I was raised to always show respect where it is due, which includes referring to people by their title and using their last name. At my internship, every single person that I have been introduced to and work for prefers that I call them by their first name or nickname (even the President of the Company). This honestly is slightly uncomfortable for me because my parents are big on respect.
Gestures
But like I mentioned before, it all depends if the person allows you as well as your environment.” (Marlene Castillo, Mexico)
“Coming to the USA from the Anglo-oriental cultural background in Pakistan where it is customary to call the seniors or professors in a formal and official way as ‘Sir’ or ‘Madam’, It took me quite some time in adjusting to the prevalent norm here in the USA. For instance, in Pakistan I could never think of addressing my professor as ‘Dr. Vasavada’ or ‘Professor Vasavada’ as I do here in the USA. In my culture, this way of addressing is considered disrespectful and way too informal. Similarly, in my culture, it is a norm to bend the head a bit while greeting a senior. But when I was new to the USA, whenever I did this gesture, I felt a visible astonishment on the face of my professors.” (Shahinshah Faisal Azim, Pakistan)
“A funny story that happened to me during my second week in the US happened when I was in my first class. All the students had gotten to the class before the professor did and some of them were chatting and a couple of them were eating. One student behind me was eating peppers or something and the professor walked in and said, “Hey Peter, the pepper smells good” and just continued on with the class. This was different from back home where we were not even allowed to chew gum, let alone eating anything in class.
One of my friends came here a few years ago and when he was driving, he saw a police car behind his car. He continued driving but the police car was still following him. He was thinking the police officer wanted to pass, so he reduced his speed but the officer continued to follow him. After a while, he pulled over and saw other officers who came toward him. It took a while until the police officer checked his information and asked him why he didn’t pull over right away. He was lucky that the officer realized he was an international student and new driver, so the officer allowed him to continue driving. In my country, when the police want to stop you, they stop in front of your car.
Americans expect guests to come punctually at the agreed time. If you must be late, it is considerate to let them know.
Most of the churches in America have many different masses, in different languages, in order to accommodate the different groups of people present in America. In the West Indies each church would have one service mainly in the language of that particular country.
Kissing as a greeting, however, is usually only done between relatives and close friends (on the cheek) or between lovers (on the lips).
“Some professors do prefer 
to be called by their title like “Dr.” but many of the professors we have met at Penn State Harrisburg do allow you to call them by their first name. It just depends on the person and the environment.
Also, the relationship between professors and students is more like friendship. In China, we have been told that it is necessary to show respect to our teachers. We have to be serious and there is almost no joking in the classroom. Everything in class is formal. However, I experienced something totally different here. My English teacher sometimes brought homemade desserts to us. I still remember when she knew my birthday was coming, she baked a special kind of cookies for all of my classmates and they sang the Happy Birthday song to me. I was touched by this and I will never forget it, since I would never have this experience if I still studied in my home country.” (Ziyuhan “Ariel” Wang, China)
- Have fun: Remember that the point of a date is not only to get to know a person a little better but also to have fun while doing so. A date does not always lead to a full-on relationship and is not a marriage proposal. So do not stress it, have fun and be yourself; if all else fails, you can always say that you had a good time.” (Temi Famadewa, Nigeria)
One of my friends came here a few years ago and when he was driving, he saw a police car behind his car. He continued driving but the police car was still following him. He was thinking the police officer wanted to pass, so he reduced his speed but the officer continued to follow him. After a while, he pulled over and saw other officers who came toward him. It took a while until the police officer checked his information and asked him why he didn’t pull over right away. He was lucky that the officer realized he was an international student and new driver, so the officer allowed him to continue driving. In my country, when the police want to stop you, they stop in front of your car.
Americans expect guests to come punctually at the agreed time. If you must be late, it is considerate to let them know.
Gestures
Most of the churches in America have many different masses, in different languages, in order to accommodate the different groups of people present in America. In the West Indies each church would have one service mainly in the language of that particular country.
Kissing as a greeting, however, is usually only done between relatives and close friends (on the cheek) or between lovers (on the lips).
“Some professors do prefer to be called by their title like “Dr.” but many of the professors we have met at Penn State Harrisburg do allow you to call them by their first name. It just depends on the person and the environment.
Also, the relationship between professors and students is more like friendship. In China, we have been told that it is necessary to show respect to our teachers. We have to be serious and there is almost no joking in the classroom. Everything in class is formal. However, I experienced something totally different here. My English teacher sometimes brought homemade desserts to us. I still remember when she knew my birthday was coming, she baked a special kind of cookies for all of my classmates and they sang the Happy Birthday song to me. I was touched by this and I will never forget it, since I would never have this experience if I still studied in my home country.” (Ziyuhan “Ariel” Wang, China)
Americans expect guests to come punctually at the agreed time. If you must be late, it is considerate to let them know.