This happened about a year ago when
a new Filipino helper came into my household.
One night, she had completed washing
the clothes and decided to hang it out to air. My grandmother, seeing this however,
was furious and immediately reprimanded the helper saying “You evil women!”. To
my grandmother, a conservative, traditional Chinese, such behaviors cannot be
condoned. For many generations, Chinese have held the belief that the night is
the time when spirits roam around looking for a place to settle. By hanging
your clothes out at night it is said to attract the spirits to reside within
these clothes. This means that when the clothes are worn, the person would then
run the risk of misfortune or being possessed. This thought hence caused my
grandmother to see the helper’s actions as an act of bringing harm to the
family. Conversely, the helper felt that her actions were perfectly fine and
did not understand why it garnered such a response. To her, it seems logical to
air the clothes after washing. This issue was later resolved by my father’s
explanation and from then on, the helper adapted and never hung the clothes out
at night again.
This calls to mind one of the 10
commandments to foster effective intercultural interaction - being aware of
differing social values. Across different societies, different values, beliefs
and norms are injected into individuals as they are assimilated into their
societies. Therefore, when different cultures meet, one has to be conscious of
these possible differences that can exist. As seen in the illustration above,
my grandmother’s assumption that everyone shares a common cultural knowledge resulted
her to read the helper’s actions in a very negative light, creating
misunderstanding and preventing effective interaction.
Communication is one way that can
assist us in learning another culture’s values and keeping misunderstandings
minimal. As seen above, by our communication with the helper, it granted her
the understanding of our Chinese culture, providing her the opportunity to
adapt and prevent history from repeating itself.
As our nation continues to open its
doors to foreigners, chances of coming into contact with someone from a foreign
culture are high; we could even expect to be living with someone who is
culturally different; in such instances when we hire a helper. Hence, being
active in fostering effective intercultural communication and becoming more
socially aware and adaptable would become valuable skills to possess.
Reference (Images):
https://www.google.com.sg/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1441&bih=646&q=maid+scolded&oq=maid+scolded&gs_l=img.3...1856.4872.0.5419.12.12.0.0.0.0.107.981.9j3.12.0.ekwqrh..0.0...1.1.5.img.5fS-Gcr5hBU#hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=shocked+look&oq=shocked+look&gs_l=img.3..0l5j0i24l2.7689.12535.11.12740.14.12.1.0.0.0.146.1322.5j7.12.0.ekwqrh..0.0...1.1.5.img.GvPv3Znyr1w&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.43287494,d.bmk&fp=8470039fad555f73&biw=1441&bih=646&imgrc=k2z0GqmtNyL4-M%3A%3B-QS3ai6RIg1D8M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.christineranck.com%252Fblog%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2010%252F10%252Fshocked_woman-700490.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.christineranck.com%252Fjust-a-spoonful-of-sugar-the-placebo-effect%252F%3B414%3B600
https://www.google.com.sg/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1441&bih=646&q=maid+scolded&oq=maid+scolded&gs_l=img.3...1856.4872.0.5419.12.12.0.0.0.0.107.981.9j3.12.0.ekwqrh..0.0...1.1.5.img.5fS-Gcr5hBU#hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=old+grandma+scolding&oq=old+grandma+scolding&gs_l=img.3...5574.13163.0.13339.28.23.3.0.0.0.225.2494.12j10j1.23.0.ekwqrh..0.0...1.1.5.img.MP3EI00UQXk&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&fp=8470039fad555f73&biw=1441&bih=646&imgrc=1TBMpv91avsNGM%3A%3B2Z5_9tfVIxFTrM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252F3.bp.blogspot.com%252F-bzNYceJYUuQ%252FTpGXBaKLEGI%252FAAAAAAAABa8%252FIyzLcMZBm04%252Fs640%252F7571.scolding%2525252520grandma%2525252520610.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.lifeatwildberrycottage.com%252F2011%252F10%252Fmoms-proverbs-continued.html%3B610%3B436
