United States of America

Americans strongly value their freedom and see America as a country that defends democracy.

People in the United States cherish two things: the ability to own things, and the freedom to do as they wish. These two desires are both a blessing and a challenge. On one hand, they are quite materialistic and may believe that happiness can be bought with money and possessions, which they believe they have a right to do. On the other hand, the drive to own personal property has given them a great incentive to create one of the strongest economies in the world with a great spirit of independence from oppressive powers.

Although people in the United States like to own things and use those things to enjoy life (such as cars, boats, sports equipment, or other hobbies), they work very hard to earn the money needed to buy them. Adults tend to work long hours and take shorter vacations than their counterparts in cities in other countries. Life is fast-paced and pressure-filled.

Children are taught from an early age to value honesty and openness. Because of this, sometimes people from the United States are thought to be impolite and rude. Their behavior is not intended to be disrespectful of others; in fact, it is often considered to be more correct to respectfully disagree with another person than to agree dishonestly for the sake of politeness.

Although the United States has a reputation for being a land of opportunity, where anyone in the world can move and seek a better life, doing so might be more difficult than you might think. Educational degrees and professional training might not be accepted by the government or by professional organizations, permits to work in the country must be sought, and eventual citizenship can be obtained only by passing a lengthy test of both knowledge and commitment to the United States and its government. Nonetheless, thousands successfully undergo the challenge of obtaining citizenship every year in order to become a resident of what many consider to be the most powerful country in the world.

Children and adults alike greet one another at all times of the day with “Hello” or the more casual “Hi!” In some areas of the west, “Hi” is replaced by the more cowboy-like “Howdy.” Until late morning, “Good morning” or perhaps even “Morning” are acceptable. Similarly, “Good afternoon” can be heard from just after noon to early evening when “Good evening” becomes appropriate. Interestingly, “Good day” has not become a standard anywhere in the country.

When greeting someone, a handshake is often exchanged for both men and women. Women who are also good friends might also enjoy a brief hug, and family members who have not seen each other for a while are often expected to hug each other both in greeting and farewell. Certain subcultures might exchange hand slaps and variations of handshakes, particularly among young men of various ethnic descents.

Although people from the United States tend towards informality, ceremonies or other public or formal settings will require that you address people by any applicable title (such as Senator, Reverend, Doctor, President, or even Mister). If you are uncertain what to do when meeting someone formally for the first time in the United States, extend your hand for a simple handshake and simply ask, “How should I address you?” In such a situation, the American habit of openness can work in your favor. More than likely, he or she will be happy to give you the help you seek without taking offense.

Citizens of the United States speak English as its official language, but the country is becoming increasingly bilingual with the rapid growth of its Hispanic population, particularly in the southern portions of the country.

Although Americans tend to act more informally, there are a few guidelines that are good to keep in mind when in the United States. For instance, although not all men will stand when a woman enters the room, you will be thought of as being courteous if you adopt this habit. It is acceptable to point at a place or a thing, but avoid pointing directly at people. Instead, point by gesturing slightly with your head in the direction of the person and looking quickly in that direction.

When speaking with another, slightly nodding your head up and down on occasion to show agreement can indicate that you are paying attention. Similarly, a slight movement of the head back and forth in a horizontal direction indicates non-agreement.

Most Americans tend to like personal space. It’s a big country, so don’t feel like you have to crowd an American when having a conversation. Simply shake their hands in greeting--usually with the right hand if possible--and then stand at least an arm’s length away after the greeting while continuing to chat. When an adult winks it to another adult it usually means they are joking. Poor posture is not uncommon among Americans.

When visiting an American home or family, you should not worry as much about doing the right thing as being open and friendly in their home. They will sense your desire to do the right thing and help you along if they believe you are genuinely interested in them and their culture. Nonetheless, here are a few tips that might help you get along for that first American visit.

