Evaluating Intercultural Behavior (Post #2)

The culture that we grow up in teaches us values, acceptable behavior, norms and many other things and these teachings form the basis for our daily interactions. Since different cultures have different set of teachings, there is a high probability of conflicts because people might not be aware of values of other cultures.  In this post, I will be talking about a cultural misunderstanding that could have possibly led to a conflict.

There were many foreign students in my secondary school in Chandigarh but the Indian students were still the majority. One day, I was having lunch with my friends at the school canteen. One of them was a traditional Sikh, Sahib Noor and one was a Thai international student, Ping-Pong (this is how we addressed him). At some point during the conversation, the issue about the Sikh turbans came up. (Turban is a kind of cloth head wear and is considered part of Sikh identity and their Guru’s gift.) Ping-Pong touched Sahib Noor’s turban and asked, in a very casual manner, why Sikhs wear the turban. In a very aggressive tone, Sahib Noor ordered Ping-Pong to never do that again. Although it was not his intention, Ping-Pong offended Sahib Noor because the head and turban are sacred for the Sikhs and must not be touched or insulted in any way. The situation was contained as some of us tried to calm down Sahib Noor while others explained the significance of turban to Ping-Pong. This is an example of a situation where cultural differences lead to potential conflicts.

Our group tried to help all the classmates from different countries and different Indian states. Nonetheless, there were times when they experienced cultural shock. Ping-Pong also faced problems in verbal communication as he did not understand the language that most of his classmates conversed in. Initially when he was very reserved and not our friend yet, he addressed the teachers by their name which is considered rude in India. These are just some of the problems that he faced in the new Indian culture. Even the Indians from other parts of the country had cultural differences and faced communication problems.

In this globalized world, we cannot avoid interactions with different cultures. Communicating with people from other cultures can be challenging. So we need to find out more about the set of values, norms and customs in a culture so as to facilitate effective communication. Culture in my state is different from Sikh culture but I never offended any of my Sikh friends as I was aware of their beliefs. Therefore, understanding and discovering a culture is necessary before interacting in that culture for effective communication and to avoid the risk of upsetting people from that culture.