Some kids from my school are off to study in LA in a few months time. I have been given the task of preparing them for this.
Yes. I know. I've never been anywhere near the place either so....yeah.
Anyway, as part of this I've got to teach them about American culture and dos and don'ts.
What dos and don'ts would you say are the most critical with America?
In particular what I wonder is...what annoying do fresh off the boat foreigners have a habit of doing which completely clashes with the way things are done?
Quote from: Tyr on January 11, 2012, 06:59:44 PM
Some kids from my school are off to study in LA in a few months time. I have been given the task of preparing them for this.
Yes. I know. I've never been anywhere near the place either so....yeah.
Anyway, as part of this I've got to teach them about American culture and dos and don'ts.
What dos and don'ts would you say are the most critical with America?
In particular what I wonder is...what annoying do fresh off the boat foreigners have a habit of doing which completely clashes with the way things are done?
Stink. Seriously.
1. Tip.
2. Don't speak with your mouth full of food.
3. Don't grab a stranger's pussy in the subway.
4. If you're going to eat something stinkyass for breakfast, use some mouthwash before you get on the elevator.
Quote from: Tyr on January 11, 2012, 06:59:44 PM
What dos and don'ts would you say are the most critical with America?
In particular what I wonder is...what annoying do fresh off the boat foreigners have a habit of doing which completely clashes with the way things are done?
In LA? Nothing.
Bottomline: Americans think foreigners smell bad.
Japs are generally very unsmelly. Nor are they loud like Chinks. It's just that sometimes the food they eat for breakfast is pungent.
DO mentions the war.
And apologies for starting it.
I think LA is chock a block with smokng nazis (and smoking laws) so tell the kids to be real careful about where they light up.
I'm not sure how similar Japanese personal behavior is to Korean, so this might not be applicable. I've heard the Japanese are a lot cleaner for one thing.
1. Don't spit on the floor.
2. Wear deodorant.
3. Personnel space. Americans don't want you in theirs.
4. Don't go to the hospital if you have the sniffles, the doctor will not be amused.
5. Don't mention race, don't say...(nigger and whatever other offensive terms you've heard them say)
6. Don't mention people's looks unless it's positive. If you think someone's fat or whatever keep your mouth shut.
I'd say a big thing is to be more direct when you want or expect something, and to expect people to be more direct.
If you're hanging out with American friends/ associates and you want to do something like share food/ share a bill/ go somewhere/ not go somewhere/ drive somewhere - say so directly. You can of course be polite about it - but be prepared to explicitly state what you want to happen. Americans aren't particularly big into talking around subjects, and even where they are they do so in ways that are different than Japanese.
If your students are old enough to worry about sex:
Unlike Japanese, Americans (and other Westerners) do not consider showering a necessary immediate preliminary action for sex. Thus, visiting someone and suggesting that you/they use the shower use the shower is not a blatantly obvious way to say "let's have sex now".
The Japanese aren't spitters, but the personal space one is right on and Tim is DEFINITELY right on the race thing. Tell them to stay away from any reference to race unless it's unavoidable and then only use Black/ nationality/ white/ hispanic; definitely avoid jokes. If they're trying to be funny there's a 99% chance they'll get it wrong and piss someone off.
Don't slurp soup or noodles.
"Slurp" would make an excellent vocabulary word too. :thumbsup:
Don't take food off of another person's plate.
If dining with Americans it is offensive to pull out their wallets/purses. Guests are taken care of and it can be very offensive to argue the point.
Yeah, I don't think smelling is an issue. In fact the Japanese like to moan about westerners being the smelly ones.
Smoking, sex and all that- also a bit of a non-issue with my kids. Few know what lurks beyond the holding hands stage even.
Defiantly bring expensive cameras and just photograph everything you see.
Are you going with them to LA?
Quote from: Tyr on January 11, 2012, 07:49:24 PM
Yeah, I don't think smelling is an issue. In fact the Japanese like to moan about westerners being the smelly ones.
Who cares what they say, you're there. Is it true? Koreans say all kinds of things about foreigners that are obviously false.
Quote from: Razgovory on January 11, 2012, 07:55:24 PM
Defiantly bring expensive cameras and just photograph everything you see.
I actually saw that Nip stereotype in action. ROR.
Los Angeles. :wub:
Quote from: Ed Anger on January 11, 2012, 08:38:15 PM
Quote from: Razgovory on January 11, 2012, 07:55:24 PM
Defiantly bring expensive cameras and just photograph everything you see.
I actually saw that Nip stereotype in action. ROR.
I certainly have, though not as common now as it once was. More of 1980's and 1990's thing.
Tell them to leave Godzilla at home. Only Gamera and Mothra are welcome.
Quote from: Razgovory on January 11, 2012, 08:53:38 PM
Quote from: Ed Anger on January 11, 2012, 08:38:15 PM
Quote from: Razgovory on January 11, 2012, 07:55:24 PM
Defiantly bring expensive cameras and just photograph everything you see.
I actually saw that Nip stereotype in action. ROR.
I certainly have, though not as common now as it once was. More of 1980's and 1990's thing.
I got the extra bonus of watching them go nuts around
Bockscar. Snapee snapee.
Quote from: Razgovory on January 11, 2012, 08:53:38 PM
Quote from: Ed Anger on January 11, 2012, 08:38:15 PM
Quote from: Razgovory on January 11, 2012, 07:55:24 PM
Defiantly bring expensive cameras and just photograph everything you see.
I actually saw that Nip stereotype in action. ROR.
I certainly have, though not as common now as it once was. More of 1980's and 1990's thing.
When I was at Stanford, it was definitely all the rage. If we had class on the quad, it was not uncommon to end up being photographed by tourists who would walk into the classrooms.
