Not exactly cultural, but… When I was teaching in Tanzania I studied Swahili pretty hardcore. He shook his head and started talking in Turkish. A lack of awareness of cultural differences, whether minute or glaringly obvious, can make or break a working relationship or potential business deal. So it was embarrassing for me, as another American. So when the lady asked for my money and I took it out of my shoe she absolutely flipped out at me, screaming. When it came time to pay, I didn’t have any money in my pockets. Then all the old men at the counter around me started snickering. Read All; Editor’s Choice; Story Archive; Discussion; You are here: Home / Funny and Hilarious / Sweet Misunderstanding … Sweet Misunderstanding… Published by Sweetu in category Funny and Hilarious with tag book | canteen | CWCI-2012 | friend. For example, some cultures reject a gift three times before finally accepting it while others consider such behavior offensive. 1 Slurping . Learn about us. At the airport of Kota Kinabalu I went into what I though was the bathroom. You are supposed to be ‘cool’ and play the game. * Cultural hegemony: when a single culture dominates several other cultures. B: Sorry I working that night. I had no clue where to buy them from as I hadn’t seen a grocery store around our hotel. It was his mother, and she was freaking out about the bowl. They used the same language and had the same understanding, but his behavior (using the word) degraded the meaning for her. While I’m doing this, though, something in the back of my head knows this situation isn’t right. Why would someone do that? I told my students, a roomful of 4th-graders. In many Eastern European countries, if you had a date with someone and you would like to continue seeing them, you message them you had a great time to let them know you are interested. To add to my excitement, they gave … I was going to a birthday part for my friends brother (who I of course had a crush on)… I fell in the street walking down the hill towards their house and banged up my knee pretty bad. "I'm just trying to look at my phone bill and Jessica thinks i’m gassing her up." I look briefly over my shoulder to see if the 2 men saw anything and notice they’re still a couple meters away, stopped talking, and they’re looking at me suspiciously. I repeat myself with again no response from the waitress. I followed him regardless cause I figured there was no way he was gonna make me eat out his ass or something in the fucking parking garage on our lunch breaks, right? I told her about the pastries and the little sign. Even though it is hard to identify them when you don’t know someone’s culture, it will help you to know which direction to look. The shoes, the water fountain, the men in kurtas… I suddenly realized I was in the airport mosque. The priest looked rather shocked but then said “OK, do whatever you need to do but I need you back here in a half hour.”. I really have to pee so I’m already unzipping my pants a few paces from the piss wall. At that point I was a little bit unaware of what was going on and backed a little more to try to talk normally but she kept moving forward to kiss me again in the other cheek… I was kinda confused but smiling and then since I saw her smiling and looking me straight I kinda thought she wanted to make out right there, so this time it was me who went forward and tongue kissed her in front of everybody, her boyfriend included. Silence, then laughter. Studying so fast, I was bound to confuse some verbs. By the time I had wandered over there, the metal grate was up, and some fat guy had already bought toothpaste. Learn more about working with Thought Catalog. Let’s look at an example. I had a few other surprising experiences with language based cultural misunderstandings. Back in 2006 I was in Borneo doing some backpacking around SE Asia. I figured he was some famous Chinese guy widely revered in America, and decided to confirm the reason for his popularity. Woman. Cultural Misunderstandings and Empathy - Session 1 Lesson Plan/Related Activities 9 our style that we do, the tendency is for us to downplay the weakness while others may highlight it in evaluating us. But this is not a … That night I learned 2 things: 1) Austrians don’t dress up for Halloween. My mom really liked the fried noodles that were served with soup at this asian restaurant. I put a hand on my chest and say “for me.” I need something “just for me.” He gave me a nod, reached under the counter and wrapped something up. On the contrary, American dating culture is the opposite. Interpersonal // Lisa B. Marshall // // 2 comments. to order a couple pastries. Aussies are really into sports, so I thought I could earn some points by talking about my favorite teams back home. We ended up being kept in the terminal for a good 24 hours, during which time my period decided to pay a visit. Initially, fast reading without taking notes and underlines should be done. Medicine.” one of the girls working understood. I manage to untie one shoe and as I’m sliding it off I glance over at them again and smile. Just as I get close to the piss wall, holding out my penis, I put up my free hand against the wall, about ready to release, I hear an approaching voice and look over my shoulder as one does. So I lean more on my outstretched arm that is against the wall, with the other hand I pinch my penis to not pee (oh god that hurts..) and stop the whole process (ouch ouch ouch) and slip my dick back in my pants. When the recent earthquake hit in Japan, I was at the Narita Airport on a layover. He pretty much shouted “aaaaah, quieras dos BORRACHOS!” This time he couldn’t keep a straight face and started guffawing, and the whole place erupted. When she tried to explain that it is rude in western culture he roared back at her, “WHEN IN ROME, DO AS ROMANS DO!”