There is definitely a great diversity of cultures present in our food, schools and work, many of which need some time to adapt to. An example that can illustrate this can be seen from my mother’s experiences at her new workplace.
My mother is currently working at a shipping company with many international expatriates. She recalls one Norwegian international in his late fifties called Olaf who stands out in my mother’s memory due to his boisterous and fatherly nature. He works on the same floor as my mother but in separate departments; however, on my mother’s second day, he took the trouble to approach my mother personally at her desk to say hello and introduce himself. He also always smiles and greets my mother by name when he sees her.
Another incident that illustrates Olaf’s thoughtfulness happened when my mother was zapping documents at the office’s photocopying machine. Olaf had sent documents for printing to the machine and was queuing behind my mother. Afraid that my mother would get a shock or bump into him when she turned around, Olaf pre-empted her by placing his hands on her shoulders gently but firmly and warmly greeting her by name.
I found my mother’s re-enactments of her experiences at work extremely amusing at first, but realized they would not seem strange at all to people of the same culture after sitting through the ES2007S class on intercultural communication. Such practices might not be acceptable to all Singaporeans too; we are obviously less friendly to new acquaintances and might shirk away from the close contact Olaf exhibited. Perhaps Olaf and his other countrymen measure their personal space differently and are more open than us; that is definitely something we can learn from.
