American Culture
You likely will have to make a cultural adjustment even if this is not your first time away from home. You might feel happy to see the new things in the U.S., and at other times you might want to live your “normal” life the way you used to. It is natural to miss your family, friends, and home. Below you will find information to help you adjust to American culture.
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Find information about Americans viewing every individual as self-sufficient and independent, which is an important concept in American values.
This section provides more details about how Americans often "categorize" types of friends and establish boundaries.
In the U.S., there is a generally agreed-upon idea of “personal space.” This refers to the relationship between the physical space and psychological comfort of personal interactions.
Your name is a very important part of you. Americans are usually called by their first name, not their surname or last name.
In this section, you will learn about Americans treating each other in an informal manner, even if there are big differences in age or social position.
One of the founding concepts of American society is equality (the idea that everyone deserves and should have equal rights).
In the U.S., you will probably find that there are more personal lawsuits in comparison to many other countries. A lawsuit is a legal action where a group or individual sues (legally accuses) another group or individual for some type of mistreatment.
Being on time is considered very important in American society. Many Americans write down a schedule and try to stay with it, so it can seem rude and disrupting to their plans if you are late.
The legal smoking age in America is 18 years old, and the legal drinking age for alcohol is 21. Smoking cigarettes is losing popularity among Americans because of large anti-smoking campaigns and other social changes.
The U.S. does not usually use the Metric System, unless laboratory measurements are involved. Learn more about our measurements.
