İn one of the threads, our triple magnificent friend AEnigma was debating and as usual saying sentence irrelevant to that thread ' lol'
but it kept knocking in my head,at first i thought 'get out here,what is there to know' ,then,she was right, we really dont know.

İts about the West and Westerns.

She said, we 'Easterns' dont know the West,and we judge them.

And amazing as it is,she is right.
To us the West is a whole,we judge it as a whole,we know it as a whole too.
We dont distinguish a nation from another,we dont distinguish a traditions from another.

İm sorry to say that,but we dont even know that you have Traditions

We see you in the Media,your Media,and we judge you from there.
You've melted with each other,and every nation lost its identity in one identity is the WEST
Maybe only few we know they have there own taste,because they have same hot blood ,the Mediterraneans
'İtalian and Greeks'
But thats it.

İn the Engagments thread,i was amazed to know that in UK they weren't used to wear the golden bands,i thought all are same,exactly as teaship had said ,wearing a golden band in the left hand,and the bride get the ring too

But then she was talking about USA,not UK, then there is a difference after all.

So can you tell us about you ?
Can you tell us about your Traditions and your differences?
Can you tell us about American, Britsh ,French ,or Germans and how different they are from each others ?
How do they deal with strangers,hospital?not hospital.....ect
Each talk about his nation as he live in,goods and bads

Can you share with us another picture than the Media is telling us about you ?

At least can you tell us its not common nor true that you use the F**k word,and Sh*t words in your conversation with anyone normaly ?

Canli, I think there are as many differences between the people in 'western' countries as there are between people in 'eastern' countries. And even within countries itself things are not the same. My very tiny country has several different cultures, people in the north (mostly protestant) do other things than those in the south (mostly catholic) - only 200 kms away from each other.

Second, what is east and what is west? Is Japan west? Geographically for me it's not, but they always say its a western country. Well it is very very different from mine. The same for let's say Peru, geographically it is west but I don't feel much resemblance. I think the ideas people in eastern countries are as true or as wrong as those of people in western countries. We're all human, aren't we?

About the swearing stuff, some people here do - even in normal conversations - though not the words you gave as an example, because we don't speak English in daily life. And yes, sometimes I do too...

Oh Canli - what an enormous subject! I can try to answer you briefly from my point of view, but can only keep it brief for now.

There is no one country I have travelled to that has the same culture and traditions as the UK. When I have travelled to the US, for example, the lifestyle and culture is completely different and although we may look the same and speak the same language I would still feel like a "foreigner". In the EU countries this difference increases and cultures, lifetyles and of course language differ completely. It is no different for me travelling to Turkey or Egypt than it is for me travelling to Spain or France. Each country is its own identity, culture, and social behaviour.

It is rather remarkable that a Europe full of proud, individualistic States can have done such a good job of joining together inside the EU. They have a history of war going back centuries. European countries all zealously guard their own unique identities – even Scotland and England have different legal systems – and the only way to make that all work is with clear rules - but we are VERY different.

It would take such a long time to answer your question!! However, I will just pick out the things you mention for now. Swearing is not so common place as you might imagine. Indeed, a colleague of mine was recently given a written warning from our boss (local government) for using the 'F' word while working near a member of the public!! It depends on which REGION in the UK you live, but where I live it is considered very rude and very few people would swear in their day to day speech, unless they are very angry!! I know there are other areas in the UK where its very common (especially within the under 25 age group). Our television is censored for swearing before 9pm in the evening.

I would say that 50 years ago it would have been so easy to sit and write down an outline of "typical" English culture and traditions - such things like drinking tea, having a "front room" which you kept for visitors and was rarely used for anything else, even when the house was so tiny and more space would be dearly needed! (my mum even now, has a set of cutlery and china tea cups which are kept for "guests"!!), eating fish and chips on a Friday, Sunday Roast dinners, picnics and a strong family culture where grandparents and parents were the LAW! The list is endless. However, like most countries, we have gone through a "westernisation" ourselves and gradually such traditions and cultures are disappearing. We are now a multicultural country and in addition, in the past 10 years, have seen a HUGE American influence on our culture...rap music, fast food, american slang, obesity, celebrity worship, and most influential, the ME culture. Whilst English culture still exists, I think it will decline as the current generation grow older.

Canli, I would suggest that the most important thing to remember is, for every news or magazine article you read about "western" culture that shocks you, it SHOCKS US TOO! Essentially, 99% of people in this world are GOOD. They don't wake up with evil thoughts! They want to be good to eachother, treat eachother fairly, make people feel welcome, comfort those who are sad, feel loved, feel safe in their homes etc. We are all the same, regardless of religion or culture.

