Your Most Embarrassing Moment Living Abroad
A Tuesday Thread Discussion
Living abroad is full of magic — and, occasionally, total mayhem. If you love honest, funny, and heartfelt conversations about what this life really feels like, you’ll feel right at home here at Girls Guide To Living Abroad.
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We’ve all been there.
You arrive in a new country thinking: I’ve got this.
And then… you really, really don’t.
👉 Tell us your cultural faux pas.
What tripped you up? What made you cringe? What do you laugh about now (or... almost)?
Maybe you:
🍴 Ordered “dog soup” instead of “noodle soup.”
🚪 Walked confidently into the men’s sauna — and realised way too late.
🧺 Hung your underwear out to dry… not realising your neighbour's balcony is a shrine.
💅 Booked what you thought was a manicure… and found yourself getting full-body exfoliated with salt by a 70-year-old woman named Olga. You tipped generously. Out of fear.
These aren’t failures. They’re rites of passage. And eventually, these moments turn into your favourite “living abroad” stories — once the embarrassment fades, of course.
This week’s Tuesday Threads question:
😅 What’s the first (or funniest) time you truly messed up living abroad — culturally, linguistically, socially, anything?
Tell us:
What’s the first time living abroad caught you off guard?
Was it cultural? Linguistic? Bureaucratic? Social?
Can you laugh about it now — or is it one of those “character-building” moments?
👇 Share your first big abroad stumble below — let’s normalise the awkwardness together.
🧰 Helpful tools to navigate your abroad life — or map out the one you're dreaming of:
🧭 Destination Personality Quiz — get clear on your global “fit” — your lifestyle, vibe, and where it all clicks.
🌍 Living Abroad Locales Database — explore 300+ destinations, sortable by lifestyle, values, climate, and more (perfect for both planners and wanderers).
📒 Dream Locale Decoder Playbook — a hands-on toolkit to help you make your next move with confidence, not overwhelm.
💌 Substack Writers Directory — connect with 174+ Substackers living abroad, organised by city and country.
➡️ If you loved this thread (or cringed remembering your own early abroad moments), hit that restack button and share it with someone who’s either living abroad — or thinking about it.
💛 Thanks for sharing your stories this week — I love how honest and hilarious this community gets.
As usual... I'll go first!
**My Most Embarrassing Moment Abroad**
It was my first day teaching English in Japan.
I had packed like a total spazz, so I couldn't find anything. I grabbed the only bra I could find: BRIGHT aqua blue (I was 21, don't judge me).
Threw on a light-coloured T-shirt and light business jacket and off I went. But it got ROASTING hot by mid-day and I couldn't bear the jacket anymore. I had to take it off,
... and my bright blue bra could be seen clear as day under my light-coloured top. And that was how I taught the rest of my classes that day.
(In hindsight I should have just grinned and beared the jacket but I was young and stubborn)
One of my colleagues later pulled me aside for a very awkward conversation about appropriate school work wear in Japan.
When I did a home exchange as part of my high school trip to France, I cooked dinner for my host family. They traditionally ate course by course in the French way, but I served wild rice soup (a Minnesota delicacy) alongside a whipped cream fruit salad (see Midwest upbringing) in the American style. Thinking they were meant to be served together, the family put fruit salad in the creamy soup and lied through their teeth that it was delicious. Who says the French are rude!?