Something that struck me about intercultural behavior was the habit of wearing shoes into the house. When I was young, I was taught to take off my shoes when entering a house, be it my own or the others. I have taken it to be the correct thing to do since young.
However, an experience in my teenage years made me realized this intercultural behavior. I was invited to this American family house for house warming. When I reached the doorstep, I had this natural reaction to bend down and take off my shoes. But, I quickly realized that everyone was walking in with their shoes on. At that point in time, I was taken aback but decide to go with the flow and wear my shoes in as well. Inside, everyone else including the host was wearing their everyday shoes and walking around.
This was unusual for me coming from a Asian family where taking off shoes before entering a home was a norm. I was wondering why they don't take off their shoes when entering the house. They are just bringing in dirt on their shoes into the house.Other than it being a bit troublesome to take off your shoes when entering the house, I feel that it is a sign of respect for the hosts as they would not have to clear the dirt left behind by your shoes.
Then I asked the host about why they wear shoes around their house. They told me that it is the cultural back in their country. Their rationale was that they are not sure whether the floor is dirty in the first place and they would not want to dirty their feet. They would only take them off when they go to bed or into the shower.
Personally, I feel that they were a bit selfish but then again this is their culture. I guess it would be wise to check out first the cultural behavior of the people you are meeting first to avoid any possible conflicts. I was lucky that this intercultural behavior difference was to my convenience ;)
However, an experience in my teenage years made me realized this intercultural behavior. I was invited to this American family house for house warming. When I reached the doorstep, I had this natural reaction to bend down and take off my shoes. But, I quickly realized that everyone was walking in with their shoes on. At that point in time, I was taken aback but decide to go with the flow and wear my shoes in as well. Inside, everyone else including the host was wearing their everyday shoes and walking around.
This was unusual for me coming from a Asian family where taking off shoes before entering a home was a norm. I was wondering why they don't take off their shoes when entering the house. They are just bringing in dirt on their shoes into the house.Other than it being a bit troublesome to take off your shoes when entering the house, I feel that it is a sign of respect for the hosts as they would not have to clear the dirt left behind by your shoes.
Then I asked the host about why they wear shoes around their house. They told me that it is the cultural back in their country. Their rationale was that they are not sure whether the floor is dirty in the first place and they would not want to dirty their feet. They would only take them off when they go to bed or into the shower.
Personally, I feel that they were a bit selfish but then again this is their culture. I guess it would be wise to check out first the cultural behavior of the people you are meeting first to avoid any possible conflicts. I was lucky that this intercultural behavior difference was to my convenience ;)
Hi Xing Chuan,
ReplyDeleteInteresting observation.
I am not sure if this shows that the visitors are selfish. One factor you might have left out is that unlike Singapore, there are four seasons in many other countries. It is convenient and comfortable to take off the shoes in Singapore, because the weather is hot every day. However, in other places, it would be rather uncomfortable to take off the shoes. Imagine wearing only socks in winter! It might also be detrimental to one's health if he/she is not wearing shoes to keep warm.
Also, perhaps they do not have hardworking maids to clean the house everyday, so the floor is not really clean enough. :P
Hey Xi Xi,
ReplyDeleteYup I agree that the extreme weather back in their country could be a reason they do not want to take off their shoes. Could not imagine their bare foot on the cold hard floor. At that point in time though, I really thought they were selfish in response to the answer that the host gave me.Haha :)
But I guess the different behavior of people is a result of the different environment they live and grow up in.Growing up in cold countries, keeping their shoes on in homes is a sensible choice while in tropical asian countries like ours, we would want to take off as much as possible.It is up to us to adapt to the difference in behavior in response to the surrounding.
Just wondering Xi Xi, back in china during the winter, do you all take off shoes upon entering homes ?