Impromptu visits may be acceptable, but it is best to call in advance to ensure that the family will be home and in a position to receive guests. When a visit has been arranged, try to arrive on time. Most Americans are fairly time conscious. An American family will not expect you to bring a gift when you arrive. If you want to bring some small gift to the adults of the family, bring a small bouquet of flowers or a light dessert to eat later together. While you are visiting, your hosts may offer you some light refreshments; you may join in the refreshments, or, if you’re just not in the mood, simply politely decline. Doing so is not considered offensive.

Weather permitting, in rural areas youth will often gather on a lawn or front porch of a home to visit. In more urban settings, meeting at the mall, a park, or a similar public place is commonplace.

Americans are typically informal with hospitality taking many forms. A barbecue is served on paper plates, a formal dinner on fine dishes, or a leisurely visit with either a drink or possibly no refreshments.

In general, residents of the United States tend towards more informal, casual dress, particularly in areas outside the eastern seaboard. Of course, business settings require anything from suits, white shirts, and ties for men and equivalent business attire for women to dress slacks and polo shirts or casual blouses. Away from formal settings, blue jeans and T-shirts are the most popular clothing worn by people of all ages, from toddlers to the elderly, although children and younger people will tend to dress more casually than adults. Popular trends may also sweep through the nation from time to time, such as wearing jeans with holes deliberately torn in the knees or the “tie-dye” fashions of the 1970s.

If there is a distinctive traditional dress for the United States, it may well be that resembling Western cowboys, with cowboy boots, western-cut jeans, shirts with pearl buttons, and cowboy hats. This is a look that is perpetuated among recording artists of popular country western music and their fans. The United States is home to large population centers of most cultures of the world, which centers may wear traditional dress at holiday or celebration times, based on their homeland.

Jewelry is often worn casually by women and increasingly by men in the form of a bracelet or gold necklace. Earrings may be worn by both genders, although men from conservative parts of the country are unlikely to wear either necklaces or earrings. Fine jewelry is often worn by women of wealthier means, often as a sort of status symbol. Young children do not typically wear jewelry for everyday use until perhaps their early teenage years.

Fast food is found in abundance in America reflecting the on-the-go lifestyle of Americans. Many dishes are adopted from the nationality of immigrants including Chinese, Mexican, Japanese, and Italian.

The typical family in the United States eats three meals per day. Breakfast for the adults might often consist of a cup of coffee or fruit juice and a baked pastry or toast. More health conscious adults might eat fresh fruit. Children will likely eat a light breakfast that may include prepared cereal. The midday meal is light and eaten at approximately noon. The fast-paced society typical of most of urban life dictates that “lunch” is eaten fairly quickly and often consists of a light meal with smaller portions, perhaps just a sandwich, small salad, or similar food. The evening meal is the main meal for most families in the United States. Although eating in a restaurant is growing more popular over time, most families continue to eat at home after work and school is concluded. Meals are one course and consist of a meat portion (chicken, beef, pork) and vegetables. Dessert is optional.

When eating in public, the woman traditionally places her order first, then the man. For casual dining or fast food restaurants, there are few strict social requirements. For example, elbows may be placed on the table and hands need not always be placed on top of the table in plain sight. Family restaurants are plentiful and very popular, and children of all ages are welcome.

The United States is a large country with regional food specialties. Seafood is popular on the coasts, beef in the west and Midwest, Hispanic influences are evident in the southwest and in California, and hearty meals from the south will provide an experience in both warm hospitality and memorable home-grown foods.

Fast food is found in abundance in America reflecting the on-the-go lifestyle of Americans. Many dishes are adopted from the nationality of immigrants including Chinese, Mexican, Japanese, and Italian.

Perhaps more than in any other country in the world, the dream of the typical family in the United States is to own their own home. Most families will realize that dream, although apartment dwelling in high-population urban centers can carry the same sense of accomplishment. In suburban and rural areas, single-family houses dominate. Homes in the United States may rightfully be thought of as unusually large and spacious by the rest of the world. Humble “starter” homes will usually have two or three bedrooms, a kitchen, a family room, a bathroom or two, and a carport or garage for one or two cars.

