QA讨论:你喜欢美国文化中哪一点:饮食、社区主义、爱国、对贫困的看法？

Rebecca Romano
What is your favorite thing about the US culture?
I’m an American and I’ve never lived anywhere but the US so maybe this isn’t really that special, but I think the US is a really complex country and I love how complex it is. A lot of people will say the US has no culture or other idiotic things, but I think it’s more that the US culture is so ubiquitous that it doesn't even seem like a culture to some people in other parts of the world.
 
关于美国文化，你最喜欢什么？
我是个美国人，从未在美国以外的地方生活过，所以可能这并不特别，但我认为美国的复杂性令人着迷。很多人会说美国没有文化或者有其他愚蠢的看法，但我认为这更像是因为美国文化如此普遍，以至于对世界上其他地方的一些人来说，它甚至不像是一种文化。
 
But at the heart of the US we are an extremely complex people, everything you can say about the US is true: it’s amazing and horrible, rich and poor, friendly and reserved, etc. Both the best and the worst that has ever been said about this country is true and I think that’s pretty amazing. We are a country with so many different ideas and opinions and we can still get along with each other and still prosper, still show respect for each other and still help each other out and imo we are a very empathic people.
 
但关于美国，最重要的一点，我们是一个极其复杂的民族。关于美国的任何评价都是真实的：它既令人赞叹又令人恐惧，既富裕又贫穷，既友好又保守等等。对这个国家最好的和最坏的描述都是正确的，我认为这本身就非常了不起。我们是一个拥有众多不同思想和观点的国家，我们仍然能够和睦相处，共同繁荣，相互尊重，互相帮助，在我看来，我们是一个非常富有同情心的民族。
 
I don’t think people in other countries understand the internal struggle that happens in the US because so many people are diametrically apposed about just about everything and yet we can all still come together and cheer for our country because we all love it in our own way.
 
我认为其他国家的人们可能无法理解美国内部的斗争，因为很多人在几乎所有问题上都持有完全相反的观点。尽管如此，我们仍然能够团结一致，为我们的国家欢呼，因为我们都以各自的方式深爱着它。
 
Also, a bit more specifically, I think that Americans don’t take ourselves that seriously, we don’t care if we end up with egg on our face and are willing to look stupid in the pursuit of knowledge, which imo, is why so many people think Americans are dumb, because we are willing to ask dumb questions, but honestly what is more stupid, being ignorant of the answer to a dumb question or being to afraid of embarrassing yourself you don’t ask the question to begin with?
 
更具体地说，我认为美国人不会太把自己当回事，我们不介意在追求知识的过程中出丑，也愿意看起来有点傻。在我看来，这正是很多人认为美国人愚蠢的原因——因为我们不怕问出看似愚蠢的问题。但老实说，哪种行为更愚蠢呢？是不知道一个愚蠢问题的答案，还是因为害怕尴尬而根本不敢提出问题？
 
Eric Mabley
As a British immigrant to the USA who’s now been here 20 years, these are what I most admire about U.S. culture:
 
作为一名已经在美国生活了20年的英国移民，我对美国文化的以下几点最为钦佩：
 
View on poverty. The classic American view of poverty (at least among those Americans who haven’t been taught since birth to think of themselves as permanent victims) is that it’s a temporary situation, not a permanent social class. Americans are encouraged to believe that there’s always a way out if you’re willing to work hard enough, whereas in the UK the view of poverty is more that if you’re born poor you’re going to stay poor.
 
对贫困的看法。经典的美国贫困观（至少在那些没有从小被教育成永远是受害者的美国人中）认为贫困是一种暂时的状态，而非一个永恒的社会阶层。美国人被鼓励相信，只要肯努力，总有办法走出贫困；而在英国，人们普遍认为，如果你出生时贫困，那么你就很可能一直贫困下去。
 
Sense of community. Americans are more charitable and more community-oriented than us Brits, especially Americans who identify to the political centre and right of centre. They donate more, volunteer more of their time, and are more helpful to other people in general.
 
社区意识方面，美国人比英国人更慷慨、更注重社区精神，尤其是那些政治立场偏向中立和中右翼的美国人。他们更乐于捐款、投入更多时间做志愿服务，并且通常来说，他们更愿意帮助他人。
 
Patriotism. Americans are taught from an early age that they live in the greatest society on earth and that they should consider themselves lucky to be here. That fosters a sense of patriotism and optimism not often seen in other countries.
 
