Well, what might you be surprised by when you arrive in the UK from West Africa? You might not be surprised to know that the architecture and the roads are really different and really striking is the way we build bridges over roads. One friend arriving from W.Africa a while back thought we were very religious as he thought our houses looked like churches.
In the UK, you have to go to a shop or a market to buy something, in West Africa, there would be street vendors along the side of the road. Other things that surprised another friend is the British relationship with animals, that we see our pets as human and she found it gross to see the British kissing their dogs (A Russian friend’s observation of the British is we are obsessed with going for walks with our dogs – true).
The other observation a friend made is that at least in cities in the UK you could live with your neighbours for ten years and never know who they are. This is true, I am quite friendly with neighbours in my block of flats in that I chat to several of them when we meet in the lift but although we have lived here for a long time together, I have no idea for many of them what their name is and have never visited them or they me.