When foreigners, like the Indian student in my last bog, act inappropriately in our own culture, we shake our heads in amazement. Try putting the shoe on the other foot, though. It is only when we cross cultures ourselves that we realize just how easy it is to flub up.
Sometimes the blunders we make can be quite funny and harmless, like the time a Peace Corps worker came to dinner at our school in India and drank from the finger bowls used for washing our fingers after a meal – or the time an Australian man startled my Indonesian sister-in-law by greeting her with a hug.
At other times, though, the mistakes can be quite serious. Take for example the time an American caused a cultural uproar on the Indonesian island of Lombok during the holy month of Ramadan when Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. Mosque loudspeakers go into overdrive during the fasting month, broadcasting announcements, pronouncements, and Al-koran recitals much of the night. The noise can be deafening. .
Sometimes the blunders we make can be quite funny and harmless, like the time a Peace Corps worker came to dinner at our school in India and drank from the finger bowls used for washing our fingers after a meal – or the time an Australian man startled my Indonesian sister-in-law by greeting her with a hug.
At other times, though, the mistakes can be quite serious. Take for example the time an American caused a cultural uproar on the Indonesian island of Lombok during the holy month of Ramadan when Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. Mosque loudspeakers go into overdrive during the fasting month, broadcasting announcements, pronouncements, and Al-koran recitals much of the night. The noise can be deafening. .
After 15 years of this, the 64 year old American on Lombok finally couldn’t take it any longer and “snapped”. In the middle of the night he barged into the mosque with his shoes on, berated those conducting the prayer session for interrupting his sleep, and unplugged the microphones! The enraged worshippers not only chased him out of the mosque but ransacked his house as well. He was arrested by the police on suspicion of blasphemy. In the end he was “unplugged by Indonesia”, as one newspaper put it – deported - not for blasphemy but for overstaying his visa!
O.K. – granted, this is an extreme example. It does, however, show just how despicably some expats can behave in another culture when pushed to the limit. As we cross cultures, we are bound to encounter values that differ or even clash with our own. Being able to recognize and respect other people’s values, even if we don’t agree with them, is a mark of cross-cultural competence and maturity.
O.K. – granted, this is an extreme example. It does, however, show just how despicably some expats can behave in another culture when pushed to the limit. As we cross cultures, we are bound to encounter values that differ or even clash with our own. Being able to recognize and respect other people’s values, even if we don’t agree with them, is a mark of cross-cultural competence and maturity.