The media have a job to do - to look for extremes that will create enough interest to make us part with a few pennies to buy their publication or tune into their programme

...Another thing which I always notice about our culture is how QUIET it is!! We talk quietly, we will form an orderly queue for just about anything and we say "thank you" a million times when being served in a shop!

I love the human noise in other cultures. In Italy or Turkey, for example, the talk is loud - people talk, shout and laugh LOUDLY, cars honk at eachother in impatience...its wonderful

The most charming book ever written about English culture (in my opinion) is Bill Bryson's "Notes from a Small Island". As an American visiting the UK, he see's things which perhaps we dont even notice ourselves about our culture. It was very amusing, interesting and rather sweet .

The U.S. is a Western culture and has been developing long befor the U.S. became a country. Today, we are a diverse and multi-cultured nation.

To much of your surprise our countries early influence was the Britich culture that spread the English language, legal system and other cultural inheritances. The strongest influence on American culture came from other parts of Europe, especially countries from large numbers of immigration such as England, Ireland, Germany, Poland and Italy.

American society features a very diverse culture that has numberous sub-cultures ranging from the Orthodox Jewish community in New York, to Chinatown in many major cities. Yet they all share certain cultural norms and values such as as a belief in the viture of honesty.

There are variations in norms, values and beliefs found accross the U.S. within our legal policies amoung our states. The state of California for example has passed enviornmental reforms and regulations rivaling those of Western Europe. A policy regarding human sexuality further indicating tremendous differences accross the states. California is also knows as the (Hollywood Region). Known for their movie industry and celebraties. Most Californians will admit they live in a very different state among the rest of the U.S. (: Just look at who is their Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. But I happen to like California very much and their laid back attitude.

You will find a variation in the majority of traditions occure due to class, ancestral, religous, regional and other groups of people through out the U.S.

Social Class, I believe is the greatest cultural influence on people in the U.S. American society is commonly divided into three to Five socia-economic classes. Working-Class, Middle Class, Upper Middle Class & Upper Class.
Each of these commonly identified social classes have distinct lifestyles and income remains one of the main indicators of the classifications. Occupation is also one of the prime factors of social class and is closely linked to an individuals identity. The average work week in the U.S. who are full time employed work an average of 42.9 hours. On average you receive 16 vacation days and off major holidays. When we take time off to relax, we use the term vacation, rarely holiday. We use the term holiday for example..Christmas, Thanksgiving..

Food
The types of food served at home vary greatly and depend upon the region of the country and the family's own cultural heritage. Italian, German, Chinese and often German food. German food has had an impact on American food especially the mid-western with potatoes and meat. Dishes such as hamburgers, pot roast, baked ham and hot dogs are examples of American dished derived from German food.

Technology & gadgets
We are facinated by new techology and new gadgets. Many of the new technological innovations were wither first invented in the U.S. or first widely adopted. Examples; the lightbulb, airplane, tranistor, nuclear power, personal computer, on-line shopping, internet & i-pod.

Automobiles - It is considered a necessity for mot Americans to own or drive cars.

Sports - Top three sports American football, baseball & basketball

Education - American educational system children are required to attend school from the age of 5 or 6. Students typically graduate from high school at age eighteen.

I hope Canli this helps you have a better perspective on the American culture. I could be at this for days, but if you have certain questions. Feel free to ask. One last note, you mentioned cursing.. Most people are brought up with morals and you are taught not to curse. It's not appropriate or lady like especially coming from a woman. It's frowned upon in the workforce and daily conversations. You do find people however, that have sailor tonges and use it without thinking.

Also, I would like to mention the media. You are correct, the media distorts alot of information. We see it here on our media and papers about other countries and societies. You start to relate one thing with the other. For example terrorism; people relate this to Muslims. War & greed; relates to America.

When people start to realize you have good and bad all over the world and come together as one, we may just have a chance for a civilized world.

i think there r 2main types cultures on all over the glob with the somediversities.one of em indivdualism designate to rules or life stilies,while the society more important then individual on other main culture.and individualism gets stronger when you go to step by step to west.sure there r big diversities in the same country even,so i think one of the hardest job to be social scientist for find to certain rules as in the natural sciencesand i believe that thats impossible to get a culture2s realities without live it,so i think to read much or study on this culture even not enough for catch to secrets of it,coz how ou can put the many years backround in the most thick book even?

I must say I am quite shocked that this is the "snap shot" of the "west" that you receive!!! Are your media so biased?