I went to Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand together with my church youth group last December. We were led by our missionary to visit a few Christian gatherings in various village houses. Usually we would be treated to a meal prepared by the family after which we would be seated in a circle for songs and sharing.
There was an embarrassing situation when we were at one of the houses. While we were in a circle and sharing, one of my friends stood up and cut across the circle in an attempt to visit the toilet. My friends and I did not think much of it because the house was very packed and everyone was sitting near to the wall which gave little space to walk. However, our missionary was very embarrassed and apologized immediately. It was later I found out that in the Thai culture it was very rude to cut across the circle in a gathering like this. The situation was made worse because most of the Thai present were the elderly and they were very traditional and strict regarding this. I apologised immediately to our missionary for our rudeness and lack of observation that placed her in a difficult position.
I took more effort to be observant about the Thai culture after that incident. Like any Asian culture, there is a great emphasis on being polite. Filial piety and respect for the elders are also of great importance. These cultural norms, which are regarded much lesser by the younger generation like my friends and I, set the stage for the awkward situation above. I guess the fundamentals of effective communication would require a background knowledge of the culture we are engaging. However, since we are not always all-knowing, one fundamental might be good awareness and listening to both verbal and non-verbal cues of the parties involved. That way we might pick up their cultural norms before offending anyone.
1 comment:
Hi Peng Siang, I think you made an important point: to observe. When people talk about communication, we usually refer to communicate verbally. However, in the cases of cross-cultural communication, observation is the first step we should do. Observation helps us understand the different custom, so that we will be able to effectively communicate with people from different cultural background.
Other than observation, we could also do some research of the different culture before visiting a foreign country. Relevant books and internet resources are useful. If possible, it would be very helpful if we can to someone from the country we are going to visit.
Furthermore, I think you made a right move to apologize immediately after you realized the mistake had been made.
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