A couple of months ago I was invited at the birthday party of my Asian friend (She's Indian). Not only friends but also family members such as brothers, sisters, nephwes, nieces, parents, grandparents ... were at the party. This was a real cultural experience for me.
Her parents told about their arranged marriage and the great feast. She lives with her parents, grandmother, brothers and sisters. So her parents take care of her grandmother. This shows that the elderly are revered. I also noticed the respect my friend shows for her mother, father and grandmother.
Her mother asked me about my progress at school. She was worried about her daughter because she had to take the French and English exam again. Just as Belgian families do, she and her husband provide financially for her daughter until she graduated.
As you can read, I learned a lot about the Asian culture but I also had a lot of fun!
A friend of mine comes from Asia (India). I have known her for a couple of years but every time I met her I still learn about her culture.
Some stereotypes of Asian people apply to her: She's friendly, generous, polite and group-oriented. As individuals differ from their national culture in some aspects, it's normal that not all these sterotypes apply to her.
As you read in the previous paragraph, she's group-oriented. From this it follows that she is collectivistic. When she had to take a decision, the opinion of her parents is very important. At school she prefers teamwork above individual assignments.
I also noticed some obstacles to effective communication. She's very religious. Once I said I got annoyed by arrogant people. She answered: "For God we are all the same so don't mind them!" This was certainly not the answer I expected. Experience is another communication barrier for us. She's gone through a lot, so terrible things to me or not necessarily terrible to her.
I' m sure in the future I will reveal more cultural differences.
I did a work placement at Santader Consumer Finance Benelux B.V. (February 2012 - May 2012). Some foreigners were employed at the company. I made contact with a Turkish young woman.
The young woman talked a lot about her family. Traditions are also important to her. At work, she prefers teamwork. All her colleagues like to cooperate with the Turkish woman, because the group result is of primary importance to her. Turkey is a collectivistic country so it's normal she leans to the collectivistic end of the spectrum.
She told me that the first year she lived in Belgium she had to adapt to the fact that status wasn't ascribed. As she always has been a hard worker, it wasn't difficult to create a good social position trough achievement. We prefer both status through achievement. In this way everybody can determine his own status.
So my traineeship was also a cultural experience to a certain extent.
