Eating habits:

Americans usually drink cocktails before lunch and dinner, but in California, people mostly drink wine.

At the same time, before eating the staple food, we usually eat a salad. Fried mushrooms and fried onion rings can be used as appetizers, steak, pork chops and chicken (legs) are the staple foods, and lobster, shellfish and various fish, even freshwater fish, are collectively referred to as seafood. French fries are popular and almost indispensable food.

In addition, we should pay special attention to the fact that if there is leftover food, we must pack it and take it home to avoid wasting it.

Americans use a knife and fork when eating, and their eating style is also very particular. Therefore, when invited to have dinner with American friends, we should pay special attention to their dining habits. In general, there is a knife and two forks on the dining table. The fork outside is for you to eat salad, the fork inside is for eating staple food and other snacks, and the knife is for cutting meat. If you use both hands, you should hold the fork in your left hand and the knife in your right hand, and you should not hold the knife for too long at a time.

American breakfast includes scrambled or boiled eggs, sausages, potato chips, pancakes, jelly, toast, muffins, orange juice and coffee.

If you are new to American restaurants, you should pay attention to the following matters:

1. Choose suitable restaurants (such as family restaurants, specialty restaurants and self-service restaurants);

2. Business hours of the restaurant (open at 11: 31 am until night);

3. Generally, you should reserve a table in advance:

4. After you arrive at the restaurant, you can't go straight to the table and sit at the table unless there is a notice in the restaurant.

5. When paying, don't forget to leave the waiter a certain percentage of the tip (generally 11% ~ 15% of the actual total).

with the acceleration of American life, fast food came into being. Its fast food chain stores are all over the world, among which McDonald's fast food chain stores are the most influential. The fast food provided includes: hamburgers, roast beef, steaks, ham, sandwiches, KFC, fried potato chips, baked pies, ice cream and various carbonated drinks.

Meeting etiquette:

Bowing ceremony: it is the etiquette between subordinates and superiors or peers. When bowing, take off your hat, hold the center of the brim with your right hand, take it off, hang your left hand, lean forward about 15 degrees, look at the recipient with your eyes and say hello at the same time.

handshake: it is a common etiquette all over the world. Originated in Europe, it originally means that there is no weapon or kindness in the hand. When shaking hands, guests should hold out their hands first before shaking hands. Generally, gloves are not worn when shaking hands, but distinguished people and women can wear gloves. Don't cross when saluting, and don't shake hands with women too tightly.

nodding ceremony: it is a courtesy between peers or peers. If you meet on the road, you can do it during the journey. If you meet an officer, superior or elder, you can't nod, but bow and bow.

Raise your hand and pay attention: It's military etiquette. When saluting, raise your right hand, keep your fingers straight and level, touch the right side of the brim with your fingertips, put your palms out slightly, keep your arms at shoulder level, and keep your eyes on the recipient, and then put your hands down after the other person replies.

Kissing hands: it's a courtesy of the upper class in Europe and America. When meeting a noble woman or lady, if the woman reaches out her hand first and makes a drooping gesture, she will gently hold up her palm and kiss it. If the woman doesn't reach out, she can't kiss her hand.

Kissing ceremony: it is a kind of etiquette that the superior shows intimacy and caress to the subordinate, the elder to the junior or friends, and the husband and wife. It is usually a kiss on the recipient's face or forehead. When you are happy, happy or sad, you usually kiss to show affection or comfort.

Hugging ceremony: It is a kind of etiquette to show intimate feelings between acquaintances and friends in Europe and America.

Hugging each other when meeting or saying goodbye indicates intimacy and deep affection. Hugging ceremony is usually carried out together with kissing ceremony.

