Cultural Differences in the USA
Anytime you move, youll face changes. But when you move abroad, even temporarily, the culture will be different too. But dont base your expectations about the USA on tv shows and movies, since they tend to exaggerate characters or lifestyles, and arent 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. Heres 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
Dont 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. Its common for Americans to wear casual clothing to school and isnt uncommon to call supervisors by their first name. But good manners
and politeness are always appropriate, and if youre more formal than your American friends then at least youll 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 youre talking to may feel that youre in their personal space and will try to back away. If that happens, dont 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 youre close enough friends to touch them, check first if theyre ok 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 Smiths 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 youre meeting with them for medical or professional advice. Many, but not all, of your instructors in school should be referred to as Professor.
In a casual setting in fact, probably in most settings most people introduce themselves with, and are addressed as, just their first name.
These forms of address are by no means official or mandatory, and can change depending on the persons 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 to the ones listed above or to what youd expect. Be respectful of their requests.
Behavior
Americans can be much more assertive than most international visitors. Dont 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.
Its 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 whos not a close friend, dont make sexual or suggestive comments, dont touch anyone other than a handshake, and try to have neutral (rather than personal) conversations.
Toilets
The most important phrase you should learn is, Wheres the bathroom? Bathroom is the word used most often in the USA, but ironically we dont 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 theres no official rule.
If youre out having fun and need the bathroom, you might not find one easily on your commute as there arent 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 theres no mandatory amount, most people pay a tip thats 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 dont be shy about asking your friends or the person doing the work whats 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 youre 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 youre one of those people whos always running late, youll need to find a way to change that for meetings, doctors appointments, and formal events. In the USA, its preferred that youre either on time or a few minutes early for the stated meeting time. Arriving very early can be disruptive to
someone elses schedule, and arriving more than a couple minutes late is both disruptive and considered rude. If youre running late, though, make sure to contact the person youre meeting to let them know so they can make adjustments to their schedule.
In a more casual situation with a small number of people, its still best to arrive within a timeframe of approximately 5 minutes early to 5 minutes late. But for a big party at someones house, for example, your timing can be much more flexible. Essentially, your timing should take into consideration if there enough people in the group or at the meeting that your late arrival wont be noticed.
Business Clothing
Sometimes Americans are considered to be casual dressers, though styles can differ depending on the city or town. But thats 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 vary by schedule and family, but generally breakfast is eaten sometime between 7 and 8 am and lunch is eaten sometime between 12 and 2 pm. What time do Americans eat dinner? Usually sometime between 6 and 8 pm, and its considered the main meal
even if weve 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 youre invited to a wedding, baby shower, religious event, or other celebration, its 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 theyd like to receive so that you dont have to guess if theyll like something. If theres no registry, you can give money or a gift, but the amount of money spent and appropriateness of the gift varies greatly.
An important point to keep telling yourself: In the USA, theres 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 youre 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 youll have to add the cost to your budget. Though specific laws about where you are prohibited from smoking vary by state and city, its 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 dont you to be offended or to offend someone else simply because youre 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!):
Its fine to point at an object or location, but its 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 youre 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 its a big an insult. Shaking a closed fist at someone is also rude, especially if its in their face, and is understood to be an expression of anger.
The peace sign has positive connotations, and is signaled by making 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.
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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 youd 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 its 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 youre very unlikely to do math when the internet can convert for you.
For simplicitys sake, here 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, its up to each company to decide if the Monday or Friday should be days off as well (to make a long weekend). There are several other holidays that are either considered not important enough for every office to close (e.g., Veterans 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., Mothers 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, youll 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 youve 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 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 dont 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 are able to follow any religion you want without repercussions. In fact, there is a law saying just that: You cannot be discriminated against based on religion, and adjustments should be made in situations that prevent your religious practice.