Customs and Manners

Do as the Romans do.

Try to follow the custom and you’ll get used to it.

Making yourself clear is a polite thing to do.

It’s always a  bit difficult to get things started.

Once you get started you’ll find it much easier to do.

The safe way to do things is to watch what people do and do the same.

You just have be westernized, but you’ve got to learn to enjoy our things while you’re here.

You’ll appreciate our views more when you get to know us better.

You’ve got to make friends if you want to get better acquainted with things here.

Living in a strange land is always hard at the beginning, but you’ll get over it.

You don’t have to go with it, but what you need to do is to understand it.

That’s what makes us Americans

By our custom it’s not acceptable.

I think you’ll have to change your habit a little bit.

Stick to it ,no matter what people say.

You’ll overcome the culture shock in no time.

It’ll help you broaden your viewpoints that you live with people from different backgrounds.

This is what a lot people thought of us Americans when they first come here.

I found people here seem always on the run.

People have always mistakenly thought we Chinese people lack a sense of time and are slow in response to the outside world. But it’s just not true any more.

Although they’ve tried in every way to make friends with me, it still doesn’t work. I think part of the problem is the language, and part of it the cultural differences.

It’ll help us to understand the problem better.

We seldom eat our vegetables raw back home.

Is that a Chinese custom?

I found your eating habits a bit strange. For example, it amazed me when I first saw you drink milk cold.

We still try to keep Chinese customs. 

We Chinese are friendly, generally speaking.

It’s too much Americanized, I’m afraid.

We eat a lot of fast food nowadays.

You don’t have to be very formal when you come to me place.

You really don’t have to bring gifts every time you got to a friend’s house.

The western people do not ask about the ages and salaries of others.

Ages, salaries and so on are privacy.

If you ask an American about his religion or marriage, usually won’t get an answer.

Keep in mind you should be in time when you’re invited to dinner.

You may go with a gift or not.

Remember to make an appointment any time you want to call on somebody.

Don’t try to shake hand with a woman unless she puts out her hand first.

You can talk about weather to anybody at any time.

Weather is a good topic to begin a conversation.

Americans consider it more friendly to invite a person to one’s home than to take him to a restaurant.

You should arrive at the time you were invited for, or within five or ten minutes after that time.

If you are unable to thank the hostess before you leave, it’s a good idea to write her a note of thanks or telephone her the next day.

If you’re going to be an overnight or weekend guest, it is customary to bring the hostess a small present.

Men usually open doors for women, and women generally walk ahead of men into a room or restaurant.

Usually, if a man asks a woman out to dinner, he will pay for the dinner.

Although there is much informality in the United States, it is important not to create a false impression regarding your feelings for another person. 

入乡随俗。

入乡随俗慢慢会习惯的。

有话直说是礼貌的举动。

万事开头难。

什么事一旦开了头，就会比较容易多了。

最好的方法是，别人怎么做。您也怎么做。

您不必西化，但是在这儿就得学会这儿的生活方式。

等了解我们以后，您就会更加欣赏我们的观点了。

想要更好的了解这儿的事物，您必须多交朋友。

在一个陌生的环境里，开始时免不了会不习惯，慢慢就会适应的。

有些事情您不必都学，只须理解就可以了。

这正是我们美国人的特色。

按照我们的习惯，这是不能接受的。

我觉得您得改一改您的习惯才行。

您干您的，甭管别人怎么说您。

您会很快克服文化冲击的。

与不同经历的人相处会有助于开阔您的视野。

许多刚来美国时就是这么看我们美国人的。

我发现这儿的人好像。

人们常常错误地认为我们中国人缺乏时间观念，对外部世界反应慢。现在已不是那么回事了。

尽管他们千方百计地对我们友好，可我总觉得跟他们合不来。我想这里既有语言问题，也有文化方面的差异。

它将有助于我们更好地理解这个问题。

我们在国内很少生吃蔬菜。

这是中国的习惯吗？

我发现您们的饮食习惯有点怪，比如我头一次看您喝凉奶时，就觉得很奇怪。

我们还是想保持中国习惯。

一般来说，我们中国人是比较友好的。

恐怕这太美国化了。

现在我们常吃快餐。

到我们这儿来，您不必穿得很正规。

去朋友家做客，您不必每次都带礼物。

西方人不打听别人的年龄和工资收入。

年龄，收入都属于个人隐私。

如果您问起美国人的宗教信仰或婚烟状况，他们多半会避而不谈。

去别人家做客一定要准时。

带不带礼物都可以。

去拜访前一定要约好时间。

不要试着和女士握手，除非她先伸出手来。

您可以随时和别人谈天气。

谈天气是开始同别人谈话的开始。

美国人认为把客人请到家里，比在餐馆里请客更友好。

有人邀请您，应该准时到达，或在比约定时间晚5到10分钟内到达。

假如您在告辞前不方便向女主人道谢，那么最还在第二天写封信或打个电话表示谢意。

如果您是到别人家住一晚或度周末，习惯上要给女主人带点小礼物。

男士通常替女士开门，走进房间或餐馆时，一般仍是女士在前，男士随后。

男的请女的外出吃饭，通常由男的付账。

虽然美国非常不拘小节，但您不能在对他人的感情问题上，给热以错误的印象，这一点是很重要的。