The Weirdest Thing You Now Find Normal Abroad

A Tuesday Thread Discussion

When I first arrived in Japan to begin my year of teaching English, the teachers at my school took me out for lunch.

I was so excited: I loved Japanese food, despite having minimal experience with it.

We were served a set meal, and the first dish that was put in front of me was a steaming bowl of miso soup.

Mmmmm. I loved miso soup. Plus, I was starving.

I looked around for my spoon.

But there were only chopsticks. No spoons in sight.

I remember the sinking feeling in my tummy as I realised I had no idea how to eat this miso soup that had been put in front of me. I would have to wait to see how everyone else would do it.

Imagine my shock when I saw the teachers around me pick up their bowls and start drinking directly from them! Turned out, something my mother would have sent me to my room for growing up was a normal way of eating in Japan.

It didn’t take long for me to get the hang of it — and now, even though I no longer live in Japan, I still sip my miso directly from the bowl. And I don’t care about the looks I get!

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Ever notice how the weirdest things abroad eventually feel... totally normal? This week’s thread dives into those quiet shifts — the ones you don’t even realise are happening until someone back home gives you that look.

👀 If you like thoughtful takes on life abroad (with a side of culture shock confessionals), hit subscribe to join us each week. We’d love to have you.

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It’s wild, isn’t it — the way our internal radar for “normal” just… recalibrates?

Things that once felt like major culture shock become part of your autopilot. And you don’t even notice until a visiting friend goes, “Wait… you do what here?”

So this week’s thread is a fun one:

👉 What’s something you thought was SO weird when you first moved — and now it’s totally normal to you?

We’re talking:

🥄 Slurping your soup loudly (because here, it’s polite)

🪥 Carrying a toothbrush in your purse — not for vanity, but because lunch garlic is real

🧼 Bidet hose loyalty

🥢 Eating with hands (or never using them)

🚦Crossing the street like Frogger because there are no traffic lights

🪭 Midday siestas

🧍Queueing for a bus like it’s a spiritual practice

🦶Taking off your shoes before everything

I want the good, the awkward, the surprisingly wholesome — all the things you once side-eyed and now couldn’t imagine life without.

That’s the magic of living abroad — at some point, the bizarre becomes background noise. The unfamiliar becomes yours.

👇 Let’s hear your toilet hose tales, barefoot supermarket runs, and 10 p.m. dinners with toddlers. If you’ve got a picture to go with it, even better — we love a visual laugh.

Let’s make this thread a love letter to the quirks that slowly rewired our brains. 🤍

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✍️ And if you’re a writer or creator living abroad, come join our ALL ABROAD chat — and introduce yourself in the chat, so we can check out your weird too.

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