CULTURAL DIFFERENCES TO EXPECT AS AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT IN THE USA
Cultural Differences to expect as an international student in the USA
Anytime you move, you’ll face changes. But when you move
abroad, even temporarily, the culture will be different too. But don’t base
your expectations about the USA on TV shows and movies, since they tend to
exaggerate characters or lifestyles, and aren’t exactly known to be accurate.
So everything you think you know about life in the USA, take lightly, because
the North American continent is a melting pot of different people. Here’s our
guide – and it should be used to guide you, not as the final word – to cultural
and societal norms you should know as an international student in the USA along
with some examples of American culture.
Stereotypes
Don’t believe all the American stereotypes you may have
heard – only some of them are true! American culture tends to be more informal
than other countries. It’s common for Americans to wear casual clothing to
school and isn’t uncommon to call supervisors by their first name. But good
manners
and politeness are always appropriate, and if you’re more
formal than your American friends then at least you’ll be memorable.
Some of the more common stereotypes of Americans include:
Boastful and arrogant
Disrespectful of authority
Extravagant and wasteful
Ignorant of other countries and cultures
Informal
Loud and obnoxious
Racist
Wealthy
Rude and immature
Snobbish
Think they know everything
Think every country should imitate the USA
Personal Space
Americans tend to require more personal space than in some
other cultures. So if you try to get too close during a conversation, the
person you’re talking to may feel that you’re in their personal space and will
try to back away. If that happens, don’t try to close the gap and continue to
discuss the weather from slightly further away.
Touching is a bit too intimate for casual acquaintances in
the USA. Unless and until you have a close friendship with someone, try to
avoid physical contact such as holding their hand or touching their face. If
you think you’re close enough friends to touch them, check first if they’re
okay with it – some may not feel the same as you, some may be afraid of germs,
and some may want to do a secret handshake.
Pretty much the only exception is shaking hands, which is
usually done when meeting and leaving others in a business or otherwise formal
setting.
Forms of Address
American full names are written and spoken in the order of
first name and then last name. So, using the most generic English name as an
example, John Smith’s first name is John and his last name is Smith. In a
formal setting, men are usually referred to as Mr. (pronounced “mister”)
followed by their last name; married women usually go by Mrs. (pronounced
“misses”) and single women by Miss, both followed by their last name. If the
person has an M.D. or Ph.D., they will usually be addressed as “Dr.”
(pronounced “doctor”), especially if you’re meeting with them for medical or
professional advice. Many, but not all, of your school instructors should be
referred to as “Professor.”
In a casual setting – in fact, probably in most settings –
most people introduce themselves and are addressed by, just their first name.
These forms of address are by no means official or mandatory
and can change depending on the person’s preference or the local culture. In
many Southern states, for example, people use Mr. or Miss followed by first
names to show respect.
Many people are also becoming more flexible in their gender
definitions and may ask you to refer to them with names or titles that are
different from the ones listed above or to what you’d expect. Be respectful of
their requests.
Behavior
Americans can be much more assertive than most international
visitors. Don’t be offended if someone says something that you find direct, and
feel free to be direct back to them.
Making eye contact while talking to someone is often a big
deal, and it can be considered disrespectful to avoid doing so.
It’s not polite to burp in public, to loudly slurp your
soup, or to generally make loud and avoidable noises.
It is not polite to pick your nose or your teeth (with or
without a toothpick) in public.
In general, follow the golden rule: Treat others as you
would want to be treated. Especially in a business, professional, or
educational setting but also for anyone who’s not a close friend, don’t make
sexual or suggestive comments, don’t touch anyone other than a handshake, and
try to have neutral (rather than personal) conversations.
Toilets
The most important phrase you should learn is, “Where’s the
bathroom?” “Bathroom” is the word used most often in the USA, but ironically we
don’t use the word “toilet” to refer to the general room (though if you use it
everyone will know what you mean). Sometimes the word “restroom” is used for
more formal situations or in public venues such as a restaurant or store, but
there’s no official rule.
If you’re out having fun and need the bathroom, you might
not find one easily on your commute as there aren’t so many public bathrooms
available. Restaurants, bars, gas stations, and stores may have bathrooms, but
they also sometimes decide that only customers can use them. So plan ahead!
Tipping
One of the biggest cultural norms in America is tipping. In
almost every situation where someone helps you with a service – a waiter, a
hairdresser, a taxi driver, a bartender, a masseuse, etc. – Americans provide a
small tip on top of the total cost of their bill. Though there’s no mandatory
amount, most people pay a tip that’s approximately 15 to 20 percent of their
bill, or in some cases a dollar or two per service.
