"Oh no, our host is back. Shall we?"
Hesitantly, we entered the living room, only to see an Oma (German for grandmother) resting on the couch. Pleasantly surprised at our arrival, she came forward and hugged us earnestly. I guess we were quite delighted at the warm welcome of our host!
Elsie and I were participants of the German language immersion programme and were attached to a German host family for 3 weeks. Our host was a friendly 78-year-old grandmother/Oma who was really active in sports. While we really enjoyed our homestay with her, our first few days were somewhat turbulent as we struggled to understand and accept each other's culture and habits.
Our host could not speak a word of English and was happily rambling in German, much to our confusion. As our command of German was relatively low (as she slowly came to realise), Oma tried to slow her speech and used simple German words so that we could understand. We found it pretty amusing whenever her repeated efforts to express her thoughts to us were futile and she would grumble 'arghhh!' in exasperation. Somehow, things got better over time as we picked up certain German phrases and interpreted her gestures much better. Nevertheless, we still attributed out smooth conversations to this holy book:
Oma's German-English dictionary!
Once, I was clearing my trash into the wastebin in the kitchen. Oma who had witnessed the horrific scene was a second too late in stopping my actions. It turned out that Germans have the habit of sorting out their trash into plastics, paper and degradable items and I had thoughtlessly thrown my trash into the bin. It was the assumption on both parties that such habits would be cultivated within Singaporeans as the case with Germans. Since then, I learnt to be more mindful and meticulous in sorting out my trash.
Hofstede defines culture as a unique way of thinking, feeling and acting that is shared between people in the same social environment and learnt through being in those environment. Through this immersion programme I have picked up certain cues that are unique to the German social environment such as the sorting of trash. However, it takes time and interaction for one to integrate his/her thoughts and actions that are distinct to a particular group of people. I have learnt to be sensitive to the Germans and accept certain norms that I may be unaware of and apply it during my stay. For example, I was unaware that Germans keep right while on the escalator and I have cultivated the habit to avoid any social violation. Language can also be the opening step to understanding culture as verbal and written communication helps to express thoughts and ideas unique to that social environment.
Elsie, my Oma and I
Hi Pam!
ReplyDeleteYour story was lovely! So sweet! - your Oma (:0
While you mentioned that language helps to open oneself up to a particular culture and hence may potentially reduce intercultural clashes,I think we would both agree that observation plays a major role in precluding conflict too.
I've been to TW and locals keep to the right too, just like the Germans. Habits like these are best internalised through observation, don't you think? Reading about them doesn't strike me as hard /:
Also, I think we tend to make assumptions when we're in a completely different culture, which should not be condemned. Like what you've said, it takes time to integrate other cultures' habits. So in the meantime, I think the only thing we could do would be to act based on our own cultural norms. Well, yes this, and of course asking. The problem is, we may not realise that they do things differently from us, unless of course we actively read up on their cultural habits, which would be too time-consuming /: Lol.
Well, we all learn something new every day so yups!
Hi Pam
ReplyDeleteYour picture looks so sweet. And Oma looks so fit I am certain she can run faster than me. LOL. You know something Mercia wrote about a similar experience in her blogpost and I find it amusing that many Europe countries have this culture.
Europe is stepping up their efforts of conserving the Earth's resources and I feel that we should also follow their example. Singapore compared to Germany and Canada is so fast paced and therefore people hardly have the time to throw their rubbish, what more sorting out their trash before throwing LOL.
It was a nice read Pam:)
Hi Pam,
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed your post and while reading through, I sort of recalled an experience I had with an American host during my studying years. It is always a struggle I suppose between communication of two distinct cultural backgrounds. Especially if language is not common, the misunderstandings and struggles of trying to be appreciated becomes more tedious. I fully understand Pam! But you behaved admirably, in showing courage to learn from the holy book of yours and avowing never to take your assumptions too far in future. I applaud you for that Pam!
Besides, I like the way you described the conflict about the trash and your lesson. You have also showed great magnanimity and interpersonal maturity in finding mirthful comedy in baffling conflicts. I really like that of you.
If there was any thing capable of improvement, I'd say your last 2 paragraphs had very poor control of grammar. Many sentences were next to unintelligible due to wrong grammar, or, you have used the wrong types of words to describe what you want to. But anyhow, I'm sure I got what you say, nothing more or less, that's all that mattered I suppose.
It was a pleasant story Pam :)
Hi Pamela,
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting read. I like how you included Hofstede's definition of culture, which is highly relevant in your case. You have included clear examples of how German culture differs from Singaporean culture and demonstrated to us in writing, the key to effective intercultural communication.
Having read your post, I could infer that effective intercultural communication can be brought upon by overcoming language barriers, having keen observation, being willing to learn and adapt, and emotional understanding.
Thank you for the effort!
Joel
Hello Pamela!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading some of our classmates' posts, I realized that sorting out the trash is common in quite a few country! And I guess since they were brought up to do it (thats why it is not a chore for them), they expect it to be the usual practice! I suppose Singapore is working towards such culture as seen from the continuos campaign on going green, and the encouragement to use the recycle bins!
I've learnt something about the German culture from your blog post (:
Thank you, Pamela, for sharing a bit about your immersion program in Germany. You paint a clear picture of some of your early frustrations, specifically with the language that Oma used almost exclusively and with the norm for separating garbage (which Mercia also described in her post). I can visualize you poring over the dictionary on a regular basis. You are correct, too, when you say "it takes time and interaction for one to integrate his/her thoughts and actions that are distinct to a particular group of people." In other words, learning a culture is like learning a language; it doesn't happen in a day.
ReplyDeleteDid you do much beer drinking, the sort described by Eileen? Was that part f your adaptation?
Guten Tag, Pam..
ReplyDeleteWow, I also faced the same situation in Canada. They sorted trash in more groups than the suggested. They even made their own compost and squirrel feeder from food left-over! I can see that Canadian squirrel weigh twice than Singaporean one. :)
Ich liebe Oma!