Extended families might choose to live in the same neighborhood, but newly married couples are usually encouraged to move out of their parent's homes and begin to form their own household on their own, although economically that is not always possible. Multi-generational households are becoming less common. Men and women have fairly equal but different responsibilities in family life. Increasingly, women share in supporting the family financially, and men help more with household chores than was the case two or three generations ago.

The typical family has one to three children, though some subcultures have a tradition of quite large families with four to seven (or more) children. Children can begin attending preschool at age three or four, kindergarten at age five, and first grade in elementary school at age six. Most children will attend twelve years of schooling, with the opportunity to then receive further training at a trade or academic school. Most costs of the first twelve years are covered by state funds, but higher education requires a much larger financial commitment from its students (although state and private funds do assist somewhat with higher education).

Families tend to enjoy recreation, such as sports, together, and many families will take a vacation somewhere away from their home for a week every year or two.

A generation ago, the American family was the basic unit of society. Today about 25% of families consist of a single parent with only one or two children. About 50% of families have both parents working. Elderly individuals who can not care for themselves live in retirement communities. The elderly are a rising segment of the population with the “Baby-boomers” reaching retirement age.

Sports and recreation play a major role in the social fabric of the United States. Popular national sports include basketball, American-style football, baseball, and soccer (also ice hockey in some areas). For youth, many sports are tied to schools as extracurricular activities, although sports clubs and community-sponsored sports programs are becoming increasingly popular. In addition, individual sports such as hiking, camping, bicycling, running or jogging, and swimming are popular among all ages and is viewed more as recreational activities.

Sports channels and programs on television are very popular and are dominated by the “big money” sports of baseball, football, and basketball, although many other sports do get varying degrees of television air time. It is not unusual for teenage friends--and sometimes adults--to gather at a friend’s home and watch the “big game” of the week, and sports form a significant portion of each evening’s newscast.

An important part of the national culture is vacationing. Vacations increasingly center on entertainment, such as theme parks, cruises, and dedicated resorts. Although Americans like their vacations, they lead such active, busy lives that they tend not to vacation for more than a week at a time, and the adults remain increasingly connected to their offices with the growing popularity of “smartphones,” internet connectivity, and laptop computers, even while vacationing.

Breakfast will vary by family preferences and culture. Most children will have a light breakfast before going to school, such as a bowl of cold cereal (i.e., Cheerios) with milk and perhaps toast. A heavier breakfast might include one or more of the following: eggs, hash brown potatoes, hot cereal, muffins, pancakes, and juice or milk. More than 60% of mothers with younger school children work. Because of the growing number of homes where parents are often gone before children leave for school, many elementary schools are developing breakfast programs to ensure that children do not go hungry and will provide free or reduced-cost light breakfasts for qualifying students.

Some children ride bikes to school or walk, some ride buses provided by the school, others will take advantage of the public transportation systems available in many metropolitan areas, and yet others will ride in a carpool or with a parent. The method of transportation often depends on whether the school is in an urban or rural setting, the time of year, and the economic status of the parents.

Because schools are funded at the state and local levels, the quality of the structures and classroom resources can vary significantly. Most schools try to hold their class size to 20 students or less, but occasionally resources require larger class enrollments. Because students are at school for an average of seven to eight hours per day (depending on local guidelines), they will usually eat lunch during school hours. They may bring a lunch from home, or buy lunch at school for a very reasonable cost (about US $2.00). Dietary guidelines for lunches available at the school are established by the national government (administered by the Department of Agriculture), but local schools decide what foods to serve to meet those guidelines. A typical lunch might consist of a hamburger or slice of pizza, a drink, fruit, and a cookie. For lower-income families, the lunches are free or reduced in price. In the 2004-2005 school year, six out of every ten students in the United States received a free or reduced-price lunch.

