Vive
la Difference!
Living Overseas ~ by
Ulrike
Lemmin-Woolfrey
|
|
...
| When
moving abroad the to-do list is endless: packing, shipping, new schools
for the kids, accommodation in the new country. It goes on forever, but
is either taken care of, if you are lucky, by your company, or yourself
with the help of endless checklists.
However, one
thing is often being neglected, even though vital to making your overseas
experience a happy and successful one: learning about the cultural etiquette
of the country you are going to be living and working in.
No matter how
similar your new destination is to your homeland, there are always differences,
however small, and whereas large companies often offer language courses
for the employees they are sending abroad, introductions as to how to communicate
with their foreign counterparts apart from basic language skills are not
usually given.
Many a family
has moved back home unhappy and many a business deal has been lost because
of lack of knowledge and tolerance of the cultural differences.
In business
meetings a multicultural attendance can lead to disastrous outcomes, simply
because the Arabic attendees need to have a long leisurely introduction
without talking details, the Americans want to come straight to the point,
the East Asians do not ask outright questions and the French will want
to think about everything over a lengthy lunch. Knowing how different cultures
approach business deals and meetings before you go out there would save
a lot of stress. |
|
..
|
|
Equally
it is the little things that can make all the difference. Take going out
for dinner with your business partners or new-found friends: the Americans
cut all their food up before using the fork in one hand and politely placing
one hand under the table, the German will look at this appalled and will
always use knife and fork together and never cut more than one mouthful
at the time. The Englishman will squash his peas, or pierce them with the
fork, whereas the Chinese will be slurping and smacking his lips to make
sure everybody knows how much he is enjoying his food. With everybody being
offended by the way the others are eating, the evening is not off to a
good start.
The vast majority
of expatriates are open minded and welcome learning and approaching cultural
differences, yet ethnocentricity is wide spread and leads not only to broken
business deals, but also to potential failures of overseas assignments
that could have been so exciting for the whole family. By definition, ethnocentricity
means “an attitude that one’s own race, culture etc. is superior”, and
can be found in virtually all groups of the same cultural background in
any country abroad. People get together and start bemoaning the differences
that they are encountering every day and cannot deal with, either because
they do not understand them, or are not willing to accept them as the norm
in the country they are guests in. Even though everybody needs a good moan
once in a while, especially when far from home, open-mindedness and willingness
to adapt will get expatriates much further. |
..
When thinking
about taking an overseas assignment, on top of the checklist should be
not only to check out all the required facilities in your new country,
but also the local etiquette. Make sure you familiarise yourself with the
cultural, religious and social idiosyncrasies of the country. Find out
how important body language is, what offends, what not.
It is surprising
how simple gestures can vary so much from country to country, and how the
use of hands, feet and facial expressions can give your hosts a completely
wrong impression of your intentions.
It is important
too, that however well brought up and behaved you may be considered to
be in your own country, to look at your behaviours, styles and attitudes
and revise them all if necessary. If in doubt about how to behave in a
certain situation, say for example how to behave at a meal in your local
host’s house, ask. You will not be laughed at, but will be admired for
your desire to fit in and learn the local eccentricities, rather than stubbornly
insisting on your own.
As Joshua Lieberman
was quoted in saying: “ Tolerance is the positive effort to understand
another’s belief’s, practices, and habits without necessarily sharing or
accepting them.” With tolerance, and a little knowledge of cultural
etiquette, and a flexible approach any overseas stay will be a successful
and happy one.
.
|
Ulrike
Lemmin-WoolFrey is German and studied
Marine Biology in England, where she also met her husband. A few years
and one daughter later, she has followed her husband to Qatar, where she
has lived for nearly three years. Moving to Qatar was the catalyst to change
her career and start freelance writing, and she now contributes regularly
to various local newspapers and magazines like All Women and Abode,
and a number of international magazines (Nexus), newspapers (Telegraph),
and web sites. She specialises in family issues, travel and Arabic interests.
To see Ulrike Lemmin-WoolFrey web site
Click
Here. To contact Ulrike Click
Here |
|
|
....
.
|