Hi Xq,
ReplyDeleteI did the exact same thing as you when I first stepped into my sister's apartment in the US! I guess they don't have a habit of taking of their shoes once inside their house. I'm not sure of the reasons though. The floor was actually carpeted, so you could totally imagine how dirty it was! As what Xixi pointed out, it might just be due to the weather. hmmm...
Hi XQ,
ReplyDeleteA very interesting and nice post. 7C wise up to the mark without grammar or spelling mistakes.
You behaved according to the situation that is very acknowledged ( No one would want to look a fool). I think that it is mainly due to their regular cultural following that it does not comes to mind, especially when they do not think much about such small things( which can be big things for us). Actually, if you daily practice the same norm and rules, you become quite natural with that activity of yours. So even if you go into another culture you automatically follow your own norms until and unless it becomes obvious that it is not welcomed or somebody else points it out. So, it may be very natural for them to follow that in their culture which we are not used to. :)
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ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting post, XQ, on a fundamental difference in norms between many Asians and Americans (I say "many" because I do know American families that do not allow shoes to be worn in their homes, mine included.) You concisely and fairly clearly describe the situation of the house party. You also show your own shock quite clearly, which is understandable to me considering how much dirtier a floor becomes when people wear shoes that have been worn outside once they go inside. Yuk!
ReplyDeleteStill, my main surprise in this post was that you thought the hosts were selfish. It's not quite clear how they were demonstrating selfishness by dictating the norms of their own home.
There are a few language problems in this post:
1) made me realized >>> ?
2) I was taken aback but decide to go >>> ?
3) I was wondering why they don't take off their shoes ... >>> ?
4) I asked the host about why they wear shoes... >>> ?
5) They told me that it is the cultural... >>> ?
Thanks for your effort with this!
Hi Xing Quan,
ReplyDeleteWhat a complete culture-shock! I can't imagine what their floor must be like. Hopefully there aren't young children running around, or picking off toys/food from the floor, to put into their mouths!
Haha, I'm not exactly sure why you said the hosts were behaving selfishly, either. Was it because you felt that by wearing their shoes round the house, they were 'forcing' all their visitors to do likewise?
Hi Xing Quan,
ReplyDeleteInteresting post on the culture shock you must have felt there. Indeed, it really illustrates that different culture for different nationalities would definitely result in different habits that one might have. However, I always feel that this sort of experiences would open our eyes and expose us to different cultural behaviours. Like the rest, I did not quite get the part on being selfish but rather, I felt it was really a norm for them to behave in such a way. (: However, kudos to reacting quickly in such a situation!
7Cs-wise, there may be some issues on correctness but I feel that the completeness and conciseness element is definitely evident. (:
Hi Xing Quan,
ReplyDeleteThere're grammatical errors in your post. First paragraph; "...be it my own or others.". Second paragraph; "...in my teenage years made me realize...", "I was invited to an American...", "...everyone else including the host wore their...".
Wyhow
Wyehow:
ReplyDeleteIt would really help if you point out the correct form as well as it is really difficult to read one whole chunk of errors you pointed out and finding them in my post.
Tks anyway for the effort, will try to sort them out myself.
Alycia & Yue May:
ReplyDeleteI think I did not portray it clearly in my post why I felt that they are selfish. It was because at that point in time from the reason the host gave of the visitors not wanting to dirty their feet, I feel that they are only thinking of themselves when they conveniently just walked into the house with their shoes on.
But I came to realize only after that, that it is a cultural norm in some of their families, hence the actions by the visitors.
I hope to clear the air of doubt a bit.
Thanks for the kind comments anyway :)
Brad:
ReplyDeleteTks for pointing out my language. It have always been a great help:)
But I am not sure this time round about the errors you pointed out. It is because of the language used or the tenses that is wrong ?
So sorry if I am slow to catch it...
Alvin & Shivam:
ReplyDeleteYup I agree. It had became a natural reaction for us to take of our shoes at doors. But I think sometimes its good to quickly adapt to the norms there to avoid possible awkwardness or even conflicts :)
Tks for the kind comments too :)