In life, especially as a child, I think it is very important for people to travel. Traveling can be expensive but it is also very rewarding. All around you, there are different ways of doing things that many people in certain circumstances have never thought of. Ethnicity and culture play a role in the lives of people far and wide.
It is important to understand that although we all live in the world together everyone is different in one way or another. Whether it is religion, culture, custom, or language. Everyone still deserves to be treated with respect.
Growing up around the world has given me a perspective many students all over the world are lacking. Cultural communication is a monumental part of this, along with customary behavior, and high and low context societies.
Just because you grow up with something, that doesn’t make it true for everyone else. You need to be open with change and learn by observing. Communication with people of different nationalities is often a conflict, especially when in different countries. For example, if there is an international company with an office in the U.S. and in India. A phone call is the best way for communication and understanding for both parties but the ways in which both parties have the conversation is different.
In India, you commonly greet the other person, ask them about their weekend, how their children are etc. Where in the U.S. it is unprofessional to talk about your home life at work. An American in this circumstance might feel uncomfortable in this situation and try to focus on the subject of work, by doing this you have unnecessarily disrespected the culture of the Indian on the line. They will still keep up the conversation, but where an American will go straight to the point and most likely take charge thinking that the Indian doesn’t do their job properly, the Indian has most likely already worked through the subject and planned out a calendar of events.
On the call, they will keep this information for the end and once they have told the American about their plans the American will not understand why they didn’t bring this up in the first place and “wasted their time.” While people in the United States have become accustomed to their busy schedule in other countries it is unheard of to go straight to the point without having some kind of discussion first about your life.
Many cultures want to know what kind of person you are before they decide to do business with you. If you do not introduce yourself properly and take the time to get to know cultural differences in the culture you will be working with it will be your loss. Along with this customary behavior is another large part of communication.
It may seem like not a big deal, but in Thailand you eat with your spoon in your right and a fork in the left. During the meal, if you lay your spoon and fork on the plate and they aren’t parallel to each other, they will serve you another spoonful of rice. You learn very quickly what and what not to do when living in another country.
While in the U.S. you eat with a fork for most meals and when you are finished with that fork you lay it on the plate to show that you are finished with your meal. By doing these things you show respect to whomever will be picking up after you. It is very important in travel and in business to know whether the country you are visiting is a high or low context society as well as their mindset. Asian countries are typically high context societies with a collectivist mindset.
High context societies depend on trust, relationships, identity and social structure, while low context societies just want to get the job done, focus on the goal and complete it, and social structure is decentralized. The language one speaks is often the best indicator for which mindset they have, American English is straight to the point where as the oriental language is a constant circling motion, and romance languages eventually get to the topic of which is important but often get off topic but their off topic communication is just as important as their final topic. Americans value straightforwardness but many other cultures do not. This is a conflict that needs to be worked on by both cultures. It’s important to research what is respectful and what isn’t.
Today in class, I was sitting next to one of my Chinese friends and someone sat at our table and asked, “Why do you Asians even come the America to study? Do you do it just to make us look stupid?” He then laughed as if what he said wasn’t the most ignorant comment I’ve heard since school started. My Chinese friend is still a beginner at English and did not understand what was asked of him, so I went ahead and answered for him. I told the young man that in some ways in the U.S. there are better educational jobs and that when you work with Americans and have a degree from an accredited University in the U.S. it can be easier to find jobs overseas. He was somewhat shocked that my answer was actually a “good reason,” but he still played it off as unimportant.
I later explained what happened to my friend and he was very confused and asked me why all American’s think that Chinese people are good at math and ping pong. I went on to explain that this is a common stereotype that isn’t true, to which he agreed. There are many circumstances in which things are said and people of other cultures are very offended but many times we don’t inquire to see if we have said or done anything wrong and this can damage relationships and business partnerships. This is why I think it is important to travel. Immerse yourself in other cultures and observe what is different than in your own culture. You will definitely learn something and it can be very helpful in the future!
“Travel while you’re young and able. Don’t worry about the money, just make it work. Experience is far more valuable than money will ever be.” ~Unknown
