Not really -- apparently it's a common feature of British English to say "different to" rather than "different from", and to write "-ise" instead of "-ize" (at least in a general US perception of British English), even though, if anything, I read "different from" just as often as "to", and the OED uses "-ize" as the main spelling and lists "-ise" as a variation.
Sometimes, people's perceptions of others' Englishes don't always fit with those of the speakers themselves, and, as far as I see it, there's nothing nonsensical in finding those (former) perceptions strange.