The American Culture and the Behaviour and Attitudes of American People - Essay Example

A Conversation U.S. is a country which most of the people in the world would like to visit to see and experience the immense technological and economical advancements. Fortunately, I got an opportunity to study in US as an international student. U.S. country culture and my own country culture have lot of differences which created some concerns in my mind during my initial tenure of studies in U.S. But such concerns were evaporated within the first month itself. Our college canteen was a place where all the people from different cultures in the campus assemble and engage in time killing conversations.

I am a frequent visitor to the college canteen at present and I cannot forget a conversation between two American males which I observed during one of my initial visits to canteen, sitting near to them. The conversation was as follows; Person A I just bought an i…………….phone (Person A has extended the “i” little longer to catch the attention of B) Person B Oh really? (Person B has raised his eyebrows) What was the damage? Person A just 500 Person B Great, can I have a look? Person A Sure, (Person A has taken out the phone and passed it to B) Person B Nice (Person B made a close look on it and tried to operate it) Person A (Person A look around by the time person B examines the phone.

He has taken a cigarette out and started to smoke, blowing the smoke in a particular manner) The conversation continued for around 15 minutes till they finish their snacks and coffee. I have noticed that most of their communication occurred using nonverbal means. Facial expressions, body languages and gestures were used extensively to communicate effectively between them. I think only around 40% of their communication occurred verbally whereas around 60% occurred nonverbally. I have realized that the joy of purchasing a new product is a universal one and even the Americans are overwhelmed by the purchasing of a new product which they cherished for a long time.

In my country also, people often express their joy while they were able to purchase a new product. The speakers seem to be close friends as they have often patted each other on the bodies to express their joy while their short stays at the canteen. Both of them were in a pleasant mood during their conversation. But the moods swung rapidly from joy to surprise, anxiety ecstasy etc during their conversation. In fact, I thought of having a chat with them initially. But decide against it later after a careful thought since I was not much confident about my language abilities in English.

I have realized that I need to develop my English language skills in order to communicate effectively with them. Moreover, I thought I need to study them from a distance to know more about them and their attitudes before establishing a company with them. Better knowledge about them would help me to communicate better with them. In short, the above communication was a starting point for me to learn more about the American culture and the behavior and attitudes of American people.