爱国主义。美国人从小就被教育说他们生活在世界上最伟大的国家，应该为自己能在这里而感到幸运。这种教育培养了一种在其他国家不常见的爱国主义和乐观主义精神。
 
Loyalty to one’s heritage. Most (but not all) Americans consider themselves Americans first and their race or ethnicity second. But they’re loyal and proud of their heritage, whether it be White, Black, Latino, Asian, Native American, Pacific Islander, Neanderthal, extraterrestrial, etc.
 
对传统的忠诚。大多数美国人首先认为自己是美国人，其次才是他们的种族或族裔身份。他们对自己的传统忠诚且自豪，无论是白人、黑人、拉丁裔、亚洲人、美洲原住民、太平洋岛民，还是任何其他族裔。
 
Baseball. It’s the perfectly constructed sport and the consummate thinking person’s game. It’s like chess played on a grass field. Each situation has multiple potential sequences and outcomes that need to be planned for and strategised around.
 
棒球。它是一项设计完美的运动，也是思考者的最佳游戏。它就像是在草地上进行的国际象棋。每个场景都有许多潜在的序列和结果，需要进行规划和策略布局。
 
Paula Billups
What are some good things about the USA's culture?
I’ve been an ESL teacher, and I can tell you what my students have said about what they like about American culture coming from another country,
They are really surprised by how friendly the people are. Several students have told me stories about being brand new to the place and getting lost or needing help and being astonished that a stranger will bother to ask if everything’s okay and try to help out.
 
关于美国文化的优点有哪些？
作为一名英语作为第二语言（ESL）的教师，我可以分享我的学生们从其他国家来到美国后，他们喜欢美国文化的哪些方面：
他们对美国人的友好程度感到惊讶。许多学生告诉我，当他们刚到这个陌生的地方，迷路或需要帮助时，会有陌生人主动询问他们是否一切都好，并伸出援手。
 
People prize individuality here. It’s a good place to find out for yourself who you are as an individual. If you want to explore new things it’s pretty easy to find someone with similar interests who will be happy to share information with you.
People here have a very positive and encouraging attitude. They frequently will encourage you to try and will boost you and cheer you on. (I lived in Germany for a while and it was kind of a bummer when I expressed my goals because they would always say, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” They didn’t want me to be disappointed if I failed!)
 
在这里，个性被高度重视。这是一个探索自我、发现个性的好地方。如果你想尝试新事物，很容易找到志同道合的人，他们乐于与你分享信息。
人们的态度非常积极，且善于鼓励。他们经常会鼓励你去尝试，为你加油鼓劲。（我曾在德国生活过一段时间，当我表达自己的目标时，他们总是说，“我不认为这是个好主意。”他们不想让我失败后感到失望！）
 
People are surprised by how much Americans smile. Some think we are idiots because we smile even if nothing particularly funny is happening. Just roll with it. :)
Our society is made up of every culture you can think of: except for the Native Americans, all of us originally came here from somewhere else and we brought our traditions with us. Americans will tell you they are Irish or Italian or so on, but they sometimes mean that’s where their ancestors came from. And those “hyphenated cultures” (Italian-American, African-American, Irish-American, Mexican-American, etc) are different from the origin cultures. It’s super interesting, especially in big cities.
 
人们对美国人经常微笑感到惊讶。有些人甚至认为我们有些愚蠢，因为我们即使在没有特别有趣事情发生时也会微笑。不过，这只是一种习惯，不必太过在意。
我们的社会融合了你能想到的所有文化：除了原住民，我们所有人都是从其他地方来到这里的，带来了各自的传统。美国人会告诉你他们是爱尔兰人或意大利人等，但他们有时指的是他们的祖先来自那里。那些“混血文化”（如意大利裔美国人、非裔美国人、爱尔兰裔美国人、墨西哥裔美国人等）与原文化有所不同，这在大城市中尤其有趣。
 
This isn’t just America of course, but our wild lands and national parks are jaw-dropping. If you visit National Parks you’ll never forget the landscape. The place is huge: you could spend weeks here driving around the country exploring.
So those are a few cool things about America.
 
美国的特点不仅仅是这些，我们的荒野和国家公园真是让人惊叹不已。如果你去过国家公园，你一定永远无法忘记那里的景色。这里的面积非常广阔，你可以花上好几周时间，开车穿越各地进行探索。
这些就是美国的一些有趣之处。
 
Will Vong
What is your favorite thing about American culture?
Culinary Autonomy
 
你最喜欢美国文化的哪一点？
饮食自主权。
 
More than any other culture I’ve experienced, Americans are by far the most respectful and considerate regarding allergies. I have G6PD deficiency which means I could literally die if I eat fava beans. Fava beans are popular in Sudan, Egypt and Yunnan, China. In all three places, local people consistently and without fail urged me to eat their home-cooked fava bean meal out of genuine but misguided hospitality. With clinical assurance, they insisted that I wouldn’t die from the fava beans because they’ve been eating fava beans their whole lives and had no problems.
 
