Americans And Their Behaviour

Its helpful to know how Americans typically will be. Otherwise you will start feeling "These people are great dramatists... ". Here are some tips:-
- Americans are very friendly and helpful.
- They don't make you feel like a foreigner. (Though you feel!)
- It is very easy to adjust with them. But they don't like people getting very inquisitive or trying to get too personal in the initial phase of the aquaintance.
- They dress casually and nobody bothers which dress you wear etc.
- They are fun loving creatures and enjoy their free time. Most of them like to keep themselves physically fit by regular outings, hiking, exercise, biking, jogging etc. They love the outdoors and natural surroundings. They look forward to weekends and plan their weekend activities in advance. This usually consists of some outdoor activity.
- They are frank about their opinions.
- They respect individual views and allow everyone to voice their own ideas on a subject.
- They have a lot of patience. Especially when standing in queues or while driving, nobody will try to jump before you in the queue. Most of them are very disciplined drivers. However this differs from State to State.
- If they happen to come in your way or you happen to come in their way, you will promptly hear an "Excuse me" or "Excuse us".
- They need a lot of feedback while talking. You have to acknowledge/nod continuously. Otherwise they feel you are not interested in listening or are confused.
- They gesture a lot and shoot some funny (at least so it seems initially) phrases at you. It is a matter of "getting used to it".
- They are "very" proud of their country. To them, the Universe is the United States. So never ever make fun of or speak lightly about them ortell them that they do not have any social/cultural background. You will make more American friends that way.
- Most Americans think of India as a poor country of beggars, snake charmers and swamis etc. This is due to the insufficient and improper media coverage given to India. Their T.V. only shows the poor Indian villages and cows on the streets.
Hope you will be able to prove that India is a country of INTELLIGENT people like you and not just ELEPHANTS and SNAKE CHARMERS.

Office And Work Environment

Before you start your first day, get a hang of how the work environment is at the client's place from any PCS person there or read on for some typical environments you may find.
- Project Leaders are very understanding and friendly. And do not unduly pressurize you to perform. They will definitely give you some time to come up to speed on their work environment.
- There is a lot of individualistic approach. Every person's inputs are given a lot of importance. Independent views are respected. Before discarding any of your ideas, they will give you a good enough reason for doing so.
- For the smallest of decisions they will sometimes hold a meeting and get the entire team's inputs/comments/suggestions before proceeding. One feels important when this is done. But sometimes it can get boring.
- Nobody double-checks what you are saying, they take you for your word.
- There are no suspicious feelings and managers don't fear subordinates.
- Managers will openly discuss about their meetings with "their" bosses, with the team. There is no hide and seek as far as information/feedback is concerned.
- People admit if they don't know or have information about certain things. They don't pretend to be all knowing.
- People are dedicated to their area of work and develop expertise in it. But they do not talk about work related topics, which are not in their area of expertise, they immediately refer you to the right person.
- People enjoy their work and leisure. They plan their weekends well in advance. Very few people stay back late in the office or come and work during weekends. Such things are not related to performance. As long as you do your work well and within time, nobody cares what else you do and when.
- Most companies allow you to compensate by working during the weekend if you take an 'off' from work on a regular weekday.
- The work hours in most companies are flexible. Come anytime and go anytime but you do need to put in a minimum of 8 hrs/day or 40 hrs/week as contractors.
- Regular time sheets "may" have to be filled, in some companies.

Anti-Universe Phenomenon

When you come to the U.S. you will notice the opposite everywhere. You will get the feeling "These guys are crazy" .....almost everything you try to do will fail even if it is a small thing like switching ON the lamp !!!!"
This is just to make you get a hang of it. The cars are driven on the right hand side instead of left hand side of the road. So you should look left first while crossing roads :-). You may have to insert the key upside down and rotate it in the opposite direction to unlock. You will also notice that switches work in opposite direction i.e. UP is ON and DOWN is OFF :-).
The date is written with the month first, then day, followed by the year.
As one of our American colleague pointed out jokingly, "its logical, if you see that India is exactly opposite in location on the globe, to U.S.!!!"

AMERICAN LANGUAGE-I

For successful conversation, in the US, it is advisable that you speak slowly and pronounce properly. Well, the first part you really need to practice otherwise what you will hear from the person opposite is "pardon me", "come again", "I am sorry", "I didn't get you". e.g. The changes in pronunciation are like 'schedule' pronounced as 'skedule', 'route' pronounced 'raut' etc. Also some words are totally substituted like 'petrol' by 'gas'. Here is a table from Gary Nobel of HP SanDiego, which he created when he traveled in India. Thanks to him. The dictionary is very remarkable.

The following is a simple dictionary for translating between AmericanEnglish and Indian English.
This dictionary should be useful for the new-comer to either the U.S. or India. The words are in no particular order.

INDIAN ENGLISH--AMERICAN ENGLISH
*************************************************
Food Related
Coriander--Cilantro
Cold drink--Soda pop
Curd--Yogurt
Cafe ("kayf")--Cafe ("kaf-ay'")
Nes-coffee--Instant coffee
Filter coffee--Brewed coffee
Milk powder--Cream
French beans--Snow peas
Hotel--Restaurant
Jelly--Gelatin
Garam masalla--Curry
Lady fingers--Okra
Small pastries--Lady fingers
Toffee--Hard candy
Brinjal--Eggplant
Biscuit--Cookies/Wafers
Bun--Biscuit
(Potato) Wafers--(Potato) chips
Finger chips--French fries
Groundnuts--Peanuts

