23: Activities for Learning about American Culture
The closing chapter is intended to help foreign visitors to engage in activities that will help them to learn more about American culture. It is meant to supplement the suggestions provided at the end of other chapters. Some are appropriate for short-term visitors, others more for those who will be in the US for a longer time.
ASK QUESTIONS
Asking questions is acutely important to learning and avoiding mistakes and misinterpretations. Many international visitors express reluctance to do so - they do not wish to be a nuisance to others, or fear admitting they do not know things will make them appear weak. However, Americans are often glad to be of help in most situations, and think more highly of an individual who seems interested in learning than a person who makes constant mistakes due to ignorance.
The author mentions that framing a question - suggesting the reason you are asking, explaining that you are unfamiliar with customs - generally makes people more amenable to a request for assistance. A simple question, which can be answered quickly, is generally not considered to be a nuisance - nor is a question that has a factual answer rather than an opinion.
The better acquainted you become with a person, the more time they will be willing to invest in answering more complex questions, or several questions, provided you are respectful of their time. Strangers may not be willing to answer complex questions or offer opinions, and may become annoyed at being asked one question after another.
Also, keep in mind the sensitive topics discussed throughout this book, and avoid asking them of an American with whom you are not very well acquainted. For such topics, framing is important, and giving the other party an opportunity to decline to answer is considered polite.
LEARN AND PRACTICE LOCAL ENGLISH
Most Americans cannot use any language other than English. There is some respect for individuals who learn foreign languages, but most do not place a high value on gaining the skill. Most college-educated adults learn at least one foreign language as part of their degree program, but do not retain or develop the ability to speak it, generally for lack of practice. As such, it is difficult for foreigners who do not have a grasp of English to get by in America. (EN: This is ironic, and on the verge of idiotic, as the book is written in English - but perhaps it is intended for translated versions, or in hopes a foreigner who can speak English will pass the advice along.)
There are significant differences between "American English" and "British English" that should be considered, and it's noted that there are many versions of English spoken in various regions of America that impact the pronunciation, accent, rate of speech, and use of words and figurative expressions. However, there is a notion of "Standard American English" taught in universities and used in the media.
Some tips follow:
- Watch American movies and television programs to learn the language.
- Reading books and periodicals, especially from the region you intend to visit, may give you an idea of the vocabulary, but not necessarily the accent of a regional area.
- Entertainment and information intended for children are ideal for beginners to practice communication skills
- Enrolling in conversational English classes or engaging a tutor is advisable. While many countries teach English in schools, it is generally insufficient.
- Practice English with other students or colleagues who have been to America and speak he language more fluently. Practicing alone, with a tape recorded, can make you more aware of your own defects.
- Take careful notes of the unfamiliar vocabulary and idioms you hear, and either research them or ask someone - and especially ask whether they are appropriate for "polite company."
(EN: The author mentions the Internet as a reference source, but totally misses perhaps the best use: to visit social media sites, blogs, and amateur videos posted by Americans to see how Americans generally write and speak. I'm tempted to stress that it's generally considered a casual medium and Americans often appear less literate or intelligent - but on the other hand, I despair that it is, in fact, a fairly accurate representation on both accounts.)
TAKE FIELD TRIPS
A "field trip" is an excursion to a real place to learn by observation. The author suggests a number of places to visit while in America, even if you have no practical need of going there, as a general educational experience or preparation for a future time when you may have an actual need.
(EN: The author does not mention "field trips" in one's own country, but my expectation is that there are places where international visitors may gather and can be observed. Americans who travel abroad may be more approachable for conversation about cultural differences, and generally cannot refrain from pointing out differences and mentioning how things are done back in America.)
What follows is a long list of places to visit, some more appropriate or convenient than others. The advice in each situation is to study the environment, the people within it, how they interact. It gets quite repetitive, so I'll merely list the locations:
- An intersection in an urban or suburban area
- A shopping center
- A park
- The lobby of an office building or commercial building
- Residential neighborhoods of various groups and classes
- A restaurant
- A waiting room
- A business meeting
- Riding public transportation
- A local school or university
- Retail stores of various kinds
- A city council meeting
- A courtroom
- A sporting event
- An American home
- A garage sale
- An open house
(EN: The advice seems generally good, but is perhaps a little too nonchalant - people who are hanging about and looking at things carefully often seem suspicious - and especially foreigners from certain parts of the world, given the lingering fear of terrorism. Be especially careful about observing children or appearing to study private homes, businesses, banks, and places where people gather in large numbers.)
TALK WITH EXPATRIATES AND TRAVELLERS
There are advantages and disadvantages to speaking with Americans who live aboard. Such people have experience living in America and can contrast it to the local culture. However, a person who has abandoned his native country, or who has consented to take a job that requires him to live aboard for an extended period of time generally has at least some dissatisfaction with his native land, so it can be a skewed perspective and in some instances a sensitive issue. In instances where you encounter a member of your own nation who is now living in America, the same principles apply.
