Ho Chi Minh City Open University Graduate School 97 Vo Van Tan, Dist.3, HCMC, Vietnam ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET AND REPORT Diploma in TESOL 6 Name of candidate : NGUYỄN THỊ KHUÊ - TRẦN THỊ THANH PHỤNG Student No: Email address: phung28@gmail.com ( Tran Thi Thanh Phung ) minhkhue1979@gmail.com ( Nguyen Thi Khue ) Name of coursework subject: COMMUNICATION and CULTURE Title of this item of work: CULTURE SHOCK Name of lecturer: Dr. BẢO ĐẠT Due date: February 6 th , 2010 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP: I certify that the above assignment is my original work, and it is based on my own research. All sources used by me have been documented. No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement. This piece of work has not previously been submitted for assessment in this or any other subject or course at this University or elsewhere. Student’s Signature: … …PHUNG , KHUE……………. Date: Feb 5 th , 2010 Communication and Culture - Culture Shock CULTURE SHOCK ‘Most people who live abroad for an extended period experience difficulties in adjusting to the new culture; this is commonly called ‘culture shock’. In order to understand culture shock, one must remember that our ability to function in the world depends on our capacity to read hundreds of signs, respond to subtle cues, and behave according to countless explicit and implicit rules. At home we know how to read street signs, how to use the telephone, how much to tip, etc. Much of what we do in our daily lives is automatic and requires little thought. Abroad, the reverse is true and simple tasks become difficult because we don’t know how to behave, our actions and words don’t get the expected responses, and we don’t understand the messages we are getting. We are confronted continuously with new ways of thinking, valuing, and doing things. Sometimes, our common sense is no longer useful. This disorientation that can cause severe stress is culture shock. Fortunately, culture shock is predictable and manageable and, if foreigners are prepared for it, they can do a great deal to mitigate its effects’. (‘Culture Shock’ by Dr. Carmen Guanipa, Dept. of Counseling and School Psychology, San Diego State University) In our modern world of exponential intercultural exchange language is seen as ‘an unifying force, rather than a barrier to human interaction’. In fact, many of world’s problems are the results of cultural misunderstanding. ‘Feeling of disorientation, of discomfort due to the unfamiliarity of surroundings’ (Martin & Nakayama 1997: 169 ) happens to most people who come to another country. All foreigners who travel oversea are like ‘a fish out of water’. The reason for this feeling is that when they encounter a new culture they do not have enough knowledge and understanding about the signals, their culture helps to shape their identity, and many of the signals of interpersonal communication such as body language, words, facial expressions, tone of voice, idioms or slang, which are different in various cultures. Further more, ‘everything is fair’ in new places, they are often excited about new sights, new sounds, new smells and tastes. The longer they live in a foreign country , the more culture shock they encounter, and the more culture shock they overcome , the more they feel at home. We had opportunities to talk face to face and through e-mail with some foreigners from America ( Mr. Jason – professor, 48 years old), Singapore ( Mr. DC Chew – businessman, 33), Thailand ( Ms. Sasiporn – employee ), France ( Mr. Clarke – doctor, 45 and Ms. Angelique – sale person ), Japan (Mr. Haroshi Harada –director ), Switzerland ( Mr. Mathias Baumgartner – teacher , 31), Germany ( Mr. Christian Nagel, Head of Marketing, 51), China ( Mr. Gao-Kunfeng, a fund manager, 34). Most of them have lived in Vietnam for more than 8 years. Two have got married to 1 Communication and Culture - Culture Shock Vietnamese ladies (Mr. Jason and Mr. Clarke). With various kinds of job, they shared a lot of cultural obstacles to living in Vietnam. The difficulty most of them encounter is language. It is language, which can help us succeed in a multicultural world, also can cause confusion if we do not really understand it. Because Mr. Chew’s command of the language was poor, he used to worry, ‘Language is a barrier. In the provinces it is even more difficult to communicate if one is unable to speak Vietnamese’. As to Mr. Jason, he has problems with the complexity around the pronouns, ‘I can never figure out what to call people (anh, chi, em, co, bac, ba, chu, cau, di, etc), particularly for older people’. In fact, in Vietnam, the way as well as the title we call others is very important. It implies the consanguinity, social relationship, position, and also the feeling of speakers. It is not simple as in some foreign countries, especially Western countries, they just have ‘You’and ‘I’. Talking about the way of calling others, Ms. Angelique added ‘everyone in Vietnam has to call their parents-in-law by Mum or Dad, but in France, they are not your parents, just call them by first name…’ It is like the way we call our friends or peers! Like what we have mentioned before, the way we call others also implies how much we respect others. Therefore, if we call our parents or parents-in-law by their first names, we will be blamed rude. Besides, Mr. Clarke has found out an interesting opinion about Vietnamese family , that is ‘Ten daughters means nothing, one son means everything’ ( Nhat nam viet huu, thap nu viet vo). That is why his parents-in-law still wanted to