National University of Singapore is one of the most global universities in Asia; and being a part of this institute makes you meet an eclectic lot of people from all around the world. One such person was a friend of mine from Amsterdam. Charlotte (which in English is pronounced as shaar-let, but in Dutch it became shar-laut-tay), was in NUS for a semester and then came to India to stay with me over the summer. Any interaction with her was an experience in itself. It made me realize the evident culture different between us.
During one of such interactions with her, we were talking about living alone in a city. For me, Singapore was the first experience of living alone, away from parents, more due to necessity rather than choice, not that I was complaining. She had an absolutely different view about that. Coming from Netherlands, she was brought up in an environment where children were encouraged to fight for their living right from adulthood. It is an unsaid norm for them. We both just looked at each other trying to absorb our difference and understand each other.
Another time when she was making her plans to roam about the whole of North India, she refused to book a railway ticket or a hotel room before leaving for the place. It surprised me and my family to no end. We, in India, due to our excessive population always pre-plan our transport tickets and accommodation unlike the Dutch, who have this spirit of adventure which gives them the zest to just leave their house without any prior knowledge about where they are going to good - which can prove to be good and bad, but most importantly very different from my travelling style.
One of the most hilarious situations were when my brother, as a token of Indian hospitality, gifted Charlotte a pair of ear-rings. She was shocked because she thought my brother had developed feelings for her. When she told me about it, I just burst out laughing. In Netherlands, gifting ear-rings is domain of the boyfriend or the lover unlike in India where jewelry is just another piece of gift. That was another ideal example of intercultural differences.
The little time, Charlotte and me spent together would be one of the most enriching experiences of my life in terms of intercultural communication. The amount I learnt about her cultural, and she about India were an eye-opener to not just each others culture, but it also made each other understand our way of thinking, dealing with life situations and emotions.
During one of such interactions with her, we were talking about living alone in a city. For me, Singapore was the first experience of living alone, away from parents, more due to necessity rather than choice, not that I was complaining. She had an absolutely different view about that. Coming from Netherlands, she was brought up in an environment where children were encouraged to fight for their living right from adulthood. It is an unsaid norm for them. We both just looked at each other trying to absorb our difference and understand each other.
Another time when she was making her plans to roam about the whole of North India, she refused to book a railway ticket or a hotel room before leaving for the place. It surprised me and my family to no end. We, in India, due to our excessive population always pre-plan our transport tickets and accommodation unlike the Dutch, who have this spirit of adventure which gives them the zest to just leave their house without any prior knowledge about where they are going to good - which can prove to be good and bad, but most importantly very different from my travelling style.
One of the most hilarious situations were when my brother, as a token of Indian hospitality, gifted Charlotte a pair of ear-rings. She was shocked because she thought my brother had developed feelings for her. When she told me about it, I just burst out laughing. In Netherlands, gifting ear-rings is domain of the boyfriend or the lover unlike in India where jewelry is just another piece of gift. That was another ideal example of intercultural differences.
The little time, Charlotte and me spent together would be one of the most enriching experiences of my life in terms of intercultural communication. The amount I learnt about her cultural, and she about India were an eye-opener to not just each others culture, but it also made each other understand our way of thinking, dealing with life situations and emotions.
Thank you for sharing with us your interesting stories with your foreign friend.
ReplyDeleteI guess the Dutch people do have an spirit for adventures due to their long tradition for that.Communicating with foreign friends are most of the time fun and eye-opening. That's why I feel our ES class is a great combination.
p.s. Some errors spotted.
Thanks for the post, Megha, and for sharing your experience with Charlotte. That is one beauty of the "foreign" home-stay experience, precisely all the sharing and learning.
ReplyDeleteYou present three distinct scenarios, which is comprehensive. There is a small problem for me though in the first. You don't actually explain Charlotte's view of city living in specific, so I can't compare it with yours.
There are a few areas of language ambiguity as well:
1) the evident culture different >>> ?
2) During one of such interactions >>> During one such interaction
3) children were encouraged to fight for their living right from adulthood >>> children were encouraged to fight for their living right from ... (childhood/early adulthood?)
4) We both just looked at each other trying to absorb our difference and understand each other >>> We both just looked at each other trying to absorb our differenceS and TO understand each other.
5) The amount I learnt about her cultural >>> The amount I learnt about her culture
In any case, this is a detailed post with some fine examples.
LOL I actually laughed while reading this :)
ReplyDeleteHow interesting it is when giving ear-rings to a girl means having that kind of feeling toward her.
Have to observe these cultural differences when going abroad :P
Also, I'm surprised by the Ducth way of travelling.
I couldn't imagine myself travelling around without booking tickets or at least doing research in advance; I like this spirit though.
Thank you for this informative and hilarious post.
Tong