. He talked about the idea of high- and low-context communication cultures. In Vietnamese culture, there are 2 different words for ‘love’. However for me, in my culture, the dating phase gradually becomes a relationship. You can read some interesting ones here. Behavior based cultural misunderstanding examples. For me it was when I was talking to a co-worker who married an African woman. Dedicated to your stories and ideas. So for me, dating meant the same thing as a relationship. So I happily ate it. Posted on 13/03/2018 by Jeff Harvie Posted in Cultural Problems and Misunderstandings — 7 Comments ↓ Australian men and Filipina ladies can often form the most wonderful and happy marriages. My most concerning cultural misunderstanding had to do with my ignorance of the importance of Ramadan practices in Moslem countries. 158 quotes have been tagged as misunderstanding: Quotes About Misunderstanding. I’ve looked all around the store but can’t find any pads or tampons anywhere. I was getting a bit frustrated, and embarrassed. I went in to a bar/bakery? Annie G . I told my friend, and he said “okay, go for it.” I got my bowl, ate, and returned to the festivities after putting the bowl in the sink like a civilized person. This kind of confusions might cause you from embarrassment to good beating and most probably getting fired form a job. He told me it was in his car in the parking garage, and I started sweating a little cause he kept winking at me and licking his lips and shit. So we get to the parking garage and he tells me he’s on the fifth floor but he “hates elevators,” so he makes his way to the stairs and I notice he keeps his butt eye-level with me as I come up behind him. Halloween rolled around and a bunch of us decided to get dressed up for the night. Answer Save. Quickly I slip on my shoe and turn towards the door, away from them, discreetly zip up my fly on my way out and hoped like hell that they bought the whole act and weren’t about to jump on my back, pin me down and gut me. I repeat, louder, “Me cagé en la calle!”. They’d look you right in the eye while having a conversation, digging for nose gold. One is used for a person and the other is for everything else. Check, The moment you realize it and feel really, really silly, Yeah, I read that in Sofia Vergara’s voice too, This is going to make you cringe really, really hard, I never even realized Ped Xing could be a name, Oh, so that’s why they were staring at me, Please, I didn’t mean it, I’m being honest, Reasons Why I Want To Have A Threesome (And Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Judge), 100 Things All Women Need To Know About Men (According to 100 Men), Why We Need To Stop Shaming People For Buying Their Dogs Instead Of Adopting, The Ugly Truth About Keeping The Good Guys In The Friend Zone, 20 Clever Responses For When People Ask When You’re Going To Have Kids, Never Say You’re Sorry – Unless You Mean It. No dairy can touch these bowls, lest their kosherness be compromised. I told her the story, and she started laughing and said why the hell were you trying to order 2 borrachos? After a brief moment she pulled away startled with this look on her face like (8O. If they message you reply as soon as you can (within 30-60 mins if you can or if you are super busy, then by the end of the day). I couldn’t understand the problem until she grabbed the bill from me and pointed to the picture of the King on it, and then pointed at my shoes. We have divided them into 3 types and will take you though each of them with an example. It was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The person you like often becomes your lowest priority in the beginning or you could come across as too keen. Whether it be from your own experience or you know of, I'm open to answers. He’d act surprised when she hadn’t heard of the topic, and he’d say something like “what? misunderstanding stories toward a postcolonial … He assumed Japan was this magical land where all the adults read manga and played video games all day long. I LOLed when a friend from India told me he was looking at a bunch of pictures of girls his parents had sent him to look at. You can read the full story here: ‘I love you!’ – Why She Doesn’t Believe You? Viral Events/Stories That Would Break the Internet; Bizarre Ways Pop Culture is Translated Overseas; Awesome Tricks You Can Do With Your Body/Brain; There are FOUR contests for you to choose from. To address such differences, it will be necessary to engage in open and honest communication. As I enter the room I see what looks like a piss wall, with water flowing down it and such. I told my entire host family, including their four small children. Part of me was insulted…and another part of me was hungry. American here. It’s flee, die, or improvise time. And so I said, “Um, I’m pretty sure that’s bullshit. Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time. No other their feet in the airport, way to hell and gone language based misunderstanding!! ”, “ Needless to say he doesn ’ t dress for... Fine… until the morning when I got back to the guy at the register asked. 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