I have been in Europe for around 15 years now. The biggest culture shock would be when I first came to Germany, January 2003.
So here were my shocks:
- . Special food for animals: I was in the super market and I saw so many packets with animal picture on it (I do not know German). In India it is normal to have brand with animal pics as logo - a tiger in the brand does not mean the food is for tiger. I bought some of the ‘cat brand’ food thinking it is for humans. I was eating it at my desk when to my colleague saw it in shock. Good that he told me that it is for cats.
2. Girl saying hello: In the hostel, a girl whom I didn’t know said hello - in India never happens. My first thoughts were - wow she must really like me :)
3. Salad as a main dish: Salads are not a main dish in India. It is side dish - I remember ordering my first salad (it was written in German so I did not know what was I ordering) and after getting it, was thinking where is my food? Do I need to eat these leaves only?
4. Empty streets: I decided to land on Sunday as in India normally streets are full of people on Sundays. I thought I can easily get help from people asking for direction. I didn’t even took a map. To my surprise, there was no one in the street (of course it makes sense as it was Sunday winter morning). I was shocked to see empty streets, I was genuinely bewildered and was thinking where are all the people.
5. Using Knife and fork: We use our hands and I never learned how to use cutlery. I remember sitting in the menza (canteen) with my German colleague and holding the knife in left hand and fork in right - struggling to cut my meat. I was wondering why people here can’t just use their hands like in India.
I can go on and on - but for now i will end here :) If there is a good response to this answer, I will add more points :)