Even when a person who is a traveler who is visiting and intends to return to his home country, Americans abroad tend to be defensive of their culture (as it is so often criticized by the people they meet) or reluctant to discuss its negative aspects. Even your own countrymen who have visited America, and who presumably have experienced what you are new to, have their own subjective experience that may differ from your own.
In general, the author advises to seek the advice of people from your own area, who have been to the specific part of America where you will be going, and whose experience was recent and it was less than a year when they first came to America (after a longer visit, they tend to forget much about their initial experience). Such people will likely be the most helpful.
Likewise, speaking with Americans who have returned to America after a trip to your country and region can be very helpful resources in identifying cultural differences. The things they found awkward or different about your country will likely be the same things you find difficult about theirs.
You can associate with countrymen while in America, but apply the same qualifications: that their experiences are going to be different from you own. If you are in America for an extended period of time, be cautious about falling in with a clique of foreigners - it will become a supportive group, but an insular community that will prevent you from having an individual experience.
LEARN THE NAMES OF LOCAL AND INSTITUTIONAL VIPS
The author suggests that every community has people who are considered to be of specific importance: government officials, members of the city council, prominent businessmen, local celebrities, etc.
(EN: The author suggests who these people might be, and how you might go about learning their names ... but provides no indication of the reason for doing so or to what purpose it might be used. And again, making "lsits of names" is especially suspicious behavior.)
READING
The author recommends a rather extensive reading list, and includes a list of additional publications. In addition to general resources about American culture, the author suggests visiting a local library to find out about local culture, history and politics. Subscribing to a local newspaper can present a wealth of information on toppcis of interest within the community (EN: Though giving the low and shrinking readership of newspapers, it's a stretch to say that a publication reflects the interests of a community if it is not of much interest to the community.)
KEEP A JOURNAL
The author advises keeping a journal. This is a very traditional and common method of collecting information when experiencing a foreign country, and the process of writing helps to better record and reflect upon your observations. Consider your journal not merely a diary of collected facts, but a notebook in which you can attempt analysis.
One suggestion is to assemble a list of things you are curious about, or perceptions you may have, before you leave, and using it as a checklist of things to gather information about while you are abroad.
As to reflection on experiences, the author suggests a number of questions to ask of oneself, in a queit palce after an event or situation has transpired:
In addition to considering your own perceptions, seek the input of specific individuals - Americans whom you feel will give you a realistic explanation or interpretation of events from their own point of view. It is better to have multiple informants of different ages, genders, races, etc. as each may have a different perspective.
(EN: It perhaps merits another word of caution that, given the heightened fear of terrorism, some discretion is advised for keeping written notes. A foreigner scribbling in a notebook in a language others do not understand may arouse fear and suspicion. Others may assume he's gathering intelligence or making plans.)
VIEW YOURSELF AS AN AMBASSADOR
While you travel in America, observing the behavior of Americans and making assessments, consider that the natives are in turn observing and making assessments of you, and that this will impact their opinion about your own culture and countrymen. While Americans chafe at the suggestion that they generalize about other people, as they prefer to assume they consider them on an individual basis, they very often subscribe to generalizations and stereotypes.
While Americans also (ideally) seek to be humble and fact-driven, they also do not have much tolerance for foreigners who seem to be constantly critical about their own culture. They generally take the perspective that foreign visitors are "guests" in their country, and that they are entitled to some degree of respect and deference as the hosts - though again, extreme shows of deference are uncomfortable, and a person who is always positive is seen as disingenuous.
And so, the approach is to consider yourself as an ambassador of your own culture, and recognize that, with patience, you can generally overcome hostility and misperceptions by providing and modeling accurate information.
CONCLUSION
The author recounts an activity done with foreign students who were near graduating and returning home to their native countries. He asked them to list aspects of American culture they would not like to take home with themselves, and other aspects that they would.
The list of negative qualities included: egotism and narcissism, weak families, poor treatment of old people, obsession with work, materialism, competitiveness, divorce, liberal sexual relations, materialism, and impersonality.
The list of positive qualities included: opportunity, mutual respect, egalitarianism, efficiency, productivity, personal freedom, and a positive outlook.
As a final step, the author asked students to study the two lists to see if they noticed any connections between them - and the students found many. Efficiency and productivity arise from an obsession with work; a belief that anything is possible is narcissistic and egotistical, opportunity requires relationships to be devalued.
The lesson being that one must take the good with the bad, that the things people dislike the most about America are necessarily and causally related to the things they most admire about America. To eliminate one requires eliminating the other.