C. Circle the two pieces of advice from the list above that yоu think аге the most important for avoiding culture shock.

1) Avoid quick judgments; try to understand people in another culture from their own point of view.

8) Show respect, sincerity, interest, acceptance, and concern for things that аге important to other people.

D. Write some pieces of advice that yоu think аге the most important for foreigners who visit your country.

1) Do not judge by first impression, try to understand the depth of «Russian Soul».

2) Try to get rid from stereotypes like: bears, vodka and balalaika by our own experience.

3) Try to get a full experience by going not only to several big cities but certainly to some small villages for at least a couple of days.

E. Write differences between your own culture and another onе.

Russian and American Culture.

Russian people compared to American ones are not so open and willing to help from the first point of view. For example in US people usually ask «Hi, How are you?» even if they see you for the first time. They smile and show interest in you, but it really means nothing but good manners. Nobody really cares. In Russia people do not smile so much and certainly do not ask «How are you?» so often. And the first impression can be that we are really rude and we do not care at all. But the truth is somewhere in the middle – we are not so communicative with strangers that’s for sure, but if you get closer you see that we are just being careful and that’s it. Simply saying we are «soft and tasty» inside, but «bitter and hard» from outside.

Another thing is concerning private space - American people normal distance of communication is 1-1.5 m, while in Russia such distance can be as a sign of disrespect. During communication Russians often try to cut the distance as much as possible, sometimes they even try to eliminate it at all.

One more thing I would like to tell you about is Relations between a state and a citizen. Russians more willingly make concessions and compromise their principles. However, an average American is more suspicious towards his state and he does not worship the authority just because it is the authority.