mentalfloss.com
>ON GIVING GIFTS TO AMERICANS
>Don’t worry about gifts. It’s not a big deal to Americans and can even make them feel bad. If you do gift, go really Russian, they love that. Also did you know bribery is illegal in America? Be careful of that.
>ON TALKING TO AMERICAN WOMEN
>Welcome and introductions: men and women tend to shake hands. Mutual kissing and kissing ladies' hands is not accepted. Also, women play a greater role in business. Often they insist to be treated exactly as an equal and not as a lady. In this regard, it is not acceptable to be excessively gallant, and you should avoid personal questions (do not find out whether she is married).
>ON SOCIALIZING WITH AMERICANS
>Americans are delicate buttercups by Russian standards, so be gentle. They get all touchy when you show up at their house uninvited and get their feelings hurt just because you hang up on them when you’re done talking. They also do this thing with their legs that is so annoying. Bring them a badminton racket, they go crazy for those. Oh! And when they say, “See you later,” they’re totally lying. And whatever you do, don’t mention the magnetic storm.
>You may be invited to a picnic –if you’ve known each other for several years and are social outside the office. As a rule, the invitation will be only on a weekend, and you don’t have to prepare for something extravagant. Everything is the same as ours, only with far less booze.
>ON AMERICAN OPTIMISM
>These people do not stop smiling. Also, they don’t want to hear your problems because it interrupts their smiling. “Surviving” makes you a hero over there. Here it just means you were unlucky, but not unlucky enough to have died.
Traveling Tips for Coming to America
mentalfloss.com
>BE FRIENDLY TO NOSY STRANGERS.
>Be prepared for an onslaught of friendliness. You may be approached by a stranger on the street asking you where you got your coat. Passersby greet each other cheerfully in the street.
>THEY FEEL NO HUMILIATION ABOUT THEIR EATING HABITS, EVEN WHEN ASKING FOR A "DOGGY BAG."
>The portions are often gargantuan in the United States (but you already knew that). Americans are not embarrassed to ask for a "doggy bag" to take home. They'll even take home the rest of the tortillas appetizer.
>YOU CAN NOT ABANDON UGLY CHILDREN. IN FACT YOU MUST PRAISE THEM.
>Want to drop off your pants at the cleaners, leave an item with the hotel receptionist or pop into the supermarket while the kids do their homework? Know that leaving children alone, whether at the home, in the car, or the hotel is frowned upon, even prohibited.
>EVERYTHING IS SO DAMN INSPIRING.
>"Inspiring" became a word I heard every day: everything must be "inspiring" and push transcendence. We go to the movies, there is a choice between the biopic Lincoln, the Avengers or Misérables, each so inspiring in their own way. The books are inspiring, everyday people are inspiring (such as all the people with children and a job at the same time, teachers, etc...). I confess that I have a little trouble with this cult of everyday heroes.
>CUT IN LINE AND AN AMERICAN WILL CUT YOU.
>The film will start in 3 minutes and there are still 15 people in front of you, including a family of six children who are unable to decide anything. You would be tempted to quietly scrape forward a few places so as to be sure you get your popcorn and miss nothing of the film. Never! In the United States, small barriers often mark out the entries, lines on the ground indicate where to stop and there is no “He who goes hunting loses his place" mentality there.
mentalfloss.com
>THERE IS A THING CALLED “DINNER PLATES.” AND WHAT GOES ON THEM IS A MIGHTY DISAPPOINTMENT.
>American food is flat to the taste, indifferent in the subtle difference of taste. There is no such thing there as a little “secret ingredient.” Sugar, salt, pepper, oils, and routine spices are used for family meals. There is no such thing as purely U.S. cuisine, except the hamburger
>BEWARE ROUGH AREAS WHERE THE CLOTHES DEMAND ATTENTION
>In Japan, hip hop clothes are considered stylish. But in the United States, it is wise to avoid them, as you might be mistaken for a member of a street gang.
>BUT YOU’LL BE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED BY AMERICAN TRAFFIC PATTERNS.
