At the International Summer Missions Briefing last month,
one of my roles was to bring some levity and fun to the potentially
overwhelming cultural training we provided that weekend. During each meeting, I
shared some tidbits I found online. These are written by people of another
culture for people from their own culture as they prepare to move to the US.
They have been translated from their original language.
In my experience, these tidbits caused me to pause and
reflect... and then laugh. Crossing cultures and learning about cultural norms
and perspectives broadens our horizons, helping us to better understand the
world. It challenges us to consider why we do and say and think the way we do
and to see some of the greater cultural forces at work that make us who we
are. As you read these, remember that cultural differences are not wrong
or weird. They're just different. And sometimes funny.
FRANCE
"Be prepared for an onslaught of friendliness. You may
be approached by a stranger on the street asking you where you got your coat.
Passersby greet each other cheerfully in the street. Your neighbor may
compliment you on the curve of your muscles, and the cashier at the supermarket
may ask you what you are doing with this beautiful weekend…"
FINLAND
"Americans are very friendly but beware because they do
not mean anything they say."
RUSSIA
“US etiquette requires that you smile in each and every
situation. If you want to travel to America, be prepared to give a smile not
only to friends and acquaintances, but also to all passers-by, in shops, to the
staff at the hotel, police on the streets, etc.
These people get used to smiling from the cradle onwards, so
they do not pretend to be cheerful. The desire for a successful happy life is
inculcated from childhood.”
FRANCE
"Rejoicing in the presence of children or pets. This is
the correlate of 'smile to strangers,' It is mandatory to have a smile or a
little 'how cute' tilt to your head if you come across a child or pet. Even if
they are ugly." [Source]
JAPAN
"In America, people laugh like horses. This is normal.
In America, when men or women laugh, they do not turn away.
They face front, open the mouth, and laugh in a loud voice. This is because in
America if you muffle your laugh or turn away while laughing, you give the
impression that you are talking about a secret or name-calling. It is
nasty."
GERMANY
"Your instinct while passing a grinning stranger on the
street will be to 'look stubbornly and rigidly at the ground in front of you,'
but that is rude. You must keep smiling: Over time, American
friendliness will probably get on your nerves and it will seem very
superficial—which it is, presumably. But this form of interaction is how
American people function and is one of their basic manifestos." [Source]
GERMANY
Americans will call anyone their sweetheart: If
you stroll through America's shopping malls or are in a restaurant for dinner,
you'll often hear the words, "Darling, Sweetheart, Sweetie, and Luv"
or other terms of endearment, which belong in the personal realm. Americans are
much more frivolous and relaxed with these nicknames, and they do not carry the
same meaning as they do with us. [Source]
ITALY
No kissing people you’re not immediately related to—just
handshakes.
FRANCE
Americans eat and drink anything and at any time of the day:
in the street, in a meeting at work, in the car, on the subway, in the
elevator, the movies ... So, there are drink rests everywhere: cinema seats,
baby strollers, shopping carts at the supermarket, in cars, some bike
handlebars. [Source]
FRANCE
"If you want privacy (in a public restroom), no chance.
There are no real walls, only partitions that do not even go to the ground. So
you can see the shoes of your colleagues, hear all the noises ... And even the
doors do not help much. You can see the faces of the occupants through the
slits in the doorway."
GREAT BRITAIN
"A single room with a lockable door that includes both
a urinal AND a toilet, neither of which are blocked off. In case you didn’t
know, it’s possible to do a #1 in a toilet, so really there is zero need for
the urinal to be there. Unless you wanted to go at the same time as your
friend, I guess…"
GREAT BRITAIN
"The huge gaps at each side of most toilet doors in the
US are an abomination and must be stopped. Accidental or not, no one (that we
want to spend time with) wants to be able to make eye contact while going about
their business. This is not how doors work."
AUSTRALIA
"What is with the gaps in the bathroom? I should
not be able to make eye contact with people while I’m peeing."
