Just last January, a week before all the madness in school started, my friends and I spent four days in Bali. As we made that decision a few days before the trip, we went there unprepared, with only the impression that Bali is a surfer's paradise. Honestly. when we arrived, we were all quite nervous about the surrounding and the people around us. However, we found ourselves getting used to the environment pretty quickly.
One of my friends commented that, as Singaporeans, we seemed to be able to get use to a foreign environment more quickly as we were exposed to many different cultures since young. Well, I agreed with her opinion to a certain extent. With the exposure to other culture, besides Chinese culture, we were taught to be more aware and tolerant of the differences that other culture had from our own.
Yet, there were still situations when we were unable to do so. I remembered an incident that happened when my family and I went to Beijing. During the whole vacation, my brother was very irritated with some Chinese's perception of personal space. Every now and then, someone will walk into his space and bump into him and looked as though nothing happened. Perhaps due to their highly populated city thus the high density of people everywhere, bumping into people every now and then is a daily affair for them. However, for most Singaporeans, we highly value our personal space and do not appreciate people invading it.
I was glad that even though my brother was highly annoyed by the numerous incidents when the Chinese bumped into him, he did not sound it out to them.
UCS1001 MME Tri2 2023-24 Dynamic Thinkers
2 weeks ago
Hi there!
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you that exposure to different cultures and people since young helps in ensuring easier transition at a new enviroment. It also depends on a person's character to be tolerant and open.
As for the scenario you described, I think it is okay if it was not a hard bump or excessive intrusion into my personal space. However, if I felt that the other person is too much, I will glance and make eye contact. Hopefully this non-verbal cue is enough to convey my message. If he/she is still ignorant, I will politely tell him/her that. Perhaps a simple "Excuse me" will suffice.
Like your brother, I will tolerate, but to a certain extent.
p/s: I am not sure if my above reaction is the best way to deal with the situation. Feel free to comment. =)
Cheers,
Steph
Hi Lin Hui, I had a similar experience when I went to Taiwan. At the museum, there was this huge group of Chinese tourists. When they were walking around in the museum, they would not hesitate to push you out of the way with their hand nor would they think twice about elbowing you out of the way. On top of that, they do not even say excuse me or please.
ReplyDeleteI do not understand why their behavior could be as such however I think this is a good example in which people often jump to conclusions about people. In this case, people often describe such behavior as uncivilised. Yet, courtesy and manners are a set of rules. It changes from place to place. Perhaps it is the norm to not say excuse me. In this case, were they impolite or were they merely following their own cultural norms? And should they be faulted on this account of not saying excuse me?
Thanks, Lin Hui, for this post. At the start to read this I expect to learn something interesting about your visit to "surfers' paradise," but soon I learn that what I really am going to hear from you is that Singaporeans get used to a foreign environment quite quickly. What would have helped is if you had elaborated on that idea, maybe using an illustration from your trip.
ReplyDelete