>Manners with cars in America are really damn good. Japanese people should be embarrassed when they look at how good car manners are in America.
>NOBODY IS IMPRESSED BY HOW MUCH YOU CAN DRINK. IN FACT, SHAME ON YOU.
>Rather, if you drink a lot, there is a sense that you cannot manage yourself. There is something close to contempt toward someone who must drink a lot to be drunk. To drink alcohol habitually is to have alcoholism. Alcoholics are weak people mentally, to be one means you have spanned the label of social outcasts that can’t self-manage. Non-smokers are more important than smokers in the US. Smokers capture the concept that they are not able to control themselves, and are the owners of weak character.
>BUT DARN IT ALL, THEY’RE SO WEIRDLY OPTIMISTIC YOU JUST CAN’T STAY IRRITATED AT THEM.
>In America, you can make mistakes, fail, and it doesn’t matter. It is a fundamental feeling that to sometimes be incorrect is natural. In addition, rather than thinking about mistakes and failures, American’s have curiosity and say, "Let’s try anyway!"
>Manners with cars in America are really damn good. Japanese people should be embarrassed when they look at how good car manners are in America.
How fucked up is Japanese traffic?
>Rather, if you drink a lot, there is a sense that you cannot manage yourself. There is something close to contempt toward someone who must drink a lot to be drunk.
God, I wish that were the case.
>If it should happen I need to leave my stuff unattended when I'm in the coffee shop, I just ask someone to look at it for the time it takes for me to go to the toilet. When I forget something in my bike basket, it is still there, even at night. And when you have packages waiting for you at home, they remain in the lobby and no one takes them. It may seem normal and civic way of doing it, but I am surprised. Since coming to America, I've become much less suspicious.
>France
>first world
OH GOD NOT THE MAGNETIC STORM
>They also do this thing with their legs that is so annoying.
They will cut off their mother and make her swerve into a lightpole if it means they get to their destination 10 seconds sooner.
I had a friend who went to Poland and said that people don't follow any traffic lights there.
Canadian tips on conversing with burgers
>Good discussion topics when meeting someone for the first time are work and family (more often than not, in that order). When discussing politics, be prepared to explain how the Canadian system works (especially the multitude of parties involved and levels of government) and be prepared to learn (if you don’t know already) how the American system works.
>After politics, the issue of Healthcare is always one of great curiosity. Americans are as curious about how our system works as we are curious about theirs. As I learned, it is important to note that in the US it is not as simple as just paying for your own health insurance. There is a whole system to understand in regards to the types of insurance, who pays for what and the concept of a ’co-pay’. The concept of 1 paid year off for maternity is also of great interest since in the US an employer is only mandated to give 6 weeks of unpaid leave (with extensions left to the discretion of the employer.)
>Until you know a person better, I would suggest avoiding the topics of religion and gun control; both can spark VERY heated discussion. Views on these two topics can range from indifferent to extreme, and it may not always be obvious where the person stands on these issues.
>Humour in the US seems quite generic at first. Once you get to know a person better, they may reveal their more subtle forms of humour such as sarcasm. Quite a bit of the humour (especially among Generation X types) seems to be quite inclusive of pop culture. Also, due to the sensitivity to sexual harassment, humour involving sexual innuendos should be avoided, especially in places of work.
Don't you dare bring it up....
I do want to add something to OP's post. It depends on which region you are in. For example I'm a New Englander, and specifically a Masshole.
We shock fellow Americans with our bluntness, shit talking and whacked out sense of sarcastic humor.
We are far more loyal however than say, someone in California.
w-what thing?
REEEEEE
Weight gaining?
>And whatever you do, don’t mention the magnetic storm.
wat
>magnetic storm
What is this
I'm scared
We don't talk about that you cunt
Why are Americans triggered by magnetic storms?
TL;DR
Russians have no decorum.
Uhhh, packages get stolen left and right.
Hobos follow USPS cars around
I bet it's some kind of urban legend type of thing that's popular storytelling in Russia and nonsense everywhere else.
>american 'bluntness'
half my family are from the netherlands, i reckon i'll manage
>A "DOGGY BAG."