Cross cultural understanding: a handbook to understand others’ cultures

American
: arrogant; assertive; open-minded; 
materialistic; 
ambitious; 
progressive; 
efficient; 
straight-forward; alert; practical; US-centered world 
view; egoistic; anxious; fast food eaters. 
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Arabs
: intelligent; modest; insecure; anxious; 
impulsive; ―billionaires, bombers and belly dancers―, 
men wear beards and are womanizers; have 
subservient and repressed women who wear burka or 
headscarf; ―play & pray‖ attitude; love celebrations 
and ceremonies; tea and shisha are important. 

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Cross Cultural Understanding | 27 
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Argentinians
: disagreeable; megalomaniac; warm 
and friendly people; can be vain & arrogant; beautiful 
women; cultured society; lazy. 
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Australians
: nature lovers; surf all day – drink all 
night; open-minded; free spirited; men are useless 
dads; uncultured; sports lovers; meat eaters. 
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Belgians
: make good beer; poor personal hygiene; 
dishonest in money matters; make bad lovers; distrust 
of authority; tax evaders; eat only french & fries. 
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Brazilians
: impulsive; incestuous; megalomaniac; 
most women are super-models, most men are gay or 
machos; always late; soccer lover; active; inventive 
and constructive people; always trying to outwit 
government and regulations; impossibly favor-
oriented; family- and community-oriented. 
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British (UK)
: lousy food; bad teeth and hygiene; 
rude; thin; smoke cigar or pipe; heavy drinkers; swear 
all day long; artistic; deep thinkers; intelligent and 
articulate; boastful; anti-American; ride bikes. 
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Chinese
: stingy and noisy spitters; fast-learners; 
open-minded; ambitious; progressive; efficient; 
materialistic; do kung fu and other material arts; great 
at mathematics; terrible drivers; arrogant; assertive;

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28 | Cross Cultural Understanding 
wear glasses; cheap labor; drink green tea; business-
oriented; money rules the world. 
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French
– good lovers; best cuisine in the world; 
chaotic; irresponsible; introverted; selfish; cultured; 
social ―players‖; do not like to work – prefer to strike; 
always surrender in war; don‘t speak English; rude to 
tourists; anti-American; don‘t use soap; don‘t respect 
religious freedom. 
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Germans
: mechanical; organized; boring; no sense of 
humor; drink beer all day; have never been late for 
anything in their lives, pedophiliac. 
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Greek
: are big and overweight; lazy; can‘t drive; 
disorganized; live the easy life; corrupt; impossible 
planners; cultured, inefficient; have beautiful women, 
as long they are young – men are mainly homosexual 
or sexual predators. 
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Indians
: unconventional; adaptive; open-minded; 
agreeable; manipulative; hardworking; politically 
inactive; studious; intelligent; productive; inoffensive; 
poor personal hygiene; meditation lover, spiritual, 
generally 
poor; 
snake 
charmers; 
legendary 
bureaucrats; huge families. 
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Indonesians
: extroverted; warm and friendly people; 
lazy; religious; family-oriented; supportive; rarely on 

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Cross Cultural Understanding | 29 
time; corrupt; superstitious; slow; inferior; polite; 
lacking discipline; use feeling not logic; do not follow 
rules; hypocritical; tolerant; low profile; unwilling to 
confront or give ‗bad news‘; silent in meetings. 
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Italians
: Gigolos; live with their Mamas; possessive; 
passionate; 
pizza/pasta 
freaks; 
manipulative; 
dishonest; fashion-addicted; Casanovas; mafia or 
gang members. 
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Israelis
: arrogant; religious; strong family relations; 
well-traveled; noisy; rude; ruin things if not satisfied; 
argue over the price of anything; party all night;
fancy and fashionable women. 
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Jamaicans
: lazy; grass-smokers; reggae and rasta 
maniacs; loud; boisterous and aggressive; strong sense 
of self and their culture; innovative musician; live in 
trees; walk barefoot and live generally very primitive; 
all Jamaican men are uncircumcised; all they care are 
weed, beach, women and rum. 
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Japanese
: disciplined; organized; technology-lover; 
extroverted; competent; short; workaholics; 
perverted; raw-fish eaters; suicidal. 
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South Korean 
: ‗kimchi‘ is the only food; open-
minded; 
ambitious; 
progressive; 
efficient; 
materialistic; arrogant; assertive; plastic-surgery 

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30 | Cross Cultural Understanding 
lovers; Jae-ju is the most famous place; serial-drama 
makers. 
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Malaysians
: manipulative; survive by cronyism and 
nepotism; introverted; arrogant; have speed traps 
everywhere; ultra-religious, but sell porn everywhere; 
boring; have great varieties of food; embrace multi-
culturalism; every long-term visitor is expected to 
convert to Islam; have mistresses; women traditional 
but with modern thinking. 
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Mexicans
: heavy tequila drinkers; impulsive; wear 
huge sombreros; religious; family-oriented; great food 
(enchiladas, tortillas, burritos) and cheap cost-of-
living; human traffickers into the US 
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