Intercultural communication is the communication between people from different culture and such interactions are becoming more common in Singapore as we are progressing to be part of the global village. Many foreigners are coming to either work, study or live in Singapore. Among them, Japanese makes up a considerable proportion too.
Some time around the late August, I, together with my friends went to a Japanese Summer Festival held in a Japanese Primary school in Singapore. Although the festival was mainly for Japanese in Singapore to get together (and it even rained beforehand), many locals turned up too. That may be because Japanese culture is interesting to locals due to the popular media (like anime and JPOP). My friends and I were also interested in their culture but our understanding of it is very little and limited to the portrayer by the popular media.
When we were buying food and souvenir, we felt that most of the Japanese that served us was very polite. They received payments and give out changes with both hand, greeted their customers. We have known that politeness is highly emphasized in their culture and so we were not surprised. However, I realized that most locals (including us) did not really follow their cultural etiquettes and most of us did not receive changes with both hands. Looking back, I think that receiving something with both hands is a kind of politeness that is universal across culture but maybe Singaporeans do not always do that. I feel that the locals are not purposely being rude but are just not very concerned with etiquettes.
In addition, I was mildly surprised when I was given a plastic bag (to put my shoes) just when I was about to enter the hall. This is because we have to take off our shoes in the school hall. Later, I found out that Japanese usually do not wear their outdoor footwear into school halls and houses for hygiene purpose.
All in all, the trip to the Summer Festival was fun as we tried their food and watched their traditional art performance that was something different from us. Together with these, I also, get know more about their cultural etiquettes that are also different to ours. Although our cultures are different, with understanding of each others culture, misunderstanding and mistrust can be avoided.
Some time around the late August, I, together with my friends went to a Japanese Summer Festival held in a Japanese Primary school in Singapore. Although the festival was mainly for Japanese in Singapore to get together (and it even rained beforehand), many locals turned up too. That may be because Japanese culture is interesting to locals due to the popular media (like anime and JPOP). My friends and I were also interested in their culture but our understanding of it is very little and limited to the portrayer by the popular media.
When we were buying food and souvenir, we felt that most of the Japanese that served us was very polite. They received payments and give out changes with both hand, greeted their customers. We have known that politeness is highly emphasized in their culture and so we were not surprised. However, I realized that most locals (including us) did not really follow their cultural etiquettes and most of us did not receive changes with both hands. Looking back, I think that receiving something with both hands is a kind of politeness that is universal across culture but maybe Singaporeans do not always do that. I feel that the locals are not purposely being rude but are just not very concerned with etiquettes.
In addition, I was mildly surprised when I was given a plastic bag (to put my shoes) just when I was about to enter the hall. This is because we have to take off our shoes in the school hall. Later, I found out that Japanese usually do not wear their outdoor footwear into school halls and houses for hygiene purpose.
All in all, the trip to the Summer Festival was fun as we tried their food and watched their traditional art performance that was something different from us. Together with these, I also, get know more about their cultural etiquettes that are also different to ours. Although our cultures are different, with understanding of each others culture, misunderstanding and mistrust can be avoided.
1 comment:
I would think that one principle to improve intercultural communication is to educate oneself. It is important to learn about the other culture(s) before the actual visit to a country. Fortunately, there are many sources readily available to us today to learn more about the different cultures. As we can see, being sensitive to inter cultural differences is a need for many people.
In a world that is constantly shrinking, coming to know and appreciate the cultural differences between us is paramount so as to ensure peace and harmony. A good thing to do before visiting another country is to get to know their cultural norms and their dos and don’ts through internet or other ways so as to ensure a higher chance of having a good experience there.
I have heard the same about Japanese people. They are very particular about hygiene. You must have enjoyed yourself down there. I have heard about a few experiences through this blog schedule this time. I have learnt a lot through this blogs.
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