With today’s telecommunication and transportation
advancements, it has allowed for immense international integration which has shaped
cosmopolitan cities and cultivated cosmopolites. As we learn to be proficient citizens
of the increasingly globalized world, it is inevitable that there will be frictions
in the process of such substantial intercultural interaction in our everyday
lives.
In a bustling cosmopolitan city like Singapore, we encounter
a vast diversity of people with different cultures and nationalities daily. Intercultural
interaction takes place everywhere and one such brief yet important communication
between a local and a tourist for instance, is through the provision of services.
Intercultural situation:
Sometime last year, while my family and I were having our
Sunday mornings’ breakfast in MacDonald, we witnessed a pair of Caucasians youths
playing the fool. The poor cashier was a petite Chinese woman in her sixties.
When being asked for their orders, the youths decided to joke around with the cashier
by ordering two hundred sets of happy meals and later went into hysterics.
Knowing that the youths were not serious, the cashier then asked for their
orders again patiently but her attempts were futile as the youths continued teasing
the cashier either with ridiculous orders or her incorrect pronunciations such
as pronouncing French fries as “friend fry”. Both my Dad and I (I believe many
others present too) were angered by the youths’ behaviour and as we were about
to intervene, the manager appeared and took control of the situation.
Evaluation:
Both my Dad and I were annoyed at the behaviour of the youths
as we thought it was very disrespectful and insensitive of them to mock and
tease an elderly of her pronunciations and at her profession. Being Asian, we
are rather conservative and are not receptive of teasing, especially towards an
elderly in which it is greatly emphasized in Asian’s culture to show utmost
respect to elderlies. Therefore, to us, the youths were simply just insolent
and we cannot condone the youths’ behaviour which we believed to be bad-mannered
and offensive.
On the other hand, the Caucasian youths might not mean to be
disrespectful. There were more liberal and might have thought of their
behaviour as harmless teasing and that they were just having fun.
Through this experience, I learnt that understanding intercultural
behaviour and norms are essential before visiting and interacting with people
of a different cultural background as you may unintentionally offend or
disrespect the other’s customs. The ability to empathize and the willingness to
learn and be receptive to the culture of others will allow you to establish an effective
intercultural relationship and be a proficient citizen of a globalized world.
Hi Macadia!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this story of yours, I have to say that I feel as anguished as you did for their actions - playing a fool and being disrespectful to the elders.
It seems to me that they did not take into the culture of our country, especially that of an Asian perspective, and that is to know when to have fun, when to play and be respectful to our elderly. I reckon that to them, age is not of a factor in which they use as an indicator to show their respect to. Some of them even address their parents by their first names - something that if we Asians do it, we will be scolded I'm sure! Furthermore, given their age, I feel that they haven't matured and grown up to know how to be considerate to others' feelings.
I believe, however, such insolence and ignorance will quell over time and with age. Next time if you ever see that group of Caucasians, I believe that they will act with prudence and think before they act or speak anything. :)