American Ways – A Guide for Foreigners in the

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INTRODUCTION xxi Mr. Wilson’s mother is obviously old, but she can move around reasonably well and can carry on a normal conversation with anyone who talks a bit louder than usual. Mr. Wilson says he visits his mother once a week if at all possible. Sometimes he has to go out of town, so two weeks will pass between visits. His wife sometimes goes along on these visits; the children rarely do, since one lives far away and the other is usually busy studying. Tariq is horrified. How can Mr. Wilson, who otherwise seems like a pleasant and generous person, stand to have his mother living in such a place? Why doesn’t she live with Mr. Wilson? How can Tariq interpret Mr. Wilson’s behavior? There are several possibilities: Mr. Wilson is a selfish, irresponsible person who does not understand the obligations children have toward their parents; or Mr. Wilson’s mother has some medical or psychological problem that is not evident to him and that requires special care she could not get in Mr. Wilson’s home; or Mr. Wilson’s wife is a domineering woman who, for selfish reasons, refuses to have her husband’s mother living in her house. Any of these interpretations might be correct, but there are others that are more likely to explain the situation Tariq has seen. If Tariq understood the way in which Americans are trained to behave as independent, self-reliant individuals, he would be more likely to understand why Mr. Wilson’s mother was in the nursing home. He might realize that the mother may actually prefer to be in the nursing home rather than “be a burden” to her son and his family. Tariq might understand, at least to some degree, the concern for privacy that leads Americans to keep to themselves in ways people in his own country would rarely do.
xxii AMERICAN WAYS If Tariq misinterpreted this situation, he might well become unfriendly and even hostile to Mr. Wilson and his wife. His host family relationship would end. He would then lose a good opportunity to socialize, to meet Americans in age groups other than that of his fellow students, and to learn from Mr. Wilson about the engineering profession as it is practiced in the United States. If, on the other hand, Tariq understood the factors underlying the nursing home situation in the same way the Wilsons probably do, he might go on to develop a closer and more rewarding relationship with the Wilson family. So, understanding Americans can be beneficial. Misunderstanding them can eliminate opportunities and produce negative feelings that are unwarranted. This book can help foreign visitors understand Americans and thereby better achieve their own goals while in the United States. How Much Generalizing Is Acceptable? Who are these Americans? The United States of America covers a land area of 3,618,770 square miles (9,408,802 sq. km.) and is inhabited by some 281,000,000 individuals. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, population density ranges from 1,134 people per square mile (2,564 per sq. km.) in the state of New Jersey to 1 per square mile (1.82 per sq. km.) in the state of Alaska. There are deserts, plains, marshlands, tundra, forests, and snow-covered mountains. America’s population reflects remarkable ethnic diversity. While the majority of Americans are non-Hispanic white, 12.5 percent of the population is Hispanic, 12 percent of the population is African American, about 4 percent is Asian, and about 1 percent is Native American. In
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Page 14 and 15: PREFACE xiii come to be called “p
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40 AMERICAN WAYS to more self-revel
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42 AMERICAN WAYS tion of immediate
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44 AMERICAN WAYS more highly regard
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46 AMERICAN WAYS jewelry, all of wh
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48 AMERICAN WAYS The meaning of han
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50 AMERICAN WAYS Space and Touching
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52 AMERICAN WAYS Suggestions for Fo
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54 AMERICAN WAYS culture where conv
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56 AMERICAN WAYS questions she thou
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58 AMERICAN WAYS arose when I was s
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60 AMERICAN WAYS fully, in Chinese
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62 AMERICAN WAYS dently of the indi
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64 AMERICAN WAYS Too emotional. I m
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66 AMERICAN WAYS assume that a care
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68 AMERICAN WAYS In the end the per
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70 AMERICAN WAYS tices but those co
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72 AMERICAN WAYS • Thanksgiving (
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74 AMERICAN WAYS men—except when
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78 AMERICAN WAYS Juan Pablo would b
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80 AMERICAN WAYS in chapter 2, poli
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82 AMERICAN WAYS Others may not sha
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84 AMERICAN WAYS ganizations. There
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86 AMERICAN WAYS supplement these g
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88 AMERICAN WAYS The Changing Famil
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90 AMERICAN WAYS society generally
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92 AMERICAN WAYS Orange Julius stor
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94 AMERICAN WAYS and, in some measu
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96 AMERICAN WAYS are really angry a
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98 AMERICAN WAYS children leave, en
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✰ ✰ ✰ Education Chapter 7 “
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EDUCATION 103 much education as pos
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Equal Opportunity EDUCATION 105 A t
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Parental Involvement EDUCATION 107
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EDUCATION 109 however, this behavio
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EDUCATION 111 teen professions, bel
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EDUCATION 113 gage in attention-get
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EDUCATION 115 • Should female sec
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EDUCATION 117 system. Whatever its
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✰ ✰ ✰ Religion Chapter 8 “I
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RELIGION 121 • Is prayer a proper
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RELIGION 123 tian right engaged in
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RELIGION 125 the Syrian physician s
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RELIGION 127 as part of an effort t
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130 AMERICAN WAYS parts of the worl
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132 AMERICAN WAYS the press often c
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134 AMERICAN WAYS This is not to sa
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136 AMERICAN WAYS ally these magazi
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138 AMERICAN WAYS • Violent crime
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Chapter 10 ✰ ✰ ✰ Social Relat
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SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS 143 Americans.