FRANCE
"The film will start in 3 minutes and there are still
15 people in front of you, including a family of six children who are unable to
decide anything. You would be tempted to quietly scrape forward a few places so
as to be sure you get your popcorn and miss nothing of the film.
Never! In the United States, small barriers often mark out
the entries, lines on the ground indicate where to stop and there is no 'He who
goes hunting loses his place' mentality there." [Source]
FRANCE
"There is no chaotic rush to be first, not even if a
spot opens unexpectedly, no 'I didn't see you there.' Here each have their turn
in order of arrival, even the elderly. It's pretty relaxing actually, even
though I liked the excitement of notching in the queue."
RUSSIA
“When Americans are talking, they might put their foot on a
nearby chair, or even a table. They might cross their legs so that one foot
rests on the opposite knee. In American culture, it is considered an acceptable
norm, but often causes irritation in other countries.”
GERMANY
“'Let’s get together sometime' is often just a polite brush
off. According to this German travel guide, “Americans’ social boundaries
are weirdly inconsistent. Things like ‘We should get together sometime’ doesn’t
really mean anything, unless the same people keep mentioning it to you.” [Source]
JAPAN
"In America, whether you are a student, working person,
or housewife, you carefully make room for leisure time, weekdays and weekends.
Most people are ensured free time, always. During the week they use it for
walking, jogging, bicycling, tennis, racquetball, bowling, watching movies,
reading, and volunteering. On the weekend, they enjoy even more freedom, and
take liberal arts courses and have sporting leisures.
In Japan we believe that there is no free time during the
weekday. Only the weekend. We spend the weekend watching TV, hanging around
home, working, studying, and shopping, or listening to music."
JAPAN
"In Japan, there is great fear of failure and mistakes
in front of other people. It is better to do nothing and avoid being criticized
than to taste the humiliation of failure. As a result, there are things we
wanted to do, but did not, and often regret.
In America, you can make mistakes, fail, and it doesn’t
matter. It is a fundamental feeling that to sometimes be incorrect is natural.
In addition, rather than thinking about mistakes and failures, American’s have
curiosity and say, 'Let’s try anyway!'"
GERMANY
“Every other country has an older culture. Most Americans
are not familiar with the rest of the world at all, and the President even said
that the Americans had invented the car.” [Source]
CHINA
"THEY DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT CHINA BUT DON’T LET IT
BOTHER YOU.
You may encounter some Americans who know little about your
country. If there is such a case, please tolerate them. Unfortunately, very few
Americans are schooled on the culture and customs of other countries. America
spans from one ocean to another, and all the other countries are far away. As a
result, Americans are not too familiar with the cultures and different ways of
working in other countries."
GREAT BRITAIN
“Americans like to brag about ancestral connections to
countries they’ve never visited.
BBC America explains that Americans are proud of their
heritage, however far removed (culturally and and geographically) this heritage
may be from the place where they were born and raised. 'When an American
announces that they’re part Irish, part Polish and part Moldovan because their
great-great-grandparents hailed from these far-off lands, you might find
yourself snorting dismissively. Try to hold off until they’re out of
earshot.'" [Source]
ITALY
"AMERICANS ARE IGNORANT, BUT NICE. Of course not
all Italians think Americans are nice. Yahoo poster bg says
that “The average American has a low level culture and education, most
only know English and that inadequately. With the excuse that they are the
first country in the world, their arrogance does not allow them to recognize
that there are other cultures. The strength of their culture is sports,
junk food and Hollywood.” [Source]
FINLAND
"They have no clue about geography or anything going on
outside the U.S."
CHINA
"Americans dress casual and wear a variety of clothing
in public places. ... They dress exquisitely clean. Men's pants do not expose
their underpants, woman dresses cannot expose their petticoat. Women should
wear stockings with a nice skirt. Not shorts with high heels, otherwise they
will be mistaken for call girls… However, anyone can wear a vest or pajamas in
public." [Source]
*This person must have gone to a Walmart in a college town. :)
