Intercultural differences
Globalization has allowed for the dissemination of foreign cultures into Singapore. And advancements in technology have made travel easy, comfortable and quite possibly a norm. These factors combined create an environment where cultures inevitably clash and people who are not as well versed in foreign cultures are left clueless as to where they went wrong.
It is not uncommon to hear people compare Singapore to a zoo. In fact,several people that I know who pass through Singapore comment on how lovely and clean she is, as well as the fact that she is akin to a human zoo; where the animals are contented and safe but are so cloistered that they have no idea what "the wild" is like. While Singaporeans may protest that we have had our share of exposure, it can safely be sad that this is more true for the older generation than the present one. In fact, (in my honest opinion) most people from the current generation are too wrapped up in themselves to bother about other cultures and hence carry themselves badly when they are overseas (a fact that the newspapers in Singapore have lamented countless times). Ignorance in this case, is not bliss.
As a national athlete, I have been blessed with many opportunities to travel overseas for competitions and more recently, training camps. Our most recent training camp was to Hungary. We called it our "winter training camp" as it was winter there. The main purpose was to experience a different climate, as well as a totally different culture. The Hungarians produce the best kayakers in the world every year, shoo-ins for the World Championship and Olympic finals and our coach wanted us to learn their pride, hoping that their thirst for victory would rub off on us. But that's not the point of this post. This post wants to highlight the differences in culture that resulted in the Hungarians from that particular paddling club thinking that we were unfriendly and standoffish and us thinking almost the exact same thing about them.
Our first proper introduction to the Hungarians would have to be at a special ceremony in the clubhouse, where the Hungarians who had done well would be commended with presents from the club. Being Singaporeans, we walked into the room and sat ourselves down on the benches they had arranged, too shy to speak to anyone while the Hungarians arranged themselves around us, equally awkward. Accompanied to the fact that most of them only understood Hungarian and we only understood English, one can just imagine how awkwardly silent it was. We automatically assumed that the Hungarians did not really like us (since we heard from our friends back in Singapore that most Europeans do not really like Asians), and assumed the defensive position of "not liking them back".
It was only when one of the Hungarians came to Singapore for training camp that we realized what we did wrong. He could speak fluent English, and related the Hungarian interpretation of the situation then. He said that the Hungarians assumed that we did not want to talk to them because we did not go up to them and shake their hands (for the guys) and kiss their cheeks (for the girls). He said it was customary in Hungary for guys and girls to greet each other that way, unlike the non committal nod and "Hi" that we favor in Singapore. He told us that Hungarians were naturally hospitable people and more than willing to make friends with us, not the unfriendly ones we thought they were. It was somewhat sad to know that we could have been great friends with the Hungarians, instead of them thinking that we were standoffish and rude.
Another difference would have to be the dining etiquette. Most Singaporean parents fail to educate their children in dining etiquette; something widely accepted in Singapore but unbearably disgusting in Hungary. Most of us chew with our mouths closed by default or because we learnt it in school or from stricter parents, but some of us chew our food with our mouths wide open and speak with food in our mouths, showing the contents of our mouths to the people around us and making loud smacking noises. The Hungarians found this disgusting, but were too polite to say anything, only throwing uncomfortable glances our way every once in awhile.
It was our coach who explained the situation to us this time. He told us that eating with our mouths open was completely unacceptable as they were taught as children never to chew with their mouths open, and they could not understand how we could sit there chewing with our mouths blatantly open making noises that one would associate with a pig. While such behavior is common and mostly accepted in Singapore, it is one of the most disgusting things a person could do in Europe.
Perhaps the best idea would be to gather some information about the culture of other countries before going there. It would save one quite a fair bit of confusion and maybe even result in unexpected friendships (:
It is not uncommon to hear people compare Singapore to a zoo. In fact,several people that I know who pass through Singapore comment on how lovely and clean she is, as well as the fact that she is akin to a human zoo; where the animals are contented and safe but are so cloistered that they have no idea what "the wild" is like. While Singaporeans may protest that we have had our share of exposure, it can safely be sad that this is more true for the older generation than the present one. In fact, (in my honest opinion) most people from the current generation are too wrapped up in themselves to bother about other cultures and hence carry themselves badly when they are overseas (a fact that the newspapers in Singapore have lamented countless times). Ignorance in this case, is not bliss.
As a national athlete, I have been blessed with many opportunities to travel overseas for competitions and more recently, training camps. Our most recent training camp was to Hungary. We called it our "winter training camp" as it was winter there. The main purpose was to experience a different climate, as well as a totally different culture. The Hungarians produce the best kayakers in the world every year, shoo-ins for the World Championship and Olympic finals and our coach wanted us to learn their pride, hoping that their thirst for victory would rub off on us. But that's not the point of this post. This post wants to highlight the differences in culture that resulted in the Hungarians from that particular paddling club thinking that we were unfriendly and standoffish and us thinking almost the exact same thing about them.
Our first proper introduction to the Hungarians would have to be at a special ceremony in the clubhouse, where the Hungarians who had done well would be commended with presents from the club. Being Singaporeans, we walked into the room and sat ourselves down on the benches they had arranged, too shy to speak to anyone while the Hungarians arranged themselves around us, equally awkward. Accompanied to the fact that most of them only understood Hungarian and we only understood English, one can just imagine how awkwardly silent it was. We automatically assumed that the Hungarians did not really like us (since we heard from our friends back in Singapore that most Europeans do not really like Asians), and assumed the defensive position of "not liking them back".
It was only when one of the Hungarians came to Singapore for training camp that we realized what we did wrong. He could speak fluent English, and related the Hungarian interpretation of the situation then. He said that the Hungarians assumed that we did not want to talk to them because we did not go up to them and shake their hands (for the guys) and kiss their cheeks (for the girls). He said it was customary in Hungary for guys and girls to greet each other that way, unlike the non committal nod and "Hi" that we favor in Singapore. He told us that Hungarians were naturally hospitable people and more than willing to make friends with us, not the unfriendly ones we thought they were. It was somewhat sad to know that we could have been great friends with the Hungarians, instead of them thinking that we were standoffish and rude.
Another difference would have to be the dining etiquette. Most Singaporean parents fail to educate their children in dining etiquette; something widely accepted in Singapore but unbearably disgusting in Hungary. Most of us chew with our mouths closed by default or because we learnt it in school or from stricter parents, but some of us chew our food with our mouths wide open and speak with food in our mouths, showing the contents of our mouths to the people around us and making loud smacking noises. The Hungarians found this disgusting, but were too polite to say anything, only throwing uncomfortable glances our way every once in awhile.
It was our coach who explained the situation to us this time. He told us that eating with our mouths open was completely unacceptable as they were taught as children never to chew with their mouths open, and they could not understand how we could sit there chewing with our mouths blatantly open making noises that one would associate with a pig. While such behavior is common and mostly accepted in Singapore, it is one of the most disgusting things a person could do in Europe.
Perhaps the best idea would be to gather some information about the culture of other countries before going there. It would save one quite a fair bit of confusion and maybe even result in unexpected friendships (:
posted by Clarence at
6:10 PM
1 Comments
