This incident happened a few years ago when I was having lunch with my friends Siti and Wendy. Both Siti and Wendy bought nasi lemak while I decided to order minced pork noodles. As there was a long queue for the noodles, both Siti and Wendy had started eating by the time I came back. Just then, Wendy commented that the noodles looked delicious and used her fork to taste some of the minced pork.
Upon seeing what Wendy had done, Siti was furious and reprimanded Wendy for being disrespectful of her culture. Siti pointed out that Wendy had contaminated the utensil from the Malay stall with pork which is strictly forbidden under the Islamic law. Realising her mistake, Wendy apologized and promised to be more sensitive in future.
Food is a tangible aspect of culture. In the case for Muslims, they have to abstain from food like pork. Many a times, we overlooked some cultural differences because we fail to put ourselves in others’ shoes. If Wendy had understood the importance of Islamic dietary law to the Muslims, such conflict would not have occurred. Hence, it dawned on me the need to be sensitive to other cultures even if we do not travel abroad as the differences exist in everyday life. Through empathy and understanding of cultural differences, we would be able to communicate better with people of different cultures, thereby creating a vibrant cosmopolitan society.
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ReplyDeleteHi Jie Li!
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting way to look at intercultural behaviour as there might be others like Wendy who are not fully aware of their own cultures.
Hence it takes time and observance as well as the initiative to learn more about our own as well as other cultures. This reduces the misconceptions and the assumptions that one has about another culture or even of their own culture.
Cheers
Cassandra
Hello Jie Li,
ReplyDeleteDefinitely an insightful incident. Living in a multi-racial society, one must be wary of not offending friends from other races. From your experience, it is very clear that even a smallest gesture can evoke adverse reactions from others. However, such incidences do help us to learn from our mistakes and appreciate other culturs better. Perhaps, Wendy could have washed the utensils before returning it to the muslim food tray counter after finishing her meal. It would have shown that she is more sincere in her apology. Don't you think so?
A short well-described write-up that can be easily understood. Well done!:)
Cheers,
Rathi
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ReplyDeleteHi Rathi,
ReplyDeleteI think it's a great suggestion for Wendy to wash the utensils so as to make up for her mistake and express her sincerity. It is inevitable that cultural differences do slip our minds at times but being sincere in our apologies would help salvage the situation.
Thanks for the insightful comments! =)
Cheers,
Jie Li