Hi,
Differences in Manners, what a fun thing to talk about. As you all know I live in Korea and and I am an American. So, my stories so far have focused on that. But I have other examples of course as I am sure you all do, or to say it right, as ya'll do.
So, I grew up in the south eastern part of America. Where I came from people are expected to be nice to each other. People will wave to you as you pass them in your car. People will even talk to you in the store or somewhere without even knowing you. You could go into Walmart and not even get far before you start having some conversation with a total stranger.
So, when my wife and I moved to Idaho which is in the north western part of America, I acted the way that I was used to. I would wave to people and smile and try to say hello and things like that. And guess what, I was, for the most part looked at like I was crazy or something. So, I kind of stopped doing it, and then I went to visit my hometown for the summer with my wife and I did not wave at people and I did not talk to people and people looked at me like I was so rude.
So, even though it is the same country people behave differently and have different ideas of acceptable behavior. Like how I used the word crazy twice already. In America it is not that big of a deal to say that, but in Korea saying something is crazy or someone is crazy is pretty serious and mildly offensive. People get upset when I say crazy and am not being literal. They do not understand.
Another thing that I experienced in the Middle East was that speaking to another mans wife and not to him is highly offensive, and that showing a certain hand is also offensive, as one hand is for eating and the other for bathroom use.
In Korea it is considered rude to address older people in a low speech instead of a formal one, it is also acceptable for old people to push you out of the way so that they can pass you by, or to even cut in front of you in line. It is polite here for you to give up your seat on the bus or a train for the elderly, and it is not just nice it is pretty well stressed. There are even specially marked seats, and if you sit in them it is almost the equivalent for an American to park in a handicapped spot and not need to.
It is also acceptable for people speak to you bluntly about your appearance or the appearances of others. One time when I first came to Korea with my wife we met one of her friends for dinner. Her friend told her that she had gained weight and needs to lose it. That is one of the first things out of her mouth and I was shocked. I told her friend to go eat a cheeseburger and the friend did not know why I was upset.
So, basically when dealing with other cultures, even people from your own country, remember that people are different and accept different actions and reactions and do not accept others. In Korea if I am walking down the street and younger people are walking toward me they need to move to the side and let me past, if someone older than me is walking towards me I have to move, I actually like this one. It is really fun to have a group of people just move to let you pass. It is kinda fun.
In Japan it is rude to bump people when you walk, but in Korea you can bump into people and not even have to say anything or acknowledge it, you cannot even bump into someone in America without apologizing. In Korea it is no big deal. I like and dislike that one as well. I do not have to stop and say sorry to the 5 million people I live with in the city each time we bump into each other, I do not have to wonder if they are sending me some kind of message, like in America if you bump someone you better be ready to explain why and apologize but in Korea, it is just a way of walking, it happens. I like that, at least until I get bumped!
Also in Korea it is rude not to eat when someone asks you to, especially if you are not close with them. But, even my mother and father in law, if they ask if I ate and offer me food, it is better to eat than to argue.
So, I would advise ya'll to always treat others kindly, as Jesus did, and I think if you do that, you will be okay. Also, do a little research into wherever you are going to teach, and see what areas your students come from. It could make a lot of difference, because remember that we are here to grow and to learn, we are no different than anyone else, we are all children of a loving Father in Heaven.
Differences in Manners, what a fun thing to talk about. As you all know I live in Korea and and I am an American. So, my stories so far have focused on that. But I have other examples of course as I am sure you all do, or to say it right, as ya'll do.
So, I grew up in the south eastern part of America. Where I came from people are expected to be nice to each other. People will wave to you as you pass them in your car. People will even talk to you in the store or somewhere without even knowing you. You could go into Walmart and not even get far before you start having some conversation with a total stranger.
So, when my wife and I moved to Idaho which is in the north western part of America, I acted the way that I was used to. I would wave to people and smile and try to say hello and things like that. And guess what, I was, for the most part looked at like I was crazy or something. So, I kind of stopped doing it, and then I went to visit my hometown for the summer with my wife and I did not wave at people and I did not talk to people and people looked at me like I was so rude.
So, even though it is the same country people behave differently and have different ideas of acceptable behavior. Like how I used the word crazy twice already. In America it is not that big of a deal to say that, but in Korea saying something is crazy or someone is crazy is pretty serious and mildly offensive. People get upset when I say crazy and am not being literal. They do not understand.
Another thing that I experienced in the Middle East was that speaking to another mans wife and not to him is highly offensive, and that showing a certain hand is also offensive, as one hand is for eating and the other for bathroom use.
In Korea it is considered rude to address older people in a low speech instead of a formal one, it is also acceptable for old people to push you out of the way so that they can pass you by, or to even cut in front of you in line. It is polite here for you to give up your seat on the bus or a train for the elderly, and it is not just nice it is pretty well stressed. There are even specially marked seats, and if you sit in them it is almost the equivalent for an American to park in a handicapped spot and not need to.
It is also acceptable for people speak to you bluntly about your appearance or the appearances of others. One time when I first came to Korea with my wife we met one of her friends for dinner. Her friend told her that she had gained weight and needs to lose it. That is one of the first things out of her mouth and I was shocked. I told her friend to go eat a cheeseburger and the friend did not know why I was upset.
So, basically when dealing with other cultures, even people from your own country, remember that people are different and accept different actions and reactions and do not accept others. In Korea if I am walking down the street and younger people are walking toward me they need to move to the side and let me past, if someone older than me is walking towards me I have to move, I actually like this one. It is really fun to have a group of people just move to let you pass. It is kinda fun.
In Japan it is rude to bump people when you walk, but in Korea you can bump into people and not even have to say anything or acknowledge it, you cannot even bump into someone in America without apologizing. In Korea it is no big deal. I like and dislike that one as well. I do not have to stop and say sorry to the 5 million people I live with in the city each time we bump into each other, I do not have to wonder if they are sending me some kind of message, like in America if you bump someone you better be ready to explain why and apologize but in Korea, it is just a way of walking, it happens. I like that, at least until I get bumped!
Also in Korea it is rude not to eat when someone asks you to, especially if you are not close with them. But, even my mother and father in law, if they ask if I ate and offer me food, it is better to eat than to argue.
So, I would advise ya'll to always treat others kindly, as Jesus did, and I think if you do that, you will be okay. Also, do a little research into wherever you are going to teach, and see what areas your students come from. It could make a lot of difference, because remember that we are here to grow and to learn, we are no different than anyone else, we are all children of a loving Father in Heaven.
Hello, that is the key point to respect the differences because we are all children of the same Heavenly Father. Thank you for sharing your experiences in the country where you live, it has been very interesting to know about it, I am from South America living in Ecuador, here for some time the buses have exclusive seats for senior citizens, pregnant women and people with some disparity although sometimes people sit there momentarily, and seeing a person who needs that seat gives it to them. These differences of habit, of manners, of language occur from one place to another, and I think they are necessary to learn how to develop tolerance and respect in knowing them.
ReplyDeleteHi David, I always like reading about your cultural experiences. You gave a lot of examples and I learned a lot. I am Brazilian and Brazil is a very large country as well. So, we also have many regional differences. Somes states have higher expressivity (for example, the states from the North eastern region), while others have lower (states from the South). We usually say that there are many Brazis inside Brazil. Here it is also expected that people stand up so that elderly people can sit (there are also marked seats). But unfortunately, many people do not do it. Here we also apologize when we bump other people (at least, it is expected this). I really liked your suggestions at the last paragraph. They're very useful.
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