The United States was not established for a long time, all kinds of immigrants and countless domestic, so the United States of America's etiquette and culture can be said to be the confluence of a variety of cultures, many of which are diametrically opposed to the habits of the Chinese people.
One, the etiquette of meeting.
Americans meet, not necessarily shake hands, as long as a smile, say hello on the line, even if it is the first time to meet, while the Chinese people regard the handshake as a basic etiquette. But in China, there is not much limit to shake hands, and Americans shake hands is a certain etiquette. For example, between men and women, the woman first extends her hand, if the woman has no intention of shaking hands, the man can only nod his head and bow in salute; between young and old by the elders to extend their hands first; up and down the hierarchy, by the superiors to extend their hands first; between the host and the host by the host to extend their hands first. And shaking hands should look at each other, and take off the gloves, otherwise it will be regarded as impolite. In the U.S., people like to meet by name, which is a kind and friendly expression, even though the conversation may be called with each other's last name at the beginning of the name, but after a while on the name. In China, people like to be called so-and-so manager, so-and-so president, because it is a symbol of identity and status. In the United States, however, people seldom address others by their formal titles, which are used only for judges, high-ranking government officials, military officers, doctors, professors, and high-ranking religious figures. It is worth noting that the U.S. never uses administrative positions such as director, manager, principal and other titles to address others. In addition, when talking to people, never talk about personal matters, such as age, marriage, income, beliefs and so on. Seeing others buy things can not ask its price; if you see others back, can not ask him where he went or where to come from, otherwise it will be disgusted, Americans often use "nose into the private life of others to come" this sentence to express contempt for the questioner. In China, on the other hand, the boundaries of personal privacy are far less profound, and people don't care what others know about their lives in general. But when Chinese people deal with Americans, in the Chinese people seem to be very common to ask each other some family situation, the Americans are likely to think that you invade his privacy, ulterior motives, a pile of business is likely to soak up.
Second, gift-giving, dating, guest etiquette.
Generally speaking, Americans do not give gifts casually, gifts are usually not very expensive, just some books, stationery, chocolate candy and other items, in the visit to the sick to send flowers and bonsai-based. Unlike China, Americans think that the singular is auspicious, sometimes only send three pears do not feel thin, while China is concerned about pairs of pairs. Americans in the receipt of gifts, must immediately open, in front of the face of the gift giver to appreciate or taste the gift, and immediately thank you. In addition, the American gift emphasis on packaging, it is likely that you receive a gift of three layers outside the three layers of beautiful packaging, open but can only be a few chocolate candies only, you do not feel disappointed, or that the Americans stingy, relative to the value of the gift, Americans pay more attention to is the heart.
The Americans are very efficient, and often have a strict plan every day, so it is important to make an appointment in advance to go to an American home, or else disrupt someone else's plan, and you will be considered an uninvited guest, and eat a closed door. So you should write or call a day or two in advance to make an appointment. Once the appointment, we must arrive on time, can not be late, not too early to, because the guest before, the housewife have to set up the living room to prepare refreshments, if you go early, the housewife is not yet ready, but also to receive you, it causes many inconveniences. And those larger formal occasions, punctuality is more important, in case you go early, you should also wait a few minutes outside before going in.
Before entering the door, you should wipe the mud on your shoes to avoid dirtying the floor. Take off your hat when you enter. And leave your raincoat and umbrella outside. Then greet the hostess first, then the hostess. If the host's house is full of guests, simply shake hands with the host and those who know him, and nod your head to the others. If the host asks you to sit down, you should sit down right away, don't excuse yourself from sitting down, and don't casually turn over the host's supplies, let alone ask the price of the supplies. When you are a guest, do not smoke easily, if you want to smoke, you should ask the lady in the room if she minds, and offer a cigarette to others first. If the host offers you a cigarette, even if you have your own cigarette, you should accept the host's cigarette, which is different from the habits of the Chinese people, who tend to refuse because of politeness, but in the eyes of the Americans, he will think that you are looking down on him, and make the relationship between friends worse. Visiting time is generally not too long, but do not leave immediately after the meal, you should talk with the host for a while. If a couple goes together as guests, the wife should stand up first to say goodbye. If you are not too familiar with the host, after the guests should call or write a short invitation to express gratitude. This way the Americans will think you are very polite, thus leaving a good impression.
Three, table manners.
During the meal, you should wait until all the guests are served in front of the hostess and the hostess signaled before you start eating. Before the hostess picks up her spoon or fork, the guests may not eat any of the dishes. The Chinese tend to eat while the food is being served, and the hostess is often the last to sit down to eat. It is not polite in the United States to remain silent during a meal, but do not talk while chewing your food, and you should not put down your knife and fork when you speak, but you should not fidget with your knife and fork either. You should not blow your nose or burp at the table, or apologize to those around you if you sneeze or cough. When taking dishes, it is best to take a little of each, as this will please the hostess. When the meal is finished, the hostess should leave the table first, and the guests should leave together with the napkin on the table, not folded up as it was, unless the host asks you to stay for the next meal.
