US teen reveals ‘culture shocks’ she had after moving to Australia

After moving to Melbourne in 2017, this teen from Texas made a huge discovery on her first day of school that was very different to back home.

An American expat living in Melbourne has revealed the “culture shocks” she had after moving Down Under.

Lara Fourie, 19, moved to Victoria with her family in 2017 and has made a name for herself on TikTok comparing the different aspects of her life in Australia to her life in Houston, Texas.

From comparing the “differences between Australia’s Macca’s and America’s McDonald’s” to sharing slang words she’d never encountered until she moved, Lara’s posts have resonated with many.

But her most recent video discussed the “culture shocks” she’s experienced after relocating, including her huge surprise to learn on her first day of school that there were no metal detectors.

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US teen Lara Fourie has revealed the ‘culture shocks’ she had when she moved to Australia. Picture: TikTok/

Re-enacting the moment in her video, Lara said she was surprised by the discovery, explaining it was common back in the US because of shootings.

After being told Australians don’t have free access to guns, she described it as “amazing”, adding it left her “instantly stress free” and gave her a “sense of safety” she’d never felt before.

On her first day of school she was shocked to discover there were no metal detectors. Picture: TikTok/llarafourie

After learning of Australia’s stricter gun rules she set she felt much safer. Picture: TikTok/llarafourie

It’s not the only dramatic difference in cultures Lara said she has noticed, explaining the Australian love of a swear word shocked her when she first moved here – especially at school.

She also said being allowed a “recess” break before lunch at school also surprised her, admitting she’d never heard of it before.

Since posting the video on Thursday it has already been viewed over 300,000 times and received almost 57,000 likes.

Among the 1500 comments were people discussing the fact school kids in America have to walk through metal detectors – the vast majority not realising that occurred overseas.

“Some Australians don’t understand how lucky we are,” one said.

“The metal detector one made me sad for you and the kids in American schools,” another said.

“Being Australian is like winning the lottery,” one person stated.

Apparently there is no such thing as two breaks during school hours in the US. Picture: TikTok/llarafourie

And the casual swearing here took her by surprise. Picture: TikTok/llarafourie

However, some took issue with Lara’s use of the word “recess”, arguing that is not the word we use.

“Definitely not recess, it’s ‘big lunch’ and ‘little lunch’,” one wrote.

“We called it morning tea,” another said.

With the expletive-filled vocabulary, everyone agreed, declaring “swearing is like breathing for Aussies”.

In the past Lara has revealed Australians don’t get the same delights at Macca’s as Americans do – explaining there’s no sweet tea on the Aussie menu and we are not treated to the “dollar menu” people in the US get.

She previously shared differences between the US McDonald’s and Australia’s Macca’s. Picture: TikTok/llarafourie

She also pointed out American cup sizes and portions are “way bigger” with diners in the US also getting “free refills” – what’s that about Macca’s?

Lara has also gone viral in the past for listing the things she wished she knew before moving Down Under – including expensive avocados prices and men with long hair as some of her qualms.

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