At first, I had the impression that Americans were just like a small child in China in dealing with people. Not only did they often talk childish, but they also talked casually. Compared with authentic English, American English is mostly casual and unrestrained, from pronunciation pinyin to grammar rhetoric. Americans are far from the standard public image of "sitting like a clock and standing like a pine" in China, especially American children, who have no rules, are sloppy, lazy, sit without sitting or standing; No matter whether you are familiar or not, the opening is' cough'! Then call them by their first names, even for grandparents. They have a simple meal, treat them to bread and eggs or China dinner, and they are equally happy. In order to improve their English level, China students once deliberately rented a room with American students, and soon they saw that they had become American free nannies: things were thrown about, and the newly cleaned room was out of order like a dog kennel. As a result, China students moved quickly.

once you get to know Americans a little, you will find that they are still straightforward and lovely like big children. Americans pretend to be a nation with a sense of humor. If you scold him for being uneducated and worthless, instead, he thinks that you are burdened by material and reputation and feel sorry for you because you don't know the truth of life. But if you scold him for being dull and having no sense of humor, he will feel great shame. Americans, old and young, men and women, talk to each other all the time, all for fun, and make the language environment relaxed as the criterion. Sometimes you see a group of people laughing and laughing, and you think it's an old friend gathering, but in fact they haven't known each other for ten minutes.

It is very important for the American nation to stress credibility (of course, not all Americans are reputable people), because the economic and social status of the United States is based on personal credibility. If you joke with him in this respect that he is cheating and dishonest, he will immediately turn his face-Americans turn their faces when they say they turn their faces, and there is no mercy.

body language

Use body language

After you have been in contact with Americans for some time, you will notice that Americans are very particular about their speech. They pay attention to body language, especially eye contact and the distance between their bodies.

We often see Americans shaking hands and kissing. American customs, when meeting men and women for the first time, just shake hands, and kissing is the body language between good friends. The way to kiss is: between the same sex, the face touches each other's face, and then kiss in the air; Between the opposite sex, you can kiss each other on the cheek. Parents kiss their children, their foreheads and cheeks.

Smile and eye contact are very important when dealing with Americans. Smiling eyes and greeting language have the same meaning in public places. If a stranger walks up to you and smiles back at you, he will say' hi' or' hello'. This is just a courtesy, but it doesn't mean that he will stop to talk to you.

it is impolite to stare at people in China. When Americans look at you and don't look him in the eye, they will think that you are evasive and insincere and that you can't be trusted. So when you talk to Americans, keep eye contact.

In addition, when speaking with Americans, we should keep the distance between each other's bodies, and the scale of half a meter is better. If you talk to an American and he keeps moving forward, maybe you are too far away from him; If he keeps backing away, you may get too close to him.

All smiles are Friends

We are all friends

The concept of friend is different in the United States and China. Americans can call people they know, acquaintances or even people they meet for the first time friends. There are many holidays in America, and there are also many organized parties. Many people get together happily, maybe they have only known each other for a few minutes. In a sense, China's concept of friends is similar to that of American brothers, sisters and close friends.

Many adults and children in the United States do not deny that they are not United with their brothers and sisters. There is no hard and fast rule between family members that the big ones must help the small ones. Parents treat their children with the same respect as their friends, and the law also stipulates that parents cannot physically punish their children, so parents influence the next generation by reasoning with their children and setting an example by themselves. Their pleasure in raising children is to watch the growth of another life from a humane point of view, so there are many Americans who adopt other people's children, and there are many white people who adopt Asian children or black children.

Americans are charitable, keen on fighting against injustice, and have a honest and frank personality, making friends easily. They always trust people first. However, once they feel that the person is wrong, no matter who is right or wrong, they will turn their faces immediately, and there is no room for him to explain. But if he realizes that he misunderstood afterwards, he will sincerely apologize to you and have no worries about losing face.

beware of being considered gay

man don't hold hands &; Women don't hold hands in America

Men and men, women and women are walking in the street. If you are not gay, don't go back and forth on the main roads in America. Be friendly to Americans, and don't use hand in hand, the traditional China expression, to show closeness. In 1997, Time magazine, a famous American magazine, published a photo of two girls walking shoulder to shoulder in the street of China as evidence of homosexuality in China, which shows that Americans have little knowledge of China customs.

