Singapore is known for its various races, religions
and culture. The government has also done very well to keep the harmony and
peace among its people for the past 50 years. But even in this country, small
tensions caused by intercultural differences are still inevitable, just like
the following experience I witnessed before.
On a Saturday night about 3 years ago, I was having
dinner with my friends in a Chinese restaurant in Clarke Quay. There were other
customers around, including several Singaporeans and some Chinese who were
probably working in Singapore. During the dinner, several Chinese customers
started to talk so loudly that all other customers in that restaurant can hear
them. While other Chinese customers were unaffected, the Singaporean customers
were clearly very annoyed by the noise. Some of them stared at the loudly
talking Chinese customers a few times but received no reply. Eventually, the
Singaporean customers left the restaurant very unhappily even before they could
finish their meal.
Now when I looked back, this is a typical example of
how different culture clash with each other. In China when people eat in a
restaurant, it would not be inappropriate for them to talk or laugh loudly. Instead,
the restaurant actually likes to see its customers talking loudly while eating,
because the noise in a restaurant shows that the restaurant is popular and
having many customers. And that attracts more customers, who may think that the
dishes in that restaurant are delicious. So for me, I personally understand why
some Chinese customers tend to speak loudly in a restaurant. However, as it
says, “When in Rome, do as Romans do.” I think foreigners have the liability to
learn about the local culture and habits, in order to refrain themselves from
offending other people. And that’s the way to reduce intercultural frictions
and foster better communication.
