I want to quote a little from the textbook I am supposed to use for my American culture class:

“The average American is also accused of being ‘rough around the edges’—that is, of lacking sophistication in manners and understanding of things cultural. He tries hard to polish those edges through education and travel. But no matter how much he learns and sees, his interests are less with the past than with the present and future, less with the decorative than with the fictional. He may be bored by medieval art but fascinated by modern engineering. Foreigners will find him always ready to compare cultures, though he may conclude that American methods are more efficient and therefore better. In expressing his views, he may be blunt to the point of rudeness. He admires efficiency and financial success. Eager to get as much as possible for his time and money, he is sometimes impatient, tense, and demanding. Often, he is in a hurry and unable to relax. His intensely competitive outlook is probably his greatest fault. But one must give him credit for his virtues: he is friendly, spontaneous, adaptable, efficient, energetic, and kindhearted. All things considered, he is a likeable guy.”

I am not editing this at all either! How am I supposed to teach with this material? How did China end up with this book? Anyway, I have tossed the textbook for all of my classes. The books are all truly horrible, but yet sometimes I read them for my own amusement.