Russian interview responses

Russian interview responses. When you first arrived in the USA, what stood out? ю The traffic system is orderly and well organized.

Drivers are polite and stop for pedestrians. ю How Americans are relaxed, they have a relaxed posture, free behavior, a relaxed way of dressing, usually sports clothes ю Aged parents very seldom live with their grown children and prefer living alone or moving to a nursing home ю Americans prefer to live in suburbs in their own houses and thus a car play a very important role in one s life and there might be several cars in the family ю They use computers a lot in everyday life Stereotypes of Americans You Were Aware Of ю Pragmatic ю Rich ю Overweight ю Always smile ю Body conscious and fond of healthy life styles ю American women are too independent How do you think Americans viewed Russian culture, in general terms? ю As far as I remember, everyone I met was very friendly, considerate and helpful and eager to get to know Russians better and learn more about our culture.

Advice friends or family members gave you ю To find some things they wanted ю To set up an aim you want to achieve in this country and to do it. For example, to visit all the museums. ю Try to make new friends and make the most of your stay ю My mother told me to try every kind of food I can Why questions you asked ю Why do Americans love their cars so much? ю Why do they never dress up? ю Why do they mingle at parties? Why do they invite so many people? ю Why do they leave their nests? Why do they so often change cities? ю Why are university professors so informally dressed in class? ю Why do children prefer to live separately from parents when they complete high school and almost never come back to live with the parents again? Why questions others asked you ю Why do Russians stay at one place at a table at a party? ю Why do Russians have more long lasting friendships? ю Why do you prefer jeanswear is it because you like American style clothing or do you find this kind of clothing more comfortable? ю Do people in Russia know foreign languages? Stereotypes of Russians You Discovered ю Russians are poor. ю Russians dance very well. They like to dance. ю There is Mafia in Russia. ю Russian women do a lot of work at home. ю Russians don t know how to work. ю Russian women do too much work for the family.

They do not respect themselves. ю Russians are strong and hard working. ю The new generation will change the country. ю Russians don t know foreign languages. ю Starving and wearing shabby clothing ю Russians don t smile on the street. ю One young American guy mentioned he wouldn t be interested in meeting a Russian woman because Russian women are hairy and don t shave. ю There are few cars in Russia. ю All women are prostitutes because that s the only way to earn a living. How has your experience changed your original view or expectations? I don t think Americans are rich. They get more money but they economize and spend more rationally.

If you were to compare Russian and American culture, what are some of the broad distinctions you might draw? ю Russian culture belongs to the eastern type and American to the western type. ю Americans are more matter-of-fact and business-like they are more active they are not afraid of making severe life changes.

Can you describe some situations incidents in which cultural expectations caused a misunderstanding? ю When you are in Russia, invited to someone s home, you are asked to have tea or some food. In America this does not happen in every house.

What things stood out the most or what things did you most notice about Russia when you returned home? ю The one thing that pleased me is that my family was so glad to see me. ю People not smiling.

Not helpful. ю Gloomy people on the streets impolite shop assistants dirty public places no adaptation of public places for disabled ю People are less polite there is garbage everywhere there are no non-smoking areas By visiting the USA, have you learned anything new about yourself and your native culture? ю Russians are hospitable, collective.

They discuss things in groups before making decisions.

They are always ready to share. ю Russians are more family oriented. ю I learned that I should not feel inferior to other people because of being physically disabled. ю Being in the US I am conscious of being Russian and proud of it. I don t that I stand out in American culture and most Americans can t say I am from a different country unless I tell them, but somehow I always feel Russian and tell people I am from Russia with a sense of pride.

CONCLUSION Let s sum up everything considered above.

Now there is a problem of misunderstanding among people of the different countries. This misunderstanding is shown owing to different attitudes to life, to business, to family, to fellow workers. Also because of ignorance of traditions, customs, etiquette of other countries.

Excellent knowledge of foreign language is not a guarantee of successful cooperation of firms or pleasant dialogue of people from different continents. To know language is only half-affair. The most important is to understand priorities of other people, to try to look at the world by their eyes. If the country is more advanced in economic, political, social spheres, it gives more attention to studying other cultures for successful cooperation for example, the USA, Japan. It is important to note, that the closer cultures to each other, the fewer problems arise at their interaction.

If cultures are opposite, then the essence of intercultural dialogue is reduced to understanding of different values. For greater success in relations between the countries it is necessary to take into account all these features. LITERATURE 1. Communication and Culture Alfred G. Smith Hold, Rinehart and Winston, Inc the United States of America,1966 2. Crossing Cultural Borders - Russia Julie E. Zdanoski Petrozavodsk, 2003 3. Culture Learning The Fifth Dimension in the Language Classroom Louise Damen 4. Culture Matters.

How Values Shape Human Progress Lawrence E. Harrison, Samuel P. Huntington Basic Books, A Member of the Perseus Books Group, the United States of America, 2000 APPENDIX A CULTURAL MODEL OF INTERACTION When a person from a national society with hierarchical tendencies encounters a person from a society with egalitarian tendencies, and moreover when the country of the latter is generally high in the estimation of the former, the idealized paradigm as shown in Figure 1 would be approximated.

In this diagram, X, the person from a country with egalitarian views, behaves toward Y, the person from a hierarchically oriented country, as if he occupied the same level that is, in equalitarian terms. Figure 1. TABLE 1. SOME IMPLICIT CULTURAL ASSUMPTIONS North American USA Personal control of the environment Change inevitable and desirable Equality of opportunity Individualism Future orientation Action orientation Directness and openness Practicality pragmatic rational Problem-solving orientation Cause-and-effect logic Informality Competition DO-it-yourself approach to life Contrast American Nature dominating man Unchanging traditional Class structure dominant hierarchical Interdependence but individuality Present or past orientation Being orientation Suggestive consensus-seeking group orientation Feeling orientation philosophical Inactive enduring seeking help from others Knowing Formality Group progress Intermediaries TABLE 2 VALUE ASSUMPTIONS OF EAST AND WEST JAPAN AND THE UNATED STATES Values concerning 1. Nature and Culture vertically octopus pot draws in outside inside 2. Interpersonal Relationships Unated States Heterogeneity horizontal society guilt sasara bamboo wisk Doing Pusning Omote predominates Independence I you clash symmetrical relationships informality Achieved status Japan Homogeneity shame takotsubo Being Pulling Omote ura We over I amae complementary Ascribed status 84.