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various
Tongue Twister
Beiträge: 37
Registriert: 1. Mär 2006 17:29
Muttersprache: deutsch

I'm searching information....

Beitrag von various »

about the habbits & life style of the americans .....

I also got the book "Bill Bryson - Streiflichter aus Amerika " ....

i'm asking because i'm going to the united states for 5 weeks to work.
i've never been to the united states before and I don't know any americans instead of my host-family.

so I want to improve my knowlegde about the inhabbitants ....

any suggestions?

kind regards,

stefan
Jeder hat das Recht, seine Meinung in Wort, Schrift und Bild frei zu äußern und zu verbreiten.




Sweetie
Slow Speller
Beiträge: 15
Registriert: 6. Mär 2006 18:36
Muttersprache: German

Beitrag von Sweetie »

Oh, I also read "Streiflichter aus Amerika" by Bill Bryson! That is such a wonderful and humourus book... I really enjoyed reading it!
I think that book gives a really good impression of the Americans!

kleine
Frequent Typer
Beiträge: 230
Registriert: 14. Dez 2005 20:00
Muttersprache: German
Wohnort: Munich, Germany

Beitrag von kleine »

Hi

I can help you with that for sure :wink:

habits:
- they always need the car. Walking is not a commen thing!
- they always ask you how are you even though they don't wanna know. it's like saying hello.
- Not very honest, if you ask them if they like your outfit you mostly will get an answer like "oh it's awesome, you look adorable" even though you know it looks like right out of the garbage.
- They like to exaggerate.
- Kids don't have school when it snows a little. It's called snowday, and I'm very upset when that happens, because then I have the kids the whole day.
- They don't know how to drive. It's amazing I always thought it's just an prejudice, but it's acutally true, so be careful when you drive. Of course there are some exceptions.
- They love watching sports and cheer so loud that you think you are deaf at the end of the game.
- They are proud of their country and think America is the only place in the world
- They have the american flag all over the place.
- Once my hostmum said that I can be glad to be in America right now because if I were at home I couldn't watch the olympic games. Of course I asked her "why". And she said, they don't have the access. I proved her wrong of course, and she was quite embarrassed. And that didn't happen only once...
- they lose power twice a week
- they can't built streets. They are a mess. For example they built a new highway, before it was quite good to drive there. But now since they "fixed" it there are bumps all over the highway and you have to concentrate not to crash into another car. It's very disturbing...

I think that's it. And if anybody should be mad at me right now for telling these things. I'm sorry, but I think if you would come to Germany you were able to tell me a lot about our habits :tongue:.
And I only can talk about MY experiences in NY, maybe it's different in other States.

Take it easy :mrgreen:
Freunde sind wie Sterne, du kannst sie nicht immer sehen, aber sie sind immer da!!!

various
Tongue Twister
Beiträge: 37
Registriert: 1. Mär 2006 17:29
Muttersprache: deutsch

Beitrag von various »

wow thank you very much so far ... !

I already knew a few of that habbits but most of them are new ....

does anybody of you know a book, with important " redewendungen " or something like that?
I hope you know what i mean ... :P
Zuletzt geändert von various am 16. Mär 2006 15:00, insgesamt 1-mal geändert.
Jeder hat das Recht, seine Meinung in Wort, Schrift und Bild frei zu äußern und zu verbreiten.

kleine
Frequent Typer
Beiträge: 230
Registriert: 14. Dez 2005 20:00
Muttersprache: German
Wohnort: Munich, Germany

Beitrag von kleine »

Hi various,

I have just read that you are a "Fremdsprachenassistant". I want to learn "Fremdsprachenkorrespondentin" after I'm back. Is it the same? And how is the apprenticeship? Does everybody has to go to a foreign country for an internship? Where are you going to stay in America?

I know I'm curious :wink:
Freunde sind wie Sterne, du kannst sie nicht immer sehen, aber sie sind immer da!!!

various
Tongue Twister
Beiträge: 37
Registriert: 1. Mär 2006 17:29
Muttersprache: deutsch

Beitrag von various »

If you want to be "Fremdsprachenkorrespondent" you "just" need to go to the IHK in Düsseldorf or Bonn for example and take your exam there.... but it's really difficult as well if you're not almost perfect in british english. it costs about 200 € ... you can repeat the exam when you don't pass ....

what I do is "Fremdsprachenassistent" ...I am presently a student on a course for commercial assistants for foreign languages at the Vocational College for Economics and Business Administration.
During this 3- year course I am receiving a very good experience in written and spoken English and Spanish. Furthermore, I am being taught commercial correspondence and basic commercial knowledge and what you're going to do when you work in an export department for example.
all the economic stuff and so on ... and of course you translate a lot ...

to pass that apprenticeship , you need to do 2 interships. one you have to do abroad.
i've chosen america because i want to get to know how they work/live etc ...

I'm going to stay in Michigan, Lapeer.
Jeder hat das Recht, seine Meinung in Wort, Schrift und Bild frei zu äußern und zu verbreiten.

raincat
Frequent Typer
Beiträge: 138
Registriert: 16. Dez 2005 21:08
Muttersprache: German
Wohnort: Dresden

Beitrag von raincat »

various hat geschrieben:wow thank you very much so far ... !