During the meal, the host should keep the conversation lively and interesting so that each guest is not left out. The host should not eat too fast, if most people have finished eating, and a few people have not finished eating, should slow down, so as not to make the guests feel uneasy. If a guest drops his knife or fork on the floor, he should politely replace it with another one. If a guest accidentally breaks a plate or bowl, the hostess should calmly clean it up and comfort the guest, never showing displeasure. Finally, the host should never count the cost of the treat in front of the guest.
Four, dress etiquette
American clothing to reflect the personality of the main, it is difficult to dress to see whether they are rich or poor, their status how. If a man wearing a fashionable straight suit, looks like the boss of a large company, in fact, he may be a show business entertainer, or even a hairdresser. A man in jeans, sneakers and an old T-shirt may look like a hobo, but in fact he may be an unkempt professor. Therefore, in the U.S., one must never honor the loafers before honoring the people. Once a U.S. foreign businessmen to China, the reception staff at first glance thought that the suit must be the boss of the important members, and ignored a line of people in the beard. Although too much enthusiasm poured into the "suits" on, fortunately, did not cold down the "beard". Later, an introduction to the identity of the party to know who is the real boss, and the "suit" is just an employee. Therefore, in the United States, well-dressed is not necessarily rich, dressed badly is not necessarily no money. If you simply take people by their clothes and hats, not only will you lose track of your priorities and put yourself in a difficult position, but you will also be despised by the Americans.
While Americans dress casually, unlike Europeans, but in the U.S. dress can be described as "not afraid to wear broken, not allowed to wear the wrong." There are many occasions, dress has very strict rules. For example, many companies in the United States to work with a specially designed and customized uniforms, in law firms and banks to work in the bosses and staff every day are suits, and every day need to be changed, if the same two days, it is easy to be misunderstood is a night without going home to change the clothes of the people. Another example is that in the United States to organize a variety of banquets, often in the invitation to indicate whether or not the "black tie". If specified "black tie", men must wear a tuxedo, black bow tie, women must wear evening gowns. In this case, men's long ties and women's pantsuits will not be acceptable. If it doesn't say "black tie" but "formal wear", then a suit will do. If it says "white collar", it means tuxedo and white tie. Therefore, there are a lot of rules about what kind of clothes to wear to what kind of party. Imagine, if in a not very formal occasions, everyone is a short dress, only you a person with a deep black straight tuxedo; or every one of them are cloud hair high pull, long skirt and the ground, only you a T-shirt, this huge incongruity, you don't feel crazy, other people will also look at you in the pile of people swaying like a thing. And in the United States, this is the host of the feast on the big disrespect of the clear expression, the host will also be disgusted with you, and thus cut off from you, it will be a big loss for you. Therefore, pay attention to the occasion and clothing is particularly important in the United States.
In short, the United States and China have a lot of different habits of interaction between the same other Western countries, also have their own cultural habits, so in the interaction with foreigners or to other countries before going to the other country to understand each other's national etiquette is very necessary, which is not only respect for each other, but also bring their own convenience, to avoid unnecessary trouble and misunderstanding, so that in the multi-party competition to strive for The first step is to take the initiative and get a good result.
Americans usually have a cocktail before lunch and dinner, but in California, people mostly drink wine.
Also, a plate of salad is usually eaten before the main meal. Fried mushrooms and fried onion rings are served as appetizers, steak, pork chops and chicken (thighs) are staples, and lobster, shellfish and a variety of fish, even freshwater fish, are collectively referred to as seafood. Potato fries, on the other hand, are a popular and almost essential food.
Additionally, it's important to pack up any leftovers and take them home so they don't go to waste.
Americans use knives and cutlery when eating, and they are very particular about how they eat. Therefore, when invited to eat with American friends, you should pay special attention to their dining habits. In general, the table is set with a dinner knife and two cutlery, the outer cutlery for you to eat salad, the inner cutlery used to eat the main food and other snack food, dinner knife used to cut meat. If you use both hands, you should hold the utensil in your left hand and the knife in your right, and you should not hold the knife for too long at a time.
American breakfasts include scrambled or hard-boiled eggs, sausage, fried potato slices, pancakes, jelly, toast, muffins, orange juice, and coffee.
If you are new to American restaurants, you should pay attention to the following things:
1, choose the right restaurant (e.g., family restaurants, specialty restaurants, and self-service restaurants, etc.);
2, the restaurant's hours of operation (11:30 a.m. and open until the evening);
3, you should usually make reservations in advance;
4, after arriving at the restaurant, can not go straight to the table into the table, unless the restaurant has a "casual seating" signs;
5, payment, don't forget to leave the waiter a certain percentage of the tip (usually for the actual total of 10 to 15 percent).
