I have created an American Culture Quiz, based on questions that non-Americans have asked me. I am working on Part 2 of the quiz, so if you have any questions about American culture, or know anyone who does, please let me know. My email address is in my profile, or you can post a comment here.
And if you are American and would like the world to know certain things about our culture, I can include that, too.
4 comments:
I have to say I disagree with some of the answers, especially:
6 – a
Americans do not approve of people who expect sex after paying for dinner.
This is extremely tendentious: plenty of Americans think it's perfectly OK to expect sex after paying for dinner, and such a quiz should reflect reality, not our personal preferences.
9 – c
Workplaces have different rules for personal phone calls, so play it safe until you find out.
I would answer a: "Ask someone if it is okay to make a personal call." That's based on both my personality and my experience with workplaces; yours may differ, but again, I don't think it's fair to use one's personal criteria for a quiz like this. All answers should be things that you can be pretty sure the vast majority of Americans would agree on ("How are you?" "Fine." being an obvious example, and one foreigners are definitely in need of).
I should have phrased 6 differently. It was based on an email I got from someone, asking me if it's true that American guys EXPECT sex if they're paying for dinner-- i.e., he pays, so you're obligated to sleep with him. Plus, there are many people throughout the world who assume that American women will jump into bed with anyone. Ask American women who have traveled--they're groped and offered camels and salivated over for a reason--an easy target.
9 was based on another question I got. When people first start a job, it's usually presumptious to ask if they can make a personal call. Or maybe I should change the options.
Ah, I see your point with 6 now. I'd suggest something more along the lines of "Is it expected that a woman will sleep with a man if he pays for dinner?" It may very well be true that he wants sex, but there is no cultural expectation that he will get it.
Thanks--I've made the changes, so hopefully it's more clear.
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