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American Culture
Mr. / Girgis
Characteristics Of American Culture
Americans and their police follow the law Littering
(throwing garbage on the street), graffiti (writing on
walls), and loitering (standing around and doing nothing in public
spaces) are against the law and punishable by a fine or jail.
Discriminating against or making any insulting statement about
someone else’s religion or ethnicity is against the law and could be
punishable, known as a hate crime . Americans are extremely informal and call most people by their first name or nickname.
Asking “How are you?” is a simple greeting and is
not a question about your health. Americans smile
a lot and talk easily to strangers, sometimes sharing personal stories. Americans don’t push or stand too close to anyone in line.
They always wait their turn. When the service is good at a restaurant, tipping is expected to be 15-20% of the total bill. It is polite to eat with one hand while the other is under the table in their lap.
When you meet Americans, be sure to look them in the eye, smile, and shake hands. Americans make small talk at the beginning of conversations and
will probably ask you “what do you do?” which means what is your job? Americans open presents and cards in front of people.
It is considered rude to ask direct questions about a person’s religion, age, money, salary, weight or clothing size. Men should not make “sexist” remarks to or about women- anything that would suggest women are unequal to men. Americans are extremely punctual, always on time and never late.
Some Americans hug a lot. It is okay for women and men to hug even if they aren’t close friends. It is normal for American women to have male friends who are just friends (and vice versa).
4-Tipping
As confounding as many Americans find the
practice to be, there's no denying that tipping is
expected at pretty much every bar and non-self-
serve restaurant in the United States. However,
despite the
ubiquity of tipping stateside, it can be
perceived offensive in
in other countries,
5-Putting out the palm
of your hand
If
you put your hand out, palm-first, in the United
States, that's a good ndication you're trying to get
someone to stop what they're doing .
8-Not finishing your food
Parents
in the United States may be famous for encouraging their
children to
become members of the clean plate club, but overseas,
there's an even stronger cultural imperative to finish one's meal.
In India and
Japan, for instance, not eating everything on your plate is
not only
considered wasteful, but an indication that you didn't enjoy
what was
served.
9-Thumbs up
There
are few hand gestures in the United States less likely to cause
offense
than the thumbs up, overwhelmingly understood to be a way
of telling
others that you are happy or that things have been done to
your satisfaction.