Children are in school for an average of seven to eight hours per day (depending on state and local regulations), Monday through Friday, for approximately 180 days per year. Most schools have a long break of about two and a half months during the summer season, which is much longer than in many other nations. School uniforms are not required for most public schools in the United States (3% had uniforms in 1997, whereas some studies claimed up to 21% in 2000). However, there is usually some sort of dress code that prohibits clothes that expose too much skin or undergarments, are gang-related, or are otherwise just not safe. In private schools, uniforms are quite common, consisting of collared shirts of specific colors with pants or skirts also of specific colors. Some private schools prefer a more formal uniform of blazer and tie for boys and culottes or skirts for girls. Although the school curriculum changes from state to state, nearly all elementary schools will teach mathematics, language arts (such as reading and writing), science, social studies (including history and geography), and physical education. Most schools today will also teach basic computer skills, which is becoming a critical part of education in all fields of study and general life skills. Secondary schools will teach increasingly focused aspects of these general subject areas and often include additional elective courses such as drama, choral and instrumental music, life skills (such as cooking or personal finances), foreign languages, athletics, publishing, and technical skills (such as auto mechanics, welding, or carpentry). Most states assign performance grades using a series of letters: traditionally A meant exceptional; B, above average; C, average; D, below average; and F was a failing grade that required repetition of the course until mastery was obtained. However, grade inflation has become such a common practice that today a B is more typical of average performance, and a C is passing but substandard work.

Educational and other activities outside the bounds of the regular curriculum but under the direction or jurisdiction of the school can provide significant opportunities for student growth in the United States. Most athletic teams, for example, are sponsored by schools rather than clubs. High school athletic competitions are often significant community events, especially in rural areas. States such as Texas are well-known for their devotion to high school football, and games (with their attendant food vending, shirt sales, and the like) can be a major source of revenue for some schools. Practice for sports, dramatic presentations, music competitions and performances, and similar events can take many hours each week. Schools often have opportunities for less-visible but equally important interests as well, such as student government, computer programming, performing arts, agricultural development, community service, business and marketing, and similar subjects.

Children in the United States enjoy sports (such as soccer, basketball, baseball, football, and skateboarding), going to movies, and, as they get into secondary schools, hanging out with their friends at a local shopping center or at one of their homes. As they get older, many work part-time jobs after school and on weekends. With school, extracurricular activities, jobs, and home responsibilities, some older students can lead lives with schedules as full as top-level executives or professionals.

Many families unwind from the day’s events by watching television together in the evenings. Children often do their homework in the evenings after dinner, which is the major meal of the day for most families in the United States. Homework will often take from 30 to 90 minutes, depending on the student’s academic load and the school. Because increasingly both parents work in a family, or a single parent must work two jobs, evenings and weekends are reserved for family time. Older children are often required to help with household chores such as cooking and cleaning in homes where parents are working long hours. For more information, see “Family” in the “Culture and Customs” section for the United States.

The United States does not have a national school system; however, there are federal support programs and educational guidelines, in addition to state and local guidelines. Between 85 to 90% of children under the age of 18 attend public schools. Although the age limit varies by state, all children in the United States have the right to receive at least 11 years of public-funded education. These public schools are funded by local and state taxes and are under those jurisdictions. A fairly small segment of public schooling consists of charter schools, which are public schools that are turned over to a local community or group of parents to operate. Of those children who do not attend public schools, most enroll in private schools, which must be paid for by the families of the students. 80% of private schools in the United States are operated by religious groups. A third educational option taken advantage of by only a small percentage is a home school, which means that the parents teach the children themselves at home. The number of home-schooled children exceeded one million for the first time in 2003. Kindergarten is usually available for one year prior to entrance into elementary school, which begins at age six. School systems usually include grades one through six in elementary school, seven through eight or nine in junior high (sometimes called middle school), and grades nine or ten through twelve in high school. In smaller, rural communities, it is not uncommon for elementary school to include grades one through eight, with high school covering the remaining grades through twelve.  With the influx of non-English-speaking people over the past 20 years, traditional educational models have been expanded to include content and methods from many of the major subcultures of the United States. Like most industrialized nations, approximately one-third of young adults entering the workforce are college educated. Increasingly, a college education is required to obtain a job supporting the standard of living to which many families have become accustomed.