In Singapore, with one fifth of the population being foreigners, it can be said to be a highly multi-racial community indeed. This incident I’m about to relate took place a few years back.
I remember it was one of the weekends when my friends and I decided to head out to grab a few drinks. After having one too many, one of them did not feel very well hence we decided to send him back to his house vicinity and wait for him to feel better before sending him home. Although it was late into the night, there were still various people walking by, probably on their way home after a late night too.
What piqued my interest is that out of the many people that came and went, only the westerner (I did not actually know which part of the world he was from) actually came up to ask if everything was ok and if we needed any help. The other Singaporeans, I would presume, just walked by with looks of curiosity and maybe even of some disdain.
This incident actually made me realize how different cultures can be even if we lived in the same country. In general, Westerners tend to be more open and proactive about things, while we Asians tend to be more private and reserved. This is showcased by the incident related above whereby only the Westerner actually came up to show concern while the locals were more reserved and questioning about us. Also, it shows the difference in values that Westerners and Asians place on effective communication. Westerners tend to be more vocal about their feelings and thoughts and will voice out without hesitation, whereas Asians tend to keep their thoughts in and voice out only when necessary.
Although we live in such close proximity, we are all ultimately still affected by the culture that we have been brought up with. We might think that it is rude and inappropriate to voice out our feelings there and then, but to Westerners, they appreciate the honesty and openness. This is also reflected in the working culture of MNCs in Singapore whereby Asians tend to address their superiors with Mr or Ms whereas in the Western culture, superiors tend to be addressed by their first names.
Therefore, because we live in a highly multi racial community, I believe we should be more aware of the various cultures around lest we accidentally offend somebody. Being too open and direct might be fine with certain cultures, but in others, it is actually taken as an insult and seen as rude. These are just some of the fundamentals we must take into account in order to communicate effectively with our neighbours and to live in harmony.
I have always admired the fact that (most) Westerns are more friendly to strangers than us Asians. They would smile, nod or even say hi to you. Whereas, if I were to say hi to random passers-by, I believe they might think I'm a bit mental. :/
ReplyDeleteBut as westernization take place, perhaps the Asian culture would evolve and be not so conservative in the future? I wonder if there will be a day when Singaporeans can greet strangers without feeling awkward or getting weird stares back.
We cannot generalize this private and reserved culture towards Asian, I think it is a culture created by Singapore's Education System. Where we are only taught to solve and answer, and not ask question. Asking is one of the key step towards openness. It is known that western students tend to ask a lot of questions in school whether related or not, this is one of the solution to development of open and proactive individual.
ReplyDeleteWhy do I say that its not Asian in general, its because we do see Singaporeans out there that do show their open and proactive attitude at times. And I feel that Taiwanese also have quite an open attitude.
I hope that the new education system can help to create a new proactive generation of students.