try one more though there are 8 daughters in their family. Fortunately, they won in the last attempt. ‘If it had not been a son , we would have tried again and again’ said his father-in-law. It is because Vietnamese life is influenced by ancestors worship, only the son can maintain the family name from generation to generation, and because of the strong influence of the Chinese culture, ‘the family comes before individual and boys are valued and more important than girls’, the son’s role is to replace a deceased father, to protect the name and reputation of the family for the sake of living as well as the dead. The following experience comes from Mr. Jason and Mr. Clarke, who have got married to Vietnamese ladies; Mr. Jason expressed, ‘I like the support offered in a Vietnamese family unit, but dislike the age hierarchy. I believe respect should be earned and not expected at any age’. In fact, according to Eastern culture, children have to respect and obey their parents and the elder without questioning. And ‘the husband and wife relationship is that the wife should listen and obey husband without questioning’ (Vietnamese Culture 4). Unless their parents die, they mustn’t decide any serious things, related to the family, without asking for permission even though they are mature or 2 Communication and Culture - Culture Shock they have already had their own family with grandchildren. In some countries, when people date, they do not need to go to see the parents first, after some dates if they really like each other, they will do. In Vietnam, they have to ask their parents for permission from the first date. If his or her parents do not like her or him, the parents will not allow them to date even their children love the other. Therefore, Haroshi Harada did not date with his girlfriend any more. He told us that on the day he was introduced to her family, her parents asked him so many questions about his family, friends and work and so on that he was so ‘afraid of her parents’. And later, his girlfriend had to break up with him because her parents did not allow her to date with him. Together with some differences in family, at work foreigners also gain lots of ‘amazing’ experiences. Mr. Clarke, for example, is a doctor in Ha Noi FV hospital, he was really shocked at some medical treatments from Vietnamese people. He told us the case of a man from Nam Dinh Province. The man took his 5-year-old daughter to hospital with many bruises on her chest and back. He explained that bruises came from coin rubbing –‘cạo gio’, it was an old folk remedy in his village. ‘But she does not feel better!’said the man. Many Vietnamese people often use traditional treatment at home before going to hospital. ‘It can be too late’ said angrily Mr. Clarke. This is very easy to guess because the living standard of people in some remote areas such as mountainous, or countryside or ethnic minority is still low, they lack of money or transports to go to hospital or to the doctor’s, especially, they have few opportunities of updating modern technology or latest information. One more example is Mr. Mathias Baumgartner, a teacher from Switzerland. He shared with us that on the Vietnamese Teachers’ Day, some students offered him some gifts, he refused, but they insisted. It is because in his country, ‘If students offer gifts to teachers, it can be interpreted as an effort to gain favorable consideration.’ He did not know that in Vietnam, in order to show their gratitude to teachers, students often offer presents or cards together with best wishes, it is popular on The Vietnamese Teachers’ Day. Thanks to the explanation of some Vietnamese friends, gifts are ‘Okay’ with him now. ‘Cultural shock derives from both the challenge of new cultural surroundings and from the loss of a familiar cultural environment’ ( Rhine smith, 1985). Therefore, living in Vietnam, a new country, foreigners can’t help encountering shock in their daily life. They may feel sad, disappointed, frightened, angry, or aggressive, they may complain about the host country, they even want to ‘go directly back to my own country’ (Mr. Jason) or ‘want to return to homeland’ (Mr.Gao- Kunfeng). ‘This really bothers me’ is what Mr. Christian complained as he was at some common places such as theatres or bus stops or at the cashiers’ because ‘there is no line but all at the same 3 Communication and Culture - Culture Shock time !’ However, that is a common scene in Vietnam, it is because we get used to the thinking that ‘the more we get together, the merrier we will be’. Thus, instead of standing orderly and quietly in lines, Vietnamese people like making groups to gossip… This habit has existed for ages, it is really not easy to make a change. Also at some entertainment centres, foreigners felt distinguished because they have to pay higher than Vietnamese people. This upsets Ms. Angelique and Mr. Jason, they suggested there should be a standardized ticket price for all, ‘I can accept that students or young and old people be given discounted tickets as they do not work and have no income. But I do not think it is reasonable for tourists to pay higher as they may feel cheated and as a result they may not return’. This idea may open a new problem for our government to solve! Anyway, we think the difference in payment is just a way to hold the balance or reduce the unbalance of income or rates of exchange. And it is common to think that most foreigners, who are from developed countries, with high standard of living, with ‘dollars or euro notes’, will certainly have a rich life in Vietnam. Further