Here are some common things that people in the United States do:
Work: Americans tend to work long hours, often starting before 9 AM and ending before 6 PM. Many Americans start working at a young age and take relatively few vacations. [Me: Is this really what we are known for? Relatively few vacations? FYI, at my last job, I got five weeks off every year, and I always took all of them!]
Eat out: Americans often eat out or order takeout for convenience and time. They also enjoy eating out for fun. [I suppose this is true to a certain extent, especially the fun part, although I just checked my spending report and even when I am on the road, like now, I don't eat out a ton. In October, I went for lunch 4 times, dinner 3 times and ice cream 1 time.]
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| Lunch out with Elisabeth |
Value time: Americans value time and convenience, and often celebrate busyness and lack of leisure. [I do think this is true, and am actually struggling with this a bit right now, as I feel like people may think that because I am not working, I am lazy and/or not busy, aka not productive, aka lazy.]
Follow sports: Many Americans enjoy watching and following sports, especially football, baseball, and basketball. [I do not fit in this group very much, but do feel like a lot of people do love watching sports, especially football. Those fans are INTENSE.]
Practice small talk: Americans often engage in small talk, which is making conversation with strangers or acquaintances about non-controversial topics. [This one seems odd; are other cultures not known for small talk? Are Americans engaging in more small talk than other cultures? As you know, I am not a huge fan of small talk.]
Be independent: Americans value the idea of being self-sufficient. Many American kids and teenagers leave home for extended periods of time. [I do know that in many cultures it is normal to live at home for a long time, or have multiple generations under one roof, so in contrast to them, I do think Americans are seen to be kicking the kids out early. Also my parents definitely taught me to be self sufficient.]
Respect differences: Americans generally practice political correctness and respect other cultures and people's differences. [Hmmm.. not so sure about this one, AI!]
Use red cups: Americans often use red cups to drink alcohol out of. [THIS ONE CRACKED ME UP! I mean, what algorithm caused it to put this on top of other things? I have drunk out of a red cup, but I do not think this is a top ten defining characteristic of Americans!]
Celebrate holidays: Americans celebrate holidays like Halloween and Black Friday. [What about Christmas!? And Thanksgiving? Plus, is Black Friday now a holiday? My critique to AI: needs work!]
Which of these do you think AI got right, and which are just weird? And which do you think should be added? For my non-US readers, what do you think of when you think of Americans (don't be shy, I know we are known for being loud in a crowd!)?
If you haven't already, you can fill out this form with any questions you want answered for my upcoming ask me anything post!!
This post is part of NaBloPoMo. You can find the rest of my posts for this challenge here. You can find the list of participants and their information here.
Ha this is pretty funny. I will have to remember to wish people a happy Black Friday. lol. I think the fact that AI thinks we celebrate that means that we are kind of company obsessed with shopping, spending and consumerism… that is not the case for most of my family and friends and certainly not my immediate family. I think it got the work and low level of time off right, though. We take far less time off than our international counterparts, especially in Europe it seems. It’s pretty rare in my industry to take a week+ off from work. I don’t think it’s atypical in other cultures. The eating out thing tracks, too, but we are outliers there, too, and were even before kids. I eat out a lot these days because of travel but beyond that we rarely eat out. We get take and bake pizzas and that is kind of the extent of the dining out experience as a family. We are getting to a point where it’s enjoyable to eat out, though, so we might do it a bit more often but it wil always be a treat.
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