When a man praises a woman's beauty, he is sometimes polite to you in the United States, just like when people in China ask you if you have eaten your meal, not necessarily because he is tempted by her beauty. Similarly, women can praise men. Common polite words are:

between formal occasions and strangers:

Hello. Hello! Hi!

how are you? How are you?

the weather is fine today. It is beautiful today.

Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you!

Between acquaintances and colleagues:

You look very well today. You look good today.

Your clothes are beautiful (or I like what you are wearing today). I like your dress/shirt (lady: dressman: shirt)

You are very pretty (mostly for women).

Without the consent of your parents, Don't touch American children and dogs casually

Ask for permission before getting too close to children or dogs

Old people in China sometimes show their love for their children by giving them food and touching their heads with their hands. You should try to avoid these two points in America. American food is plentiful and cheap, and children of civilians and even the poor are constantly eating snacks. Parents are very worried about their children's picky eaters and eating inferior advertising food. Ordinary parents will educate their children not to accept food from strangers. They are not worried about their impoliteness, but about their children being poisoned by bad people. Touching a child's head doesn't like it, and parents won't be happy. Strangers must pay attention to keeping the distance between people in the United States.

American dogs are family members, as important as children. So, don't feed American dogs casually. Besides, many dogs are specially used to deal with strangers. Be careful of being bitten! American postmen are bitten countless times a month and have to carry a spray with them to deal with fierce dogs.

Don't ask Americans about their income and age

Do not ask for personal information

Americans are very taboo about being asked about their income.

to know the income of an American family, you can know the general situation by looking at the living area where the family lives and the school where the children go. American food is cheap, cars are cheap, and housing is absolutely expensive. Most of the income of the average American family is spent on housing and tuition. Every city in the United States has rich areas, blue-collar areas and civilian areas. Each district is divided into upper, middle and lower levels. Primary and secondary schools in the United States are free of charge, while private schools collect money. Different private schools charge different fees. Americans don't make money for the purpose of saving, what kind of money they earn and what kind of living environment they live in. Therefore, the general manager of a large company is likely to sell his existing house immediately after losing his job, live in a relatively poor environment, and his children will also transfer from private to public schools.

Americans are also very taboo about being asked their age.

don't ask the age of Americans. Even if I did, the average American wouldn't tell you honestly. When attending an American birthday party, Xu Niang, 41, will say to celebrate the 28th birthday. Unless they have to fill in a form when applying for a job, they may not fill in their real age at that time, and the law also protects workers from filling in the exact age. To know the correct age of Americans, it is most accurate to look at their driver's licenses or passports, and passports and driver's licenses need their birth certificates to get them. But why do you want to know other people's ages?

Generally speaking, how much is the house you live in and the car you drive? If you ask Americans these questions, they will think you are impolite, just as Shanghainese think you just disembarked from Shiliupu Pier.

The only issue you can talk about openly is the market situation of children's education expenses and travel expenses.

Politeness in public occasions

Don't talk too loud in public, no personal discussions in public too.

When we meet acquaintances in China, we greet them loudly to show our enthusiasm. We should pay attention to this aspect after coming to the United States. Public places in the United States are relatively quiet, and people speak very quietly. Unless there is an emergency, they generally don't shout. See acquaintances also approached to say hello. When meeting in a restaurant, it is also limited to the other party can hear clearly, and don't make any noise. In addition, try to avoid talking about your family affairs or children's private affairs in public.

People who walk in front often open doors for people behind them. If they come to a door at the same time, men usually let women go first. Getting in and out of the elevator is also a priority for women. Take the same road and try to let others go first. There are few pedestrians on the road. If someone passes by each other, whether they know each other or not, if they are in the business district, they usually say Excuse me before they pass. If you are in a tourist area, you usually say hello (hi, hello, good morning, good afternoon, good evening) and then walk away. When you need someone else's service, first pay attention to whether someone is in front of you, don't cut in line, and don't interrupt others' speech. If men and women walk together, men are used to walking on the side near the road. This habit stems from the fact that when society is underdeveloped, carriages often splash mud to dirty women's long skirts, which is a gentleman's behavior to protect women.

sorry, thank you

always.