Very interesting. We all have our cross-cultural interactions, some amusing and others not so. Living in Europe, I try not to engage in conversations about Indian culture and castes, mainly because I do not know enough to discuss these topics. On the other hand, many Europeans are surprised and somewhat annoyed to find that I do not need to be told about their country's history or art as I have already read a lot of European history. These cultural interactions can sometimes be hilarious. I heard this joke from a Japanese friend. Western businessmen traveling to Japan are often briefed on the etiquette of exchanging business cards as are their Japanese counterparts. So when a Westerner met a Japanese, he bowed low, took the card in both hands, read it carefully, and put it in his pocket. The Japanese businessman, knowing the western practice, casually took the care and, without glancing at it, put it in his pocket. No doubt it's an apocryphal story, but it has some truth in it.
I love your writing and look forward to it. Keep it going.
Fascinating... lots more to say, you could turn this post into a book!
Thank you Pallavi, our políticisns should attend your course, they can neither encode or decode…😎
Ha!
Fascinating essay! Was insightful to read your perspective and the many illustrative examples :)
Thanks much!
Very well said. Thanks for sharing. Your students are fortunate to be able to sit in your classes.
//But what about learning to be a generous listener? //
Thank you!
Fascinating discussion about encoding and decoding and why we need to pay attention to promote cross-cultural understanding.
Thanks!
Very interesting. We all have our cross-cultural interactions, some amusing and others not so. Living in Europe, I try not to engage in conversations about Indian culture and castes, mainly because I do not know enough to discuss these topics. On the other hand, many Europeans are surprised and somewhat annoyed to find that I do not need to be told about their country's history or art as I have already read a lot of European history. These cultural interactions can sometimes be hilarious. I heard this joke from a Japanese friend. Western businessmen traveling to Japan are often briefed on the etiquette of exchanging business cards as are their Japanese counterparts. So when a Westerner met a Japanese, he bowed low, took the card in both hands, read it carefully, and put it in his pocket. The Japanese businessman, knowing the western practice, casually took the care and, without glancing at it, put it in his pocket. No doubt it's an apocryphal story, but it has some truth in it.
I love your writing and look forward to it. Keep it going.
Thank you!
Love this entry, Pallavi. It gave me a lot think about.
Thanks!