With the accelerated pace of life in the United States, fast food came into being. Its fast-food chains all over the world, among them, the most influential when the McDonald's fast-food chain. The supply of fast-food food: hamburgers, roast beef, steak, ham, sandwiches, Kentucky Fried Chicken, fried potato chips, baked pies, ice cream, and a variety of carbonated beverages and so on.
In McDonald's, always remember, after eating to clean up their own garbage, drag the tray to the trash can, Hong Kong, mainland China do not care, otherwise it will be a blank stare ...!
The American dining precepts are mainly the following six:
One, not allowed to make noise while eating;
Two, not allowed to pick up food for others;
Three, not allowed to smoke;
Four, not allowed to persuade others to drink;
Five, not allowed to disrobe in public;
Six, not allowed to talk about disgusting things. allow the discussion of disgusting things.
India
India's socializing etiquette is very varied: the bow, embrace, face-to-face, touching the feet, hand-raising and so on. Also popular handshake. Indian people to meet the guests often to each other with flowers woven into the garland. Indians used to be extremely concerned about rank, status and identity. India's unique caste system is divided into four levels: first, "Brahmins", that is, monks; second, "Kshatriya", that is, the famous family, the aristocracy; third, "Vaishya", that is, commoners; fourth, "Vaishya", that is, "commoners". The third is the Vaishya, the common people; the fourth is the Shudra, the untouchables. In addition, there is the "untouchable untouchable" called "Harijan". The traditional caste system has been widely criticized, but its influence remains.
The staple food of the Indian people is rice and pasta, cooked in three ways: stir-fried, boiled and braised, with a variety of spices, especially spicy spices. Indian vegetarians in particular, and the higher the social status of the more people avoid meat. According to religious rules, Hindus and Sikhs do not eat beef, Islamists do not eat pork, Jains avoid both killing and meat.
Indians are accustomed to grasping food with their right hand at meals.
Japan
The Japanese usually bow as a courtesy. In the degree of bowing, the length of time, the number of times and so on, there are also its own special instructions. When bowing, you should not hold anything in your hand, and you should not wear a hat on your head. Japan sometimes also shakes hands while bowing. Japanese women in general, and rural women in particular, just bow.
In Japanese rural folklore, there is often a kneeling or clog-shaking ceremony to see off friends and relatives. Women perform the kneeling ceremony, in which they bend their knees, and men perform the clog-shaking ceremony, in which they shake their clogs in the air.
It is common for Japanese people to exchange business cards when meeting someone for the first time, otherwise it is interpreted as a sign that they do not want to socialize with the other person.
In social situations, the Japanese believe in the principle of "not causing trouble to others". For this reason, it is taboo to talk or laugh loudly. However, in front of outsiders, most of them have to smile. The Japanese consider this to be polite.
Japanese food is generally called wagashi or Japanese cuisine, and can be summarized as "five flavors," "five colors," and "five methods. "The five flavors are: spring bitter, summer sour, autumn nourishing, winter sweet, astringent. The "five colors" are: green spring, Zhu summer, white autumn, Xuan winter, and then the extensive use of yellow. The so-called "five methods" refers to five cooking methods: steaming, broiling, boiling, deep-frying, and eating raw.
Japanese dietary taboos: do not eat fat pork and pig offal, there are some people do not like to eat lamb and duck. The Japanese are very fond of alcohol, and people generally like to drink tea. The first is to avoid inserting chopsticks, i.e. it is not allowed to insert chopsticks into the rice or to use them as forks to eat the rice; the sixth is to avoid digging out chopsticks, i.e. it is not allowed to use chopsticks to pick up the rice; the seventh is to avoid straddling chopsticks, i.e. it is not allowed to put chopsticks on the top of bowls and plates; and the eighth is to avoid using other chopsticks, i.e. it is not allowed to use chopsticks as toothpicks
GERMANY
Germans have a distinctive style of treating people, often giving people a deep impression of their own personality. style, which often leaves a deep impression on people.
First, strict discipline and a strong sense of law.
Secondly, they are credible and value the concept of time.
Third, extreme self-respect and great respect for tradition.
Fourth, warmth to others and great attention to feelings.
It must be pointed out that Germans attach great importance to etiquette in interpersonal communication. When shaking hands with Germans, it is necessary to pay special attention to the following two points. One is to shake hands when necessary to look at each other frankly, the second is the handshake time should be a little longer, shake the number of times should be a little more, the handshake power should be used a little bigger. Attach importance to address, is a distinctive feature of the German people in interpersonal communication. To the Germans call improperly, usually will make each other very unhappy. In general, do not call Germans by their first names. Calling them by their full name, or just by their last name, is mostly possible. Do not neglect to use the personal pronouns "you" and "you" when talking to Germans. You can only be addressed as "you" if you are an acquaintance, a friend, or a person of the same age. In Germany, "you" is used to show respect, while "you" is used to show equality and closeness.
