Don't talk to us until we're done with our burgers!!

So one of my first days at school, I was flipping through one of the English language textbooks here (made and published in the United Kingdom) and found this pretty amusing, so I thought I would share it with you. It makes me laugh, just to be here and see that this is the kind of random information they are learning about us, and they take it really seriously! They are just a few of the ideas from an article in one of the books.
*What time should you expect your foreign business colleagues to arrive? If they’re American, they’ll probably be 15 minutes early.

*American executives sometimes signal their feelings of ease and importance in their offices by putting their feet on the desk whilst on the telephone.

*The Americans sometimes find it difficult to accept the more formal Japanese manners. They prefer to be casual and more informal, as illustrated by the universal “Have a nice day!” American waiters have a one-word imperative “Enjoy!”

*In America, the main topic between strangers is the search to find a geographical link. “Oh, really? You live in Ohio? I had an uncle who once worked there.”

(my favorite)
*In America you should eat your hamburger with both hands and as quickly as possible. You shouldn’t try to have a conversation until it is eaten.

-from The New Headway English Course-Intermediate Student’s Book

I’m busy clearing up all kinds of misconceptions about the U.S. here every day. I’m trying to explain that American high schools are NOT the way they are portrayed in the movies (usually), that we DON’T eat McDonalds and fast food every single day, and that the U.S. isn’t the “easy glamorous life” that they imagine it to be sometimes. I’m keeping a list of opinions my students have of the U.S., more coming soon…