TointeractwithpeopleoutsideofChina,Ithinkoneimportantissueistounderstandtheotherculture.Whenwetalkaboutculture,weareactuallyrelatingtoarts,behaviors,languageandetc.BelowareasetofpicturesfromtheinternetwhichIpersonallythinkisveryclosetoreality.Maybemanypeoplehaveseenthesepicturesbefore,butIwanttousethesepicturestotalkaboutsomeofmyownunderstandingoftheEasternandWesternwayofthinking.Mealsoftheday:Inthewesternsociety,peopledon’tseentobemindonwhetherthebreakfastanddinnerwillbehotfoodornot,butI’mnotsayingeverybodylikesit,justthatIguesshalfofthepopulationwouldn’tputtoomuchofattentiononit.Buttotheeasternsociety,itseemsalmostimpossibletohavebreakfastanddinnerincold.Becausestartedfromancienttime,peopletendtothinkhotfoodsbringgoodhealthtothebody.Relationship:Inthewesternsociety,therelationshipisveryclearanddirect.Peopletendtoknowotherpeoplefromthesameprofessionorsameinterest.Intheeasternsociety,therelationshipisverycomplex,andyoucanseethingsalwaysmixedupnotjustwithonebutalotmore.Ifyoudidsomethingbadsomehow,youareverymuchcrewedupfortherestofyourlife.Becauseyourreputationwillbespreadfasteryoucanimagine.Wayofliving:Individualismisthewayoflivinginthewesternsociety.Peopletendtopreferalifewithouttoomuchofinteraction,becauseitisdifferentbetweenworkinghoursandprivatetime.Forexampleworkinghoursare9am–6pm,thentherestisprivatetime,peoplenormallyturnofftheirphonessotheydon’tgetdisturbbutothers.Collectivismisthewayoflivingintheeasternsociety.Peoplespendtimewitheachotherdoesn’tmatterwhetherlikeitornot.Thisisahugedifferentwiththewesternworld.Itisawayoflife,butsometimespeopleseemstolivewithoutprivacy,buttheyalreadygotusetothat.Transportation:Thepictureoriginallyshowsinthe70s,peoplefromthewestarestartingtousecarsbuttheeastareusingbikes.Thenin06,thewestarethenusingbikesbuttheeaststartedtousecars.ButIhaveadifferentideaonthesepictures:Inthewest,workingclassneedtousecarstogowork.Thentheupperclassareusingbikeasaleisureactivities.Intheeast,workingclasscannotaffordtobutacarsotheyhavetousebikewhichisawayofsavingmoney.Carsarealuxuryitemforpeopletoshowtheirsuccess.ItisavastdifferentbetweenthetwocultureswhichIfounditveryfunny.Lifeoftheelders:Eldersinthewestarereallyhavingarelaxtimeafterretirement.Eldersintheeastarestillverytiredbecausetheyhavetotakecareoftheirgrandchildren.Self-realization:Inthewest,the“SELF”isverybig.Intheeast,the“SELF”almostmeansnothing.Kids:Inthewest,kidsareonlytakingcarebytheparent.Intheeast,allthefamilymembersaresurroundingthekids.Standardofbeingpretty:Inthewest,darkortanskiniswhatshowshealthyandpretty.Intheeast,thewhiteryouare,theprettieryouare.Whattodrinkwhenhavingastomached:Inthewest,definitelycokes.Intheeast,nicepotofhottea.Ontime:Whenwetalkaboutontimeinthewesternsociety,itmeansonthatpointingtimefortheappointment.Butintheeasternsocietypeopleliketobe“around”thatpointingtime.Travelling:Whentravelling,westernpeopleliketolookatthesineryandrememberit.Peoplefromtheeastlovetotakephotostocapturetheviews.Queue:Inthewesternsociety,queuingmeanslineupandwait.Intheeasternsociety,queuingmeansgathertogether.Shower:Inthewest,peopleshowerinthemorningtowakethemselvesup.Intheeast,peopleshowerbeforebedtimeforagoodnightsleep.(Personally,Idoboth.)Howpeoplethinkoftheoppositeside：Abovearewhatpeoplethinkofeachother.Ideas:Inthewest,becausethewayoflivingandtheeducationreceived,peopletendtogettothemeanpointstraight.Intheeast,theeducationwereceivedtoldushowtobeingpolite,sotogettothepoint,theexplanationswillbeallovertheplace.Partying:Inthewest,peoplegotocasualorformalpartytomeetnewpeople,sotheywillfindthepersonthathascommoninterests.Thereforetheywillbetalkinginsmallgroups.Intheeast,peopletendtositaroundespeciallyinChina,andIcannotexplainthereasonforthat.Decibelinrestaurants:Inthewest,talkingoutloudinaprivateareaisveryannoyingandnotpolite.Intheeast,takingreallyloudseemtobeacceptable.Solvingproblem:Inthewest,whenfacingaproblem,theywilltalkstraightintoit.Intheeast,peoplewillwalkaroundtheproblem.Attitudetowardsnewobjects:Inthewest,whenpeoplelookatanewobjectorinvention,ifit’snotinterestingenough,theywilljustwalkaway.Intheeast,whenpeoplegetintouchwithanewobject,theywillputalotofinterestinit.Whenangry:Inthewest,whenangry,itmeansangry.Intheeast,whenangry,youshouldlookhappy.Fashion:It’safashiontoeatAsiancuisineoutsideofAsia.It’safashiontoeatwesterncuisineinAsia.Leadership:Inthewesternsociety,leaderissomeoneleadingtheteambutalmostequaltotherestoftheteammembers.Intheeasternsociety,leaderissomeonecontrollingtheteam.Inconclusion,fromaboveexamples,wecanseehowimportantitistoknowother’sculture.Withouttheunderstandingofotherculturecouldleadtohugeconflictandmisunderstanding.Thereforebeforeaninterculturalcommunicationisaccruing,morestudiesshouldbedowntoreducethechanceofconflict.Themanywaysoflivingyouknow,thentheworldwilllookmoreglobalizetoyou.