在我体验过的文化中，美国人对待过敏问题的态度无疑是最为尊重和周到的。我有G6PD缺乏症，这意味着如果我吃蚕豆，我可能会有生命危险。蚕豆在苏丹、埃及和中国云南很受欢迎。在这三个地方，当地人总是出于真诚的好客，却不顾可能的风险，坚持让我品尝他们自家做的蚕豆菜肴。他们信心满满地保证，我不会因吃蚕豆而出事，因为他们自己一生都在吃蚕豆，从未有过问题。
 
 It was always easier to just say I hate the taste and find it disgusting rather than explain I have a genetic mutation which will cause me to die from hemolytic anemia. It seemed the culture of hospitality was more powerful than the awareness of and respect for allergies/genetic disorders/dietary preferences. I really do appreciate the hospitality I received in those communities but it can be very exhausting interrogating the chefs about what beans they used.
 
说我讨厌它的味道，觉得它很恶心，总是比解释我有基因突变会导致我死于溶血性贫血更容易。在这些地方，好客的文化似乎比对过敏、遗传疾病或饮食偏好的认识和尊重更为重要。我确实感激这些社区的热情款待，但是不断地询问厨师他们使用了哪些豆类，确实令人疲惫。
 
Are the falafels made of chickpeas or fava beans?
I don’t know. Same thing. Very tasty! Very clean! I cook for many years. You will not be sick. Trust me.
 
那些鹰嘴豆泥是用什么做的，是鹰嘴豆还是蚕豆？
我不知道，都一样。很好吃！很干净！我做饭很多年了，你不会生病的，相信我。
 
On some occasions, people seemed to take it personally as if I was accusing them of having low hygiene standards so it was often quite frustrating.
Breaking the language barrier does not help either. I carry around a piece of paper with the words “fava beans” and “allergy” in about 50 different languages and it has done very little in reducing mis-communications.
 
在某些情况下，人们似乎认为这是针对个人的，就好像我在指责他们卫生标准低一样，所以这常常让人很沮丧。
语言障碍也加剧了这一问题。我随身携带着用大约50种不同语言写的“蚕豆”和“过敏”的纸条，但这在减少沟通误解方面几乎没有任何帮助。
 
I do not have this problem in the US. Not only does American food packaging have labels for various common allergens. There also labels for all manner of culinary preferences and diets available such as kosher, halal, organic, non-GMO, gluten-free, etc. Even the cheapest American buffets will have separate utensils for each dish so that allergens do not spread.
 
在美国，我没有遇到这样的问题。美国的食品包装上不仅有各种常见过敏原的标签，还有各种烹饪偏好和饮食需求的标签，比如犹太洁食、清真、有机、非转基因、无麸质等。即使是最便宜的美国自助餐，也会为每道菜提供单独的餐具，以防止过敏原交叉污染。
 
Taiwanese are generally mindful of allergies and diets but many buffets still give you only one utensil to load up your plates from all the dishes. I have good friends with deadly peanut allergies so I am mortified to see everyone load up their plates with peanuts and then dig into the bok choy with the same scoop. Similarly, when I go to restaurants with Muslim friends in Taiwan, I have tried to explain that this person doesn’t eat pork. Many times, the dish will still have pork and when I tell the owner, they will say “oh our restaurant is very clean and the pork is very good quality! Don’t worry, the extra pork is on the house!”.
 
台湾（地区）人通常对过敏和饮食很在意，但许多自助餐仍然只提供一种餐具来取用所有菜肴。我有一些对花生过敏非常严重的朋友，所以当我看到人们用同一个勺子先盛花生，再挖小白菜时，我感到非常惊恐。同样，当我和穆斯林朋友去台湾（地区）餐馆时，我试图解释这个人不吃猪肉。很多时候，菜里仍然有猪肉，当我告诉老板时，他们会说“哦，我们的餐馆非常干净，猪肉质量很好！别担心，额外的猪肉免费！”
 
No matter how ridiculous or non-scientific your chosen diet is, Americans will generally respect it and will not push you to eat what you don’t want to eat. Especially on the West Coast. Especially in Northern California. You could be raw vegan, paleo, Atkins, keto, pescatarian, poultritarian, Halal, Kosher, Hindu, Jain, Mahayana Buddhist, Seventh Day Adventist, fasting-for-Ramadan/Yom Kippur, caffeine-free, a teetotaler, intermittent fasting, high-carb, low-carb, no-carb, gluten-free, allergic-to-everything or “I only eat hunted meat” and people will generally let you be.
 