Knowing when and how much to tip is tricky even for lifelong
American citizens, so don’t be shy about asking your friends or the person
doing the work what’s appropriate. Here are two important facts about tipping
that might help you be less confused: Tips are usually automatically calculated
and included on your bill if you’re somewhere with 6 or more people, and
“gratuity” (sometimes printed on a receipt) is a fancy word for “tip.”
A final piece of advice: Bribery is not tipping, and is
instead often illegal.
Timeliness
If you’re one of those people who’s always running late,
you’ll need to find a way to change that for meetings, doctor’s appointments,
and formal events. In the USA, it’s preferred that you’re either on time or a
few minutes early for the stated meeting time. Arriving very early can be
disruptive to
someone else’s schedule, and arriving more than a couple
minutes late is both disruptive and considered rude. If you’re running late,
though, make sure to contact the person you’re meeting to let them know so they
can make adjustments to their schedule.
In a more casual situation with a small number of people,
it’s still best to arrive within a timeframe of approximately 5 minutes early
to 5 minutes late. But for a big party at someone’s house, for example, your
timing can be much more flexible. Essentially, your timing should take into
consideration if there are enough people in the group or at the meeting that
your late arrival won’t be noticed.
Business Clothing
Sometimes Americans are considered to be casual dressers,
though styles can differ depending on the city or town. But that’s usually for
casual situations, such as running errands or meeting friends, or general times
like weekends and vacations. In a business or professional setting, or for
special occasions such as a wedding, you should dress more formally. In fact,
if you dress too casually for a job interview, for example, your chances of
getting the position are significantly reduced.
There are numerous definitions of how to dress formally, but
here are a couple guidelines: In general, for a business setting, men should
wear suits or nice pants (“trousers” to some UK-derived English speakers) with
a button-down shirt. Women can wear a suit (with either pants or a skirt on the
bottom), a dress, or nice pants or a skirt with a blouse. Unless a company
explicitly says so, jeans should not be worn in professional settings. In
general, for a special event, men have pretty much the same options as
professional wear or can get even fancier by wearing a tuxedo, while women tend
to wear dresses. But, within reason, dress in your own style!
Dining
Most Americans eat three meals during the day: breakfast,
lunch, and dinner. Specific timing for these meals varies by schedule and
family, but generally, breakfast is eaten sometime between 7 and 8 a.m. and
lunch is eaten sometime between 12 and 2 p.m. What time do Americans eat
dinner? Usually sometime between 6 and 8 pm, and it’s considered the main
meal…even if we’ve eaten snacks throughout the day.
One of Americans’ favorite pastimes is brunch, which
combines breakfast and lunch and typically includes breakfast-ish foods, and is
usually eaten on a weekend or other days with a flexible schedule.
Gift Giving
If you’re invited to a wedding, baby shower, religious
event, or other celebration, it’s expected that you bring a gift (or send one
ahead of time). Often, hosts of big events will supply guests with a registry
of gifts they’d like to receive so that you don’t have to guess if they’ll like
something. If there’s no registry, you can give money or a gift, but the amount
of money spent and the appropriateness of the gift varies greatly.
An important point to keep telling yourself: In the USA,
there’s not really a gift-giving culture. Gifts are certainly appreciated but
are not always required, and are definitely not done as part of an elaborate
ritual. If you’re unsure about what to give or how much to give, or even if you
should give, ask a friend.
Smoking
In the USA, you must be at least 18 years old to buy
cigarettes, and buying them for someone under 18 is illegal. Plus, each pack
you buy will be taxed at a high rate, so you’ll have to add the cost to your
budget. Though specific laws about where you are prohibited from smoking vary
by state and city, it’s common that smoking is banned in restaurants and bars,
parks and beaches, hospitals and other medical facilities, schools, and office
buildings. There are also laws against smoking on public transportation such
as buses and subways as well as on all airplanes.
Gestures
Gestures vary all over the world, and we don’t you to be
offended or to offend someone else simply because you’re using a gesture from
your home country. Some of the main gestures used in the USA are in the image
below, but here are additional pointers (pun intended!):
It’s fine to point at an object or location, but it’s not
polite to point at people.
Shaking your head from side to side means no while shaking
your head up and down means yes.
If you want the waiter to bring the check, make a gesture
with your hand as if you’re writing something. If you just want the waiter to
come over, make eye contact and raise your hand.
