Just about one year ago, I met a group of America exchange students. It was their first day in Singapore and everything seems new to them. As newcomers, they hoped to immerse in the culture of Singapore quickly and to get along with Singaporean friends.
To welcome the students, there was a group of student ambassadors to introduce the exchange students to the campus and the surrounding. One of the student ambassadors called Jennifer was given the role as a guide. She introduced herself to the group. Everyone in the group greeted her warmly and loved to chat with her. (They hug her on the first sight.) Jennifer was overwhelmed by the enthusiasm. She was not used to such warmness and felt a bit uncomfortable. In her mind, she thought that it might be that was the foreign students were curious about the new environment and Americans are less conservative than Asians.
In the afternoon, the foreign students came to the canteen to eat lunch. The students asked Jennifer to recommend some unique Singaporean food to them. And then, the students followed her to the stalls. One of the students, Joseph, suddenly stretched out his right hand and surrounded Jennifer’s waist while chatting with her. At this moment, Jennifer felt really uncomfortable. Being a conservative Asian, such an action was unbearable to her. She immediately pushed his hands away. She shouted: “Hey what are you trying to do!” Joseph was shocked by Jennifer’s reaction. To him, such an action was a norm in America. He was just being friendly and did not know that it would cause such a commotion. He did not know what he had done wrong. Jennifer felt very embarrassed and angrily left the group.
Being one of the witnesses for this scene, I felt that this conflict was caused by the cultural differences between the two parties. Joseph was from America and in his country, hugging new friends were a norm to him; it was their way of saying ‘Hi’. However, Jennifer was a typical Asian. Over here, people are more conservative and would not hug each other during their first meeting. A hug is only mean for close ones and families. Hence, Jennifer was shocked by Joseph’s action when he placed his arm on her waist. She felt that Joseph was being rude and did not respect others. However, it did not occur to Joseph that his actions were perceived as something undesirable and unacceptable.
Such conflicts often occurred because of difference cultural values and beliefs. Due to lack of understanding in another country’s culture, people often got a cultural shock when going to foreign country. It was a norm to see how Singaporeans complained about the actions foreigners did in Singapore and vice versa. Perhaps with tolerance and understanding, there would not so much cultural conflicts.