不管你遵循的饮食多么不合常理或缺乏科学依据，美国人通常都会予以尊重，不会强迫你吃你不愿意吃的食物。特别是在西海岸，尤其是北加州，更是如此。无论你是纯素生食者、古法饮食者、阿特金斯饮食者、生酮饮食者、鱼类素食者、家禽素食者、清真饮食者、犹太洁食者、印度教饮食者、耆那教饮食者、大乘佛教饮食者、安息日会饮食者、斋月或赎罪日禁食者、无咖啡因饮食者、戒酒者、间歇性禁食者、高碳水化合物饮食者、低碳水化合物饮食者、无碳水化合物饮食者、无麸质饮食者、对所有食物都过敏的人，或者“我只吃自己狩猎的肉”，人们一般都会尊重你的选择。
 
Yes some Americans will make annoying or ignorant comments, but it is rare to pressure someone to eat something they don’t want to. In places such as Portland or San Francisco, they may even go out of their way to cook dishes that are appropriate for you. I grew up as a Buddhist vegetarian and was active in the Boy Scouts in Oregon. I went to many parts of rural Oregon where vegetarianism was almost unheard of.
 
确实，有些美国人可能会说一些烦人或者无知的话，但很少会强迫别人吃他们不愿意吃的食物。在波特兰或旧金山这样的地方，人们甚至可能会特地为你准备合适的菜肴。我从小在俄勒冈州长大，是一个佛教徒素食者，并且积极参与当地的童子军活动。我曾去过俄勒冈州的许多乡村地区，那里几乎没人听说过素食主义。
 
People were not exactly friendly or accommodating about it but they did not care if I chose to just eat the buns with tomato and lettuce. More often, they would just laugh and offer me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Yes, I understand that in other cultures it would be appalling to let a guest eat only plain bread for dinner while everyone else is eating a juicy steak or fava bean soup but I personally prefer the ‘culinary autonomy’ in the US. I would rather eat PB&Js every night for dinner for a week than die.
 
当地人对我吃素的选择算不上特别热情或者支持，但他们也不会因为我只吃番茄和生菜的小圆面包而介意。通常，他们只是笑着，然后会给我一个花生酱和果冻的三明治。我理解，在其他文化中，如果客人只能吃白面包，而其他人都在享用多汁的牛排或蚕豆汤，这可能看起来不太合适。但我个人更倾向于在美国享有的这种“饮食自主”。对我来说，宁愿连续一周每晚都吃花生酱和果冻三明治，也不愿意冒险去吃可能让我过敏的食物。
 
I do not expect people to accommodate or cook special meals for guests - I really don’t mind just eating bread or two bananas - but I really do appreciate the fact that Americans just let you be at the dinner table. Another benefit of this is that if you are not hungry, you can just nibble a few things and people will not be offended. In fact, it seems Americans will secretly think “Awesome! That’s some more leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch.”
 
我并不期待人们为了迎合客人而特别准备或烹饪食物——我自己吃面包或者两根香蕉也完全没问题——但我确实非常欣赏美国人在餐桌上给予的自由。另一个好处是，如果你不太饿，你完全可以只吃一点点，别人也不会介意。实际上，美国人可能心里还会暗自高兴：“太棒了！这样明天午餐就有更多剩菜可以吃了。”
 
David Barber
What is your favorite thing about the US culture?
Friendliness.
It’s not real, but it’s real enough. People will generally help you out if you ask. They’ll actually go quite out of their way to help with (small) things.
 
你最喜欢美国文化的哪一点？
友好。
虽然这种友好可能不是完全真诚的，但它足够真实。如果你请求，人们通常会帮助你。事实上，他们会不厌其烦地帮你处理（小）事情。
 
Beth Sandomierski
What is it about American culture that you find the most fascinating?
When a person chooses to use their phone to record something bad happening instead of calling for help or actually putting their phone down and helping the person, I see the American culture in moral decline.
Don’t get me wrong, there are many people who will help others, and I must focus on that or I will get depressed.
 
美国文化中，你觉得最引人入胜的是什么？
当有人宁愿用手机拍摄正在发生的不幸事件，而不是打电话求助或者直接放下手机去援助当事人时，我看到了美国文化中道德的滑坡。
请不要误解，还是有很多人愿意伸出援手的，我必须关注这些积极面，否则我会感到沮丧。