American Society

[Nick]

Hi all,

I was just reading some paragraphs in the chapter 'American Society' in our student's companion (page 151ff) where characteristic features of the Americans are mentioned:
- gregariousness
- mobility
- uniformity
They also talk about the whites' residential areas, which are supposed to constitute one of America's main status symbols.

Now my question:
As I have never been to the States I would like some of you to talk about some of your experiences with American Society. What would you say are the most characteristic features of this people? What's charming and what's repulsive ?

Thanks for sharing your experiences
Regards,
Nick.

[Tatjana]

Hi Nick!
Here is what I´ve experienced or noticed during my stays in the USA:
-convernience is one of the moste important words and things Americans want, no matter when or where (while driving, eating, shopping, living...)
-people in the USA are very open-minded towards strangers and foreigners and they are very frinedly and show a great readiness to help
-shopping is very important, it seems to be more like a hobby for them; therefore shopping in the USA is absolutely great and brings lots of fun (again the friendliness plays a major role!)
-Americans are very patriotic. Since Spetember 11 they are even more. I´ve never seen so many flags and stars and stripes like last year in October when I was in California. For them patriotism is nothing they feel guilty about like Germans
-mobility is normal and poeple are moving a lot (e.g. leaving a city for a new job is more common than in Europe)
-sometimes they do seem a bit superficial, especially when you do not know them very good ("I´ll call you" probably means you will never hear from this person again!) :wink:
-although they think that they have food-culture, they do not have any! Again convenience is more important, and even in high-priced restaurants the quality is not the same as you can expect it in Europe (especially in France)
-Americans seem to me very sef-centered and focused on their country; they often hardly know about other countries or systems and do not seem to be interested in it. America for them is the centre of the universe so why inform oneself about other countries?

O.k. this is what came to my mind when reading your questions. I hope I could help you a bit with my opinion.
Bye!
Tatjana

[Nick]

Thanks for taking your time to share your experiences, Tatjana. I hope there are some more students who are willing to share what they've seen over there - even a couple of words are sometimes revealing...

Best regards
Nick.