more, they are paid higher than Vietnamese people in most cases of working. So, it is fair, isn’t it ? Food is another aspect foreigners have to struggle when living in other country. Mr. Clarke made a comment, ‘There are some differences in what is considered eatable, ‘dog meat’, or ‘mam tom’ for example’, and Ms. Angelique added, ‘I cannot contact fish sauce and shrimp paste’. ‘I learn quickly to never go near it again!’, that is the way they protect themselves. However, most of the foreigners we talked to expressed their love of Vietnamese food with many interesting cooking styles, taste and flavours, ‘the local food has a fantastic diversity throughout the country and excellent’ Mr. Chew praised. Much culture shock or culture bump involves misunderstanding about what politeness means. Actually, politeness can be learnt in different ways, so ‘trying to understand how politeness works in various culture may help one become more tolerant when someone seems to be rude to you’. Mr. Haroshi Harada, a director in a Furniture Limited Company in Binh Duong Province, said that Vietnamese people sometimes asked him about income, marital status or religion, it was not easy for him to answer, because he thought it was privacy, he did not like answering those personal questions. Therefore, he just smiled in most cases. In reality, it is true to be impolite to ask those personal questions if you belong to other countries, but in Vietnam, it is very popular because they sometimes ask those questions just for fun, for continuing the conversation, not always for detail information. It is just a way to socialize or to get to know each other. 4 Communication and Culture - Culture Shock ‘Effectively dealing with cultural shock requires recognition of cultural shock occurrences and implementing behaviors to overcome cultural shock with stable adaptations.’(By Michael Winkelman). Some foreigners have realized that the new culture has good and bad things to consider, and it depends on number of culture values that foreigners have to process. They start to define themselves and establish goals for living. They accept the culture’s ways with a positive attitude. Therefore, in case of the different ticket price, Mr. Jason said, ‘Sometimes I will just pay it. Other times I think it is just wrong and go elsewhere. This depends on my mood’. He knew what to do to survive in a new place! This phenomenon occurred to Mr. Chew and Ms. Sasiporn, too. After a long time of shock of the traffic, Ms. Sasiporn is used to it now, ‘I go with the flow, even drive on the sidewalk when necessary!’, Mr. Chew even comforted himself by comparing the traffic jam in Ho Chi Minh city with that in Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok or Jakarta, ‘it is still not too bad !’ In order to understand Vietnamese people more, with time he has learnt basic Vietnamese so he can communicate a little. “It really makes my business easier”. Sometimes ‘I am with local friends, so no problem…’. He has developed intercultural friendship to overcome his problem. This experience proves that understanding the culture from the counterparts’ point of view helps reduce stress and makes it easier to accept. It also confirms the statement that ‘successful adaptation requires accepting the fact that it is normal to face problems in a new culture and seeking solutions for problems instead of denying their existence.’ ( By Michael Winkelman) In general, they all got shocked on the first few days in Vietnam, Mr. Jason said when he first walked out of the airport, he was ‘frightened’ because he was ‘surrounded by ten taxi drivers’, they talked to him at the same time, later he got lost because the taxi driver could not find the address, and in the taxi, he witnessed an accident, traffic jam…, that is why he had to walk to find the address. In addition, the curiosity of some Vietnamese people discomforted him, ‘some kids even walked up to rub our arms to see what we felt like! I kept asking myself, What planet have I landed on?’ said Mr. Jason. However, ‘I am used to it now. It helps that I do not look like a tourist anymore. I just ignore the taxi drivers now and walk directly to the taxi company I want’, ‘It was not long before many people from the neighborhood were following us out of curiosity’. When we asked him how he had dealt with those shock experiences, he answered , ‘It just took some time to start feeling comfortable. When I first go to a new country, I am usually quiet and reserved for the first few days until I begin to get used to things’. This is really a good experience. On the contrary, Mr. Jason, who has problems with the pronouns, feels powerless, he was “shy away from speaking to older people for fear of offending them’. That’s why Mr. Bao Dat said, 5 Communication and Culture - Culture Shock ‘language is powerful if you can control.’ And Haroshi Harada left for China to overcome that love shock. Both of them cannot do anything as there are so many differences in family tradition and languages. In fact, running away or returning to homeland are also common ways for those who cannot get over shock. Afterwards, the culture starts to make sense, negative reactions or responses to the culture are reduced when they-foreigners recognize that problems derive from the inability to understand, accept, and adapt. They begin to feel a balanced view of the people and the customs. They are familiar with the environment and desire to explore. They may find themselves in the host country, they spend a lot of time on doing something they want, on going out around, on speaking to local people. A feeling of relaxation and sense of humour may be experienced. They have found themselves preferring things in the host country to ones at their country. Mr. Gao-Kunfeng, a fund manager in Binh Duong, really enjoys looking at Vietnamese women wearing Ao Dai, so he told his female staff to wear them every day at work. In Mr. Mathias Baumgartner’s opinion, he likes spending his holiday in Sapa, a foggy city where he can leave the noise from the city behind. As for Mr. Christian Nagel, he prefers to go to the countryside with his family at weekends because he can breathe fresh air and tastes some traditional Vietnamese food there. With some friends, Mr. Chew sometimes spends free time having some street food about 5,000 dong, especially, food such as ‘Com Sinh Vien’ only 8,000 – 10,000 dong and a cup of ‘Tra Da’ 1,000 dong… Preparation is a good first step before going to a new place or new culture so that one can minimize cultural shock, but when asked “Did you prepare anything before coming to Vietnam to avoid shock?”, most of those foreigners responded that they did not have any preparation or expectation, they just come with an open minds ‘so that I am able to appreciate all the little beautiful things’ said Mr. Chew. Mr. Jason was more pessimistic, he said the only exposure to Vietnam he received was war movies. So he imagined a Vietnam with ‘dirt roads, rice fields, conical hats.’ However, he was very surprised to see high-rise buildings, shopping malls and Citibank. Mr. Christian added ‘Ho Chi Minh City is becoming a more cosmopolitan city and English can be widely used to get around compared to 7 years ago’. After living in Vietnam for 8 years, Mr. Clarke has found out that Vietnam is a country of interesting things to discover, so he has studied the language in order to better comprehend the country. As for Mr. Jason, he found the quality of life to be better here, ‘the cost of living (for me) is lower, so I do not worry as much about paying bills and so on. I can take more holidays and enjoy life more than I could in my own country’. He said he had many foreign friends who came to Vietnam to work and permanently 6 Communication and Culture - Culture Shock settled down with their family and they love it. It is over the time of shock, they just accept the situation and adapt it, they know how to deal with shock rather well, Mr. Gao-Kunfeng got an experience: ‘Do in Rome as Rome does’. It really works because it helps him survive and find ‘motivation for acculturation’. In order to readjust to initial culture shock successfully, we need time and effort, there may be some disappointing time at first, but it will be worth of it because we can not only study about another culture, but gain a greater understanding of yourself and your own culture as well. With the traffic problem in Vietnam, Ms. Angelique thought, ‘It makes me appreciate the infrastructure back home.’ Mr. Jason said ‘Who really needs a buffet? Luxurious life of the states no longer really appeals to me,’ and Ms. Sasiporn supported that she would rather eat some street food with 20 baht than go to a buffet when back to Thailand. Even staying in Vietnam for just a few years, Mr. Mathias Baumgartner indicated that he sometimes found that he was not happy with other foreigners when they started to complain about Vietnam. He often told them to have an open mind and try to understand their staff rather than just complaining about their staff. “An eye for an eye the world goes blind”. All in all, culture shocks appear everywhere in life especially when we are in a new place. They can disappear not so long after, also can they last long or never disappear. Some foreigners who were interviewed shared, ‘If you show an interest in other person’s language and culture, they will show an interest in you.’ In fact, every country, every family, every work has good and bad things. As human beings we should be tolerant and considerate to others and the world would be a better place. ‘How many roads must a man walk down Before they call him a man ? How many times must a man look up Before he can see the sky ? ’ ( ‘Blowing in the Wind’ – Bob Dylan ) The Vietnamese people are the last natural human people in the world, that may or may not exactly true, but the Vietnamese people certainly do possess a culture richness and diversity rarely seen in even the most ancient of nations. Most important though, Vietnamese people are the exceptionally attractive, culturally diverse, and hospitable people that still light up at the sight of foreigners.’ ( Adapted from There and Back Again by Beulah F. Rohrlich.) 7 Communication and Culture - Culture Shock REFERENCES Intercultural Communication. Third Edition. Handouts from Dr. Bao Dat. Article: Cultural Shock and Adaptation – By Michael Winkelman http//: www.sfuca/coop/international/culture-shock.pdf http//: www.docjax.com/document http//: www.crosscultural.com/articles. http//: www.vietnam-culture.com.vn 8 . 2010 Communication and Culture - Culture Shock CULTURE SHOCK ‘Most people who live abroad for an extended period experience difficulties in adjusting to the new culture; this is commonly called culture shock stress is culture shock. Fortunately, culture shock is predictable and manageable and, if foreigners are prepared for it, they can do a great deal to mitigate its effects’. ( Culture Shock by. other. 4 Communication and Culture - Culture Shock ‘Effectively dealing with cultural shock requires recognition of cultural shock occurrences and implementing behaviors to overcome cultural shock with stable