The most recent inter-cultural scenario i experienced was actually back when i was in an overseas military exercise during my active service term. Just a little over one year ago, i was spending the majority of my January in sunny New Zealand, from the 5th to the 24th. As the exercise was bilateral with the New Zealand Army, at the end of the whole exercise, we were all brought together to celebrate the end of the exchange at a barbeque dinner. So soldiers from both armies were brought together and allowed to mingle and chat, all formalities aside.
While eating, i started to chat with a NZ soldier and got to know more about him. What was interesting is that i found out that he was only 19, to me that was quite a shock because the NZ army is a professional one, and at 19 he was willing to commit himself to a life in the military. When i explained to him that although i was in the army, it was more of a 'no choice' situation and that after my term i would be going back to studying. His reaction to that was laughable, he gave an astonished look and said "bummer eh?", he then went on to tell me that he's far away from home, having led an independent life since 16. He said that studying and getting to university was something not on his mind at all. When i told him about how our culture was to study hard and get a degree to support our parents, he told me their's was to get out of their parents home as soon as possible and live independantly.
I can't imagine living independantly at this moment to be honest, i don't think that most of us Singaporeans are brought up in such a way, our asian culture is more family centered and i suppose it's raises eyebrows when told to people outside Asia, perhaps exculding Australia and New Zealand.
Thinking back on it, having learnt something about him and his way of life was extremely interesting, knowing about how different we all lead our lives based on culture was very intriguing. We may be of the same age but how we have seen the world is vastly different! It also brings to mind the ignorance we hold when communicating with someone of a different culture, i could have said something to offend and still be none the wiser! I feel that communication was largely effective because we were both polite and considerate to listen to each other talk about their own culture, the questions we exchanged helped to sustain the conversation and build interest, which led to such a meaningful exchangeg!
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Hi, Jeremy. I believe the cross-cultural overseas trip was fruitful and interesting for you as you had the chance to interact with the locals there and learnt more about New Zealand culture.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that it is amazing how different our cultures can be across the globe. I think it is because the society plays an important role as why Singaporeans are ‘forced’ to serve the army but not the New Zealanders. Society is usually made up of the government which implements laws to protect the interest of the citizens. In Singapore, an army of regulars is too small to protect the country so we are called upon to serve. . On the other hand, New Zealand, which easily has a much larger population, could afford to let their citizens choose. As a result, we face different type of pressure to serve the army and that was how our cultures begin to differ.
In addition, Singapore used to have racial riots and hence could make use of the army to foster ties among different cultural groups. It is essential to set up an organisation to mix the different cultures into a society that have a common goal too.
I think the part of your blog that has more resemblance to culture gaps is when he said “bummer eh” as neither have I used nor heard this phrase in my interaction with others. It made me wonder a while what he means.
In conclusion, I think it is a good opportunity to appreciate other cultures and presume you will be able to apply the knowledge in the future.
Jian Hwee
Hi Jeremy,
ReplyDeleteI felt this was an excellent example of cultural diversity in communication. I think your post reminds us that we should not any assumptions/ prejudices/ preconceived notions when dealing with people from different cultures. I guess part of the difference is (like Jian Hwee says) that for them it is an active choice, whereas in Singapore you have to do it, which means that the comparison is not exactly the same. For instance, the difference in attitude to being in the army would not be so different between the NZ soldier and a full-tine NS man.
I think it was also very important that both of you were polite to each other. It often happens that when we hear or see a culture that very different from ours, we tend to pass judgment, either audibly or not. In this case, I don't think either of you did that which means that you both left yourselves open minded and thus open to effective communication between you. Having listened to his culture and discovered something about his way of life, the next step is to remember it when working with him; don't say things that might offend him. Another interesting post; looking forward to the next one.
Cheers,
Abhinav
Hi Jeremy!
ReplyDeleteWow, how lucky you are to have gotten the chance to go to New Zealand. I always wanted to go there. Anyway, I think it is a very interesting experience to be able to meet another culture very different from yours. Of course, the important thing is to learn from this interaction to learn and realise that people indeed do have different mindset about things, and often this is directly caused by the culture they are brought up in. Learning points taken from this experience should be able to help you to be better in the next time you are having another intercultural communication.
In fact, this is the point I want to bring up. You have written a very interesting life experience. However, I think the writing piece will be better if you also have included how this experience can help you improve on the subject of intercultural and interpersonal communication. Or maybe on how it has improved your skills. Even better is if you can further link it in the context of teamwork, as that is what we are supposed to learn now. I also think that you should tell your story in a more concise way, and give more focus in things I just said above. But of course this is just my opinion, as undeniably your posts have been interesting so far.
Regards
Christabel
Hi Jeremy,
ReplyDeleteThis post is a very informative one. I learned a lot about the personal experiences and mental perspectives by two men – a Singaporean and a New Zealander. I was also able to see how clearly intercultural communication and interpersonal skills came to play in the scenario you have described.
Undoubtedly, you must have learned a lot in your overseas military exercise in New Zealand. It must be an eye-opening experience for you as it was for me in choosing to pursue my undergraduate studies in Singapore. Overseas, I get to know a lot of different people. I learned about different cultures. I learned a lot of things that I might have missed learning if only I were to stay within the comfort zones of my home country. It is a challenging experience, being away from home and family, but a very rewarding one.
You highlighted a point that during your communication, you were both polite and considerate to listen to each other in carrying out your conversation. I also believe that these two factors will equip us in successfully achieving a smooth and wholesome exchange of ideas. Courtesy and politeness will be our vehicles to avoid crossing lines that might introduce intercultural and interpersonal conflicts. Consequently, the lines of conversation will be very open flowing with ideas that will interest both ends when we learn to become good and considerate listeners.
Regards,
Paul