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SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS 145 whom they
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SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS 147 socialize,
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SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS 149 ant, neigh
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SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS 151 with peers
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SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS 153 Americans
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Chapter 11 ✰ ✰ ✰ Racial and E
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RACIAL AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY 157 cus
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RACIAL AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY 159 Joo
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RACIAL AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY 161 Had
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RACIAL AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY 163 sta
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RACIAL AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY 165 the
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RACIAL AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY 167 try
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RACIAL AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY 169 stu
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RACIAL AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY 171 rac
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174 AMERICAN WAYS spirit of adventu
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176 AMERICAN WAYS Before the women
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178 AMERICAN WAYS areas of child ca
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180 AMERICAN WAYS Granted, the men
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182 AMERICAN WAYS ing and superviso
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184 AMERICAN WAYS for their son. Th
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186 AMERICAN WAYS This chapter has
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188 AMERICAN WAYS Sports Americans
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190 AMERICAN WAYS disadvantage to f
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192 AMERICAN WAYS may cause because
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Chapter 14 ✰ ✰ ✰ Driving “Y
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DRIVING 197 judgment and reflexes.
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DRIVING 199 Attitudes toward Other
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Attitudes toward Pedestrians DRIVIN
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Chapter 15 ✰ ✰ ✰ Shopping “
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SHOPPING 205 and printed messages t
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SHOPPING 207 mality with which some
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SHOPPING 209 Such tactics, of cours
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SHOPPING 211 Americans use is “Yo
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Chapter 16 ✰ ✰ ✰ Personal Hyg
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PERSONAL HYGIENE 215 not. From comm
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PERSONAL HYGIENE 217 the unclothed
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PERSONAL HYGIENE 219 hygiene habits
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222 AMERICAN WAYS sible positions i
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224 AMERICAN WAYS One must take the
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226 AMERICAN WAYS university becaus
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228 AMERICAN WAYS a last resort, if
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230 AMERICAN WAYS going in two oppo
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232 AMERICAN WAYS guish their cigar
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234 AMERICAN WAYS Foreign visitors
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236 AMERICAN WAYS Assumptions Under
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238 AMERICAN WAYS sitting next to t
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240 AMERICAN WAYS to more formal re
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242 AMERICAN WAYS Individual roomma
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244 AMERICAN WAYS Plagiarism To pla
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246 AMERICAN WAYS their progress in
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248 AMERICAN WAYS American values a
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250 AMERICAN WAYS Another manifesta
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252 AMERICAN WAYS bad management. I
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254 AMERICAN WAYS might attend semi
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256 AMERICAN WAYS It is not just em
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258 AMERICAN WAYS Suggestions for F
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260 AMERICAN WAYS gests some activi
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262 AMERICAN WAYS you as a visitor
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264 AMERICAN WAYS Traits and Situat
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266 AMERICAN WAYS cans. Now, at las
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268 AMERICAN WAYS “These American
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270 AMERICAN WAYS ions. The Brazili
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272 AMERICAN WAYS The first two ite
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274 AMERICAN WAYS • Watch televis
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276 AMERICAN WAYS talking, so you c
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278 AMERICAN WAYS enough so you can
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280 AMERICAN WAYS see if buyers bar
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282 AMERICAN WAYS Each state has tw
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284 AMERICAN WAYS • What could I
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286 AMERICAN WAYS can life that the
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✰ ✰ ✰ Bibliography People who
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Intercultural Relations BIBLIOGRAPH
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BIBLIOGRAPHY 293 Triandis, Harry C.
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About the Author Gary Althen has mo
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American Ways – A Guide for Foreigners in the

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