Getting to Know Americans

I have been in the US about ten times and I think one of the initial barriers is our that our perception of the US is formed through Hollywood.<p>Some things that did not match my expectations/assumptions:<p>- The average American is much poorer than I expected. Wealth is less evenly divided, than say West-Europe.<p>- Americans are extremely nice and warm. Some Europeans say it is superficial, but I really liked when eating at some place that a stranger would pass by and have a chat.<p>- Apart from the West coast and North-East, Americans are pretty conservative.<p>- Americans have a positive attitude towards life.<p>- Americans are prepared to take risks, where Europeans are for more risk-averse. This (IMO) has a bad effect on the social system, but a positive effect on entrepreneurism.

"Be patient if Americans are ignorant of some aspect about your home country. Use the opportunity to educate and share, just do so in a polite and brief manner."<p>Citizens of other countries always like to point out how Americans are ignorant of other nations and their cultures, oftentimes failing to realize that within their own nation poverty is rampant and the majority of the population remains illiterate (yes, although I was born American my ethnic background comes from one of these such nations). Yet because of our standing in the world as a superpower, and because so many people from so many countries end up moving here - we are expected to be experts on the cultural sensitivities of all these countries. Americans are more open and willing to learn, I find, than pretty much any people anywhere in the world.

One thing I've heard from several Europeans I've met (who are currently living in the US, either for work or school) is that Americans have a reputation for being very friendly but making a lot of empty social promises.<p>One European I met at my local watering hole was a programmer and a very cool guy, so we made plans to get together for beers and nerd talk. He mentioned the whole thing about social promises and said that he's had tons of cases where an American would express an intention to hang out at some later date and then flake out.<p>I insisted that I totally intended to call him up the following weekend and set something up, but of course I totally forgot, and by the time I remembered it had been an awkward amount of time, so I never did call.

It's hard to tell what perspective this article is written from. There are many subjective qualifiers. For example:<p>&#62; Americans place considerable value on punctuality.<p>From a German perspective, this is wildly untrue.

How about American irony and sarcasm? Here in Asia sarcasm is almost non-existent.<p>Also, Americans value humor as a way of showing affection for someone. Whereas in Asia displays of servitude are a sign of affection. For example, if I engage in a humorous conversation with you, that means I like you. Even if I don't pour your tea for you!

A shorter version would be: Americans are generally individualist Protestant technologist capitalists. Like any other culture these defining traits bring inherent strengths, and unavoidable weaknesses.<p>On a different note, Does anyone know the author of this essay? I've seen it around at least as far back as the early 1990's, and it's good to see it still in use.

Even as an American, I still love to read about others' views of America. A little narcissistic, maybe, but I think it's more like getting another pair of eyes on something <i>you</i> look at everyday.

<i>Other cultures are often evaluated as better or worse than this one rather than simply being seen as different.</i><p>True.<p><i>Americans tend to think that theirs is the best way to do things</i><p>Not true. Just think about American adoption of yoga and buddhism. Certain aspects of Asian cultures, once discovered, were adopted and adapted by Yanks who thought their culture could use improving.

Is there a typo here?<p><i>Americans usually think of nature as something that can be altered, conquered, and controlled for people's comfort and use and in order to minimize the effects of fierce weather conditions. In contrast, many cultures accept nature as something they can change or control.</i>

I'm sure this is great for immigrants , but it's just as useful for Americans, like myself living abroad. Before living overseas, I only understood a few vague general distinctions. Knowing your own peculiarities is a good starting point for adaptation.<p>There's also a link from the page on 'Cultural Adaptation' with great content for anyone interfacing with a second culture.

This seems a bit more accurate for New Yorkers than as a primer for Americans in general. "Observe their focus on themselves, rather on than their families" was particularly a "bwuh?" for me. In a university area (my local one is definitely like that), sure, but not in general.

Oh, and one more item for those college students who become grad students and decide they need to do field study, if you come out to a reservation in the northern plains and decide to hold a noon meeting, then YOU are on the hook for catering lunch. If you don't, prepare for a seriously insulted crowd. This includes dinner time meetings also. Brown bagging is not acceptable.

&#62; Americans are taught that "all men are created equal." While they continually violate that idea in some aspects of life, in others they adhere to it.<p>Boy, I wish more Americans understood that.

&#62; Fields and professions that were unwelcoming to women in the past have seen remarkable growth of women in their ranks, including areas such as medicine, police, law, and engineering.<p>Unless you talk to an engineer.

(I'm American and) I'm most curious about the supposed "superficiality" of Americans, particularly w/respect to friendships. Can anyone enlighten me on the reason for this? Are people of other countries accustomed to dealing with people who are less mobile and more likely to stick around for a while, and therefore more willing to invest time in a relationship? Is it an overemphasis on an appearance of independence?

... And If you see Americans in the wild, make sure to stop what you're doing immediately, turn, and walk calmly, don't run, it will only excite them. If you have some food or drink, drop it, it may distract them, and in turn give you a few extra valuable seconds to escape ...

Living abroad, I can definitely see myself in a lot of this.

The Xenophobe's Guide to the Americans <a href="http://www.ovalbooks.com/xeno/Americans.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.ovalbooks.com/xeno/Americans.html</a>

For what it's worth, this is a very "New York" way to view American culture.<p>Each corner of the country is vastly different than the others.

The page seems to have been removed from nyu.edu. Strange.

"US Americans" ?!