Quote from: citizen k on January 11, 2012, 07:06:55 PM
Bottomline: Americans think foreigners smell bad.
Everybody thinks foreigners smell bad. And it's true. Fellow countrymen smell bad too, but it's less noticeable because they smell more like one's self.
Quote from: Ed Anger on January 11, 2012, 08:55:52 PM
Quote from: Razgovory on January 11, 2012, 08:53:38 PM
Quote from: Ed Anger on January 11, 2012, 08:38:15 PM
Quote from: Razgovory on January 11, 2012, 07:55:24 PM
Defiantly bring expensive cameras and just photograph everything you see.
I actually saw that Nip stereotype in action. ROR.
I certainly have, though not as common now as it once was. More of 1980's and 1990's thing.
I got the extra bonus of watching them go nuts around Bockscar. Snapee snapee.
Cool. I don't remember seeing any Japanese when I saw the Enola Gay at the Smithsonian. Did get to walk through it though. Pretty cool.
Quote from: Jacob on January 11, 2012, 07:28:44 PM
Unlike Japanese, Americans (and other Westerners) do not consider showering a necessary immediate preliminary action for sex. Thus, visiting someone and suggesting that you/they use the shower use the shower is not a blatantly obvious way to say "let's have sex now".
Oh? Noted.
Quote from: Jacob on January 11, 2012, 07:31:35 PM
The Japanese aren't spitters, but the personal space one is right on and Tim is DEFINITELY right on the race thing. Tell them to stay away from any reference to race unless it's unavoidable and then only use Black/ nationality/ white/ hispanic; definitely avoid jokes. If they're trying to be funny there's a 99% chance they'll get it wrong and piss someone off.
Probably best to avoid trying to make jokes in general, not just on the subject of race. Nothing's worse when you're trying to fit in than a joke that bombs.
The Japanese do two things that they consider to be polite but actually irritated me.
Yi has already mentioned the slurping of soup and noodles.
The other is the constant sniffling when they have a cold, they seem(ed) to think it was bad manners to actually blow the nose.
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on January 12, 2012, 01:55:54 AM
The Japanese do two things that they consider to be polite but actually irritated me.
Yi has already mentioned the slurping of soup and noodles.
The other is the constant sniffling when they have a cold, they seem(ed) to think it was bad manners to actually blow the nose.
It is. That's fucking nasty.
I don't take a shit in a handkerchief and put it back in my pocket, either. It either stays in my body or I deal with it in private.
Tyr, no worries. Americans are probably pretty hard to really offend, as long as the kids stick to what is reasonable behavior where they're from.
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on January 12, 2012, 01:55:54 AM
The Japanese do two things that they consider to be polite but actually irritated me.
Yi has already mentioned the slurping of soup and noodles.
The other is the constant sniffling when they have a cold, they seem(ed) to think it was bad manners to actually blow the nose.
I prefer sniffling over blowing nose. At my work, there are a couple of people whose nose blowing registers more decibels than a launching Saturn V rocket 10 feet away from you.
How old are these kids?
If they are too young to worry about sex, they are young enough that little they can do is going to offend anyone.
Quote from: DGuller on January 12, 2012, 12:32:49 PM
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on January 12, 2012, 01:55:54 AM
The Japanese do two things that they consider to be polite but actually irritated me.
Yi has already mentioned the slurping of soup and noodles.
The other is the constant sniffling when they have a cold, they seem(ed) to think it was bad manners to actually blow the nose.
I prefer sniffling over blowing nose. At my work, there are a couple of people whose nose blowing registers more decibels than a launching Saturn V rocket 10 feet away from you.
Nobody said it was going to be easy being an actuary :P
It is best if the sufferer goes to another room and sorts it out. But I take the point that some people prefer constant sniffles to occasional sinus-clearing blasts.
I killed with my jokes in America. I'm sure they'll do likewise.
Quote from: The Brain on January 12, 2012, 01:35:14 PM
I killed with my jokes in America. I'm sure they'll do likewise.
How will they kill with your jokes? Did you send them your script?
Quote from: Jacob on January 12, 2012, 03:43:15 PM
Quote from: The Brain on January 12, 2012, 01:35:14 PM
I killed with my jokes in America. I'm sure they'll do likewise.
How will they kill with your jokes? Did you send them your script?
I have a website.
Quote from: Berkut on January 12, 2012, 12:34:15 PM
How old are these kids?
If they are too young to worry about sex, they are young enough that little they can do is going to offend anyone.
I thought his kids were teenagers?
East Asian kids are pretty socially stunted because of their insane schedule. Depending on how closely supervised they are when they get to LA, I could see them getting in a hell of a lot of trouble.
Hell of a lot of trouble? Teenage Japanese kids are like gremlins or something? Lol
Don't feed them after midnight.
Quote from: sbr on January 12, 2012, 09:03:53 PM
Don't feed them after midnight.
I always wondered what time it was safe to feed them again.
Quote from: Tonitrus on January 12, 2012, 09:09:47 PM
Quote from: sbr on January 12, 2012, 09:03:53 PM
Don't feed them after midnight.
I always wondered what time it was safe to feed them again.
After dawn?
Stauy home, comit suicide/seppuko.
There is no way you can tech japs to be polite in american society.
Americans are blunt and higly sensitive at the same time. Impossible to explain.
Don't shoot a school up.
Quote from: Martinus on January 15, 2012, 08:08:15 AM
Don't shoot a school up.
... and if someone else does, tackle them.
Quote from: Jacob on January 15, 2012, 11:57:46 AM
Quote from: Martinus on January 15, 2012, 08:08:15 AM
Don't shoot a school up.
... and if someone else does, tackle them.
But remember- a knife in the hand puts you at an immediate disadvantage.
What happened to the Euros on Languish?
You're supposed to bust in and insist "Americans have no culture!"