Intercultural Project

Part I

What strikes foreigners most about the United States is an increasing tempo of change in life. Americans carry on immensely busy social and working lives. Big cities, enormously high skyscrapers, broad and bustling streets make visitors consider Americans to be constantly engrossed in working and be a very diligent nation. Just because of the fussy way of life the US citizens like spending time among friends and enjoy taking up families on vacations.

Americans are most likely to be a future-oriented nation. Because of haste and rapid tempo of life they seem to do everything all of a sudden, without planning and take care of that situation when it arises. It is, however, a superficial impression. Arranging things in advance is of great importance for them. That is why, they prefer planning their vacations in store to falling over oneself to get a room at the height of the summer season. They start looking for a nice spot about four or five months before setting off.

The cities full of noise seem an inappropriate place for spending a holiday. As I noticed travelling to Europe is not very popular among Americans. As a usual, elderly people often visit such European countries as Italy, France, Germany and Spain. A far away and quiet place on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts is in favours of a younger generation. Besides, there are the so-called inherited vacation places. Each generation of the same family goes for a holiday to one and the same place. This is getting on to become a family tradition. In many cases, one and the same house has been rented every summer, for example, during twenty years long. For those holidaymakers a place of vacation has become a second home.

One of such inherited vacation places consider to be the Nantucket Island, situated thirty miles away from the mainland Massachusetts. This is a small part of the USA with its own traditions, way of living and patterns of conduct. It was unusual for me to discover that this small island could have something typical just only for it. It is common to think that the United States is the same. The US population is almost entirely of immigrants throughout the whole country. How could they create different cultural patterns in each part of the USA? These cultural characteristics do not resemble one another. Each state posses its own laws, its own nickname, a flower, a bird and a song. They appear to be particular peoples inside the same country. Every state is unique like every personality according to the American ideas.

A lot of American cultural traditions are related to the Indian culture whose traces do not seem to be very noticeable. First of all, these are the names of towns and villages which spelling and pronunciation were refined by the English settlers. So, the Nantucket Island in the language of the Indians means "the Land far out to See", concentrated in a single word that sounded like and was subsequently spelled Nantucket.

Some familiars call Nantucket "the Grey Lady" because the houses are built of grey wood. From the first sight, those plain, weathered grey-shingle two-and-a-half-story homes do not advantage much to the tourist benefit. Moreover, staying in a restored 18th-19th - century house, like all houses on the island, has aspects visitors may not anticipate. For example, a low rate quoted can mean a shared rather than a private bathroom that could be on a different floor. Or it is possible to rent an apartment in which the furniture dated from the 1880s. In spite of the fact that this island belongs to the richest places in the United States, its accommodations do not always correspond to the prices the guests pay for.

Absence of high-rise hotels can be explained by the fact that the citizens of the island try to preserve the tradition of building houses. Another reason for owner-run or at least overseen apartments and suits is to give a sense of not being a guest in someone's house. In my opinion, that is a characteristic feature of Nantucket. Tourists are welcome here. In many cases, guests are not treated like guests. They are more treated like a part of the family. Visitors should feel as if they were at home. The accommodation is supposed to support this feeling. It is surely difficult for foreigners to understand such tradition. As far as the Americans concerned, they feel comfortably and enjoy their time staying in an over-run room.

Living on an island an age before mass communication brought its own disadvantages. Physical isolation from the mainstream of colonial life narrowed options as well as points of view. All inventions appeared here later than on the mainland. In its turn, changes were not always welcome on Nantucket. For example, automobiles were first rejected, and then permitted by narrow margin of popular vote. Even nowadays, automobiles from the mainland would probably be forbidden if it were possible to do so. The citizens are used to have small cars in order to avoid much noise. Today, being quiet belong to the one of the islander's rules.

It was unusual for me to find out that there are places where people appreciate a quiet way of life and take care of the surrounding peace. It is not accepted to make much noise outside until nine o'clock in the morning, for example, to moan a loan or to listen to the radio in the garden. An inside noise is not welcome either. Talking loud and making loud movements inside the house do not consider as appropriate among the islanders. A TV set either fails in many houses of the islanders or is not used much. Hotels and inns often do not provide apartments with television. Lack for such mass media is likely to be deliberate. It distracts guests from the life troubles and makes them pay their attention to nature and to the world surrounding them.

In my view, such norms of conduct can be explained by the fact that the Nantucket citizens try to guard their peaceful life from the noisy one the tourists cause. On the other hand, they might be eager to preserve their identity and the uniqueness of the island. Therefore, there are secret places on the island: the secret beach and secret gardens. Only the inborn citizens know their location.

Despite its small number of residents the citizens of Nantucket managed to create and develop their own culture. A century ago the Nantucket Island dominated the world's whaling business. That is why, most its legends, fests and traditions are connected with fishing and whale hunting. On the years-long voyages, whaling men created their own art too, such as wood sculptures, boxes inlaid with whale ivory, pictures incised as scrimshaw in whale teeth.

What impressed me most on this island is giving names to houses, dwellings and