A Day in The Life of An Average American

1. A Day in The Life of An Average American From home to work and back

2. 7 a.m. – GET UP!! • Morning News • Wake up the kids! • Shower • Get kids ready for school • Read News Paper or Watch Morning News

3. Eat Breakfast • Eggs and pancakes • Cereal • Doughnuts • COFFEE!! • Orange Juice • Do not drink tea

4. 8 a.m. Family Splits Up for the Day

5. 8 a.m. Dad Drives to Work • Leaves for work, gets stuck in traffic • Often takes 20-60 minutes to get to work, 10-40 kilometers • In most cities, everyone uses cars. Only in very big cities do many people use buses or trains

6. 8 a.m. Dad Drives to Work • Starbucks • Morning Radio

7. 8 a.m. Mom and Kids • Mom takes kids to school, or kids ride school bus • Many high schoolers drive to school

8. 9 a.m. Dad arrives to Work • Dad arrives to work and makes his schedule for the day, often drinks more coffee

9. 9 a.m. Mom Cares for Home • Picture of mom cleaning the house, making beds • Mom takes care of the house. She cleans and organizes, makes the beds, etc. • Many mothers are educated, but choose to be housewives

10. 9 a.m. Kids Start Class for the Day • Young children often have play time or are read stories in the morning • Older kids start their first classes immediately.

11. 10 a.m. Dad has many Meetings • American office work often involves many meetings throughout the day to plan and make decisions.

12. 10 a.m. Mom Doing Laundry • Mom has to do laundry for whole family! • Americans use both clothes washers and dryers

13. 11:30 am: Dad Doing Work, Taking Calls • Office work also involves communicating with many people: coordinating efforts of colleagues, making sure customers are happy, and finding new customers

14. 11:30 a.m. Mom Works Out • Many moms will exercise • Lots of Americans have home gyms (treadmills, weight training, etc.) • Private gyms are everywhere

15. 11:30 a.m. Kids still at School • High schoolers eat in the afternoon • Fries, Coca-Cola, Pizza, snacks, donuts, daily entrees • Little kids usually eat lunch before noon • More healthy food, many paid school lunch programs

16. 1 p.m. Dad Eats Later • Working Americans often don’t eat until the afternoon • Many will eat at their desk, but also go to business lunches

17. 1 p.m. Mom Runs Errands • Car wash • Mail out bill payments • Dry cleaning

18. 1 p.m. Kids at School • Little kids have recess • High schoolers continue with classes

19. 2 p.m. Dad Continues with Work • Dad is still plugging away in the office: taking calls, answering emails, talking to colleagues

20. 2 p.m. Mom Schedules Day • Kids have many activities, such as sports, music lessons, tutoring, birthday parties, going to library, studying, doctor appointments • Mom will schedule these things for the next day

21. 2 p.m. School Assemblies • Little kids sometimes have guest speakers • High schoolers have pep rallies for football or basketball team

22. 3:30 p.m. Dad Gets Assignment • My brother, dad, and brother-in-law (my sister’s husband) all travel frequently for work

23. 3:30 p.m. Mom Picks Up Kids • School day ends around 3:30 p.m. in most of the U.S. • Mom will pick kids up from school, or they will take the school bus

24. 4 p.m. Dad Has More Meetings • Exhausting, isn’t it?

25. 4 p.m. Mom Takes Kids to Activities • Dentist or Doctor Appointment

26. 5 p.m. Dad Deals with Problem • Customer did not receive shipment, Dad stops other work and contacts FedEx, offers customer incentive to keep them happy

27. 5 p.m. Mom Takes Kids to Activities • Highschooler stays at school for music lessons • Mom takes boy to baseball practice

28. 6 p.m. Dad Finally Leaves Work • Gets stuck in afternoon gridlock traffic

29. 6 p.m. Mom Grocery Shops • Mom will go to grocery store 2-3 times a week. Buys many processed foods (boxed or packaged), and some fresh foods • We do not have road or sidewalk food stands

30. 6:15 p.m. Dad Still Stuck in Traffic • AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGHHHHHHH!!!!!!

31. 6:30 p.m. Mom Starts Dinner • Mom puts away groceries, starts to make dinner • Americans also eat at restaurants A LOT. (Recent statistics show Americans spend more on restaurant food than healthcare.) • Many restaurants available (Mexican, Chinese, Steakhouse, Italian, Fast Food, Pizza, and many others)

32. 6:30 p.m. Kids Play With Friends • Neighborhood kids often play together, riding bikes, sports, video games, watch T.V.

33. 7:15 p.m. Dad Gets Home • Relax, or do chores like mow the lawn, fix things in house, spend time with kids or wife, or do more office work

34. 7:30 p.m. Family Comes Back Together Mom and Dad tell each other about their day Kids come home from playing, get ready for dinner

35. 7:45 p.m. Family Eats Dinner • Family will eat dinner together, at home or at a restaurant

36. After 8 p.m. • Kids will do homework or watch T.V. • Mom and Dad watch T.V. or surf the internet

37. Bedtime! • Kids and Mom will often go to bed earlier than Dad, around 9:30 p.m. or 10 p.m. • Dad might go to bed between 10 p.m. and midnight

38. This is only average! • People live many, many different lifestyles • Different jobs require different activities • Americans are largely under slept, and don’t take naps during the day • Many do more work after dinner, and on weekends and holidays • Some parents make kids spend lots of time on school work, others spend very little time. • Some Americans telecommute for work: work from home, video conferencing

39. Differences with Chinese • Most people have cars, even teenagers • Very few Americans go home during the day • Americans often don’t take lunch breaks at the same time • Everyone I know has a laptop! We use email and use the internet A LOT for information and entertainment. • Against the law to smoke almost anywhere except in car, home, and outside.

40. Questions? • My email address: sean.cauffiel@gmail.com • My QQ: 752365754