After weeks of meetings, fund raising and also team bonding sessions, the "big day" arrived. A team of 10 embarked an Overseas Community Trip to Cambodia, with the intention to raise funds to build a water tank in one of the local schools and to interact and expose the children to English Language.
Upon arrival, they were greeted warmly by a local Khmer who was proficient in English, and were led to the local school to prepare for the week's programme. The volunteers got the chance to interact with the local children who are very innocent and forthcoming throughout the week. The team was eventually invited to one of the local houses for a meal. Despite language barrier, Dennis, one of the volunteers decided to praise the child by patting on his head. Instead of feeling proud, the child's parent told him off. Dennis was puzzled and apologized as the team continued with the meal.
Clarification with the coordinator later revealed that that Cambodia has a cultural taboo of touching children heads but in Singapore, it is a sign of approval and encouragement. This cultural difference leads to potential misconceptions or even conflicts.
FYI: In Khmer;s culture a person's head contains one's soul, making it a taboo to touch.
Hello Chuan Ting, I think this is another excellent example of an intercultural conflict. The main reason for these conflicts is the lack of knowledge about the other culture. However, it is really hard to learn about one's culture in a short time, especially when it is just a short trip. So the only way is to learn by our mistakes. I am sure that Dennis will never pat a Cambodian's head, ever again. (:
ReplyDeleteHey Chuan Ting,
ReplyDeleteA very good example of a cultural conflict. Like Luqman says, this was due to a lack of understanding of the other culture on Dennis' part. While the trip is short, given that this is an OCIP, it might have been good to understand the behavior of the people that you are going to help out.
Cheers,
Jake
Hey CT,
ReplyDeleteNice post, I like it. The issue here is that conflict defines us and make us stronger and smarter. CT, you needed this conflict as much as you didn't want it to happen by thinking you should have loan an entire library on Cambodian culture to better equip yourself with the relevant knowledge.
Que bravo,
Cheers
Hey Chuan Ting!
ReplyDeleteI think this is a concise post which shows a good example of intercultural conflict! I believe this lesson is definitely a memorable one for Dennis and he will not make the same mistake in the future!
Regards,
Hwee Teng
Hey Chuan!
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent example! I'm sure Dennis never saw it coming. But I doubt that such information on this custom is not readily available pre-trip research. You were really lucky to have experienced this form of sacred culture and thank you so much for sharing it with us (=
Thanks, Chuan Ting, for relating in this fine manner a clear example of how miscommunication can occur even when one least expects it. Obviously Dennis had no bad intent. However, because of varying interpretations of the same behavior, he and his hosts became at odds.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few verb tense problems here: stick with the pst tense in this telling. Also, check out this sentence:
Clarification with the coordinator later revealed that that Cambodia has a cultural taboo of touching children heads but in Singapore, it is a sign of approval and encouragement. >>>
Clarification with the coordinator later revealed that that in Cambodia there is a cultural taboo against touching children heads, but in Singapore, doing so is a sign of approval and encouragement.
Sounds like the Cambodian community mentioned has limited exposure to culture outside its social sphere. Had some form of briefing conducted for both the community and the volunteers beforehand, such conflict might not have happened. Hence, I would say no one is to be blamed in this example. Again, even when we give our best in understanding a different culture in a short time, conflicts still are unavoidable.
ReplyDelete