Intercultural communcation
My close friends in junior college class were, like myself, from secondary schools made up of Chinese student population. As such, we were oblivious to ethnic culture differences.
During a lunch break, we were sitting at our class bench, complaining about the long time table on Friday with a 4 hours break in between lessons. All of us felt that it is a waste of time to have such a long break and would rather shorten the break so that we could be dismissed earlier. At this point in time, I noticed that Haikal, our Malay classmate who was also sitting at the class bench was staring at us, looking displeased.
On another occasion, my clique was making our way to the canteen for lunch and we met Haikal. Out of goodwill and courtesy, I asked Haikal if he would like to join us for lunch. He turned down my invitation coldly and walked away.
We could not understand why he was so aloof then until James, our class chairperson who overheard our conversation, reminded me that it was the fasting month so it is impolite to ask Haikal for lunch. He also explained that Haikal needs to go to the mosque for his prayers on Friday which is why we have a long break between lessons.
James’ words made me realize how ignorant and insensitive I had been towards other ethnic cultures. Through this incident, I learnt to appreciate the importance of recognizing and showing respect for cultural differences which is essential for anyone living in multiracial society like Singapore.
During a lunch break, we were sitting at our class bench, complaining about the long time table on Friday with a 4 hours break in between lessons. All of us felt that it is a waste of time to have such a long break and would rather shorten the break so that we could be dismissed earlier. At this point in time, I noticed that Haikal, our Malay classmate who was also sitting at the class bench was staring at us, looking displeased.
On another occasion, my clique was making our way to the canteen for lunch and we met Haikal. Out of goodwill and courtesy, I asked Haikal if he would like to join us for lunch. He turned down my invitation coldly and walked away.
We could not understand why he was so aloof then until James, our class chairperson who overheard our conversation, reminded me that it was the fasting month so it is impolite to ask Haikal for lunch. He also explained that Haikal needs to go to the mosque for his prayers on Friday which is why we have a long break between lessons.
James’ words made me realize how ignorant and insensitive I had been towards other ethnic cultures. Through this incident, I learnt to appreciate the importance of recognizing and showing respect for cultural differences which is essential for anyone living in multiracial society like Singapore.
posted by Xin Wei at
8:45 PM
5 Comments:
Dear Xin Wei,
I can understand how you feel towards this issue. Like you, the schools I had attended are made up of mostly Chinese students, and I have few friends of other ethnicity. Hence, I also tend to be oblivious of such cultural issues. I have also heard of several cases of misunderstandings caused by cultural insensitivity from my friends.
I feel that in a multi-racial country like Singapore, it is essential for us to understand and show consideration for the different ethnic groups for all to live in harmony. Frankly speaking, I am rather ashamed of myself for not having achieved that at the moment. To improve in this aspect, I think it is necessary to have more interaction with people of different ethnicity. Let's work towards this goal together!
Cheers,
Chai Yee
By
Chai Yee, At
September 29, 2009 at 2:14 AM
Hi Xin Wei,
I guess your encounter could be quite normal for many of us since we are living in a multicultural society.
In our multicultural society, it is a boon and must to be aware of other people’s cultural practices and taboos during our daily interactions. If we act carelessly, we will be deemed insensitive to the other cultural groups in Singapore. I guess when we were younger and encounter such incidents, like fasting month or having Friday prayers for the Muslims, when we do not know the reason why, we could have approached our teachers or friends for clarification. This will give us a better understanding of how the other cultural and religious groups are and give us a fuller picture of their way of life. Like what Chai Yee has mentioned, we tend to be in schools with a majority made up of Chinese. Hence as the majority, we ought to make the extra effort to clarify any doubts we might have about the other minorities’ customs and tradition. This could benefit the social fabric of Singapore.
Respecting and understanding the differences or what is unique of each other’s way of life is the basic etiquette we ought to have as a mature and responsible young adult. Any wrong words uttered or action committed will bring embarrassment to us and the other party involved, reflecting badly on us.
Living in a multiracial society is a rare experience for us and we ought to treasure it. Not many places in the world can be see such interesting way of life where different groups of people interact and live amiably with one another. Taking an effort to know more about our neighbours and the customs of other races is not too difficult at all. If we can just make out some time for it, would we not make this society are more vibrant and livelier place to live in?
Regards,
Wei Xiong
By
wx, At
September 30, 2009 at 7:20 PM
Hi Xin Wei,
I echo what Chai Yee and Wei Xiong said about us living in a multi-cultural society and that we ought to be careful of what we say and do. Like Wei Xiong said, it is a rare experience to live in such a society and that we should treasure it. I used to be from a school where there are significantly more Muslims than most schools, which gave me more exposure to their culture. As there was more interaction with Muslims, I got to know their habits and their religious practices better.
Thus I firmly believe that only through more interaction and having an open mindset, we can start to build a more harmonious society.
Cheers,
Zhengyang.
By
zhengyang, At
September 30, 2009 at 9:59 PM
Hi Xin Wei,
I find it an irony how some of us know the cultures of the other races quite well but at times do not show the respect and understanding they deserve. Living in multicultural Singapore has developed this mentality within us where we would assume or expect that the locals around us know our culture really well. I suppose, this is the reason why Haikal was a little annoyed and coldly walked away when you invited him for lunch during the fasting month. I suppose he kind of expects the people around him to know that the fasting month is on and they ought not to bring up matters related to food and drinks which i personally thought was not a right move. Ideally, he ought to explain to you that he's fasting and probably enlightened you on the whole idea of not being able to eat and drink in the daytime so that you are aware of the situation. His reaction is basically a form of a intercultural communication breakdown.
I must say that your situation of asking Haikal out to lunch during fasting month isn't an isolated case. I believe many of us don't intend to offend the other party deliberately due to our forgetful and fallible nature. Even some of my close non-Muslim friends know that i'm not suppose to eat in the day time during the fasting month but they aren't aware of the period, not until someone informs them that the fasting month has started and so on. Thus, i always believe that it is important to have an open intercultural communication between different races and cultural groups so as to strengthen and enhance that mutual understanding and respect for one another's culture and beliefs.
Cheers,
Ariff
By
Ariff Andraz, At
October 1, 2009 at 3:19 PM
Hi all,
Firstly, I would like to thank all of you who had responded to this blog entry and shared with me your valuable views on the essence of intercultural communication. Your comments are truly enlightening.
Indeed, we tend to take for granted that having lived in a multicultural society all this while, one ought to know the other cultural practices and beliefs very well. However, in reality, this is not the case. There is definitely more to be done to achieve intercultural understanding and respect.
I second Ariff's idea of the need for open intercultural communication. I believe that one's understanding of other cultural groups could be reinforced through more interactions between different cultural groups. In addition, it is also crucial for one to possess an open mindset to embrace and be more tolerant of cultural differences.
Cheers,
Xin Wei
By
Xin Wei, At
October 11, 2009 at 4:10 PM
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