6 Cultural Differences between Nigeria and United States:

No two expats are alike. Every story is different and at Rebtel, we love celebrating the stories of our customers who have changed jobs, moved, or joined study abroad programs.

In some cases they’ve gone out to explore new cultures and careers, in others they have reunited with family and made new friends halfway across the world!

These stories highlight the often exciting but challenging experiences that people face when moving overseas. And, underneath it all, they show us the human side of experiencing one's own culture versus a new culture.

Today we’re looking at Chioma, a doctor who moved from Nigeria to do her Post-Grad, along with other international students, in Houston, Texas - less than a year ago.

“Once I’d finished my initial medical studies, I felt a lot of relief and confidence. I decided I wanted to do my post-grad in a new environment and understand how the West works with patients. If I’m honest, I had all these ideas of what Americans were like.

I thought I could predict how I would feel, who I would be working with and learning from - but at the end of the day I experienced a kind of culture shock when I got to the US, even though there was no real language barrier”.

The key areas of cultural differences between Nigeria and the United States that I experienced can be summed up as:

1. Personal space

2. Food, portions and choice

3. Musicality

4. Friendships and going out

5. Tipping etiquette

6. Interacting with elders

1. More personal space and fewer observations

In Nigeria, we often greet each other warmly. I think it’s a very community-orientated culture compared to the United States. There is a lot of touching between family and friends and even strangers sometimes. We greet each other in the street and sometimes strangers flirt with you when you’re walking by.

This used to happen to me a lot at home. But I’ve noticed that in this new country (and new culture), people keep to themselves more. I learned very quickly that it’s strange to touch people you don’t know well. People in public places seem surprised when you speak to them as though they are waiting for you to ask them for something. Also, they seem very uncomfortable talking about topics like weight, health, money - quite private. This was a source of culture shock for me.

2. Bigger food portions and overwhelming choice

I’m from the South, so we eat a lot of soup with okra and tomato and I love fish as well. My whole family does. We also eat chili with everything. There’s a saying in my culture: The person who doesn’t eat spicy is not alive.

For me, coming to Houston was certainly a cultural adjustment. The food was less spicy, there was less of a market culture here, and an overwhelming range of choices to choose from. Instead of ugwu, I’m eating spinach with my health-obsessed classmate. Luckily I’m never far from Crawfish, which I really enjoy, but I do find the portion sizes are completely different and there are a lot more breakfast tacos!

3. Music is not as much of a way of life

I think of us as very musical people. In Nigeria we dance and sing unconsciously. Music has strong ties with our traditions and we create it without much thought. Even the instruments we favor at home are different. We have xylophones etc. which it seems are distinctly African. Of course, in Houston they are known for their rap and country music.

The rap is different to ours and Country is completely different. I don’t think I’d ever listened to a whole country song before I came here. I’ve also discovered Tejano which seems quite popular here. It’s more Spanish. So if we are talking about culture shock, this is one of the major reasons I had it.

4. Friendships are more insular

I’m very dedicated to my studies, so it’s easiest for me to make friends with people in my program. Most people here understand the demands of learning at this level. Even so, we don’t always naturally connect and I’ve realized it’s going to take time.

I’ve tried making friends with neighbors and locals to ease the culture shock and it seems much more difficult than it was in Nigeria. Again, I think this comes down to a community approach versus individualism.

At home, it’s part of our DNA to be in a community whereas here, it seems more insular. Here I worry I’m wasting people’s time when we chat. They seem to very much live by a time-is-money culture.

5. Tip, tip, tip and tip again

I’d already heard that in America they have a 15% tip and I thought that was a lot of cash over the existing cost! Then I heard that you should actually tip 20%. Not only that, they also tip for everything. Every service you can imagine in America you tip for. Sometimes they will just stand there waiting and you won’t know why until you pay them something. This can include everything from tipping the lady cutting your hair to bartenders, valets - you name it.

6. Respect for your elders shows differently

One of the most shocking things I experienced in America was how people spoke to their grandparents. They weren’t rude but they were informal. So often, I hear people calling their elders by their first name and this is something I don’t think I’ll ever get used to. No “aunty” necessarily or “Mr.” just “Robin” or “Kath”.

On one hand, this is a nice break from the formality we have with our elders at home and I guess leads to deeper connections but on the other hand, it feels extremely strange to me and I tense up every time I need to greet an elder.

Also, in the USA they seem to put older members of the family in old age homes whereas our elders often live with us. And, I still transfer money to my grandparents's bank account regularly because I feel the need to take care of them personally.

Nigeria isn’t so far away, with Rebtel money transfer and more

The culture shock of moving to the USA was stressful but I think it was mostly because I was leaving friends and family behind. A friend of mine told me about Rebtel and it genuinely made such a big difference while I got used to my host country.

I was surprised that I could get credit and unlimited calling services to Nigeria which helped me stay connected to my parents. Also, they had better top-up rates than the companies I’d Googled. Plus, I could send dollars home with a money transfer - all from one app.

The reason I need a money transfer option is because I offered to support my parents with the housekeeping at home. This means I need to pay a monthly payment to the lady who works for our family - straight into her bank account.

I do this from the app and I've already saved her details so I don’t have to put them in again every time I want to transfer money to her. Rebtel honestly makes sending money easy. I just use my mobile number and their details for them to receive money.

Basically, it’s made a marked difference in easing some of the guilt I feel about being away.

Rebtel services to Nigeria

Calls

With Rebtel you can call landlines and mobile phone numbers with clear sound quality. You also don’t need Wi-Fi or to visit the website to connect. This means you can stay in touch from anywhere with mobile recharge via the free app.

Top-Ups and Refills

It’s easier to stay in touch if your friends and family can easily get hold of you. Send airtime, data or call plans directly to their phone from the app. This way they can SMS you, or speak to you whenever you want.

In your first month, you get more than 50% off! Send it in USD and your contact will get it in NGN.

Online Money transfers

You will get the lowest fees on online money transfers to Nigeria from the USA when you use Rebtel. A money transfer can help you send money to the people you care about in minutes.