Rim Karame
Maryah Kulaylat
April 18, 2018
Comparing Lebanon and the United States
We chose to compare Lebanon and the United states because we’ve
been to both countries. It’s interesting to compare these two countries because
the United States is one of the most advanced first world countries whereas Lebanon
is still considered a third world country.
Languages
In the United States of America, the mother language is English
and most people only speak this language since it’s the most dominant language
in the world nowadays so it's not necessary for Americans to speak other languages. Which is interesting compared to Lebanon where there are three spoken
languages: Arabic, English and French. That is because Lebanon is an Arab
country therefore Arabic is the mother language spoken by all categories of
people. Also, Lebanon was dominated by France for a long period of time so the French language spread throughout Lebanon. English was mainly brought to Lebanese
people by the educational systems (schools, universities…).
Food
In the United States obesity has hit an all time high due to their cuisine which consists of fast food such as hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, nuggets, etc. This obesity is due to the fact that they consume this food on a daily basis, especially at well-know fast food branches such as McDonalds, Wendy’s, Burger King etc. For snacks they mainly eat unhealthy chips and drink sodas. As for dessert, Americans love donuts and apple pies.
On the other hand, Lebanese cuisine mainly consists of home cooked
traditional dishes such as tabbouleh, hummus, shishbarak, loubieh, mjaddra,
moghrabieh, waraa enab, fatteh and falafel. For snacks, Lebanese mainly eat
muajanat like lahme baajin and ftayer and drink healthier beverages like yogurt
(laban ayran) and fruit juices. Lebanese cuisine is famous for it’s famous
delicious deserts served during holidays, home visits and other occasions such
as knafeh, baklava, qtayef etc.
However of course, Lebanese do indulge in the same foods as
Americans just not as frequently and in more limited quantities. In the United States
you can find plenty of Lebanese restaurants which are loved by Americans.
Geography and Climate
Since the United States is a huge country the climate
depends on what area you’re living in. The main climates include Southwest,
Southeast, Northeast, Midwest, Mid/South Pacific, and Northwest Pacific. Based
on which one of these areas you’re in the weather can vary a lot. For example,
in the Southwest region ranging from Arizona to Louisiana it’s the hottest
region in the US. On the other hand, in the northern regions we find extremely
cold weather. This is completely in contrast with Lebanon where there is only
one main type of climate which is the Mediterranean climate and it consists of
summers that are hot but not too hot and wet but relatively mild winters. This
is of course due to the very small size of the country. So we see how the
difference in size of these countries (big and small) can affect the climate.
Education
Education in the United States compared to that of Lebanon has differences and similarities. In the United States the most common type of school is public schooling which is free of charge. Most kids in the US attend public schools which are very organized and reliable. Another, less common, type of school is private schooling where tuition needs to be paid. Parents usually do not put their kids in private schools unless they are very wealthy and/or for religious purposes.
On the contrary, Lebanon's education systems are different; although public schools are free and private schools have tuition similar to the US, the majority place their children in private schools because public schools are known to be "chaotic" and in most cases only those who do not have enough to pay for a private school will choose to put their kids in a public school.
Lebanon and the United States have some similarities but are different in many many ways. This fact might hinder intercultural communication; we need to be aware that every country has different habits, traditions, and ways of living, and even though they may be different than what we're used to, having mutual respect for one another will come a long way in improving intercultural communication and in life in general. What we can do now is keep an open mind and learn as much as we can about various cultures so we can be more educated and have a better chance of advancing intercultural communication that may be weak due to the plethora of differences between countries.
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