What not to give

• items that symbolize the severing of a relationship such as scissors, knives, or letter openers;

• items in sets of four, a set is considered to be five, unlike the Western custom of a set of four, six, or eight;

• items totaling an even number, such as four flower stems (the number four symbolizes death); items totaling nine (the number symbolizes suffering);

• flowers are generally used at times of illness, death, or courting only;

• white and yellow chrysanthemums are for funerals.

If you have got as far as being invited to someone's home, then I do not need to say that you MUST take off your shoes at the door. Your hosts will offer you a pair of slippers to wear. Slippers should always be changed on the way in to the toilet, and definitely on the way out.

House guests

The Japanese do not entertain nor invite guests to stay overnight in their homes as is done in the West. If you are fortunate enough to have a home-stay visit, you should understand that your Japanese hosts have probably gone very much out of their way to ensure your comfort and enjoyment. Japanese homes are not large and house guests are not left on their own. Typically, there will always be someone with you, all your meals will be cooked and served to you, and you will be given the best sleeping arrangements that will inconvenience the rest of the family. The Japanese family will treat you like royalty while you are guests in their home.

Toasting

It is quite common for the Japanese to toast, usually with beer or sake. If you do not drink alcoholic beverages, it is quite acceptable to toast with orange juice or even green tea. The important point is that you share in a group celebration.

Smoking

Typically, Japanese businessmen entertain during the evening hours by drinking, eating, and smoking. It is not unusual to smoke and eat at the same time. In more formal situations, smoking might be refrained at the beginning of an event. At any rate you should not be openly alarmed with the degree of smoking. Cigar smoking is uncommon.

Being on time

As a general rule, the Japanese are always on time. If an event is to begin at 09.00, then it is best to arrive a few minutes earlier to get yourself organized and be prepared to begin right at 09.00 (not 09.05).

Table seating

The guests face the door or entrance while the hosts face the guests. The highest ranking guest and host face each other at the centre of the table. As a guest, you should wait to be seated by your host.

Guests are usually served Japanese green tea to begin with. Milk and sugar are not served with Japanese tea. Again, you should wait before taking the first sip until the host has invited you to drink by saying, "Dozo".

Cars

The most important person enters the car first and sits right behind the driver in the back seat. He or she is the last person to exit the car. Next, the second and third passengers sit respectively with the least important person sitting in the front seat next to the driver.

GERMAN STEREOTYPES

Real Germans want everything at least 99,999999 %. When they purchase any product it should be 100 % at a 1 Euro price. Maximum quality and minimum price.

Many real German men love their cars more than their children. While children usually don't mind

their parents, the car never fails to obey the commands of its driver.

Real Germans are in love with their jobs. A German without a recognized profession is a nobody.

There is a rumor that Germans have no sense of humour. This is absolutely false. They do have a sense of humor, in fact there is even a non-translatable word for their sense of humor, "Schadensfreude". There are two words stuck in this word. The first one is "Schadens" which means "misfortune", "damage", "injury". The other word is "Freude" which means "joy", "happiness". In other words, it literally means "joy for another's misfortune", which is why Mr. Bean is more popular in Germany than in Britain. Germans do not feel any sympathy for Mr. Bean. They are not laughing with him; they are laughing at him.

Real Germans are cleanliness fanatics. Usually they can only relax and stop worrying when they use their toilet at home, because then they are absolutely 100% sure that it was cleaned properly, because they did this themselves, after the cleaning lady cleaned it first. The chemical industry profits from this obsession, because the Germans are European leaders in the number of cleaning agents, powders and soaps that are purchased annually.

Real Germans believe in the soundness of the education system. The fact that they rank No. 25 in the list of developed countries is simply considered as irrelevant, although they are doing what they can to prove that this statistic is based on poor testing results not from real German children, but from immigrants from other countries.

Real Germans love clubs. Clubs in Germany even have a special financial tax-free status. There are clubs for everything from bowling to knitting, singing and rowing, for animal lovers of

all kinds, even clubs for people who have been abducted by aliens.

RUSSIAN STEREOTYPES

Russians are open-hearted, generous, good-wishers, friendly, inventive and family-oriented. They are very sympathetic. Most of them will always give money to the beggars. Their hearts bleed for others as they try to put themselves in the other person's shoes.

Another national feature of Russians is optimism, and belief in a happy future. Russians say that hope dies last even if the situation is the pits. Hope is valued because it gives a meaning to the life. They believe that they'll overcome all the difficulties.

Humor always helps them. Russians try to be in a good mood, that helps them survive. What do they laugh at? Politics, financial problems, fashion, famous people, but most of all — ourselves!

Attitude to family

Parents play a very important role in the life of their children. They take care of their children for all their lives. They support them when they are in trouble, help them to follow the right way in life, to choose their future profession, and even sometimes mothers help their daughters to find husbands. Children usually don't like this excessive care, but when they grow up and become parents themselves, they behave the same way.

When children become independent, they begin to take care of their parents until they are dead. Old people tend to live with their children, as it is difficult to live alone, and there is no place where they'll be treated better than in their own family. This is considered to be children's duty to help their parents as they helped them before.

Russians put family in the first place, above the work and career. Parents make great contribution to their children's destiny. They consider it their responsibility to guide their kids. Parents pay for their education, and later on help them get a job. Usually children live with their parents until they marry, and have an opportunity to pay the rent for their own apartment. That doesn't mean, that young people in Russia are not self-reliant or independent. At the age of 15-18 the majority of young boys and girls try to find a job. They earn some money for entertainment, or books for their studying. In fact, children greatly appreciate their parents' help and care. Most of my friends admitted, that they started working at an early age in order not to bother their parents, asking for money all the time. Thus they try to contribute to the family budget.

Marriage relationship in Russia is in many ways more important than anything else. Although the number of divorces has increased greatly, the attitude to divorces is still very critical and negative. For many families, divorce is a real tragedy, a kind of black spot on their reputation.

It is highly valued to have close relations between the members of the family. It is very important to have moral support at home. Russians admire their mothers, respect their fathers, and are close friends with their brothers and sisters. They are always ready to help each other, even if their own life is very hard.

Russians like holidays very much! It's related to the value of family relations and traditions. Each holiday is a time for a family reunion. Family members usually gather at the house or an apartment of an older relative. They have a festive dinner, share news, sing folk songs, and dance.

It is very important to have a lot of relatives and friends, because it will be easier for you to get a job as an employer in our country would rather hire his relative or friend than a stranger.

Formality

Russia is in many ways more formal than other countries. People in working situations can't call each other by their first names.

Russians speak more formally (more politely) with people who are older.

Relations between a student and a teacher, a boss and an employee are rather formal. For example, in Russia students usually stand up when a teacher comes into the classroom. This behavior reflects the importance to show respect to a person who is older and more experienced.

The way people dress is often formal. In many schools we have a special uniform which children have to wear.

Russian women prefer a classical style, they wear dresses, jackets and court shoes.

Education

Education was, is and will be one of the greatest values in Russia, and I think it is of high quality in Russia. Russians respect educated people, and that is why almost all people try to graduate from a university, college, and find a good job.

"It is never late to study", they say. Self-education is very popular.