The German food, can not mention the German sausage, Germans like meat, especially like to eat sausage. They make more than 1500 kinds of sausage, many kinds of popular in the world, such as the name of the place named "Black Forest ham", can be cut as thin as paper, the flavor of the strange fragrance. Germany's national dish is in the sour cabbage covered with all kinds of sausage, sometimes with a whole pig's hind leg instead of sausage and ham, that burned a whole pig's leg, the Germans can not change their face one person to finish it.
German food to sour, salty flavors, seasoning is relatively heavy. Cooking methods include grilling, simmering, skewering and braising. A basket of bread is placed on the blue-gridded tablecloth, so guests can take their time while waiting. German bread has a strong bite, and only those with good teeth can taste the flavor. German soup is generally thicker, like to break up the ingredients in the soup, which is probably related to the local freezing climate. It is said that Germans are more frugal by nature, boiled sausages, a pot of thick potato and bean soup, plus the famous pickled sauerkraut and bread, a meal will be passed.
In addition, German cuisine also includes the famous German clear bean soup, German sashimi, German roasted mixed meats, German sausages, sauerkraut, German apple crisp, and fried sweetbreads.
Three meals a day
Germany, like most of China, has three meals a day. Breakfast is usually at seven, lunch at one, and dinner at seven. Some places have afternoon coffee and cake between lunch and dinner.
Unlike the Chinese diet, the most elaborate and sumptuous thing for Germans is not lunch or dinner, but breakfast. In hotels or government agencies, most of the breakfast is a buffet form of staples, meats, vegetables, drinks, fruit, etc., not only a variety of varieties, and color and flavor. And in the ordinary people's homes, regardless of its poor and rich, the content of their breakfast is generally similar: first of all, drinks, including coffee, tea, a variety of fruit juices, milk, etc., the staple food for a variety of bread, as well as with the bread with the cream, cheese and jam, plus sausage and ham. Germans eat very efficiently, they can be in as little as 10 minutes to these sumptuous food with the end and eat, for its a morning of intense work to provide energy.
Lunch in Germany is usually served in a cafeteria or fast food restaurant, and is a real fast food, such as a platter of potatoes, salad lettuce and a few pieces of meat, plus a drink. In families with housewives and minor children, lunch is also simpler, such as a piece of cooked meat, meatloaf with boiled vegetables and bread, or beef stew with rice and lettuce, or even simpler, like Chinese marinara noodles, spaghetti with gravy, and a cup of coffee or ice cream at the end of the meal. Germans simplify their lunches not to save money, but to save time.
The German family dinner is usually a cold meal, and the content is very rich: a platter of meat; fresh and tasty vegetables, such as baby carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers; fresh fruit, such as grapes, cherries. Some housewives also served various flavors of cheese, with bread as the main course. Dinner time is more generous, and the family sits around the table, eating and chatting.
In addition to the three meals a day, some Germans are accustomed to four or five o'clock in the afternoon "meal", that is, a cup of coffee or tea, eat a piece of cake or a few cookies. Upper-middle-class families like to invite friends to their homes at this time to enjoy a cup of tea and chat. At such gatherings, the guests could taste the famous German pastries, and German women were usually skilled in baking them. But in today's fast-paced society, this kind of afternoon relaxation is only possible on weekends, holidays or vacations.
Menus
Typical menus for a German meal are:
Cold cuts: cream, cheese, fresh or canned fish, enema products, ham, fish jelly with ghost ginger, fish or meat platters, boiled or roasted fowl, roasted pork loin with garlic, roast pork, boiled tongue, salads, thinned cream, sour cream, egg salad, half-cooked eggs.
First course: thick soups made of meat, fish, vegetables, rice or beans, poultry or game soups, clear soups made of various kinds of meat, rice, macaroni and vegetables, egg whites with spread eggs and pies, chicken soup with homemade noodles, thick and spicy soups made of meat or fish, farmer's soup, pickle soup.
Second course: boiled or grilled fish with potatoes and vegetables, stewed or roasted beef, roasted poultry or wildfowl, meatloaf schnitzel, pan-fried thin pork chops, chicken patties, meatloaf, or fried meatloaf; small sausages and short thick sausages with simmered cabbage, hushpuppies, scrambled eggs, and charred and grilled dishes.
Sweets: fresh fruit and strawberries; fresh or canned fruit, boiled strawberries or jellies, fruit acids, custard jellies, coulis with fruit juices and sweetened juices, puddings, apple puree, ice creams; assorted pastries.
Everyone must have cream on the table when they eat, and lunch must always end with black or milk coffee. For lunch and dinner, beer is served. Fruit gazpacho must be cold.