One common aspect of U.S. culture is timeliness. It is often presumed that to be on time is to be late in U.S. culture. Sports tournaments run a schedule that is down to the exact minute and schools sound bells at the start and end of each class to keep students on time. Even family vacations often have a timed itinerary. Due to the emphasis on timeliness as a common value among Americans, many citizens engage in a rushed manner to stay on time. This means that any hiccup, such as hitting a stop light as it turns red can cause stress about being a few minutes late to work, class, or an appointment.
The timeliness aspect of U.S. culture causes anxiety about being late in many people, including myself. Life happens sometimes making it impossible to be on time for everything in the day, but people are not always accepting of that. Being late for a job interview can easily take someone out of consideration for the job position. This is a huge and possibly life-altering penalty for one mistake that could have been caused by uncontrollable circumstances. The pressure surrounding time in U.S. culture can make it hard for many people to ever truly relax because it seems like they constantly need to make the best use of their time. I think the amount of stress on making the most of your time can lead to people blowing small things out of proportion. If someone were to not be so concerned about how fast they can grab groceries, they would not be rude to the cashier having technical difficulties. If someone was just appreciative of getting their daily coffee and not needing to receive it fast, they would not feel the need to lash out at the baristas working as fast as they could after someone called out, leaving them understaffed.
A person outside of U.S. culture may think Americans who lack patience around time take things out of proportion. They may have a hard time understanding how so much stress can come from the clock. They would probably think a simple text letting someone know you are running late should be acceptable. They may be especially shocked at how the restaurant industry works in the sense that having to wait too long for a meal at a restaurant can cause people to never dine at that restaurant again. To them, it may seem simple that being patient can be better than being stressed about time.
This exercise helped me think about something I do not necessarily like about U.S. culture. Therefore, going abroad will help me notice if this is a part of other cultures or not. Putting this aspect of U.S. culture into writing and thinking about it from the view of someone outside U.S. culture will help me put it into perspective more while I am abroad. I may be able to come back to America with less anxiety about being on time if other cultures are more patient about it. This exercise has helped me think about other commonalities among U.S. culture. As I prepare to leave for my semester abroad, these cultural aspects are on my mind and will help me further realize the unique parts of other cultures.