Never show your fist with the middle finger extended, since
it’s a big insult. Shaking a closed fist at someone is also rude, especially if
it’s in their face, and is understood to be an expression of anger.
The peace sign has positive connotations and is signaled by
turning your index and middle finger into a V and closing your other fingers.
However, your palm must face the other person – this is very important, as in
the UK and other countries the same V, using the same fingers, is considered is
extremely rude when your palm faces you.
Numbers
A period is used to indicate a decimal point, instead of the
comma used in some countries. This also applies to amounts of money. So you’d
see $1,243.68 when checking your bank balance.
In the USA, dates are written as month/day/year. This is the
opposite of the UK method (used in most countries around the world), in which
dates are written day/month/year. So while 4/3/67 would be March 4, 1967, in
Europe, it is April 3, 1967, in the USA. To avoid confusing everyone, we
recommend
writing out the months whenever possible.
Temperature
Even though it’s the opposite of pretty much everyone else
in the rest of the world, temperatures in the USA are written in Fahrenheit.
The tricky math equation used to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius is to subtract
32 from the temperature and then multiply the result by 5/9, but we acknowledge
that you’re very unlikely to do the math when the internet can convert for you.
For simplicity’s sake, here are some simple conversions that
will at least help you estimate Celsius if your phone battery dies:
°F °C Description
212 100 Boiling point of water
98.6 37 Normal body temperature
86 30 Very hot summer day
72 22 Room temperature
68 20 Mild spring day
50 10 Warm winter day
32 0 Freezing point of water
20 -7 Extremely cold winter day
Holidays
The American calendar is filled with numerous holidays, some
of which are almost always days off for most office workers, banks, post
offices, and government offices. If those holidays, listed below, fall on a
Tuesday or Thursday, it’s up to each company to decide if the Monday or Friday
should be days off as well (to make a long weekend). Several other holidays are
either considered not important enough for every office to close (e.g.,
Veteran’s Day, on November 11), are simply noted and ignored (e.g., Flag Day,
on June 14), or are celebrated on a Sunday and do not affect office schedules
(e.g., Mother’s Day).
Even though the USA technically follows a separation of
Church and State, and is therefore not supposed to connect religious holidays
with anything official, you’ll see that Christian holidays make up an important
part of American cultural values, and are the only religious holidays where
everything is closed. Though some offices are closed on the day of Christmas
Eve (December 24), there is no Boxing Day in the USA and offices will be open
on December 26.
Depending on the local population, some school systems may
be closed for important holidays of other religions. This is great if you’ve
brought your kids with you to the USA, but make sure to check the school
calendar before making plans.
Holiday Date
New Year’s Day January
1
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Third
Monday in January
President’s Day Third
Monday in February
Memorial Day Last
Monday in May
Independence Day July
4
Labor Day First
Monday in September
Thanksgiving Fourth
Thursday in November Christmas
s Day December 25
It is also important to be aware of the holidays of people
of other religious faiths. For example, important Jewish holidays include Yom
Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, Sukkoth, Chanukah, and Passover. Yom Kippur, Rosh
Hashanah, and Sukkoth occur in the fall. Chanukah occurs in December, near Christmas.
Passover occursin March or April, near Easter.
Weights and Measures
Just like with temperature, Americans follow their own rules
and don’t use the same measuring system as the rest of the world. Use the
following guidelines to help you figure out some basic conversions.
Length
1 inch = 2.54 centimeters (cm) 1 centimeter = 0.39 inches (in) 1
foot = 12 inches
1 foot = 0.305 meters (m) 1
yard = 3 feet (ft) 1 meter =
3.28 feet
1 mile = 1.61 kilometers (km) 1 gallon = 3.7854 liters (L)
Weight
1 ounce = 28.35 grams (g) 1
gram = 0.035 ounces (oz) 1 pound
= 16 ounces
1 pound = 0.4536 kilograms (kg) 1 kilogram = 2.2046 pounds (lb)
Volume
1 liter = 0.2642 gallons (gal) 1 liter = 0.2642 gallons (gal) 1 teaspoon = 5 ml
Electronic Equipment
Most electrical outlets in the USA operate with a voltage of
110-120 volts. If your equipment requires 220 volts, bring a transformer and
plug adapter.
Religion
The U.S. Constitution guarantees religious freedom for all
faiths. Even though the calendar is based on, and works with, Christian
holidays, you can follow any religion you want without repercussions. In fact,
there is a law saying just that: You cannot be discriminated against based on
religion.
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