I would describe the intercultural behavior in local context.
When I was in Secondary school, there was once that a Malay girl and I were tasked to organize a barbeque outing. We need to marinate chicken wings and other food and she suggested that she could do the marinating and buying of utensils. I thought I could bring tongs from my house, as to save some cost, but she disagreed. I was puzzled and later she explained to me that, everything need to be Halal, as in the utensils used for marinating and for barbequing need to be clean and not used before in a Chinese household for example, because Chinese may have used them to cook food like pork.
It was then that I realise and understand the difference. All along we knew that Malays ate Halal food but sometimes we may forget the importance of it and what it really means. There was also another incidence that was when a class outing was held at Pasta Mania, one of our Malay friend came along but he did not order anything. Then we realise it was because the restaurant was not yet Halal certified. He did not voice out because he did not want to cause any inconvenience, this is just like the Malay girl that I had mentioned above, she did not want to trouble me and hence she volunteered to do the stuffs that need to be done in a Halal way.
When I was in Secondary school, there was once that a Malay girl and I were tasked to organize a barbeque outing. We need to marinate chicken wings and other food and she suggested that she could do the marinating and buying of utensils. I thought I could bring tongs from my house, as to save some cost, but she disagreed. I was puzzled and later she explained to me that, everything need to be Halal, as in the utensils used for marinating and for barbequing need to be clean and not used before in a Chinese household for example, because Chinese may have used them to cook food like pork.
It was then that I realise and understand the difference. All along we knew that Malays ate Halal food but sometimes we may forget the importance of it and what it really means. There was also another incidence that was when a class outing was held at Pasta Mania, one of our Malay friend came along but he did not order anything. Then we realise it was because the restaurant was not yet Halal certified. He did not voice out because he did not want to cause any inconvenience, this is just like the Malay girl that I had mentioned above, she did not want to trouble me and hence she volunteered to do the stuffs that need to be done in a Halal way.
The scenarios mentioned above had helped me to understand the importance of effective communication too. Besides explaining and understanding ones cultural norms and values, one needs to learn to be sensitive as well and also learn to compromise to each other cultures. This is especially important in Singapore as we are a multi-racial and multi-religions country.
Hi Jane,
ReplyDeleteWhen I was having an internship, there were Malay staff and students in the lab. When we went out for lunch as a group, we would usually check out the Halal outlets then go there for lunch.
There was once that we assumed that all hawkers had Halal food, we went to the Holland Village hawker to have our lunch. Later we realised that there was no Halal food in the hawker and our malay friends have to go to the nearby coffee shops to buy their food. Although we felt bad but they were alright with the arrangement.
Sometimes, I believe that we have to be sensitive and be more observant about things. Don't we?
Hieyo Jane,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that we have to be sensitive to one another's culture and compromise with the differences. And to be sensitive, I agree with Yuan that we have to be more observant. Especially when the other party is considerate and thoughtful.
As we have learned, communication involves verbal and non-verbal communication. To be sensitive by being more observant, we are actually taking communication cues from the non-verbal behaviour of the other party.
It's actually said that communication involves a greater percentage of non-verbal communication than verbal communication. As such, be aware of your body language. You may be telling the other party more than what you want. (n_n)
Hi Jane,
ReplyDeleteI agreed that we have to be sensitive to other cultural norms and values. It is the best way to prevent intercultural disputes.
Hi Jane,
ReplyDeleteI faced a similar scenario as yours... There was once when i went for a birthday party with a Malay friend. Upon reaching the cafe, i started to order food to eat, but my malay friend sat there not wanting anything. It was after a while then we realized that it was their fasting month. At that point, i really felt bad eating in front of my Malay friend.
So indeed, we ought to be more sensitive and aware of other cultural norms, so as to prevent any misunderstanding or embarrassment. >.<
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Yuan, Kalene, Bernard and Cecila,
ReplyDeleteYuan, yup, it’s true that we have to be sensitive and more observant about things. Your colleagues and you had done a great job in looking up for Halal food whenever you all went out for lunch. (:
Kalene, that’s a good advice on “be aware of your body language. You may be telling the other party more than what you want” It sounds a bit scary as well. Indeed we to need to take note of what we are conveying to the other party including the nonverbal parts.
Bernard, sensitive is the best way, thanks for the agreement. (:
Cecilia, sometimes I got confuse on when is the Malay’s fasting month too! The date seems to keep changing? Anyway, indeed true, we need to be aware of other cultural norms.
Thanks for your comments! :)
Your post is interesting, because you illustrate about intercultural communication in a local context. Most of the blogs post on this topic that I read was more about the cultural differences between two foreign nationals.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading you post, and also based on my personal experience, I realized that it takes greater effort to master intercultural communication in a local context. Because people are not excited about it (travelling to a foreign country may be exciting enough to motivate people to learn about the foreign culture).
It is how we think understanding the different local cultures is worth. But we as responsible citizens, perhaps we should (although not excited about it) take effort to understand the different cultures that exist in our local society.