I already knew a few of that habbits but most of them are new ....

does anybody of you know a book, with important " redenwendungen " or something like that?
I hope you know what i mean ... :P
Hi, various

right now I found the following website:

http://www.englisch-pauker.de/redewendungen.htm

Hope it helps you. :)
Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling. Margaret Lee Runbeck

various
Tongue Twister
Beiträge: 37
Registriert: 1. Mär 2006 17:29
Muttersprache: deutsch

Beitrag von various »

wow, thank you. I like that homepage ....

big thanks :)


so if anybody knows more tricks & tips etc. , tell me :)
Jeder hat das Recht, seine Meinung in Wort, Schrift und Bild frei zu äußern und zu verbreiten.

Biene
Bilingual Newbie
Beiträge: 4
Registriert: 6. Jul 2006 23:02
Muttersprache: Deutsch
Wohnort: NRW

Beitrag von Biene »

Hey various,
I know another habit... It's not very important, but I find it a little funny.
My familiy and I, we travelled a lot into the United States when I was younger...
Once my dad ate in a diner... he ordered a hamburger, which was very big, and as he began to eat it, the people at the table next to him looked as if something very strange would happen...
The reason? My dad ate the Hamburger with a knife and a fork... that's very strange for the Americans... They always use their fingers and they press the burger so that all the things on it drop onto their plate... This is what's normal for them - even if it might sound a little bit disgusting :mrgreen:

Rinoa89
Topic Talker
Beiträge: 75
Registriert: 23. Jan 2006 22:37
Muttersprache: Englisch
Wohnort: Wisconsin, America

Beitrag von Rinoa89 »

kleine hat geschrieben:Hi

I can help you with that for sure :wink:

habits:
- they always need the car. Walking is not a commen thing!
- they always ask you how are you even though they don't wanna know. it's like saying hello.
- Not very honest, if you ask them if they like your outfit you mostly will get an answer like "oh it's awesome, you look adorable" even though you know it looks like right out of the garbage.
- They like to exaggerate.
- Kids don't have school when it snows a little. It's called snowday, and I'm very upset when that happens, because then I have the kids the whole day.
- They don't know how to drive. It's amazing I always thought it's just an prejudice, but it's acutally true, so be careful when you drive. Of course there are some exceptions.
- They love watching sports and cheer so loud that you think you are deaf at the end of the game.
- They are proud of their country and think America is the only place in the world
- They have the american flag all over the place.
- Once my hostmum said that I can be glad to be in America right now because if I were at home I couldn't watch the olympic games. Of course I asked her "why". And she said, they don't have the access. I proved her wrong of course, and she was quite embarrassed. And that didn't happen only once...
- they lose power twice a week
- they can't built streets. They are a mess. For example they built a new highway, before it was quite good to drive there. But now since they "fixed" it there are bumps all over the highway and you have to concentrate not to crash into another car. It's very disturbing...

I think that's it. And if anybody should be mad at me right now for telling these things. I'm sorry, but I think if you would come to Germany you were able to tell me a lot about our habits :tongue:.
And I only can talk about MY experiences in NY, maybe it's different in other States.

Take it easy :mrgreen:
I kind of...... feel bad for being American now......
gg
anyways, NY is one of the worst places in America to go. Same as Chicago, San Diego, Los Angeles, New Orleans (before it was completely wiped off the map), Miliwaukee and so on as you go throught the big cities. The smaller places aren't as bad but as far as I'm concerned, America has really slipped. I was laughed at for cheering Germany on in soccer since soccer is nothing here. (By the way, I am still so very sad for the loss). Until Kleine's descriptions started to get stereo typical (can't build streets, etc.) I agree with a lot. In addition to "how are you" being a hello, "Fine" is always the response, regardless of how you feel. New york may lose power a lot, but smaller cities don't quite have that problem. Snow days also depend on the school district. I live in wisconsin and I have seen some schools that will close if there is a strong wind, while mine won't close until it's impossible to leave your house. We almost never have snow days here. I can think of.......... 2 days, in the 6 years I've lived here.

A lot of americans get so infatuated with American pride that some really beleive that we are so technologiacally advanced that every other country is basically a third world country.
We complain when gas reaches prices of $3 a gallon, when everywhere else is paying much more (agreeing with Kleine's statement that all americans MUST have a car). Myself, I prefer to walk, or maybe, if I'm short on time, bike. I walk to work and thats a hour walk, and I walk to friend's houses, school etc. I never decided to waste the money going to driver's school ( a requirement in Wisconsin) since I almost never need a car. I'm always viewed crazy by my peers, since they all have cars and licences now. *sigh*

Oh, I'm sure many MANY visitors to America will agree that you will miss your food back home, since American food is not that great. I've lived off it, not knowing any better. But for a German field trip, we went to a big German market and had authentic German food. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it......

But now for good things about America. America has plenty of tourest attraction. Theme parks, natural landscaping, rides, and so on. Actually, we have one of the biggest sources of entertainment on the planet. Movies, music video games. Books magazines computers. We have plenty of bands playing at bars, so you have music anytime. Whether it's good or bad, any American who notices a strong accent will begin to speak english very slowly, regardless of the speakers fluency. Good if you aren't a good english speaker, annoying if you are. I've even done it a time or two. I'd say that America is a good place for entertainment among other things, but you're there for the job, so...

in anycase, thats all I can think of for now. I've made this post long enough

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