Education Related
Public school--Private school (tuition charged)
Private school--Public school (free)
School--High school
College--School
University--School
High school--School/Junior High
Take a class--Teach a class
Be a student--Take a class
2nd standard--2nd grade
High marks--Good grades
Invigilator--Proctor
Canteen--Cafeteria

Clothes
Windcheater--Windbreaker
Vest--Undershirt
Waistcoat--Vest
Half-pant--Shorts
Purse--Wallet
Swim trunks--Swim suit
Swim costume--Swim suit

Transportation Related
Traffic signal--Traffic light
Boot, dikky--Trunk of a car
Bonnet--Hood of a car
Petrol pump--Gas station
Petrol--Gas
Diesel--Fuel
Pavement--Sidewalk
Footpath--Sidewalk
Zebra Crossing--Crosswalk
Take a lift--Get a ride
Motorcycle--Motorbike
Cycle--Bike

AMERICAN LANGUAGE-II

INDIAN ENGLISH- AMERICAN ENGLISH
*************************************************
Football-- Soccer
American football-- (rugby?) Football
Solid-- Substantial
Ltd. --Inc.
Transistor-- Radio
Two-in-One-- Boom box
Goggles-- Sunglasses
Cooling glass -- Sunglasses
Toilet-- Restroom
Guest house-- Motel
Current -- Electricity
$20 Note -- $20 Bill
Cell-- Battery
Torch -- Flashlight
Rubber -- Eraser
Snap -- Picture
Photograph -- Picture
Mixee (?sp) -- Mixer
Dustbin --Trash can
Beggar -- Panhandler
IBM-Compatible -- IBM-Clone
Inflammable-- Flammable
Mess-- Dorm cafeteria
Hotel-- Restaurant
Restaurant bill-- Restaurant check
Picture-- Movie
Talkies-- Movies
Lift-- Elevator
To fix-- To install
To repair-- To fix
Pram --Stroller

IDIOMS
**********
To post (a letter)-- To mail (a letter)
To submit-- To turn in
To be out of station --To be out of town
A place to park --Driveway
A place to drive -- Parkway
Straight-away-- Right away
Anticlockwise-- Counterclockwise
Bunk school-- Skip class
Passed out-- Graduated
Fainted -- Passed out
Ring up (someone) -- Call up (someone)
The line is engaged-- It's busy / I got a busy tone
Push the accelerator-- Step on the gas
Give the car some race-- Speed up the car
Get down (from a bus) --Get off (of a bus)
Let's push off -- Let's go
Let's make a move -- Let's go
Convince someone-- Talk someone into
Black money-- Tax free, undeclared income
Standing from a constituency-- Running for an election
Issue a book(from the library)-- Checkout a book (from the library)
How are you?-- How are you doing?
How is everything?-- How is it going?
Intimate-- Inform
(Very Close Relations)-- (Intimate Relations)
Too good --Cool

Towards a more American Conversation

U don't open conversation (on telephone) with a “Hello” but with a “Hi”
The telephone is never “engaged”, it's always “busy”.
U don't “disconnect” a phone, U simply “hang-up”.
U never “mess-up” things, U only “screw them up”.
U never have a “residence” tel. no., U have a “home” no.
U don't stop at the “signals”, but halt at the “lights”.
U don't “accelerate”, U “step on the gas”.
Your tire never “punctures”, U may have a “flat”.
The trains have “coaches” or “bogies” no more but “carriages” or “boxes”.
There R no “petrol bunks or pumps”, but “gas stations”.
“I don't know nothing”, 2 negatives don't make a positive here.
U no longer meet a “wonderful” person, U meet a “cool” guy
U don't pull the “switch down ” to light a bulb, rather “flick it up”.
U don't “turn on the heat”, U “turn on the juice”.
There's no “Business Area” only “business districts”, and no “districts” but “counties”.
No one stays “a stone's throw away”, might “a few blocks away”.
There's no “Town Side”, it's “Down Town”.
In hotel U no longer ask for “bill” and pay by “cheque”, rather ask for “check” and pay with (Dollar) “bills”.
There R no “soft drinks”, only “sodas”.
Life's no longer “miserable” it “stinks”.
U don't have a “great” time, U have a “ball”.
U don't “sweat it out”, U “work U'r butt off”.
Never “post” a letter, always “mail” it and “glue” the stamps, don't “stick” them.
U no longer live in “flats” or “blocks”, find an “apartment”.
U don't stand in a “queue”, you are in a “line”.
U no longer “like” something, U “appreciate” it.
“#” is not “hash”, it's “pound”.
U R not “deaf”, U have “impaired hearing”.
U R not “lunatic”, U are just “mentally challenged”.
U R not “disgusting” U R “sick”.
U can't get “surprised” U get “zapped”.
U don't “schedule” a meeting, U “skejule” it.
U never “joke”, U just “kid”.
U never “increase” the pressure, U always “crank” it up.
U never ask for a pencil “rubber” U ask for an “eraser”. A “rubber” is a “condom”
U don't try to find a “lift”, U find an “elevator”.
U no more ask for a “route” but for a “RAUT”
U don't ask somebody “How r u ?”, U say “What's up dude?”
U never go to see a “game or a match”, U go to watch a “game”.
U never go to a “theatre” (theatre is a place for dramatic presentations), U go to the “movies”.
If U see “World” champions (or Series), read “USA” champions (or Series).
There's no “zero” but “o”, no “Z” but “zee”.
There's no “FULL STOP” after a statement, there's a “PERIOD”.
If someone gets “angry” at U, U get “flamed”.
You don't say “How do you do”, you say “How you doin”
U don't call UR boss “sir”, U call him by his “first name”.
In short, U don't speak “English”, U speak “American”.
Well u don’t say life is boring u say “LIFE SUCKS!!!”