American Culture vs. Spanish Culture

Similarities:

- music
- clothes
- hobbies: sports, shopping, going out with friends, videogames
- the way friends treat each other, joking around
- school subjects


Differences:

- People in the USA do more social and community activities
- Americans are more open at first contact, while we are more reserved
- the Americans' favorite sports are baseball, basketball, american football, and ice hockey, while we prefer soccer
- Food in the USA is designed to eat quickly, while in Spain we usually take more time
- Americans always use sauces, dressings, and spices for their food, which we don't use as much
- The Spanish lifestyle is somewhat more relaxed overall
- There is a great mix of ethnic groups and people from different cultures in the USA, while there is much fewer in Spain
- Housing: we live in flats, while Americans tend to live in houses in the suburbs.
- Driving age is 16 in the USA, and 18 in Spain
- Drinking age is 18 or 21 in the USA, 18 in Spain
- Laws about drikning and smoking are much more strictly applied in the USA, due to the huge number of accidents there used to be which were caused by drunk teenagers who drove.
- American culture is more "car oriented": cities are separated into different areas for shopping, living, and working, so one must constantly drive from one place to another, even though newer cities are trying to mix everything together. Because of this there are drive-in cinemas, banks, and restaurants
- Americans are more patriotic, and pledge their allegiance to the flag every morning.
- School in the USA is more cozy and inviting, and there is more socializing going on.
- School in the USA starts at 8:00 and finishes at 3:30, so they have one more hour of classes, but tend to have less homework. Their breaks are about the same length as ours.
- Family responsabilities probably fall more on the kids in the USA, and parents have greater control.
- Timetables in the USA are quite different from Spain: they wake up at around 6:00, have breakfast at 6:30, start school at 8:00, have a snack, eat at 1:00, and have dinner at around 7:00. They then go to bed at 10:00.
- In Texas there is a curfew at 11:00pm, so teenagers can't stay out later than that, while we tend to go out until much later.