, reports Večernji List on February 26, 2019.

The first thing that surprised me is that in Croatia when you buy something at a store, you have to put it in the bag yourself. In America, you have a person who puts your products in the bag and gives them to you after you pay. The first time I went into a shop, I was confused after I realised that the things I bought were just put to the side, Kaleigh said.

She is also confused by the floor counting rules. There is no ground floor in America, so the ground floor is called the first floor. Because of this, Kaleigh lost her way several times when she tried to visit her friends.

She has already gotten accustomed to the Croatian habit of spending endless hours in coffee shops, but what is not clear to her is that after the initial order you have to call the waiter again. In America, the waiter comes back after a while and asks you if everything is okay and do you need something else. In Croatia, you have to raise your hand and establish eye contact with your waiter if you want to order something more, added Kaleigh.

Another thing she is confused about is that it is not allowed to turn right while driving if you have the red light. In America, you can turn right regardless of the light, provided of course that no one is passing through the intersection.

“Fuel is much more expensive in Croatia than in America, and the particularly confusing situation is at gas stations. In America, diesel is denoted with a green colour while gasoline is black. Here it is the opposite. Also, in America, you first pay for the fuel, and then you put it in your vehicle. In Croatia, you pay afterwards. Why is that? One of my friends forgot to pay and returned later to the pump to settle the bill,” Kaleigh concluded.

More news about driving in Croatia can be found in the Lifestyle section.

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Samir Milla).

Tagged under: croatia usa

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