Hi guys,
Well I really had a hard time thinking about a situation where I encountered an inter cultural scenario. So this goes way back to my lower secondary school days. Secondary school days was one of the greatest time where I make awesome friends who till today are my best buddies! So, my group of friends were all from different races, 2 of whom were Chinese and 2 of whom were Malay and 1 Indian friend. We were really a good representative of the multicultural society and we are proud of it even till today. Being with a group of multicultural friends helped me foster great inter cultural understanding.
It was my first time that I had called my group of friends over to my place to join in my festival celebration, Hari Raya. I had no idea at that time that my Chinese friends and my Indian friend did not take beef! Sadly, most of the dishes prepared by my Mom were made of beef. There was only one dish made of chicken. So, I called them over for lunch and realised that did not take beef. My friends were really nice and were not offended. But I really felt terrible and upset over myself for not taking the initiative to know more about their religion and culture. Since then, I took the effort to know more about my friends culture and practices. This allowed me to gain a greater understanding of Chinese and Indian practices. Hence, these days for I ensure that I include dishes that are made of seafood for them to enjoy!
I would like to share another incident that benefited me in my workplace because of having friends from different culture. This year I had the opportunity to attend to my tuition company's CNY lunch. This was the first time I had the pleasure of being part of a CNY year. One of my Chinese colleague praised my ability to eat efficiently with a chopstick and practising good habits while using a chopstick. This appraisal was due to my Chinese friend who taught me how to eat with a chopstick and teaching me the don't while using a chopstick such as not pointing your chopstick to someone. And to ensure that the index finger does not stick out during usage as it is impolite. And I am glad to have learned to use a chopsticks which I can boast about to my brothers as they can't.
Hence, personally I feel its essential to understand and take the initiative to learn about acts that maybe considered rude or impolite. And these extra knowledge can be really beneficial in one way or another especially in countries like Singapore with a multicultural and multiracial society.
Hope you enjoyed reading my post!
Regards
Farhanah
